Twincle Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 17/01/2005 Inspector Name Jane Shaw

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Twincle Pre-School Setting Address Church of England Primary School Wincle Macclesfield SK11 0QH

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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

Twincle Pre-school first opened in 1996. The pre-school is organised and managed by a committee of parents, carers and local people. The pre-school operates from a mobile classroom within the grounds of Wincle Church of England Primary School, Wincle, Cheshire. A maximum of 12 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. The pre-school is open each weekday from 09.15 to 15.00 term time only. All children share access to a secure, enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 13 children aged from 2 to under 5 years on roll. Of these, ten children receive funding for nursery education. Children who attend are mainly from the local village community and surrounding areas. The pre-school employs three staff. Two of the staff, including the person in charge hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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Information about the setting

As the pre-school is in receipt of funded nursery education they have access to a Foundation Stage teacher and other advisory staff from Sure Start Cheshire. The pre-school is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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How good is the Day Care?

Twincle pre-school is provides satisfactory care. Staff have access to one main room where they offer the children a range of activities and experiences. Themes and activities are supported by a good range of toys, equipment and other resources. Children have access to the school playground and adventure playground equipment for outdoor play. All required records are in place, however, staff, visitors and children's attendance is not recorded daily. Policies in relation to sick and uncollected children, complaints and child protection were either not available or require amending.

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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 Staff are vigilant about children's personal safety, using appropriate precautions where necessary. Staff give good guidance and support keeping children safe whilst promoting the development of large physical skills and risk taking within the outdoor play space. Children are encouraged to be independent in personal tasks and to have good hygiene practices. The undertaking of regular risk assessments, addressing of Fire Officer recommendations and access to up to date public liability insurance require attention. Staff plan activities in line with the Foundation Stage. Plans show that the children will be offered a good range of interesting activities and opportunities. However at times children are not actively engaged in activities, display challenging behaviour

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How good is the Day Care?

and become distracted and disruptive. Staff are working hard to address these issues by developing behaviour management strategies and by experimenting with different groupings of children and the layout of the room and provision of activities. Partnership with parents and carers is satisfactory, they speak positively about the care and the friendly atmosphere but would like further information on activities. Parents and carers give staff relevant information on their children to enable them to offer appropriate care. Parents and carers are encouraged to be involved with the group through a daily rota.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The registered providers were asked to address four actions following the last inspection. These related to the formulation of an operational plan, staffing, safety and records. The registered providers were asked to formulate an operational plan in line with the National Standards and guidance. Some aspects of this plan in terms of the formulating and amending of various policies and procedures require further attention. The group were asked to keep appropriate information on staff employed within the pre-school. This action has been addressed. The registered providers were also asked to conduct risk assessments on the premises and areas used by the pre-school children. Risk assessments were conducted in 2002 and 2003, such checks should be undertaken on a regular basis. The final action asked the group to implement an incident recording system. The group have devised an appropriate system to record any significant incidents.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Although no entries have been made, staff are clear about the need to record any such incidents and keep parents and carers informed regarding these.

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What is being done well?

• Children are offered healthy mid-morning and afternoon snacks. Drinks are offered and they also have a cooked midday meal which they have in the main school. Lunchtimes enable the children to visit the main school building

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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 and become familiar with staff, children and the general school routine. • The pre-school have good links with the adjoining school to which most of the children will go. The pre-school have good support from the head and her teaching staff. • Staff are spontaneous in their interaction and communication with children, discussing, explaining and answering children's questions appropriately. • Plans show the provision of interesting activities and experiences.

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What needs to be improved?

• the procedures for recording staff, visitors and children's attendance and the recording of accidents • safety in relation to the conducting of regular risk assessments, the provision of up to date public liability insurance and the addressing of recommendations made by the visiting Fire Officer • the provision or amending of policies in relation to uncollected and sick children, behaviour management, complaints and child protection.

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inspection or 1st April 2004 whichever is later.)

There are no complaints to report from 1st April 2004.

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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 6 conduct risk assessments on the premises on a regular basis identifying

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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 action(s) to be taken to minimize identified risks. 6 ensure an up to date public liability insurance certificate is available at all times. 6 meet the recommendations made by the Fire Safety Officer following the recent visit. 7 devise and implement a sick child policy which includes information about the exclusion of children who are ill or infectious and the procedure to be followed in the event of a child becoming ill whilst being cared for. This policy should be shared with parents and carers. 11 formulate a behaviour management policy which should include appropriate strategies to be used, reference to bullying and include the name of the staff member who is responsible for behaviour management issues. 2 ensure that actual times of arrival and departure for all staff, visitors and

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by the time of the next inspection

children is recorded on a daily basis. 14 formulate a policy to show the procedure to be followed in the event of a child being uncollected from pre-school. 14 amend the complaints policy to include contact details for Ofsted as the regulator. 14 ensure that the child protection policy complies with local Area Child Protection Committee (ACPC) procedures, includes information on the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff or volunteer, the name of the designated member of staff responsible for child protection issues and contact details for the local police and child protection services.

