Whiteley Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 10/07/2003 Inspector Name Lisa, Marie Ellis

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Whiteley Pre-School Setting Address Gull Coppice Whiteley Fareham Hampshire PO15 7LA

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Whiteley Pre-School Committee

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Whiteley Pre-School Committee Address Gull Coppice Whiteley Fareham Hampshire PO15 7LA

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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

Whiteley Pre-School opened in 2002. It operates from 2 rooms in a community centre in Whiteley, Fareham. The pre-school serves the local area. It is registered to provide care for 42 children aged between 2-5 years although it is the policy of the group to only except 2 years olds from the beginning of the term in which their third birthday falls. There are currently 56 children on roll aged between 2-5 years. This includes 38 3-year-olds of whom 4 are in receipt of government funding and 14 4-year-olds of which 13 are funded. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently no children attending with special needs or who have English as an additional language. The pre-school opens for 10 sessions a week during term time only. Sessions are from 09:00-11:45 and 12:15-14:45. There are seven staff who work directly with the children. Two of them hold early years qualifications and five are attending training programmes.

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How good is the Day Care?

Whiteley Pre-School provides good quality care for children. It is well organised with all staff having regard to the policies and procedures and effectively implementing them into the group. Staff not already holding childcare qualifications are on training programmes to do so and all staff regularly update their childcare knowledge by attending workshops. The premises are well maintained and clean, as is the equipment which is well used to stimulate and challenge the children. All of the relevant paperwork is in place, although on occasion, lacks minor detail. The children are well cared for and are generally kept safe, although the safety in the garden and the temperature in one of the rooms require monitoring. Staff give hygiene a high priority and teach children good practices such as hand washing.

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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 work well together to ensure children's needs are met and demonstrate an awareness of child protection to promote the welfare of the children. They treat children as individuals and act as positive role models, which results in good behaviour from the children. Staff use a good key worker system, making observations on children and using written records to plan the next stage in children's development. They provide well planned activities that cover all areas of learning to ensure all children can progress and have fun. Staff have good relationships with parents. The parents know what is going on in the pre-school and are confident to approach staff with any concerns.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This section is not applicable as this is the pre-school's first inspection.

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What is being done well?

• Staff are pro-active in their training and regularly attend workshops to refresh their knowledge of childcare issues and current practice to constantly improve the service they provide to the children. • Staff use well planned activities that cover all areas of learning to help children progress and develop. Children are keen to come into pre-school and quickly get involved in their activities. Staff and children have good relationships, with staff providing a high level of praise and encouragement to increase children's confidence and self esteem. • Staff act as good role models, they listen to and value children's comments and have high expectations of behaviour. Children are fully aware of the rules and boundaries and respond well to praise and encouragement that promotes their confidence and self esteem. As a result, children's behaviour is very good. • Staff have professional relationships with parents. Parents have a high level

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What is being done well?

of involvement in the group that enables a free flow of information to help staff meet the needs of all children effectively. Parents are informed of what is happening in the pre-school by regular newsletters, verbal feedback and home books.

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What needs to be improved?

• temperature control in the Sweethills Room; • children's safety in the garden; • the procedure to ensure parents sign their acknowledgement when medication is administered;

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What needs to be improved?

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

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CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION

All registered persons must comply with all conditions of registration included on his/her certificate of registration. As a result of this inspection conditions of registration have been imposed / varied / removed and a new certificate of registration will be issued.

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by the time of the next inspection

Std Recommendation 4 ensure that the Sweethills Room is maintained at an adequate and comfortable temperature 6 make sure that brambles are inaccessible to the children 7 keep a written record, signed by parents, of medicines given to children

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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?

