Greenmount Village Preschool

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 05/05/2004 Inspector Name Jannet Mary Richards

p.1

SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Greenmount Village Pre-School Setting Address The Old School Brandlesholme Road Greenmount Bury BL8 4DS

p.1

REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Greenmount Village Pre-School

p.1

ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Greenmount Village Pre-School Address 6 Southfield Road Ramsbottom Bury Lancashire BL0 9ST

p.1

ORGANISATION DETAILS

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

p.1

ABOUT THE INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality and standard of day care in accordance with the National Standards for Under Eights Day Care and Childminding; and that the nursery education for funded three and four year old children is of an acceptable quality. Inspection of nursery education also identifies strengths and weaknesses so that providers can improve the quality of educational provision and help children to achieve the early learning goals (elgs) by the end of the Foundation Stage. This inspection report must be made available to all parents. If the setting has been inspected previously, an action plan will have been drawn up to tackle issues identified. This inspection, therefore, must also assess what progress has been made in the implementation of this plan.

p.2

Information about the setting

Greenmount Village Pre School opened in 1982. It operates from three rooms in what is known as the Old school, which is now used as a busy community centre belonging to the local church. It is situated in a residential area in the middle of Greenmount Village, Bury. The group have access to a kitchen, toilets and an outside play area. The pre-school serves the local and wider areas. There are currently 59 children aged between two and a half and four years on roll. This includes 20 three year old and 23 four year old children in receipt of nursery education funding. The group supports children who have special needs. There are no children attending at the present time who speak English as an additional language. The group opens five days a week term time only. Each session lasts from 09:15 to 12:00 Monday to Thursday for all the children and 9:15 to 12:00 on Fridays for pre-school children only. A total of 10 staff work with the children, most of whom have relevant early years

p.2

Information about the setting

qualifications. Three staff are currently working towards a recognised qualification. The setting receives support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).

p.2

How good is the Day Care?

Greenmount Village Pre-School provides good care for children. The staff team are committed to the care and education of the children, and regularly attend courses and training events. They have up to date knowledge on most aspects of child care. The provision is very well organised, the staff work well as a team to ensure that each session runs smoothly. They have policies and procedures in place, though these have not been reviewed recently.

p.2

How good is the Day Care?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 The staff get to know the children very well. They have effective procedures for settling new children and supporting them, such as key person systems and good staff to child ratios to enable the children to feel secure and confident in the pre-school environment. The staff are skilled in identifying and meeting the individual needs of children, and provide very good support to children with special needs. The children benefit from a well organised play environment and range of interesting and stimulating activities. They can reach their toys and equipment easily, and move around the play areas freely, choosing what they would like to play with. The staff support the children well during play, talking to them and asking questions to ensure

p.2

How good is the Day Care?

that children benefit from each activity. The children behave well in the pre-school environment, in response to the frequent praise and encouragement they receive from the staff. The pre-school offers a safe and healthy environment for children. Staff observe good practice and high levels of supervision to ensure that children are safe. Most safety measures are in place. Good attention is given to practices to keep children healthy, such as providing healthy snacks of fruit and milk. Parents and carers are very welcome in the pre-school. There are good systems in place such as a parents' notice board, newsletters and informal discussion with key workers each day to ensure that they are well informed about pre-school events and what the children have been doing at each session.

p.3

What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the setting was required to address six issues, five of which related to the documentation maintained by the pre-school. Since this inspection the staff have introduced a policy for collection of children, a record of visitors, and updated the policies and procedures relating to child protection and complaints. They have also formulated written risk assessments. This has led to an improvement in the documentation relating to operation of the pre-school. The final issue was to increase awareness of child protection procedures. One member of staff has attended training on child protection, and the manager, who has responsibility for this area is intending to attend training in the near future. This issue forms a recommendation from this inspection.

p.3

What is being done well?

• The staff are very calm and patient. They work well with the children, meeting their individual needs, providing a good range of activities and encouraging good behaviour through their positive approach. • Good staff to child ratios ensure that children are well supported and offered individual attention when they need it. • The staff work very well together as a team. They have a good awareness of

p.3

What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 their roles and responsibilities which enables the provision to run smoothly. • Partnership with parents and carers is good. The staff ensure that parents are well informed, by talking to them each day about what the children have been doing and through newsletters and a notice board with information about pre-school events. Parents are made to feel welcome in the setting and value the service provided.

p.3

An aspect of outstanding practice:

The staff team have a strong commitment to providing an inclusive play environment where all children are welcome and valued. Children with special needs are very well supported in the pre-school by a skilled staff team who met their individual needs and ensure that they have the opportunity to participate fully in play activities.

p.4

What needs to be improved?

