Rainbow Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 25/11/2003 Inspector Name Lisa Jane Faulkner

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Rainbow Pre school Setting Address GT & LT Shelford Cofe Pre-School Church Street, Great Shelford Cambridge Cambridgeshire CB2 5EL

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Rainbow Pre-School 1036946

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Rainbow Pre-School Address GT & LT Shelford Cofe Pre-School Church Street, Great Shelford Cambridge Cambridgeshire CB2 5EL

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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

Rainbow Pre-school opened in 1983, and now operates from its own mobile classroom at the rear of Great and Little Shelford School, in the village of Great Shelford, just outside Cambridge. The pre-school serves the local area, and is run by a voluntary committee. There are currently 41 children aged between 2 and 5 years on roll. This includes 18 funded three and four-year-olds. Children can start at the pre-school from two and a half years of age, and can attend a variety of sessions. The pre-school currently supports a number of children with special needs, and who speak English as an additional language. The group opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 9:00 until 11:30, and 12:30 until 15:00. The pre-school is not open on Thursday afternoons. Seven staff work with the children, mostly on a part-time basis. Over half the staff have early years qualifications to level 2 or 3. Three staff are working towards further

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Information about the setting

qualifications. The pre-school receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).

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How good is the Day Care?

Rainbow pre-school provides good quality care for children. Staff are committed to attending ongoing training in order to provide continual improvement in their provision. They provide a well-organised environment where children are highly independent in their choice of activities and resources. However, due to the nature of the building, access and facilities for people with physical disabilities are limited. Good attention is paid to children's safety, and their health and hygiene needs are promoted well. The pre-school provides a good range of stimulating activities and resources, and children are involved, interested and autonomous in their play. Staff make good use

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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 of ongoing observations to plan for the next steps for children's play and learning, which means that children's individual needs are very well met. All staff have a good understanding of behaviour management strategies; they are calm and consistent with the children, and children behave well. The pre-school works in very close partnership with parents in order to help children to feel secure, and to provide a consistent approach to their learning. All appropriate documentation is in place, although some minor revisions are needed.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection, the pre-school agreed to improve the registration system, update the policies for children who are ill and for behaviour management, to further provide for children's privacy in the toilets, and to comply with any recommendations made by the fire officer. The registration system now indicates the time of arrival and departure of children and staff. The policies have been updated so that they are now consistent with requirements. The fire officer visited the premises and the recommendations made were complied with in order to provide a safe environment for the children. Children's privacy has been improved by the addition of sliding doors to the toilets.

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What is being done well?

• The pre-school provides a well-organised environment, which enables children to be highly independent and to make decisions about their choice of acitivites and resources. Children are therefore involved and interested in their play and learning. • Staff provide a wide range of good quality resources for children to choose from, to support their learning in all areas. • Staff make good use of ongoing observations and assessments which enable them to meet each child's individual developmental and learning needs. • Staff manage children's behaviour very well; they are calm and consistent with the children, and plan activities to help children to share, take turns, and work together co-operatively. • The pre-school works in very close partnership with parents; there are good procedures to keep parents informed about the provision and their children, and parents are highly involved in the running of the group. This helps

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What is being done well?

children to feel secure, and to provide a consistent approach to their learning.

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What needs to be improved?

• documentation, regarding the operational plan, the special educational needs (SEN) policy, and minor aspects of the child protection procedure and accident recording.

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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

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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 10 Revise and update the special needs policy. 2 Develop an operational plan.

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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 Rainbow Pre-school enables children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals. Teaching is generally good. Staff have a sound knowledge of the foundation stage curriculum, but do not always use this knowledge to fully extend the learning opportunities that they offer. They plan for a broad range of good quality and stimulating activities which are linked to the early learning goals, however, the long-term plans do not yet fully indicate whether all early learning goals are planned for. Staff make effective use of time and resources to enable children to be self-sufficient and independent in their learning. A very good assessment system is in place. This is used well to inform planning in order to ensure that each individual child's learning needs are identified and met. This also ensures that children with special educational needs receive appropriate

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How effective is the nursery education?

support. Leadership and management is generally good. The manager is relatively new to the post and has not yet implemented all that she intends, but she and the management committee are committed to identifying and addressing improvements that could be made to provision and practice at the group. The partnership with parents is very good. Comprehensive assessment records keep parents well informed about their child's progress. They have regular formal opportunities to share what they know about their child's learning at home, and the pre-school provides good opportunities for parents to be involved in their child's learning.

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What is being done well?

• Children are confident and independent learners; staff plan the environment and routine well in order to enable children to take initiative in selecting resources, and children approach adults confidently for support with their learning. • Children's knowledge and understanding of the world is progressing very well. They are developing a good knowledge of their environment and about the world they live in. • The pre-school completes regular observations and excellent assessment records, which are used well to plan for the next steps for children's learning. • Staff provide good group story times, using a range of props such as puppets or story boards, which children clearly enjoy. As a result, children are skilled at making up their own stories in role play and with puppets and small world figures.

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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 breadth of planning, to fully encompass all areas of learning and the early learning goals within them, particularly with regard to mathematics • staff's knowledge of the learning intentions at some activities.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The pre-school has made very good progress since the last inspection. Children now have lots of opportunities, through planned activities and as part of the daily routine, to learn to recognise letters of the alphabet and their associated sounds. Children are learning to recognise the letters and the sounds in their names and other familiar words.

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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 confident in their interactions with staff and with each other, and they are able to express their needs and feelings well. They are learning to work as part of a group, taking turns and sharing fairly, through a good range of planned opportunities. Children are highly independent in their choice of resources and activities, and are therefore interested and motivated in their learning.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are provided with good opportunities for mark-making, and they are beginning to write recognisable letters, and to attempt writing for a variety of purposes, for example, in the role play area. They listen with enjoyment and attention at group story times, and are good at making up their own stories in all sorts of play situations. Children listen and speak confidently at circle time. Although they enjoy using the book corner informally, there are less planned opportunities for this.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children use numbers well, and they enjoy counting during snack time and at other times in the daily routine. They have lots of good opportunities to sort and compare, and their mathematical language is developing well, for example, when building with blocks. However, some aspects of maths are insufficiently planned for, which results in children making relatively slow progress in some areas.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children have lots of good opportunities to explore and investigate living things, and they enjoy looking closely at similarities, differences and change, for example, when growing vegetables in the garden. Well planned topics have helped them to develop a good knowledge about where they live and familiar places, as well as a respect for other cultures. Children are very proficient at using the computer.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are learning to use tools, objects, construction and malleable materials with increasing control, and they are skilled at choosing the right tool or material for their art and design work. They are developing good health awareness through everyday and planned activities. There are insufficient planned opportunities for children to develop skills in co-ordination and movement.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

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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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children enjoy exploring a wide range of media and materials, and the use of their imagination in their creations is encouraged through being able to choose their own materials. They also use their imagination well in a wide range of role play situations, and with puppets and small world figures. They enjoy exploring the sounds made by musical instruments, with good support from staff.

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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

• revise the planning to • (i) ensure that the long-term plans are linked to the early learning goals to make sure that all areas of learning are covered sufficiently, and to • (ii) ensure that the short-term plans identify what children should be learning from the activities provided.

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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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