Kingsmead Pre SchoolOfsted inspection, 21 Feb 2005

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 21/02/2005 Inspector Name Julie Washer

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name Kingsmead Pre School Setting Address Stanstead Road Hertford Hertfordshire SG13 7HQ

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Kingsmead Pre School Committee 1059882

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Kingsmead Pre School Committee Address Stanstead Road Hertford Hertfordshire SG13 7HQ

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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

Kingsmead Pre-school is a registered charity and is run by a committee. It opened in 1991 and operates from two rooms in a single storey building within the grounds of Wheatcroft School. A maximum of 26 children may attend the pre-school 4 days a week from 09.00 to 11.30, Monday to Thursday. A lunch club operates from 11.30 to 13.15 for pre-school and nursery children from Wheatcroft School. All children share access to an outdoor play area. There are currently thirty six children aged from two to under five years on roll. Of these seventeen children receive funding for nursery education. Children attend from the local area. The pre-school welcomes children with special educational needs and who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs six staff. Four of the staff, including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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How good is the Day Care?

Kingsmead Pre-school provides good care for children. Staff provide a warm and welcoming environment in which children can play, learn and feel secure. Staff are well deployed within the setting to ensure children are well cared for. There is a good range of suitable toys and play materials to provide stimulating play opportunities for the children. All the required documentation is in place although one policy requires some amendments. Staff have a good awareness of health and safety issues and are vigilant about this at all times. Safety procedures are in place and staff act in the children's best interest if they are ill. Most staff have attended first aid courses. Children are provided with a range of healthy and nutritious snacks, which include vegetables and fruit. Staff are able to offer appropriate care and support. All children are included in activities and valued for what they can achieve. There are systems in place for

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How good is the Day Care?

children requiring additional support. Staff have an understanding of child protection issues and are currently obtaining information about courses to support and extend

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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 their knowledge. The children benefit from a broad range of activities, which enables them to make good progress in all areas of their development. Children are valued, respected and listened to by staff, they spend their time playing with the children and encouraging them to think as they extend their learning. Children understand routines and have developed effective relationships with the adults in the group. Their behaviour is good in response to realistic expectations from staff. Partnership with parents is good. They are welcomed by the friendly and approachable staff team and receive frequent information about the setting by way of the prospectus, newsletters and notice boards. Parents are able to discuss their

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How good is the Day Care?

child's care and progress at the pre-school daily and would like the opportunity to attend more parent consultations.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the setting agreed to conduct a risk assessment, make sure the premises outside are secure and safe, obtain written permission from parents to the seeking of any necessary emergency medical advice or treatment, obtain a copy of the Code of Practice for SEN and ensure a written complaints procedure is in place which includes the address and telephone number of the regulator. A risk assessment is in place, staff are vigilant at all times whilst children are playing outside and a fence has been erected. Permission from parents relating to emergency medical advice or treatment has been obtained, the setting has a copy of the Code of Practice for SEN and an appropriate written complaints procedure is in place.

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What is being done well?

• Children are provided with an interesting and stimulating range of activities which help them make progress in all areas of their development. Staff build very good relationships with the children. They are involved and interested in what children do and say. Staff ask questions to make them think, extending their learning. • Staff display the children's creative work effectively through bright and attractive wall displays that give high regard for the children's efforts. Displays are clearly labelled. • Children behave well. Staff give lots of praise and encouragement throughout the session, encouraging children's self esteem, confidence and security whilst at the nursery. • The pre-school provides a very warm and welcoming environment to children and their parents. It is bright, cheerful and well maintained.

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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 • up to date knowledge and understanding of child protection issues • the policy for child protection.

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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 13 Provide training opportunities for the designated member of staff to ensure her knowledge and understanding of child protection issues is kept up to date. 13 Develop the child protection policy.

