Sedgeberrow Playgroup

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 07/02/2005 Inspector Name Elizabeth Margaret Wilkes

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Sedgeberrow Playgroup Setting Address The Betteridge Rooms Main Street Sedgebarrow, Evesham Worcestershire WR11 7UE

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Sedgeberrow Playgroup

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Sedgeberrow Playgroup Address The Betteridge Rooms Main Street, Sedgeberrow Evesham Worcestershire WR11 7UE

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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

Sedgeberrow Playgroup opened in 1988 operating from the Betteridge Rooms attached to Sedgeberrow C of E First School. The closest town is Evesham. The group is open term-time only on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 09:00 to 11:30 with a lunch club from 11:30 to 13:00. All children share access to a designated outdoor play area, an enclosed section of the car park, with use of the school playground one day a week. There are currently 17 children aged from 2 years 9 months to 4 years on roll. Of these, 16 children receive funding for nursery education. The playgroup supports children with special educational needs. Children come from Sedgeberrow and surrounding towns and villages. The committee-run playgroup employs two staff, both holding appropriate early years qualifications. The setting receives support from a mentor/teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).

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How good is the Day Care?

Sedgeberrow Playgroup provides satisfactory care for children. Staff keep up-to-date with childcare issues through attendance at meetings and workshops although vetting of committee members is not up-to-date. High adult-child ratios are maintained as parents take a turn to help during sessions. Good use is made of space with the current age group and equipment is of good quality and range. Some documentation required by the National Standards is not in place and some is incomplete. Staff are aware of health and safety issues and ensure arrival and collection times are especially well supervised. There is no risk assessment in place to cover use of the premises, outdoors or outings. Children learn about hygiene through the daily routine with staff promoting good hand washing practice and they enjoy sociable snack and lunch times with staff encouraging good manners. Staff have some awareness of their child protection responsibilities although procedures are not

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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 shared with parents. A good variety of play opportunities is regularly available to the children using resources that are adaptable across the age range and which cover all areas of development. Both adults and children are treated with equal concern and staff gain information from parents about their children so that appropriate care is given. Staff have a good understanding of children's individual or additional needs and how to provide for these. They have effective and consistent methods to manage children's behaviour and children respond well. Relationships with parents are good and staff provide helpful support to parents.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Not applicable, as no actions were raised at the previous inspection.

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What is being done well?

• A clear routine through the session and a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities results in interested and confident children, very settled in the group. All adults interact with the children in a positive and consistent manner. Outdoor play is a daily occurrence and trips around the village or visitors to the setting provide added interest. • Staff work hard to create a cheerful welcoming environment for the children. Photographs of various activities and outings are displayed at child height in the playroom and foyer, a useful reminder of children's experience. Activities are set out in familiar places, which help children feel secure. • A calm atmosphere and reliable routine create a good framework and clear boundaries, which encourage children to behave well. Parents adopt the staff role model when helping on rota so that all adults have consistent expectations of the children. Guidance for parent helpers is included in the

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What is being done well?

group's prospectus. • Parents make positive contributions to the sessions, to trips and special events. Committee members especially are very familiar with the children's routines and support staff behind the scenes.

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What needs to be improved?

• vetting of committee members to ensure all are checked • consideration of space ratios in relation to children under three years attending • availability of current written risk assessment and action plan to cover use of indoors, outdoors and outings • complaints procedure to include Ofsted contact details

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What needs to be improved?

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 • statement of child protection procedures and the sharing of this with parents • documentation as required by the National Standards relating to medication records and details of staff and committee members • the availability of a lost and uncollected child policy.

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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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The Registered Person must take the following actions by the date shown

Std Action Date 13 Produce a statement of child protection arrangements which is consistent with local Area Child Protection Committee guidelines and includes procedures should an allegation be made against a member of staff or volunteer. Demonstrate how you will share this with parents. 07/03/2005

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The Registered Person must take the following actions by the date shown

14 Obtain details of staff and committee members as required by the National Standards. 07/03/2005

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The Registered Person must take the following actions by the date shown

14 Devise a system to record the administration of medication. 07/03/2005

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The Registered Person must take the following actions by the date shown

14 Devise a procedure for lost and uncollected children. 07/03/2005

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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 1 Ensure the vetting of all committee members is an ongoing process. 4 Make sure space ratios are met throughout the year as the age groups of children fluctuate. 6 Develop a written risk assessment covering the premises indoors and outdoors and outings. Create an action plan with timescales to show how any hazards identified will be minimised and review if there is significant change. 12 Include the regulator's contact details in the complaints procedure available to parents.

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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?

