Holloway Playgroup

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 30/09/2004 Inspector Name Georgina Walker

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Holloway Playgroup Setting Address Village Hall Yew Tree Hill, Holloway Matlock Derbyshire DE4 5AR

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Holloway Playgroup

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Holloway Playgroup Address Village Hall Yew Tree Hill, Holloway Matlock Derbyshire DE4 5AR

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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

Holloway Playgroup opened in 1970. It operates from the Village Hall in Holloway, Derbyshire. The playgroup serves the local rural area. There are currently 25 children from 2 1/2 to 4 years 4 months on roll. This includes 11 funded 3-year-olds and 2 funded 4-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting could support children with special needs and those who speak English as an additional language. The playgroup opens five days a week during school term time only. Sessions are from 9.30 until 12.00 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. On Thursday they are from 9.15 until 11.45 and 12.45 until 15.15. Four part time staff work with the children. All members of staff have early years qualifications to NVQ level 3. The setting receives support from Derbyshire Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP).The playgroup are members of the Pre-school Learning Alliance (PLA) and is managed by a parental

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Information about the setting

committee, who delegate day to day responsibility to the staff.

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How good is the Day Care?

Holloway Playgroup provides satisfactory quality care for children. All staff have early years qualifications. They are encouraged to attend ongoing training. Staff work well as a team and create a happy atmosphere for children. Staff discuss planning, future activities and information provided through the support given by the EYDCP. The policies and procedures to ensure requirements meet the children's needs have not been updated. Some documentation requires minor amendment and more detail recorded in accident records. There is a very good awareness of safety especially during the routine movement in the setting. Staff undertake a comprehensive risk assessment of the outdoor play

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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 area prior to use. Good health and hygiene are promoted. Children have access to drinks during the session and are provided with a varied menu of healthy and nutritious snacks. Children with additional needs and those for whom English is an additional language could be accommodated. Children's well being is assisted by staff who have sound knowledge of child protection procedures. Children have opportunities to access a range of activities to assist in promoting their welfare and development. The children enjoy the activities linked to the wide range of themes and topics planned by staff. Resources are well presented and contribute to making a warm and welcoming environment. The celebration of festivals and access to resources assist in promoting diversity within society.

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How good is the Day Care?

Behaviour management expectations are high and staff consistently follow policy and procedures to ensure the children respond appropriately. Partnerships with parents are satisfactory. Parents are provided with written information about the services and on displays in the setting. Development and assessment records are not formally shared but can be discussed at anytime with the child's key worker. A committee of parents support the staff, but are not fully aware of their roles and responsibilities.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the playgroup agreed to ensure the register contained relevant information and that a medication policy was in place. They also agreed to review the supervision and security during outdoor play. Both sets of documentation are now well maintained and a policy for staff deployment during outdoor play ensures children's safety.

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What is being done well?

• Children have access to an extensive range of well presented resources and activities. These assist in creating the warm and welcoming environment where staff interact with the children to ensure they are settled and happy in the playgroup environment. Staff commitment to accessing training and converting their knowledge to early years qualifications contributes to the children's learning experiences. • Children are provided with regular drinks and snacks. These are healthy and nutritious and meet individual need. Opportunities are taken to extend children's learning and develop personal independence. Children are competent at pouring their drinks and enjoy eating the cakes they have made during the session. • Children's safety is promoted as staff have given high priority to safety issues, risk assessments and ongoing monitoring. Staff ratios are maintained at a high level with the support of volunteers, and ensures careful supervision

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What is being done well?

of children. • Children are praised and encouraged by members of staff, with age appropriate reminders regarding behaviour expectations. Their welfare and

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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 development is promoted by the good staff role models and the calm atmosphere created in the playgroup.

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What needs to be improved?

• the content of documentation and records to ensure they contain information as required in the national standards and guidance, refer to current legislation and are shared appropriately with parents • induction for staff, committee, volunteers and students to ensure all know their appropriate roles and responsibilities.

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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 2 Ensure the operational plan is updated and contains reference to current legislation and registration requirements. 2 Ensure induction for staff, volunteers and the committee is effective.

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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?