Whiteley Pre-school is acceptable and of good quality overall. Children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. The teaching is generally good overall. The staff have a sound knowledge of the early learning goals, this allows them to plan a variety of interesting activities. The children are making very good progress in knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development. The plans are detailed and are clearly linked to the stepping-stones. The children progress is continually assessed and any development needs are addressed in future planning. Staff have a good knowledge of the children individuals needs and their personal backgrounds. The children are treated in a fair and consistent manner, as a result the children are well behaved with good social skills. Most activities are well managed, however, staff do not always maximise the every day learning opportunities and do many tasks for the

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How effective is the nursery education?

children. This impacts on their development and independents skills. At times, some activities fail to fully engage the children, such as, during story time. At present the group have no children with special education needs or to whom English is an additional language, however there are effective systems in place to support them. The leadership and management of the group is generally good. The manager has a clear and calm manner, which allows the group to run effectively. The committee are supportive to professional development of the staff through training. The group have yet to implement an effective appraisal and evaluation system. The partnership with parents is very good. Parents receive detailed information about the group and are keep them informed about their children development and progress. Parents are encouraged to be involved in their children's learning though discussion. The staff maintain a comfortable atmosphere where parents feel able to

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How effective is the nursery education?

discuss their children needs or their concerns.

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What is being done well?

• Children's knowledge and understanding of the world is very good. Activities encourage them to talk about themselves and the world around them. They have access to a good range of IT resources and are confident in using them. • Children are well behaved and respond positively to the calm and encouraging manner of the staff. The children respond well to the staffs high expectations of them and staff are very quick to deal with any unwanted behaviour. • Children are given many opportunities to express themselves creatively

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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 through art and imaginative play. They enjoy taking part in singing and music sessions. • Staff have a good understanding of the early learning goals and this enables them to plan a wide range of stimulating and interesting activities that the children are to be keen involved in. • Staff have developed a very effective system of monitoring and assessing the children's progress. The system clearly notes any gaps in the children's development which allows the staff to address these gaps in the future plans and target the children's individual needs. • Partnership with parents is very good. Parent received detailed information about the setting and are provided with ongoing information about their child's progress.

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What needs to be improved?

• Staff to make more effective use of everyday opportunities to increase the children learning and independent skills e.g. counting out plates, sound out letters when writing names, clearing up spillages. • The story time to engage the interest of all children. • Procedure for evaluating and appraising the staff and the pre-school overall performance.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

This section does not apply as this is the groups first 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: Generally Good Children are actively involved in their learning, they are keen and motivated and are able to work well together. Children are confident and well behaved. They can select the vast majority of their activities, however there are missed opportunities for the children to increase their independence. Children have established good relationships with each other and the staff.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are confident in their spoken language and keen to express themselves in a range of situations. Children enjoy handling and exploring books but at times story times does not fully maintain the children attention. The staff are effective at providing opportunities for the children to practices their emergent writing skills, however staff still tend to write for the children in some situations. Children can link sounds and letters -o for orange, c for car.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children are provided with a board range of practical activities to promote understanding of shape, size and numbers, however, staff do not always utilise the incidental learning opportunities to consolidate children's mathematical learning, for example with subtraction and addition. Children are confident to count to 10 and beyond and are able recognise numbers in familiar contexts. Children learn about size, shape, and position and are beginning to represent them in various ways.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children are provided with many opportunities to talk about themselves and the world around them. They learn about people's beliefs and cultures in an exciting range of themes and topics. They are able to recall past and present events and talk excitedly about them. Children are confident in their use of a range of computer programmes and technology. Children learn a good sense of time and space which is gained through visual and hearing prompts.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children move confidently and with good co-ordination. Children demonstrate a good sense of space and an awareness of each others movements. Children are provided with a broad range of activities that increase their skills in jumping, kicking, and balance. They have great ability in handling tools and in the use of malleable materials. Children are skilled at using a variety of construction equipment and frequently use paper, card, recycled materials, scissors and glue for cutting and joining.

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PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

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

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children participate in a variety of art and craft activities and are able to explore texture, colour and form. There are many opportunities for the children to express themselves creatively through the use of their senses and exploring a varied range of materials, both natural and man-made. Children enjoy participating in singing and action rhymes and have built up a wide repertoire. Music is used to attract the children's attention or highlight a change in the session.

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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

• To evaluate how the staff can maximum the everyday learning opportunities to enable the children's learning to be improved and increase their independent skills. • To evaluate the organisation of story time so that all children are engaged and their interest is maintained. • To implement an effective system for the evaluation of the staff and pre-school performance.

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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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