• the procedures for ensuring that chairs are stored safely • the up to date knowledge of child protection issues for key staff • the procedures for the review of policy documents.

p.4

CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

All registered persons must comply with all conditions of registration included on his/her certificate of registration. As a result of this inspection conditions of registration have been imposed / varied / removed and a new certificate of registration will be issued.

p.4

by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 6 Put measures in place to ensure that chairs are stored safely when children are present. 13 Ensure that the person with responsibility for child protection receives training in this area. 14 Review the policies and procedures to ensure that they accurately reflect the practice in the pre-school.

p.4

by the time of the next inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

p.4

How effective is the nursery education?

Children's progress in communication, language and literacy, knowledge and understanding of the world, creative and physical development is generally good. Children make very good progress in personal social and emotional development and in mathematics which are strengths of the provision. Teaching is generally good. Good procedures are in place which enable the staff to get to know the children very well, as a result children are secure and confident in the surroundings, and have a positive disposition to learning. Effective systems for identifying individual needs, and skilled, supportive staff ensure that children with special needs are very well supported. The staff organise the play areas to encourage children to make choices and be independent. They play alongside the children, questioning them effectively to encourage their learning. They have a positive approach which children respond to by behaving well. They provide a good range of activities for the children, though

p.5

How effective is the nursery education?

planning of activities does not yet link clearly to the stepping stones to ensure that all aspects are planned and provided for. Staff know their allocated group of children very well, and provide good challenges for individual children. They assess children's progress but have not yet developed clear systems for recording their progress along the stepping stones and for using this information to plan clearly the next steps in the children's learning. Leadership and management are generally good. The staff are well deployed to support the children, and have clear roles and responsibilities. They have a very good commitment to developing their knowledge and understanding through attendance on courses. Partnership with parents and carers is generally good, and contributes to children's progress. Parents are made to feel very welcome, they are provided with good information about children's progress and their views are valued by the staff.

p.5

What is being done well?

• The staff team have a strong commitment to development of their own knowledge and the provision through attendance at training courses. • Children's confidence and motivation to learn is well promoted. The staff ensure that children settle well and can select what they play with from a good range of stimulating activities, allowing them to be independent. They praise the children for their efforts and achievements to encourage their self esteem and good behaviour.

p.5

What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 • Children make very good progress in mathematics. The staff provide them with some very good activities to encourage learning in this area. During everyday routines and activities the children have opportunities to count. The staff are skilled at questioning the children to encourage them to use their knowledge of number to solve practical problems. • The staff in the pre-school offer very good support for children with special needs.

p.5

What needs to be improved?

• the planning of activities to ensure that they link clearly to the stepping stones and that all aspects are well promoted • the written assessments of children's progress to ensure that they show how children are progressing along the stepping stones and how this information is used to inform the planning of activities.

p.6

What has improved since the last inspection?

At the time of the last inspection two key issues were identified for development. The first issue was to 'Develop the planning to show more clearly what children are to learn from the activities'. The staff have, over time developed the planning and tried different methods of planning activities. Since the last inspection the early learning goals have replaced the desirable outcomes for children's learning and the curriculum has been varied accordingly. At the time of this inspection the staff are introducing new formats for planning activities to ensure that they link more clearly to the stepping stones towards the early learning goals, and this issue remains an area for development. The second key issue was to 'Revise monitoring and observation in order to develop play plans to support the children's individual and special needs further'. This issue has been subject to revision in the way staff record their observations of children's

p.6

What has improved since the last inspection?

learning and links to the planning, and this also remains an area for development.

p.6

What has improved since the last inspection?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

p.6

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children settle well, enabling them to feel secure and confident in the environment. They move around the play areas freely, exercising a good deal of choice and often initiating their own play and learning experiences. They relate well to the staff and to each other. They co-operate well in play activities, concentrate well, and persist at activities which interest them. They behave well in response to praise and encouragement.

p.7

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are confident speakers and good listeners. They use language well to talk through what they are doing, negotiate during play, and recall past events. They learn to recognise letters when identifying objects which begin with a letter of the alphabet. They enjoy looking at books and listen well at story time. They use many good opportunities to recognise and write their own names and practice early writing skills, such as self-registration and labelling their own work.

