St James' Lanehead Church of England Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 12/01/2004 Inspector Name Chris Gregson

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Johnstone Road Pre-School Setting Address Methodist Church Hall The Broadway THORPE BAY Essex SS1 3HQ

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REGISTERED PROVIDER 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

Johnstone Road Pre-School opened in 1972. It operates from two rooms in a church hall, in Thorpe Bay. The pre-school serves the local area. There are currently forty-four children from two to under five years on roll. This includes twenty-eight funded three year olds and four funded four year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting 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 09:00 until 11:45. There are eleven part time staff work with the children. Over half the staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 2 or 3. There are two staff currently working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).

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How good is the Day Care?

Johnstone Road Pre-school provides satisfactory care for all children. Policies and procedures are in place and are shared with staff and parents to enable the pre-school to operate effectively, however, some need to be updated. A training plan is in place to update qualifications for staff. Children are provided with a range of resources and have the use of two rooms to allow flexibility. Provision of a book corner would further enhance children's enjoyment of books. The organisation of whole group sessions needs reviewing to enable all children to take part at their own developmental level. Children are provided with a safe environment and staff encourage them to develop good hygiene practices. Staff are aware of their child protection responsibilities. Effective records are in place to keep staff informed of children's health and welfare including any special dietary requirements or allergies.

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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 The staff provide a varied programme of activities which is appropriate to the children's age and stage of development. Staff observe and record children's progress, giving appropriate support to children with special needs. However, the policy does not currently reflect the very good practice of the staff who are skilled in this area. Staff have created a good partnership with parents. They are made very welcome at the pre-school. Staff communicate regularly with parents and keep them informed of their children's progress.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the provider agreed to improve various documents and procedures to protect children. An action plan is now in place for updating staff qualifications and the provision of a suitable range of activities. Hygiene procedures have been improved by providing paper towels and a wooden deck board in the toilet to prevent cross infection and encourage good hygiene practices for children. Policies and procedures are in place for first aid and recording medication administered to children. Staff are aware of their child protection responsibilities and the procedures for referring any concerns to the appropriate authorities. The action relating to equality is met by the provision of resources which are adequate. Staff are aware of the need to provide activities to encourage children to respect other cultures and religions.

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What is being done well?

• Staff are very warm, caring and supportive to young children. They work closely with families to help the children settle in the pre-school. • Good information is provided for parents about the routines in the pre-school. Staff are very friendly and approachable, and develop good relationships with parents. • Staff work very well together as a caring supportive team.

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What needs to be improved?

• organisation of whole group sessions to ensure that all children can participate at their own level • provision of an area where children can sit comfortably and enjoy looking at a variety of books • policies and procedures for special needs, behaviour management and making complaints to bring them in line with Ofsted's requirements.

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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 2 Consider the organisation of whole group activities so that all children can participate at their own level. 5 Provide a suitable area where children can sit comfortably and look at a variety of age appropriate books. 14 Review and update policies and procedures to bring them in line with Ofsted's requirements. (This refers to special needs, behaviour and the complaints procedure)

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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 of nursery education at Johnstone Road Pre-school is good. It enables children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals in all six areas of learning. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff interact with the children and ask appropriate questions to make them think. They use lots of praise to encourage good behaviour. Staff make observations which are used in children's progress records. This system is currently being developed to correspond with the school assessment system. Plans give clear learning intentions and link activities to the six areas of learning and the stepping stones. The leadership and management of the pre-school is generally good. Staff work very well together as a team and have regular staff meetings. The ethos of the pre-school is to provide a caring environment in which children grow and develop. Staff have annual appraisals, however, the ability to monitor the overall provision is limited.

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How effective is the nursery education?

Partnership with parents is very good and their views are valued. Staff are friendly and they communicate daily with parents concerning their children's progress. The prospectus gives information about the Foundation Stage. Parents are involved with their children's learning and they help by providing story sacks for the children to use at the pre-school. Staff suggest activities for parents to work on at home and they are encouraged to bring in pets for topic work.

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What is being done well?

• Children have regular music and movement sessions that are lively,interesting and fun. They enjoy using their imagination and experiences by moving to music. • Children are able to enjoy games and use resources to supplement their learning. • Children use reference books to get information for topic work, for example they look at books to learn about baby animals during a small world activity with animals, encouraging them to know the value of books to find out new information.

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What needs to be improved?

• some aspects of the programme for communication, language and literacy; to help children understand that print carries meaning and make them aware that books can give them ideas for imaginative play. Also, opportunities for children to experience writing for different purposes.

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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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What has improved since the last inspection?

Generally good progress has been made in implementing the action plan drawn up to address the four key issues identified at the previous inspection resulting in some improvements being made to the educational programme. Plans now show the learning intention linked to the early learning goals and staff can talk about how and what the children are intended to learn, showing their knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals. Staff have good interaction with the children to enable them to be challenged and encouraged to think during activities. Information has been provided for parents and the planning and assessment documents are currently being worked on with help from the Southend Early Years Development Partnership. The policy for special educational needs is in place but needs updating in line with recent legislation and good practice within the group.

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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 and form good relationships with adults and other children. They concentrate well and are eager to try new activities. There is great excitement during a whole group collage activity and musical games. They are becoming independent and willingly help to give out milk and biscuits at snack times. They are gaining a sense of the community by talking about their home experiences.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are confident speakers and enjoy using rhyming words. They talk about imaginary situations when in the home corner or playing with the farm. They hold books correctly, however they do not always understand that print carries meaning, or that stories can be used in imaginative play. Some children write their names, but there are limited opportunities provided for them to write for a purpose.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children count up to 10 and beyond and recognise numbers through board games designed by staff. Children learn to add and take away shells and fish at circle time, however, opportunities for simple calculation and problem solving in practical everyday activities are limited. They use mathematical language when describing and sorting by size, shape and colour. They match and recreate patterns, and they discuss empty and full when playing with water.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children use magnifying glasses to look closely at the goldfish. They confidently talk about the farm, the buildings and where the animals live. Children grow flowers in the garden in Summer. They construct using recycled materials and use push button cash registers and phones. Children talk about their homes, families and visits and have a sense of past and present. Activities are provided for children to learn about and experience other cultures and beliefs.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children move confidently through daily movement sessions including balancing on beams, parachute games, going through tunnels, dancing and moving to piano music. Children are aware of their own space through action songs and circle time. They talk about healthy lifestyles through discussions of food and sleep. They use simple tools to develop fine motor control and hand eye co-ordination.

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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: Generally Good Children use paint and various collage materials to learn about colours and textures when make a seaside collage. Staff provide dressing up clothes and props for children to develop their imaginative play, as well as small world figures. Children enjoy using their imagination in the 'toy shop' music game. They use their senses and express their feelings through topic related activities.

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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

• Develop some aspects of the programme for communication, language and literacy to provide more opportunities for children to learn that print carries meaning and that stories can be used to initiate ideas in imaginative play. Also provide opportunities for them to experience writing for different purposes.

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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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