Sedgeberrow Playgroup provides acceptable nursery education and of good quality overall. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Teaching is generally good with staff showing an understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum. They know the children well and encourage them to extend themselves and build confidence. They work directly with the children giving them plenty of time to practise and perfect their skills in some areas, create new opportunities or repeat activities to ensure children are secure in that learning. Themes are planned on a half-termly basis with some indication of what the children might learn, and cover most aspects of the stepping stones to early learning goals over time. Staff observe children informally. Recorded assessments are infrequent and do not link into plans for each session to clearly show how children's progress is monitored across all aspects of learning. Staff are good role models and have high

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How effective is the nursery education?

expectations of children's behaviour. They organise their time well and make very good use of indoor space and resources. Leadership and management are generally good. The manager and deputy work very closely together and have a clear vision for the setting, endorsed by the parent committee. They form a good team with parent helpers during sessions and the committee supports with funding for equipment and additional adult help during regular trips and events. There is little monitoring or evaluation of the provision for nursery education by committee or staff although they are committed to children's all-round development. Partnership with parents is generally good. Parents are welcomed into sessions to share their child's experience, observe how they interact with other adults and children and become involved in children's learning. They are not always involved in the initial assessment of their child's ability and do not receive information about the

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What is being done well?

• Children arrive excitedly in the morning, separating from their carer with ease and joining the other children for registration time. Everyone welcomes each other with a big smile. Staff gently encourage reticent children to join-in with group activities and to keep practising skills until they are confident in their own ability. • Older children show an excellent understanding of fairness, agree their own rules and give instructions with good humour, such as when playing their own version of hide and seek. • This group is very much part of its community. There are close links with the

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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 school and children regularly attend assembly where they see their older siblings taking part and they use the school playground weekly. Parents and other local people visit regularly, bringing props to help the children understand their jobs. A locksmith left a wide selection of locks and keys for the children to experiment with and an estate agent measured the playroom and talked about different houses, leaving a 'Sold' sign for their display. Children discovered how many houses were for sale or sold during a walk around the village. • Stories are well told and children's interest engaged well. They display a range of emotions on their faces, surprise, sadness, and joy, in sympathy with the characters in the book and anticipate what will happen next. The

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What is being done well?

member of staff has a lively expressive voice, clear diction and good eye contact which draws all the children in. • An excellent range of good quality indoor resources is well used to encourage co-operation between children and can be adapted to suit different abilities and interests.

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What needs to be improved?

• planning to include all aspects of the six areas of learning, through themes, everyday routines and activities and linked to assessments of individual children's progress • information and explanations for parents about the nursery education curriculum, how their children learn and their ongoing progress • parents' involvement in their own child's assessment profile.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Very limited sustained progress has been made as the setting has not addressed the areas for development that were raised at the previous inspection. Planning now shows the learning outcomes for some activities although does not show how outcomes vary for children of different abilities or cater for individual learning needs. Some information about the educational curriculum has been given to parents in the past; however, current parents have very little understanding of the different areas of children's learning and the stepping stones they move through as they progress. The local authority's Nursery Profile is used as an assessment record and requires involvement by parents in the first instance to share their own knowledge of their child. Many profiles have not had this input. Staff have assessed and recorded children's progress on a half-termly basis although it is not clear if these records are

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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: Very Good Children are keen to try new activities, have a positive approach to new experiences, such as the pancake race, and take great pride in their own achievements. They share and take turns, for example when helping to make batter, enjoy each others company, abide by group rules and are developing self-control. Children concentrate well, can sit quietly when appropriate and are self-assured.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Many children speak with confidence and enthusiasm. They recall well and readily talk about home events with staff. Older children are beginning to negotiate with each other and plan their games. Their attention is not often drawn to linking sounds with letters or to discriminate between sounds although they are beginning to give meaning to their marks with clear drawings of pancakes in pans. Children enjoy books, handle them well, turn pages carefully and discuss the pictures with each other.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children have many opportunities to count with meaning. They often act out number songs and count in everyday situations such as how many spoons of flour are needed for the batter. However, they do not often see numbers around them. They frequently make comparisons, of more or less, first or last, tall and taller. Children are beginning to appreciate the difference between two and three dimensional shapes and to predict, for example the distance a clockwork horse will travel before it stops.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Walks around the village help children become familiar with their local environment and the buildings in it. They construct similar buildings from card and sticky tape but do not often select for themselves suitable tools and techniques for joining a range of materials. Children are very interested in how technical things work such as the digital printer or keys and locks and sometimes investigate the natural world, several children were very curious about a worm they found outside.

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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: Very Good Children's hand-eye co-ordination is very well developed using a wide range of large and small equipment. They spread sauce on their pancake, carry the plate and cutlery safely and competently use spoons, knives and forks to eat. Children are developing a sense of space although they sometimes collide when running around outside. Their range of large movements is very controlled and imaginative. They demonstrate many innovative ways to traverse the climbing frame and come down the slide.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children have plenty of time to absorb themselves in the medium of paint, exploring the qualities and colours, their expressive faces demonstrating concentration and a range and depth of feelings. They have less opportunity to experiment with sounds and rhythm although they enjoy songs as a group. Adults sometimes extend the children's role play, prompted by the topic, providing props which stimulate sophisticated and imaginative situations such as 'moving house'.

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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

• further develop planning to include all aspects of the six areas of learning, through themes, everyday routines and activities and link to assessments of individual children's progress • develop the information for parents about the nursery education curriculum, how their children learn and the progress they make.

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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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