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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 Kingsmead Pre-school is good. It enables children to make generally good progress towards the early learning goals in all areas of learning. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff provide a stimulating learning environment for the children and topics are exciting and well thought out. They have an awareness of the Foundation Stage, however, there are some missed opportunities to effectively challenge the children. Staff are currently reviewing the planning system and are working hard to ensure the children's assessment records and short term plans link more closely to the stepping stones and early learning goals. Staff form good relationships with children so that they feel secure, confident and eager to learn. Behaviour is good. Praise and encouragement are freely used. Leadership and management is generally good. The enthusiastic nursery team work well together and are aware of their roles and responsibilities. Staff attend regular

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How effective is the nursery education?

team meetings and a six month appraisal system is in place. The staff are committed to providing good quality care and education for all children and are keen to develop their knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage. Partnership with parents is generally good. Parents are encouraged to contribute to the nursery in any way they can, including being part of the committee and coming into sessions to help. Good quality information is available for parents about the setting. However, the leader is aware of the need to provide more information in relation to the Foundation Stage. Positive comments were received both verbally and in the written questionnaires.

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What is being done well?

• Topics are well thought out to offer stimulating and exciting learning for children, for example, children learn about various different countries such as Holland, they create 3 dimensional windmills and sing songs about Amsterdam; they make pizzas and use pasta in different forms to learn about textures as they discover Italy. • Children are provided with good opportunities to learn about different cultures and beliefs of others as they taste prawn crackers, create fans, lanterns and a dragon to celebrate Chinese New Year. They make flags to represent the countries of the United Kingdom and look at different emblems such as the thistle for Scotland and the Welsh dragon. • Children have good physical skills and move with care and control. They have opportunities to use a selection of large and small equipment which helps to develop their muscles. They use different parts of their bodies as they pretend to be slithering snakes, snap like crocodiles and roar like

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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 monsters. • Children are confident when talking about their home lives and past experiences, they enjoy bringing items in from home and sharing their news.

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What needs to be improved?

• the planning and assessment systems • staff's knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage • opportunities for children to develop their understanding of simple addition and subtraction and to practise their mark making skills independently.

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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 happy, involved and interested in their play. They relate well to each other and staff and are confident to talk to visitors. They are able to share, take turns and behave well. Children are developing some personal independence skills however, the organisation of some resources does not allow children to operate independently and some opportunities are missed during snack times. Children are introduced to the local community through visitors to the nursery.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children listen and respond well to instructions, stories and information. Children enjoy looking at books independently and listening to stories as part of a large group. Some children are able to recognise their names as they select their name cards on arrival and for snack time. More able children are able to write some recognisable letters of their name. However, there are some missed opportunities for children to practise their mark making skills independently.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children practise their counting skills as they count to 21 to identify the date at group time and during cookery activities as they count spoonfuls of ingredients when making pizzas. They enjoy singing number rhymes and songs. However, there is limited evidence of children practising their simple addition and subtraction through everyday routines and planned activities. Children use language to describe shape as they use squares, circles and triangles to create pictures and patterns.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children learn about living things as they plant and watch beans and sunflower seeds grow. They learn about a sense of place as they talk about animals and where they live. Children enjoy talking about past and present events, sharing their news in group discussion. They develop an understanding of different cultures as they celebrate festivals and through their topic work of 'around the world', they learn about other countries. The opportunity to explore everyday technology is lacking.

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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: Generally Good Children develop and refine their physical skills using a range of different equipment.They ride bikes,roll hoops, throw and catch balls.There is a good variety of large and small climbing and balancing equipment.There are few opportunities for children to acknowledge the importance of staying healthy and recognise the changes that happen to their bodies when they are active.Fine motor skills are developed using a range of construction kits,puzzles,scissors and tools to manipulate dough.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are able to explore colour and texture through a range of guided art and craft activities.They print, paint and create collages using various materials, such as marble rolling for windmills.Children are involved in meaningful role play.They enjoy songs,action rhymes and music and are confident to sing individually to the whole group.There are limited opportunities to use art and craft resources independently.Children develop their senses as they explore runny dough, seeds and pasta.

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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 the planning and assessment systems to enable children to make progress towards the stepping stones and early learning goals and plan the next steps in their educational programme • review staff training needs, to ensure they extend their knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage • provide more opportunities for children to develop their understanding of simple addition and subtraction and to practise their mark making skills independently.

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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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