Uplowman Church of England Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 26/11/2004 Inspector Name Anne Gunston

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Auntie Ro's Playgroup Setting Address Red Cross Centre Lewis Road Selsey West Sussex PO20 0RQ

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Auntie Ro's Playgroup

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Auntie Ro's Playgroup Address Red Cross Centre Lewis Road, Selsey Chichester West Sussex PO20 0RQ

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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

Auntie Ro's Playgroup has been registered, under its current management of a committee of parents and volunteers, since 1992. A playgroup was originally established at this venue by the W.R.V.S. in 1977. The group operates from a hall at the Red Cross Centre in Selsey, West Sussex and serves children and parents from the local community. The premises are within walking distance of the main shopping area and close to local schools. There is a secure garden available for outdoor play. A maximum of 24 children may attend the group at any one time; currently there are 49 children on roll, 30 of whom are in receipt of funding for nursery education. Sessional care is provided for children from 2 to 5 years of age; it is the group's practice to offer places to children in the term during which they become 3 years of age. Sessions operate during term time from 09:00 until 12:00 on Monday to Friday; afternoon sessions operate from Tuesday until Friday between 13:00 and 15:30. The

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Information about the setting

playgroup currently supports children who have special needs. There are currently six staff employed to work with the children; four of these, including the supervisor, hold relevant early years qualifications.

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How good is the Day Care?

Auntie Ro's Playgroup provides a good standard of care for children. The team of staff are established and experienced in care of young children; sufficient qualified staff are in place and working with the children at all times. Staff provide a welcoming environment for children; they greet each child by name and use innovative methods to display children's work. However action is needed to ensure a consistent temperature is maintained in the playgroup. A comprehensive range of resources is in place; all are maintained in a safe, clean condition. Staff ensure children are taught good hygiene practice each day and are able to protect children from risk of illness or infection. The safety of the children is a high priority for staff; they are able to identify and minimise risks to children on a daily basis. However the use of written risk assessment on all aspects of playgroup

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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 provision does require improvement. Staff are knowledgeable about children's individual dietary needs, and consistently meet these in accordance with parents' wishes. Staff and management have a very positive attitude towards the care of children with special needs. Staff get to know each child well and maintain good interaction with all in their care. They listen to the children, are genuinely interested in what they have to say and always praise their achievements. Children's behaviour is managed in ways which take account of the child's age and level of understanding. All staff are able to ensure that children are treated as individuals. Staff form positive relationships with parents. They keep parents fully informed of

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How good is the Day Care?

their objectives and seek co-operation from parents in achieving these, for example, they ask that parents collect their child promptly in order that no distress is caused and the child continues to be happy to attend. All documentation required for the operation of the playgroup is in place.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the playgroup were asked to improve documentation used to support their policy on administration of medication. They were also asked to provide written evidence that procedures existed for taking children on outings; that clearance had been obtained on all staff and that no unvetted personnel were left alone with children. Written consent is gained from parents should medication be needed and a record kept if necessary. Staff have a good understanding of children's safety should they be taken off-site, although at present this does not occur. The staff's practice ensures that no adults who have not been vetted have unsupervised access to children. All staff currently employed, including those who were previously checked by the police, have requested disclosures from the Criminal Records Bureau.

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What is being done well?

• Good toy provision exists in this playgroup; children have access to a wide variety of colourful, stimulating resources for play on a daily basis. Equipment is in place to enable children to come together for group activities or take part in quieter activities in a comfortable book area. Staff continue to identify areas for improvement in the range of toys and equipment available to children. They constantly aim to provide children with independent access to resources. • The staff are effective in ensuring children are kept safe when on the premises; they have given careful consideration to arrangements for the arrival and collection of children and ensure all visitors to the premises are well monitored. They ensure children are always within view of a staff member. All staff are secure in their understanding of fire evacuation procedures; they are able to identify and minimise risks to children on a daily

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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 • The staff have a clear understanding of how to treat each child in their care with equal concern. They are able to adapt routines or activities to meet each child's individual needs. Resources and planned activities raise children's awareness of other cultures. Staff work closely with parents and others involved with the children who have special needs, to share information and ensure all needs are identified and met. • Staff have developed calm, consistent methods of managing children's behaviour. They always recognise and praise children's achievements to encourage good behaviour. Any unwanted behaviour is dealt with quietly, staff give children clear explanations for the existence of the playgroup's rules. Parents are made aware of the playgroup's behaviour policy and any

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What is being done well?

incidents are discussed with them to ensure a consistent approach.

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What needs to be improved?

• the use of risk assessments to identify and minimise hazards relating to all aspects of playgroup operation • maintaining the premises at an adequate, comfortable temperature.

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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 4 Make sure that the premises are maintained at an adequate and comfortable temperature.

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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 6 Improve the use of risk assessment documentation in order that they identify action to be taken to minimise identified risks and are regularly reviewed.

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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?

