Beaches Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 21/01/2005 Inspector Name Susan Catherine McGarry

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Beaches Pre-school Setting Address c/o Westlands School Beeches Close Chelmsford Essex CM1 2SB

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Beaches Pre-school Committee

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Beaches Pre-school Committee Address c/o Westlands School Beeches Close Chelmsford Essex CM1 2SB

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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

Beaches Pre-School is a committee run pre-school. It opened in its current premises in 2003 and operates from classrooms within Westlands Community Primary School on Westlands Estate, Chelmsford. A maximum of 40 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. The pre-school is open each weekday from 09:00 to 11:30 during term times. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 48 children from 2 to under 5 years on roll. Of these, 36 children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from the local area. The pre-school currently supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school employs six staff. Five of the staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. Two staff are working towards a qualification.

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How good is the Day Care?

Beaches Pre-School provides good care for children. The staff team work very effectively together. The rooms are highly organised with full use made of the space and resources available. There is access to an outdoor play area. Each room is well equipped and there are good opportunities for display. Most of the staff hold childcare qualifications or are working towards them. There is an appraisal system in place identifying further training needs and a training plan has been produced. Policies and procedures are provided in a well organised operational plan. Records are stored securely and confidentiality is observed. Clear levels of safety and security are identified in the policies and procedures. Staff are very aware of these. This ensures that children play safely. The policy for child protection along with arrangements to share procedures for child protection with parents requires updating. Individual children's needs are identified and met. Healthy

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How good is the Day Care?

snacks are provided during the sessions and dietary requirements are recorded and

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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 acknowledged. There is a procedure in place to support children with special needs. A broad range of activities are provided to encourage children's development in all areas. Access to other areas within the school building for staff to use with the children is available. There are very good levels of interaction taking place between adults and children. They are given praise and encouragement and their behaviour is valued and managed well. Children come together as a group for set times during the session for example at snack times, registration, story time and PE. At other times, children are able to explore and make their own decisions about their play. The parents are provided with good quality information about the pre-school and

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How good is the Day Care?

have daily contact with the staff. Children's progress and development is recorded, shared with parents and partnership is valued. Good links are established with children's key workers.

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What is being done well?

• Children are provided with a broad range of activities and play experiences with full use made of the classrooms. This includes space for children to access role play equipment on a large scale and a good range of messy play activities at any one time. • There are good levels of resources available in both rooms. This involves IT equipment including computers and access to the school hall for PE sessions both of which are provided on a regular basis. • Partnership with parents is well established with close links with key workers. Information is shared with parents through the displays provided and the sharing of a "policy of the week". Good quality informative newsletters are sent out to parents. • There is a high level of commitment to staff training.

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What needs to be improved?

• the policy for child protection and the arrangements to share procedures with parents • further consideration of the needs of very young children.

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inspection or 1st April 2004 whichever is later.)

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 3 Review the provision made for very young children to ensure that it is fully meeting their individual needs. 13 Review and update the child protection policy and the arrangements to share child protection procedures with parents.

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by the time of the next inspection

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

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How effective is the nursery education?

The provision for nursery education at Beaches Pre-School is of high quality. It enables children to make very good progress in all areas of learning. The quality of teaching is very good. There are very good relationships established between children and staff. Staff use their knowledge of the Foundation Stage effectively to support and supplement the learning taking place. Good use is made of time and resources however, the outside play area is currently being upgraded and is not yet being used to its fullest potential. Topics are planned by the staff team which are linked to the six areas of learning with short term plans including the differentiation required for individual children and assessment opportunities for staff to follow. There is little written evaluation included at the present time. Children's progress is recorded by their key workers through shared observations. It is linked to the stepping stones and forms the basis for the next step of learning to

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How effective is the nursery education?

be identified for both 3 and 4-year-old children and the appropriate level of challenge to be offered. Leadership and management is very good. The staff work closely together to support each other and are allocated areas of responsibility. They are either updating their qualifications or in the process of accessing other forms of training. The committee is very supportive. The pre-school has a good relationship with the school through the contact established with the Early Years Unit and with access to their facilities. Links are in place with support groups. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are well informed with good quality written information. Staff discuss children's progress and development through daily contact and parent's evenings are being re-introduced. Staff work hard to encourage parents to become involved in their children's learning through the sharing of book bags and items of interest brought in from home linked to the letter and colour of the

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What is being done well?