p.7

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children benefit from frequent opportunities to count and recognise numbers. They take every opportunity to count during play, such as counting the scoops of sand in their bucket or candles on a birthday cake. They have many good opportunities to make patterns and identify shapes in the environment, such as the square piece of bread they use to make a sandwich. They use their knowledge well to solve simple problems such as how many more items they need.

p.7

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children often find out how things work, why things happen, and observe changes such as planting seeds to grow, using objects which float and sink in water, investigating equipment such as magnets and magnifying glasses. They learn about the world in which they live from activities linked to topics such as new life in spring. They often learn about different cultures when celebrating festivals. They develop an understanding of time through routines, discussions and finding out about past events.

p.7

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

p.7

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children use many good opportunities to develop fine motor skills, such as cutting with scissors, and spreading butter on bread to make a sandwich. They often practice large movements and control indoors and out, throwing and catching balls and hoops and climbing on a climbing frame for example. They negotiate space around each other well during physical activities and when moving around play areas.

p.8

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children use their imagination well during role play, and when playing with small world toys such as the train track which they really enjoy. They experiment using a variety of media such as paint, play dough and sand. They enjoy singing each day and have regular opportunities to participate in creative drama and music sessions. They use good opportunities to explore their senses during play, such as tasting or comparing the textures of different foods.

p.8

Children's spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development is fostered

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

p.8

OUTCOME OF THE INSPECTION

The provision is acceptable and is of good quality overall. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The next inspection will take place in three to four years time.

p.9

WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

• continue to develop the planning of activities to ensure that they link clearly to the stepping stones and that all aspects are well promoted • develop the written assessments of children's progress to ensure that they show how children are progressing along the stepping stones and how this information is used to inform the planning of activities.

p.9

WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

The provider must draw up an action plan within 40 working days of receipt of this report showing how the key issues detailed above will be addressed. The action plan must be made available to all parents and to the Local Authority if required. An evaluation of the action taken will form part of the next inspection of funded nursery education.

p.9

WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

p.9

STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

Adults providing day care, looking after children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so.

p.10

STANDARD 2 - ORGANISATION

The registered person meets required adult: child ratios, ensures that training and qualifications requirements are met and organises space and resources to meet the children's needs effectively.

p.10

STANDARD 3 - CARE, LEARNING AND PLAY

The registered person meets children's individual needs and promotes their welfare. They plan and provide activities and play opportunities to develop children's emotional, physical, social and intellectual capabilities.

p.10

STANDARD 4 - PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The premises are safe, secure and suitable for their purpose. They provide adequate space in an appropriate location, are welcoming to children and offer access to the necessary facilities for a range of activities which promote their development.

p.10

STANDARD 5 - EQUIPMENT

Furniture, equipment and toys are provided which are appropriate for their purpose and help to create an accessible and stimulating environment. They are of suitable design and condition, well maintained and conform to safety standards.

p.10

STANDARD 6 - SAFETY

The registered person takes positive steps to promote safety within the setting and on outings and ensures proper precautions are taken to prevent accidents.

p.10

STANDARD 7 - HEALTH

The registered person promotes the good health of children and takes positive steps to prevent the spread of infection and appropriate measures when they are ill.

p.10

STANDARD 8 - FOOD AND DRINK

Children are provided with regular drinks and food in adequate quantities for their needs. Food and drink is properly prepared, nutritious and complies with dietary and religious requirements.

p.10

STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

The registered person and staff actively promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children.

p.10

NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

The registered person is aware that some children may have special needs and is

p.10

NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 proactive in ensuring that appropriate action can be taken when such a child is identified or admitted to the provision. Steps are taken to promote the welfare and development of the child within the setting in partnership with the parents and other relevant parties.

p.10

STANDARD 11 - BEHAVIOUR

Adults caring for children in the provision are able to manage a wide range of children's behaviour in a way which promotes their welfare and development.

p.11

STANDARD 12 - WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS AND CARERS

The registered person and staff work in partnership with parents and to meet the needs of the children, both individually and as a group. Information is shared.

p.11

STANDARD 13 - CHILD PROTECTION

The registered person complies with local child protection procedures approved by the Area Child Protection Committee and ensures that all adults working and looking after children in the provision are able to put the procedures into practice.

p.11

STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

Records, policies and procedures which are required for the efficient and safe management of the provision, or to promote the welfare, care and learning of children are maintained. Records about individual children are shared with the child's parent.

p.11

STANDARD 14 - DOCUMENTATION

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

p.11