Auntie Ro's Playgroup offers acceptable provision which is of good quality. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The quality of teaching is generally good. Most staff show understanding of the foundation stage of learning and teach the planned curriculum well. They listen closely to the children and respond appropriately to each child's needs to enable all to make progress. Children with English as an additional language or special needs are given appropriate support. The structure and routine of the session does not always make the most of learning opportunities and staff deployment is sometimes ineffective. The quality of assessments is inconsistent and does not inform future plans. Leadership and management is generally good. The management committee and staff work closely together; staff are encouraged to complete relevant training and systems are in place to monitor staff's performance. The playgroup's operational

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How effective is the nursery education?

plan is a clear indication of their aims, which are to ensure children are confident, willing learners and are well prepared for the transition to school. All involved with the playgroup are committed to continuing to improve the quality of care and education provided for children. As yet no systems are in place to enable senior staff to monitor children's progress towards the early learning goals. The partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Parents are welcomed into the group and encouraged to volunteer skills and time should they wish. Staff are seen as approachable and all parents have seen their child make progress. Newsletters keep parents aware of topics or planned activities; parents have the opportunity to review their child's records each term. Some information is sought from parents concerning their child's achievements.

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What is being done well?

• Children have a great sense of fairness and justice; they clearly understand the difference between right and wrong. For example, children are able to negotiate the sharing of favourite resources for themselves by using large, colourful "egg timers" to ensure each child gets the same opportunity. They are happy and willing to do essential tasks, such as tidying away the toys with staff, providing all in the room are seen to be doing their fair share. • Children use the computer with confidence; most can use the mouse accurately to progress through programmes. Good support is given by staff who guide less able children or stand back to allow more able children to use independently. A wide range of programmes exists - one particularly well used to increase children's mathematical knowledge; children guide and control mouse to add or subtract "bugs" with staff using lots of positive language - re-affirming what the programme says to the children and praising

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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 when success is achieved. • Relationships between all involved with playgroup are good; an effective committee is in place who are supportive of staff. Staff show good knowledge of each child's home circumstances and communicate well with parents to ensure the child settles well into playgroup initially and continues to be keen to attend.

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What needs to be improved?

• the organisation of the day and use of staff's time to ensure children gain full benefit from activities and resources • the use of assessment to ensure these are completed regularly by all staff, identify individual children's progress and are used to inform planning of future activities • staff's further knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Generally good progress has been made since the last inspection. At that time the playgroup were asked to improve information in plans in order to clarify what the children are to learn from particular activities in relation to the early learning goals and show how activities were to be adapted for children with differing learning needs. They were also asked to develop staff's knowledge and understanding of the stepping stones and early learning goals. With regard to individual areas of learning, the playgroup were asked to increase opportunities for children to develop skills in personal independence, to recognise familiar words and to explore a range of objects and make their own observations about how things work. Improvements were also required to enable children to have more chances to express their own ideas in dance in response to music.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Children's personal independence is continually promoted by staff, who assist and guide children with serving themselves at snack time and encourage children to make choices from a wide selection of activities. Some labelling exists in the environment and daily self-registration by children encourages them to recognise familiar words. The group make use of a wide selection of resources for role play, programmable toys, information technology and textural materials to encourage children to investigate and explore. Additional musical instruments have been purchased and can be used independently by children. Short term plans do identify the learning intention of each day's activities, however they are not sufficiently detailed to identify how activities will be adapted for individual children. Some staff's knowledge of the early learning goals requires improvement, which is reflected in the inconsistency in their recording of children's achievements. These issues remain to

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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 display a great deal of confidence; most are secure in parting from their parents. Staff show knowledge of each child's individual need for support. Children are happy to state their opinions and make suggestions to staff. They are showing good levels of independence yet show respect and sensitivity towards each other. Children are gaining keen awareness of the need for rules and an agreed code of conduct. Disruption in routines is limiting children's ability to concentrate.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children's spoken language is developing well; they are able to talk through activities with each other and use reasoned arguments to put their meaning across. Staff make particularly good use of computer programmes to encourage children to recognise simple words and link sound with letters. Children are very willing to attempt to write and make confident choices of tools for this purpose. Children make infrequent use of books independently and their enjoyment of stories is often disturbed.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are consistent in their use of numbers; they use number language confidently in play and attempt to count at every opportunity. Staff make use of planned and incidental opportunities to raise all children's understanding of addition and subtraction; some children show keen interest in number problems. A good range of resources exists to develop children's understanding of size, shape and measurement; children's knowledge is not fully promoted as staff are unfamiliar with these.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good Children are confident in discussion of past and present events. They use materials such as glue or card competently and demonstrate confidence in creation of their own designs. Children are fully aware of the purpose of everyday equipment such as telephones; all are becoming adept in use of the computer. Activities are provided which raise children's awareness of the natural world and other cultures. Limited provision currently exists to raise children's awareness of their local community.

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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 show good spatial awareness; they move with confidence and imagination around the room and show co-ordination. They are adept at using a range of tools and equipment; they use spatulas, rolling pins, writing materials well. Staff provide opportunities to develop children's gross motor skills, for example, obstacle courses are set up and equipment such as tunnels and climbing frame regularly used. Children are becoming aware of their own bodies and learn the importance of good hygiene.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are displaying good imagination during role play. Frequent craft activities are organised; children are able to choose their own materials to bring their own designs to fruition. Children enjoy taking part in singing sessions; music tapes and musical instruments are used to raise children's appreciation of music and sounds. Children's investigative skills are not fully extended as staff are not able to effectively monitor all activities provided which require adult intervention.

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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

• review organisation of the day and use of staff's time to ensure children gain full benefit from activities and resources • improve the quality of assessments to ensure these are sufficiently detailed and used to inform planning of future activities for individual children • continue to develop staff's knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals with particular reference to mathematical development and providing children with opportunities to enjoy stories and make frequent use of books

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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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