Ickwell Pre-School

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 20/01/2004 Inspector Name Julie Ann Birkett

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Sessional Day Care Setting Name Ickwell Pre-School Setting Address Ickwell Clubroom Ickwell Green ICKWELL Bedfordshire SG18 9EE

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REGISTERED PROVIDER DETAILS

Name The Committee of Ickwell Preschool 219263 1019842

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name Ickwell Preschool Address Ickwell Clubroom Ickwell Green ICKWELL Bedfordshire SG18 9EE

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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

Ickwell Pre-school originally opened in the 1960's. It operates from two rooms in the village clubhouse. The group serves the local and wider areas. There are currently 43 children from 2 years to 5 years on roll. This includes 22 funded 3 year olds and 4 funded 4 year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting supports a small number of children who have special needs. Currently there are no children who have English as an additional language. The group opens five days a week during school term time. Sessions are from 09:20 until 11:50 on Monday to Friday with an additional option to stay for lunch club until 12:30 on variable days. The group offers further afternoon sessions from 12:50 until 15:20 during the summer term. Three full staff work with the children supported by two parent or volunteer helpers each day. All members of staff have childcare qualifications to NVQ level three. The

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Information about the setting

setting receives support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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How good is the Day Care?

Ickwell Pre-school provides good daycare. The setting is well organised and documentation is in good order. Space is effectively used and provides distinct areas for different activities. These areas are supported by good quality accessible equipment that children freely choose from to support their own play and learning. Children play comfortably at different levels and have space to work both on a small or large scale. The premises are made interesting through pictures, artwork and table displays but retain a homely atmosphere. The children are secure and happy. Well written policies and procedures are put into practice to ensure children are well cared for and safe, however the routine of using shared bowls of water for the

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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 children to wash their hands does not promote good hygiene. Recording systems for accidents, medication or incidents work well and ensure that parents and staff are kept informed about the children. Children with special needs are supported. There is a strong commitment to ongoing training. Staff actively put new skills and ideas into practice. Staff make daily observations to help them plan and provide a wide range of purposeful activities to help children make progress. Staff are involved with the children but also have the experience and confidence to give them space to learn through their own play. Children build good relationships with staff and learn to treat each other and resources with respect. Children's behaviour is good.

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How good is the Day Care?

Confidence and independence is fostered through everyday opportunities such as the snack bar system. Partnership with parents is good. Staff are available at each end of the day. Parents are welcomed into the group and there is an active parent helper rota. Parents receive quality information about the group and are regularly updated through newsletters and the notice board, however there is some conflicting information between the policy and practice for admissions and the parent's prospectus.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Since the last inspection the group have worked hard on their written operational plan to bring it in line with the national standards and current legislation and guidance. The behaviour management procedure now includes the management of any bullying that may occur so that staff and parents are aware of how to work together to manage this kind of behaviour. There is a policy for outings to minimise risks and ensure the safe conduct of children. There are clearly defined procedures for the emergency evacuation of the premises and fire drills are carried out regularly to ensure the safety of the children in emergencies and these are recorded. Consent from parents for emergency medical advice or treatment has been obtained to ensure that immediate assistance for children can be sought in any emergencies. The complaint procedure includes the address of Ofsted so that parents can forward any complaints to the regulatory body. All policies and procedures are available for

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What has improved since the last inspection?

parents at the group and an updated prospectus is provided for all new parents giving information about the setting. The written special needs statement has been updated in line with the Code of Practice and the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs. This statement is put into use in the group. There are named staff to take on certain responsibilities within the setting including child protection. Staff records are comprehensive and are kept securely on the premises.

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What is being done well?

• The provision of valuable core activities. Sand, water, dough, craft, construction, small world and role-play are available each day. These activities are presented with different supporting materials and resources to provide further learning opportunities and children are able to revisit and reinforce their learning with familiar mediums and objects. • The provision of a writing table, mathematics and letter area and a craft area.

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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 easily and readily access materials from the nearby shelving to support their own play and create their own work, for example, a child independently wrote a letter and then chose an envelope to send it to her mum. • The snack bar encourages good independence skills and is a very social time for the children and the supporting member of staff. Children are able to complete tasks and their games without the interruption that a whole group snack time can cause. • Staff are very caring and supportive of the children. They manage children's behaviour with sensitivity and are good role models to the children. Children are polite and helpful.

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What needs to be improved?

• hand washing facilities • information about the admissions policy.

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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 7 ensure good hygiene practices are in place regarding children’s hand washing 12 ensure that the statement in the parent’s prospectus regarding children only being admitted to pre school once they are fully toilet trained is amended in line with the admissions and equal opportunities policies and reflects the practice of admitting all 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?

The provision for nursery education at Ickwell Pre-school is good. It enables children to make very good progress towards the early learning goals in four of the six learning areas and generally good progress in mathematics and in communication, language and literacy.

