St Mary's RC Primary School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 22/11/2004 Inspector Name Anne Legge

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Coleridge Pre-school Playgroup Setting Address The Old School Jesu Street Ottery-St-Mary Devon EX11 1EU

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name Coleridge Pre School Playgroup 294780

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Coleridge Pre School Playgroup Address The Old School Jesu Street Ottery-St-Mary Devon EX11 1EU

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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

Coleridge Pre-school Playgroup is situated in an old school building in the centre of Ottery St Mary, near Honiton. The group opens each weekday morning in term-time, from 09:30 to 12:00 and offers additional sessions for older children on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, from 12:45 to 15:00. The group is registered to take 30 children from 2 to 5 years of age. There are currently 40 children on roll, including 30 funded three and four-year-olds. Children are cared for in two playrooms, with adjoining toilet facilities, and an enclosed outdoor area. Children with special needs are welcomed and supported. There are 13 staff, 3 of whom have appropriate child care qualifications and another 5 are working towards them. The group receives support from a foundation stage advisory teacher and other relevant professionals.

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How good is the Day Care?

Coleridge Pre-school Playgroup provides good quality care for children. Staff work harmoniously as a team, staff ratios are good, and all roles are clearly understood. The committee works closely with staff and the new Chair has begun to update policies and procedures, some of which are currently out-of-date or incomplete. The premises are spacious, and the two playrooms and outdoor area are used to provide a range of interesting activities for children. There is a good variety of toys and resources, but they are not always used effectively to meet the needs of children of all ages and abilities. Safety is given a high priority and all aspects of health and hygiene are good. Staff provide nutritious snacks and meet children's special dietary needs. They are committed to equal opportunities and to the inclusion of all children and families. They have very good procedures for monitoring and supporting children with special

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How good is the Day Care?

needs. They have a clear understanding of all child protection issues and procedures. Staff plan a good variety of exciting activities for children. They talk and play with

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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 them, effectively helping them to develop their understanding and skills. They form good relationships with children and manage their behaviour positively and skilfully. Staff work effectively in partnership with parents. They provide good information about the pre-school and its activities, and keep parents informed about their child's progress, through termly reports.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection, the pre-school agreed to make the outdoor play surface safe and to request parents' permission to seek emergency medical advice or treatment. The outdoor play area has been resurfaced and is now safe for children to use. Systems are in place to obtain all required consents.

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What is being done well?

• The premises offer a large, comfortable environment for children, with good use of different areas for a variety of activities. • The staff work well as a team and staff ratios are good. • Children with special needs receive excellent support, and their progress is carefully monitored and regularly reviewed. • Staff have a very good understanding of child protection issues and procedures. • Staff know children well and form good relationships with them. They assist their progress, through skilful interventions in their play, and manage challenging behaviour sensitively and effectively.

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What needs to be improved?

• the range of resources available at each session, so that the needs of children of different ages and abilities are always met • systems for regularly reviewing and updating policies and procedures, including procedures for uncollected children.

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inspection or 1st April 2004 whichever is later.)

Since April 2004 Ofsted has received one anonymous complaint, relating to Standard 1: Suitable Person, and Standard 2: Organisation. The complaint was made in April 2004 and related to allegations that the Chairperson was not vetted and that staff ratios were not being met. Compliance with National Standards 1 and 2 were investigated. The pre-school confirmed that the allegation was the result of a misunderstanding at a committee meeting, and no further action was taken.

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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 5 Provide a suitable range of toys and activities, in order to meet the developmental needs of all children, and to allow them plenty of choice of resources at each session. 14 Implement systems to ensure that all policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and updated. Record procedures to be followed if a child is not collected at the end of a session.

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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?

Coleridge Pre-school Playgroup provides good quality nursery education, where children make generally good progress towards the early learning goals, and very good progress in their personal, social and emotional development, knowledge and understanding of the world and creative development. Teaching is generally good. Staff have a good understanding of the foundation stage curriculum and often use questions and discussion effectively, to promote children's learning. They plan a good range of activities over time, for all areas of learning. Children choose freely between tasks, for most of each session. Good teaching takes place in most adult-led and whole-group activities, and staff often support free play skilfully, but time and resources are not always used effectively. Sessions for older children include more formal teaching, but this is not reinforced with practical activities, in all sessions. Staff observe children's progress and use assessments to

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How effective is the nursery education?

write termly reports for parents and to guide planning, but more able children are not always appropriately challenged, especially in mathematics. Children with special needs are very well monitored and supported. Staff manage children's behaviour skilfully and effectively. Leadership and management are generally good. The new Chair has a clear understanding of the curriculum and is working with staff to set up systems for monitoring the quality of provision. The staff are committed to further training and to making progress, and they have sought help in reviewing planning and assessments. The partnership with parents is generally good. Staff provide information about the curriculum and about activities. They involve parents in the work of the pre-school, through the parents' rota and committee work. They provide termly reports on children's progress, but there are no regular opportunities for parents to contribute to

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How effective is the nursery education?

children's records or to share the process of setting targets for learning.