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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 funded nursery education at Twincle Pre-school is acceptable and of good quality overall. Children make very good progress towards the Early Learning Goals in physical development, generally good progress in knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development, the programmes for personal, social and emotional development, communication, language and literacy and mathematical development have some significant weaknesses. The quality of teaching is generally good overall. Staff have an understanding of the Early Learning Goals and how children learn. They plan interesting activities which cover all six areas of learning and make observations about children's progress. However, children are often distracted and the flow of sessions is disrupted by the behaviour of some of the younger children which takes staff away from teaching and supporting children in their activities. It is acknowledged that staff are making

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How effective is the nursery education?

progress in this area and beginning to adapt activities, the environment and structure of the session to deal with these issues. The continuation of this process is a key issue following this inspection. The person in charge has started to develop plans which will involve the children in interesting activities, these need to be evaluated and used with records of children's progress to plan future activities. Leadership and management of the setting is generally good, staff are committed to the on-going improvement and development of the provision and are actively seeking support from the committee and staff from the adjoining school. Partnership with parents and carers is generally good, they speak positively about what the setting has to offer their children. Information is shared with parents and carers on an informal verbal basis. Information for parents and carers on the Foundation Stage, Early Learning Goals, what their children are expected to learn,

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How effective is the nursery education?

current and future activities is not currently available.

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What is being done well?

• The person in charge is developing planning which will involve the children in a range of interesting and stimulating activities and opportunities. Activities are organised around appropriate themes. • Good opportunities are provided for children to develop their physical skills through the use of both large and small tools and equipment. Children skilfully use the outdoor play area and equipment which enables them to develop their skills of climbing and balancing, along with controlling their speed and movement as they run and walk down the ramp in the school playground. • Staff provide good opportunities within the programme for knowledge and understanding of the world for the children to be involved in making

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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 observations and experimenting. They look at the effect of the different types of weather they may experience.

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What needs to be improved?

• the organisation and structure of daily sessions to ensure that the children are engaged in purposeful activities and appropriate challenges to extend their learning and behaviour. The consideration of opportunities for funded children to undertake activities separate from the much younger children to help with their concentration, communication and overall progress within personal, social and emotional development, communication language and literacy, mathematical development, knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development • the continued development of the planning system to show what the children are expected to learn from the activities provided. These plans should be evaluated to ensure that they are meeting the needs of all children and used with observations of children's progress to plan future activities and identify any gaps in the children's learning • the provision of information for parents and carers on what the setting has to

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What needs to be improved?

offer their children in terms of nursery education, the Early Learning Goals and access to plans and information on activities to enable them to participate in their child's learning

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The pre-school have made generally good progress towards the key issue raised following the last inspection in 2001. The setting were asked to continue the development of a good quality, well balanced and well resourced curriculum. Since this inspection there have been some changes in staffing. The current person in charge has been in post since September 2004 and is in the process of formulating planning in line with the Foundation Stage. Plans available show that the children will be offered a good range of activities and opportunities which will enable them to work towards the Early Learning Goals. The group also remain well resourced. However, at the present time some aspects of the children's behaviour creates weakness in the structure of sessions and does not allow for the children to be fully engaged in purposeful activities. This will be made a key issue following this inspection.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998

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PERSONAL, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Most children arrive at pre-school happy and settled, joining in with activities. Children show excitement as they look at what happens to ice when salt is sprinkled on it. Older children are developing good skills of independence and are able to put on and take off outdoor clothes and deal with personal tasks with competence. Younger children are often disruptive and as a result older children are distracted and not always actively engaged in activities.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Some of the older children show confidence when speaking in front of others within small groups. They are beginning to use good language for thinking and communicating as they talk about going on holiday and as they describe what happens when salt is added to ice. Children describe their weather pictures to which staff add text. Younger children are often disruptive causing others to be distracted, as a result opportunities to develop listening, concentration and communication skills are lost.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Significant Weaknesses Children are able to count from one to five and beyond as they count the number of children present, they are also able to identify the written number from number cards. Friezes and charts around the room allow children access to numbers and shapes. Older children are often distracted throughout the session by the younger children, as a result opportunities for children to develop their skills in simple calculations, mathematical concepts and positional language are lost.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good The children are presented with good opportunities to begin to develop their thinking, experimenting and predicting through planned activities. They look at what happens to ice when salt is added and what is left when the ice melts. They make kites and watch what happens when they take them outside in the wind, they blow bubbles outside. Opportunities to talk about past, present and future events and their families are lost as children are not able to concentrate.

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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 A range of equipment gives the children the opportunity to practise their skills of climbing and balancing, travelling under, through and over as they use adventure type equipment within the school grounds. They are able to climb steps, control their speed and stop as they run and walk down the ramp in the playground. They are developing good manipulative skills as they use a range of small tools and equipment using scissors, pencils, folding paper and cutting shapes in this to make snowflakes.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Displays and activities show children use a variety of textures and techniques in art and craft work. They are able to describe the feeling and texture of the sand when water is added. Staff play music to the children whilst they tidy up, plans show that the children will be involved in music and movement using their imagination to represent different types of weather. Older children are beginning to develop their imagination when using the role play area but are distracted by younger children.

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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

• consider the re-organisation, structure of daily sessions and involvement of all staff to ensure that the children are engaged in purposeful activities and appropriate challenges to extend their learning and behaviour. Consider the provision of opportunities for funded children to undertake activities separate from the much younger children to help with their concentration, communication and overall progress within personal, social and emotional development, communication language and literacy, mathematical development, knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development • continue with the development of the planning system to show what the children are expected to learn from the activities provided. These plans should be evaluated to ensure that they are meeting the needs of all children and used with observations of children's progress to plan future activities and identify any gaps in the children's learning

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT: THE KEY ISSUES

• provide written information for parents and carers on the Early Learning Goals and what their children are expected to learn. Provide information on plans and activities to enable parents and carers to participate in their child's learning.

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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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