Sunshine Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 10/03/2005 Inspector Name Gillian Patricia Bishop

p.1

SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Sunshine Playgroup Setting Address 59 Hare Street Rochdale Lancashire OL11 1JT

p.1

REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Sunshine Playgroup

p.1

ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Sunshine Playgroup Address Deeplish Community Centre Hare Street, Deeplish Rochdale Lancashire OL11 1JT

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

Sunshine Playgroup opened in 1993. It currently operates from a purpose built, single storey Sure Start Centre within a residential area close to Milkstone Road in Rochdale. The group have access to one large playroom and additional smaller rooms for alternative activities. A maximum of 24 children may attend the playgroup at any one time. The group is open each weekday from 09:30 to 12:00 term time only. Children have access to a designated outdoor play area which is secure. There are currently 24 children aged from 2 to under 5 years on roll. Of these 16 children receive funding for nursery education. Children attend from the immediate catchment area. Most children attending speck English as an additional language, there are no children who have special educational needs at this time. The playgroup employs four staff. All including the manger hold appropriate early years qualifications.

p.2

How good is the Day Care?

Sunshine Playgroup provides satisfactory care for children. Staff working with children have a relevant qualification and access to further training is encouraged. However the operational plan is weak in several areas due to staffing difficulties and poor communication systems between managers and staff. Mangers have not advised Ofsted of recent staff changes. The playgroup operates from an attractive, purpose built building which is inviting and welcoming to children and their parents. Children attending the playgroup are provided with variety of good quality resources and toys. Most aspect of documentation are in place but senior managers do not have satisfactory systems in place to ensure all staff are familiar with the details of the settings policies and where documents are kept. Well established safety procedures ensures children are appropriately supervised so they remain safe and secure. Good hygiene practices are encouraged through daily

p.2

How good is the Day Care?

routines. The ethos of healthy eating is well promoted within the setting and encouraged at home but children have in-sufficient opportunities to be independent

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 at snack times. Staff have a sound knowledge of children's individual needs and the languages they speak at home which ensures children are appropriately cared for. The children benefit from the range of activities provided and the well organised play environment. Children are happy, well settled and developing in confidence due to the consistent care and encouragement they receive from staff. Staff are successful in promoting good behaviour and respect for others. Staff have established good relationships with parents. Parents find staff to be friendly, supportive and approachable and they value daily verbal feedback about their child's day. However the arrangements to keep parents informed about activities and progress are limited.

p.2

What has improved since the last inspection?

At the time of the last inspection the setting were required to develop their behaviour management and child protection policy. Both policies have been successfully amended to meet current requirements. However managers and staff remain un-familiar with some aspects of the child protection procedures.

p.3

What is being done well?

• Children are happy, secure and well occupied in both free play and planned activities. Children have good relationships with staff due to the encouragement and praise they receive. • There is a wide range of good quality resources to support children's overall development. The equipment is made accessible to children so they can make decisions about what they want to do and the resources they wish to use. The setting has a good selection of books within the comfortable and well furnished reading area. • The programme of activities to raise children's awareness of culture and beliefs is well supported. The use of home languages within the setting encourages links with home and develops children's understanding of spoken English. • Children receive clear and consistent messages from staff which re-enforces their understanding of right and wrong so they understand what is expected of them. Children's ability to share, take turns and listen are developing

p.3

What needs to be improved?

• notification to Ofsted of significant changes • contingency arrangements to ensure a manager is present within the setting at all times • the communication and support systems between senior managers and staff

p.3

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 • opportunities for children to be independent at snack time • the lost child policy • staff's working knowledge of the settings policies and procedures.

p.3

inspection or 1st April 2004 whichever is later.)

There have been no complaints to report.

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

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

Std Action Date 1 Ensure Ofsted is immediately advised of significant changes within the provision. 30/03/2005

p.4

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

2 Develop the operational plan to ensure a child care manager or deputy are present at all times. Develop communication and support systems with senior management to ensure all staff members are well informed about all aspects of practice. 30/03/2005

p.4

by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 8 Review the organisation of snack times to provide children with more opportunities to develop their independance and self help skills. 14 Ensure all staff are made familiar with where documents are kept. Develop a suitable lost child policy which reflects the settings procedure and ensure this and the child protection policy is understood by staff.

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?

Sunshine playgroup provides acceptable nursery education although children's progress towards the early learning goals is limited by some significant weaknesses in the provision. Children's progress in personal, emotional and social development, knowledge and understanding of the world and physical development is generally good. Children's progress in communication, language and literacy, mathematics and creative development is significantly weak. There are significant weaknesses in the teaching. Children are well supported by caring staff who offer consistent praise and encouragement. Staff make good provision for children who speak English as an additional language. However the staff do not have a thorough knowledge of the foundation stage or the resources available to them, which prevents them from offering a well balanced curriculum across all six areas of learning. Staff lack confidence in questioning children to

p.5

How effective is the nursery education?

encourage learning. Sound planning structures are in place but these do not take account of children's assessments or next steps by building on what children already know. Activities are not consistently evaluated to address how children will be grouped and how the needs of less and more able children will be catered for. Systems to support children with special educational needs have improved but staff roles are un-clear. There are significant weaknesses in the leadership and management. Staff training is well supported and weekly planning meetings are attended by all staff. However there have been significant staff changes and communication systems between staff and senior management are poor. Progress with regard to key issues from the previous inspection is very limited. The are significant weaknesses in partnership with parents. Parents welcome the verbal feedback they receive about their child's day but they do not have access to

p.5

How effective is the nursery education?

good quality information about their child's progress or curriculum and their contributions are not sought.

p.5

What is being done well?