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What is being done well?

• Staff make the learning of social skills a high priority, and children make very good progress in developing good relationships, especially in their ability to negotiate, share and take turns. • Children become very independent. They learn to manage their personal care and to organise their own play and learning, making choices from the activities and resources provided. • Staff plan a good variety of activities which develop children's knowledge and understanding of the world. They support children's play and use questions and discussion skilfully, to teach them how things work.

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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 enjoy a wide variety of creative activities and make very good progress in this area. They use a good range of art and craft resources and are encouraged to become imaginative in their role play and small world play. • Staff have a good understanding of special needs and offer very good support to children with disabilities or with any identified special needs.

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What needs to be improved?

• the organisation of sessions, to ensure that a wide range of practical activities and daily routines is used effectively to promote children's learning, especially in mathematics and literacy • the use of assessments of children's achievements, to plan appropriate challenges for all children, especially older or more able children, in mathematics and physical development.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last nursery education inspection, the pre-school was asked to use assessment information to plan the next steps in learning and to ensure that children are appropriately challenged. They were also asked to implement effective procedures to monitor, assess and meet the needs of children with special needs. The pre-school has made generally good progress in addressing these issues. Systems for monitoring and supporting children with special needs are now very good. Staff are well-informed about the current Code of Practice and committed to including and supporting all children with special needs. Assessment systems are in place, and are linked to the early learning goals. Key workers use assessment information in planning activities, but they do not yet plan sufficiently challenging activities for older or more able children, especially in mathematics, literacy and physical development.

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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 confident and enthusiastic learners. They develop good independence skills, managing their personal care, such as washing hands and spreading toast, and choosing activities and resources. They relate very well to each other and to adults, and make very good progress in their behaviour and social skills, due to effective staff teaching about sharing, taking turns and negotiating. They develop a sense of community, make family trees, and celebrate different festivals.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children speak confidently in small and large groups. They enjoy performing songs and stories of their own, and use language well to describe events or discuss what they are doing. They listen and respond to stories and rhymes, but seldom choose to look at books. They recognise their name and begin to understand letters sounds and shapes, through planned activities, but not in practical daily tasks. They begin to write their name and sometimes use writing for different purposes.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children recite numbers in a variety of daily activities, such as counting reels on a string or train carriages. They begin to relate numbers to groups of objects. They make patterns and sort and match objects in games. They recognise and name some two-dimensional shapes. They do not compare groups or discuss more or less objects in groups, as daily routines and practical activities are not used effectively to promote learning in this area, nor to extend the understanding of more able children.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children explore and investigate a wide range of objects and materials, such as garden and household tools. They learn about materials which float or sink, responding to effective questioning by staff. They design and make things using construction kits and a wide range of materials. They develop a sense of time through discussions about events in their lives, and use local people and visits in the area, to develop a sense of place. They explore food and customs from different cultures.

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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 move confidently, running freely in the outdoor area and adjusting their movements to smaller, indoor spaces. They climb and balance with control on large equipment, and pedal and scoot wheeled toys with increasing skill. They make limited progress in their use of bats and balls, hoops and stilts, due to a lack of planning of appropriate activities for different age-groups. They develop very good hand-control in their use of pens, scissors, threading materials and cutters.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children develop very good imaginations in their role play and small world play, which is well-supported by staff and involves good co-operation. They explore colour, shape and texture in a good variety of art and craft activities, such as painting in different ways, or making collages and Christmas decorations. They learn to sing familiar songs and make up their own stories and songs to perform at circle time. They make and use musical instruments to explore sounds and rhythms.

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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 the organisation of sessions, to ensure that a wide range of practical activities and daily routines is used effectively to promote children's learning, especially in mathematics and literacy • use assessments of children's achievements to plan appropriate challenges for all children, especially older or more able children, in mathematics and physical development.

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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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