Holloway Playgroup provides good quality nursery education where children make generally good progress overall towards the early learning goals. In the areas of personal, social and emotional development and physical and creative development children make very good progress. The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff provide an interesting range of activities with which to teach towards the early learning goals and have created a colourful and stimulating learning environment. They know the children well and are able to extend their learning informally through the use of questioning. The staff promote the children's excellent behaviour through their own polite manner. They extend the children's language by maintaining dialogue with them through activities and playgroup routines. Staff assess the children's progress against the stepping stones for their learning. They do not however, use this information to inform the

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How effective is the nursery education?

planning for the next steps of their education. Planning does not yet cover all the stepping stones or provide for directed activities. Leadership and management of the playgroup is generally good. The leader has built a team who work well together. All staff are included in the planning process and informal discussions of what is to be taught takes place each morning. The team meet regularly to review their own strengths and weaknesses and to share examples of good practice. Weakness in planning and assessment mean that the children's systematic progress towards the early learning goals is not ensured. Partnership with parents and carers is generally good. Parents appreciate the many welcoming opportunities for informal discussions about their child's attainment and progress with staff. They are involved with their child's learning through a rota system. At present they are not given sufficient information about the early learning

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What is being done well?

• The staff use very good strategies to promote the children's excellent behaviour. Their calm and polite manner sets a very good example to the children. • Parents and carers appreciate the many opportunities they have for informal discussions with staff about their child's progress and attainment. • The staff develop the children's language for communication and thinking by engaging them in dialogue during playgroup routines and activities. • The children are given many opportunities to investigate objects, living things and materials using their five senses. • The staff give the children many opportunities to move confidently,

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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 imaginatively and safely through the use of large and small equipment. • The children use a wide range of stimulating and high quality resources.

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What needs to be improved?

• the planning of the education programme • the assessment of children's attainment and progress • the number of opportunities for children to add and subtract through practical activities • the quality of information about the early learning goals given to parents and carers.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Poor progress has been made in addressing the key issues identified in the last inspection report. There are still too few planned opportunities for the children to add and subtract in practical situations such as snack and group times, which leads to many learning opportunities being missed. The present system of planning does not allow time for directed group activities which address children's individual needs for learning. This means that the children's steady progress through the stepping stones for their learning is not ensured.

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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 The children are confident and eager to learn. Staff develop children's concentration by encouraging them to complete their puzzles and games. The children make good relationships by working as part of a group taking turns and sharing. They learn about cultures and beliefs through, for example, making a dragon during Chinese New Year. They do not however, routinely use a range of artefacts, books and pictures which promote positive images of different gender, age, abilities and culture.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Staff develop the children's language for communication and thinking by engaging them in dialogue during activities and routines. They extend their vocabulary by talking about the 'yolk' of an egg when baking buns and 'crackly' leaves in their collage. Staff read to the children and encourage them to respond to the story by pretending to be the characters, as in 'Bear Hunt' when they were 'scared'. The planning does not include directed learning in the areas of reading, writing and handwriting.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good The staff promote many opportunities to develop the children's skills in counting through planned activities and informal routines. They shake dice and count the spots and count the number of spoons of flour used when baking buns. The computer is used to promote the recognition of written numbers. There are too few opportunities for children to add and subtract through playgroup routines such as snack time.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Generally Good The children use all their senses to explore and investigate objects and materials. They smell soap, feel sand-paper, look through hand lenses, listen to sounds on a cassette and taste the buns they have made. The plant seeds and look carefully at the similarities and differences of insects during a 'bug week' topic. There are insufficient planned opportunities for them to develop a sense of time by finding out about past and present events in their own lives and those of their families.

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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 The children are encouraged to move confidently and imaginatively through climbing on the large climbing frame, riding the large wheeled toys such as bikes and buses and crawling through their tunnel. Staff help the less confident children to develop balancing skills as they walk across the 'stepping stones' and balancing bars. They use a wide range of tools and equipment such as four-digit scissors, knives for spreading cheese and large and small construction blocks.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Staff plan many opportunities for the children to explore colour and media in two and three dimensions. They use feathers, leaves and seeds to make a collage. They explore paint by mixing with differently-sized brushes. They enhance their role play by using a large, recycled box to make a letter box. They use musical instruments such as drums, shakers and tambourines to make sounds. There are however, too few planned opportunities for this area to be developed well.

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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 present system of planning to ensure that all the stepping stones to the early learning goals are taught through a balance of directed and non-directed activities, differentiated according to the individual needs of the children • develop a regular, systematic assessment of the children's attainment and progress towards all the early learning goals, which is used to inform the planning for the next steps of their learning • provide more planned opportunities for children to develop an understanding of calculation, involving addition and subtraction in practical situations such as snack and group times.

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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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