Thurlton Pre School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 02/12/2003 Inspector Name Jane Louise Tallent

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Thurlton Pre School Playgroup Setting Address Norton & Thurlton Village Hall Beccles Road Thurlton Norwich Norfolk NR14 6JQ

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Thurlton Pre-School

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Thurlton Pre-School Address Norton & Thurlton Village Hall Beccles Road Norwich Norfolk NR14 6JQ

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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

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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.

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Information about the setting

Thurlton Pre-School was established in 1960. It is situated in Thurlton Village Hall, which is situated on the border of Norfolk and Suffolk. Children who attend this rural pre-school live in Thurlton and the surrounding villages. There are currently 10 children who are in receipt of funding nine of whom are three-years-old and another one who is four-years-old. There are no children attending who have special educational needs and none for whom English is a second language. The pre-school provides sessional care each Monday to Friday inclusively, between 9.00am and 12.00 noon during school term times. There are three members of staff present each session, two of whom hold level three qualifications in childcare. A fourth assistant provides additional help for the staff, as required. The group receive support from their early years development and childcare partnership and an advisory link teacher.

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How good is the Day Care?

Thurlton Pre-school provides satisfactory care for children. The staff use their knowledge and experience of childcare to create an environment that is both warm and interesting. The current cleaning routine is insufficient, however, to adequately maintain a good standard of hygiene in the toilet, cloakroom and kitchen areas of the premises. Staff are aware of children's safety and routine risk assessments are carried out on the premises, toys and equipment. However when young children use large climbing apparatus they are not supervised closely enough to avoid hazards. Overall, a wide range of good quality resources are available for children to use that are imaginative, in good condition and appropriate for the ages and stages of development of children who attend the group. The pre-school have established a good relationship with parents and carers of children who attend the group. Parents form the committee responsible for running

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How good is the Day Care?

the group together with staff. They are encouraged to look at notice boards, share

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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 books with their children through the group's library service and exchange information with staff on a regular basis to ensure that their children's needs are met.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Since the last inspection all four of the identified actions have been implemented successfully. As a consequence three staff have up to date CRB checks in place, and the committee have decided to undergo the vetting procedure. A procedure is in place to ensure new members of staff submit to checks before they are permitted to have unsupervised access to children. The supervisor has successfully completed a Diploma in Pre-school Practice (level 3). Staff have obtained relevant contact numbers to enable them to make a child protection referral, if necessary. Low glass in the entrance doors has been fitted with a protective film.

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What is being done well?

• Staff work together well and are good role models for the children. They are kind and friendly towards the children, and frequently praise them, which has a positive impact on the children's behaviour, self-esteem and confidence. • Good quality resources are provided to stimulate children's imagination and engage them in worthwhile activities that allow them to succeed when using existing skills and also to develop new skills. • The partnership with parents is good. Parents feel involved in their children's learning through impromptu discussions, notices and by being invited to attend special events throughout the year.

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What needs to be improved?

• the cleaning routine to introduce preventative measures that will avoid the spread of diseases in the toilets, nappy changing area and kitchen • supervision when young children use large climbing apparatus to reduce the risk of hazard and enable them to play safely • ownership of responsibility for following up checks, if necessary, until they are complete.

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Outcome of the 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

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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.

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 4 ensure that good hygiene is maintained in the toilets, baby changing area of the cloakroom and the kitchen to promote good health and avoid the spread of infection 1 ensure that there are effective procedures in place to follow up the staff vetting process where necessary until completion. 6 conduct a risk assessment on the use of large equipment to identify any action that needs to be taken to minimize risks

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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

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How effective is the nursery education?

The provision for nursery education at Thurlton pre-school is of good quality overall. Children are presented with an imaginative curriculum and ample good quality resources to enable them to make generally good progress in all areas of their learning. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff are positive role models for the children and encourage them to interact confidently and make friends with other children. They capably balance opportunities for the children to initiate activities for themselves with more structured activities, although on occasions staff are over prescriptive with crafts, for example the seasonal glitter trees. Staff demonstrate good knowledge of the Early Learning Goals. They praise the children for their achievements which encourages them to succeed. Effective use of explanations are given to help children to learn. Staff are deployed well although they need also to

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How effective is the nursery education?

carry out routine domestic tasks such as changing young children's nappies. The leadership and management of Thurlton pre-school is generally good. They are beginning to use planning and assessments to provide a suitable framework for presenting children with activities to support their learning across the curriculum, although plans do not yet successfully identify individual challenges for children. The committee support staff members in their aim to improve the care and education offered to children. They have devised a structure for appointing and appraising staff, and producing, updating and circulating the policies so that they reflect working practice within the group. In this way the group are beginning to be able to evaluate and monitor their own effectiveness. The partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Parents are encouraged to contribute towards their children's learning by helping them to settle, making

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How effective is the nursery education?

contributions to their personal profiles and supporting events, such as seasonal plays and annual outings.