• Good relationships exist between staff and children. Staff consistently praise and encourage children which helps them to develop in confidence and become active and interested participants. Staff make good use of children's home languages alongside English which supports children's learning, creates links with home and helps them to settle. • Children are introduced to issues of health through meaningful discussion about healthy eating and by effective hygiene routines and practices which children indepandantly follow.

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 • The play and learning environment is well organised to ensure children can independently access to good range of quality resources. The reading area is comfortable,inviting and conatins many supporting aids such as puppets which encourgaes children to take an interest in books.

p.5

What needs to be improved?

• the staff's team knowledge of the foundation stage curriculum, questioning techniques and activity planning to ensure a balanced curriculum across the six areas of learning • the effective use of planning to ensure systems are informed by assessments of children's progress and reflect the needs of less or more able children • the partnership with parents to ensure they are well informed about the curriculum, activities and their children's' progress towards the early learning goals • the systems established by management to monitor the effectiveness and development of the educational provision

p.6

What has improved since the last inspection?

At the time of the last inspection the setting was required to address five key issues to ensure the successful development of the educational provision. The setting have made limited progress with regard to these issues. The first key issue required planning systems to be developed to ensure full coverage of the early learning goals, especially some aspects of creative development, communication, language and literacy and knowledge and understanding of the world. The programme to support children's knowledge and understanding of the world has improved. The programme within the other two areas remains weak as they reflect issues raised in the current inspection. The second key issue required children's achievement records to be used to plan for individual needs, taking into account their previous learning and parental contributions. Assessment records are not effectively evaluated or used to inform future plans and parents contributions are not sought.

p.6

What has improved since the last inspection?

The third key issue required staff to develop opportunities for children to mark make, particularly within imaginative play. Evidence from the current inspection shows that mark making is not encouraged in role play areas or imaginative play. The fourth key issue required children to have more opportunities to observe living things and express their thoughts and feelings through their creative play. The programme for knowledge and understanding of the world has been extended to provide children with opportunities to plant seeds and observe them grow and explore the local environment to explore insects and seasonal changes in nature. However there are still in-sufficient opportunities for children to express themselves creatively.

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 The fifth key issue required the setting to develop a special educational needs policy to ensure practice takes account the DfEE's relevant Code of Practice. This is now in place.

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.7

PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are happy and developing in confidence and they enjoy coming to playgroup. They have good relationships with staff whom they actively seek guidance and reassurance from and they willingly join in the full range of activities. They display an understanding of good behaviour as they learn to share, take turns and listen. Children consistently play and learn within the large group so they sometimes participate in actives which are not appropriately challenging.

p.8

COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children develop an understanding of print when collecting name cards and circle time encourages them to speak with confidence. The use of home languages promotes children's understanding of spoken English. However children are not encouraged to link sounds and letters or write their own name. They do not use mark making within imaginative activities such as role play or use the mark making area voluntarily. The organisation of storytime does not take account of differing developmental needs.

p.8

MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children learn about colour and number within many activities. They routinely count, link numbers to objects and sing number rhymes and they are frequently encouraged to name colours of objects in their environment. Children are developing their understanding of mathematical language when asked to identify size and shape and use terms such as bigger and smaller. Children rarely use their knowledge of number to solve problems and mathematical resources are under utilised.

p.8

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children explore living things in their natural environment and they plant seeds to observe growth. They display curiosity in objects which sink and float in the water and they are eager to experiment with magnifying glasses when presented with them for the first time. Children have less opportunities to develop an understanding of information, communication and technology or use their construction toys to develop their own ideas as they look for guidance from staff when creating models.

p.8

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.8

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children display a sense of space when steering bikes in order to avoid obstacles and when finding a space to sit in their circle. Children have access to a good range of tools and equipment during the course of their play to practice and refine their fine motor skills. They have daily opportunities to play outdoors where they can make larger movements but equipment is not rotated to provide children with sufficient opportunities to use climbing and balancing equipment.

p.9

CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children have daily access to a good range of media such as sand, water and paint. They use musical instruments and they regularly sing in English and their home languages. However they have in-sufficient opportunities to explore their senses and they rarely express their own creative ideas during imaginative and craft activities as they rely on prescriptive guidance from staff about how to complete a model or a picture so the finished product tends to be identical to other children's work.

p.9

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.9

OUTCOME OF THE INSPECTION

The provision is acceptable but has some significant areas for improvement. Children's progress towards the early learning goals is limited by some significant weaknesses. The next inspection will take place in one to two years time.

p.10

WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

• Develop the staff teams knowledge of the foundation stage curriculum and their skills in questioning children effectively to extend their learning. • Continue to develop the planning systems to ensure that all aspects of the six areas of learning are promoted over time to ensure a balanced curriculum. Develop the systems for assessing children's achievements and use these to plan the next steps in children's progress. • Ensure plans and activities take account of children's individual needs by providing constant evidence of how activities are organised and adapted to meet the needs of less and more able children. • Develop the partnership with parents to involve them more significantly in their child's learning by seeking parents contributions and observations and by providing them with more information about activities and children's progress. • Introduce a more rigorous system to monitor and evaluate the quality of the

p.10

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.10

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.10

STANDARD 1 - SUITABLE PERSON

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

p.11

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.11

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.11

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.11

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.11

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.11

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.11

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.11

STANDARD 9 - EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES

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

p.11

NEEDS AND DISABILITIES)

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

p.11

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.11

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.12

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.12

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.12

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.12

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.12