• The use of ICT to support children's learning is very good. They have daily access to computers based in one of the classrooms and are learning to operate them independently. Additional access to ICT through tape recorders and programmable toys is provided. • The methods used by the staff with 3 and 4-year-old children provides them with time to focus, explore and self-select from very appropriate practical based activities that are presented to them. Children are becoming independent, motivated and confident learners. • The accommodation and resources are used very effectively to support

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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 children's learning. There is daily access to the school hall for PE sessions. There are good links with the Early Years Unit teacher and the resources they have to offer to further support the children's learning. • Children are learning to link sounds with letters on a regular basis. They have a good awareness of rhythm and rhyme and enjoy exploring them.

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What needs to be improved?

• the evaluation process used to monitor the quality of nursery education including the use of the outdoor play area.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Very good progress has been made with regard to the four key issues identified at the last inspection. The training needs of the staff which included the deputy and SEN co-ordinator have been identified. Both deputies completed their DPP qualifications in 2004. They have been able to apply their knowledge and skills, along with the supervisor, who already holds a level 3 qualification (NNEB) and is currently upgrading her qualification. The planning and assessment system has been reviewed. The six areas of learning are all included and parents can now see the progress their children are making towards the early learning goals within each area. The latest planning and assessment system has addressed all the issues and parents are becoming more informed. Parent's evenings are due to be re-introduced so that key workers can share information with parents about their children's progress and development.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Children are now making very good progress in all the areas of learning. More opportunities for using problem-solving skills and the use of mathematical language in practical situations within maths are being provided. These are included through the everyday routines such as snack times and the daily on-going provision within the setting. Resources used include counting games and opportunities to count or use number when playing with sand, water and play dough and through construction activities. There are more opportunities for children to record first hand experiences and the setting has implemented their plans to use technology to support children's learning. Tape recorders are used for children to record their thoughts and musical activities and there are three computers available within one of the classrooms. These are switched on each session for the children to operate independently or with support

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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 excited, interested and eager to learn. They have time and space to focus on activities and experiences. They select from a very good range of resources and work with confidence both independently and in group situations. Children are secure and have good self-esteem resulting in effective relationships with adults and each other. They are learning to co-operate and work together well. Children are developing a strong sense of community through their links with the school.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children's communication skills are developing very well. They engage in extended role play sequences where they express their ideas and feelings with each other and with adults. Children are learning to name and link sounds and letters through sound of the week and recognise their names. They enjoy listening to stories, joining in with singing and regularly take home books to share with parents. They are able to explore writing materials, record their observations or put captions to pictures.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children use numbers regularly in their play and everyday routines. They play games using number and recognise numerals and digits through the displays, looking at books and other means of labelling. They are given opportunities to compare groups of objects on a regular basis. Children are exploring their understanding of shape, space and measures through a wide range of practical activities such as building with shapes, using remote control toys and in their role play opportunities.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children are given many opportunities to use a variety of tools and materials to build and construct with. Children are gaining a clear sense of time, place and some awareness of the cultures and beliefs of others. There is a strong emphasis placed on children having opportunities to independently access everyday technology including computers. They use their senses to investigate and explore objects, living things and materials when they visit the school grounds or go on trips.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

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

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children practice their skills of moving and using large and small equipment on a daily basis. They run and move confidently during games and activities, showing an awareness of space both for themselves and others when they use the parachute or when they take part in obstacle courses. Children can handle tools, objects and malleable materials regularly within a large area which accommodates messy play using sand, water, play dough, art and craft activities including junk modelling.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children explore media and materials. They have access to easels where they can paint pictures independently. They use glue and collage materials to create their own designs and produce pictures using the computer. Children enjoy musical activity, learn songs and record themselves on tape. Imaginative play is encouraged through a well resourced home corner, shop, with puppets and small world resources used in their floor play. Children are using their senses to explore the world around them.

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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 high quality. Children are making very 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

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • There are no key issues identified from this inspection. A point for consideration is • implement a system to monitor and evaluate the quality of nursery education and continue to extend the planning process to include use of the outdoor play area.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

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

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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