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What is being done well?

• Good emphasis is placed on sound and number recognition and as a consequence children of all ages are showing competence and enthusiasm in these areas of development. • Effective use of explanations and praise positively impacts on children's confidence and self-esteem. • Staff are kind and friendly towards the children, and use their knowledge of child development to present children with a wide a range of worthwhile activities that help them to learn. • Resources are well used to support children's learning and balance free play with structured activities.

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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

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What needs to be improved?

• the use of assessments to show progression and plan activities that are designed to challenge individual children and show clearly how to build on their existing skills and help them to make progress in their learning • the identification of learning objectives for children when they use large physical apparatus, and move to music in the programme for physical development • children's involvement in some adult led craft activities to maximise their learning potential.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The pre-school has made very good progress in implementing one out of three action points from the previous inspection and as a consequence the programme for mathematics has been prioritised and consequently the children are making generally good progress. They count children confidently, recognise numerals on advent calendars and dates on the weather chart. They accurately compare the number of boys and girls to work out if there are more boys or girls present, and take part in sorting and matching games. Staff use mathematical language effectively to help children to learn; The group have made generally good progress in some elements of the remaining two action points but only limited progress in other aspects. Assessment records have been recently updated and are still in the process of being implemented. Currently they record children's achievements but do not yet show progression and identify in plans how individual children, including older and more able children,

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What has improved since the last inspection?

receive appropriate challenges. These aspects remain as action points following this inspection.

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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

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are confident within pre-school and settle well. They demonstrate developing personal independence by mostly selecting activities, pouring drinks and washing their hands independently. Children's behaviour is good. Growing confidence is demonstrated as children talk, listen to each other and share their experiences. In this way they are making friends. They are learning about their own beliefs and festivals this Christmas, and show awareness of others through topic work.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children use basic language skills to express their needs. They are developing careful listening skills and are able to recall previous discussions and take part in festive plays. They have begun to use books appropriately and listen well to stories. Children can recognise sounds of letters and have begun to realise that words have meanings. Writing materials are available for children to make marks in some activities, and some children are able to write and spell their own names without help.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are introduced to counting, and can recognise numerals that correspond to the dates on their advent calendar for example. They regularly count each other during registration and have begun to use number in practical ways, for example, to compare whether there are more boys present than girls. Most children capably count to ten unaided and further than ten as a group. Staff use mathematical language to reinforce concepts and to describe and compare colours, shapes and sizes.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Technological equipment, is available with appropriate software for the children's stage of development, however the computer currently needs some repair. Children are learning about the world in which they live through planned topics, posters, and imaginary role play. They notice changes in weather patterns and also show excitement about their own Christmas festival. Early scientific skills are promoted using natural and man-made materials and construction toys.

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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

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Despite not having regular access to an outdoor area, the children are showing increased confidence during spatial awareness activities, where they are learning to move with control and become aware of themselves and others in the room. They practice existing skills on large equipment but are not challenged to make systematic progress. Co-ordination and manipulative skills are good. The children practice fine motor control in a variety of activities using tools such as glue sticks well.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Opportunities are provided for children to access craft materials during free play times, permitting them to experiment, although some adult led activities are over prescriptive. Wall displays show that children use a suitable range of materials for collage pictures and to recreate their experiences. Topic work supports children's sensory development and they are able to describe their feelings when they handle materials such as wet corn flour. Children enjoy singing and making music.

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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

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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.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

• extend the use of assessments to show progression and build in learning objectives for all children, including older and more able children, to ensure that they receive appropriate challenges • identify learning objectives to enable children to constructively use their energy and make progress whilst using large apparatus and moving to music in the programme for physical development • review the effectiveness of some adult led craft activities to make sure that children's learning potential is maximised.

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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.

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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

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STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

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

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NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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