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How effective is the nursery education?

The quality of teaching is generally good. Staff create a comfortable learning environment where children know the routines well. Staff provide good supporting materials for the themed projects such as information books, leaflets and objects and adapt or make resources to include in topics. The children respond enthusiastically to thoughtful changes made by staff for example changing the home corner into a castle. Staff and children develop warm and friendly relationships. Staff interact meaningfully with the children both as individuals or in group situations. They make daily observations of the children and hold weekly planning meetings. While this is mostly successful, the staff do not always plan sufficiently to extend the more able children particularly in some of areas of mathematics and literacy. Leadership and management is generally good. The committee demonstrate an understanding of it's responsibilities and liaise regularly with the pre-school staff. The

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How effective is the nursery education?

staff are a cohesive team and work effectively together complementing each other's strengths. Children benefit from this consistent team of staff and new children settle quickly. The partnership with parents is generally good. Parents have access to information about how the children learn within the setting through the prospectus, newsletters and displays about the foundation stage. Parents complete initial profiles on their children when they start at the pre-school. The group have already identified that they do not share the assessment records with the parents and that this would enable them to work together to plan the next steps for the individual children.

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What is being done well?

• The educational programme for personal, social and emotional development ensures that children learn to show care for themselves and others. They work co-operatively together and form good relationships with the adults and their peers. • The provision of easily accessible resources that support children's independence skills and learning. Children have opportunities to practice their emergent writing skills, with some children writing their own names, throughout the session. They choose puzzles and games from the shelves that interest them and are therefore motivated to complete them. Children can freely design, construct and make representational pictures and models from the range of materials readily available.

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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 provision for imaginative role-play is linked effectively to their knowledge and understanding of the world. Children learn first hand about the wider world through a variety of well presented role play scenarios for example, a nativity stable, castle, tent, office, hospital.

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What needs to be improved?

• planning to show how individual children will be supported or extended in their learning • the mathematics and literacy programme to ensure that more able children develop an understanding of problem solving and how they can record their findings and to begin to link sounds of letters to the letters • partnership with parents to ensure all that all parents have the opportunity to share and contribute to their children's learning.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

Generally good progress has been made in implementing the action plan drawn up to address the two key issues identified at the previous inspection, resulting in some improvements being made to the educational programme. There have been changes in staffing and further training since the last inspection. A planned balance of free play and more formal activities is available throughout the sessions for all children including the older ones. Medium terms plans show how aspects of the early learning goals will be covered. Priority is given to mathematics, communication, language and literacy and personal, social and emotional development in the curriculum planning. However, it is not clear in the plans how more able children learn to solve number problems and begin to record their findings or how they develop an understanding of linking letter sounds to letters. There has been good progress in the record keeping and assessments of children's

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What has improved since the last inspection?

progress. A new system is working effectively and is managed well by staff. An initial profile is completed by parents and used as the first stepping stone for the children's development. There are no opportunities for parents to share in children's ongoing progress records so that appropriate targets are set.

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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 happy and settled and their behaviour is good. They have good independence skills as they supervise their own snack time and manage their coats. They concentrate well on things that interest them. Children talk confidently about different parts of their lives. They share and take turns and work happily together. They are aware of their own needs and feelings and show sensitivity towards others. Children learn about the wider world through different activities.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Generally Good Children are confident speakers and express their ideas as they play talking about past, present and future events. They listen well and respond to songs and stories with enjoyment. They choose books in the book corner and understand the structure of stories. They practice their emergent writing at the writing table, or by making patterns in glitter trays or the sand. The more able children have limited everyday opportunities to learn about letter sounds and linking these to the written letter.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Generally Good Children recognise and name numerals as they use puzzles and matching number games. They explore colour and shape as they match, sort and thread beads. They discuss size, weight and volume as they fill buckets of sand or use graduated containers in the water. Children begin to understand simple addition and subtraction when they sing rhymes like 5 currant buns. However, there are few opportunities for more able children to extend their problem solving skills and to record their findings.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children find out about living things as they plant runner beans, observe natural things such as leaves, feathers, conkers and pumpkins. They talk about changes when they look at the weather and day and night. They materials and objects and learn about what they are and how they work. They build during craft activities and with construction kits. Children use tools well and have access to simple ICT equipment. They benefit from visits out into the community and from visitors to the group

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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 notice the effects of exercise on their bodies when they are hot after running around outside. They develop a good sense of space while riding on wheeled toys or choosing somewhere to sit at story time. They move with awareness of others and in different directions during imaginative movement and group dancing games. Children develop good hand eye coordination when using a wide range of tools and equipment such as rollers and cutters, scissors and pencils.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children show good imaginative skills in the role-play area, when using the dolls house or construction toys. They use props, assign roles and retell stories. The organisation of the session gives children time to explore the range of materials available to paint, draw and make models and collages. They join in with singing a range of songs and actions rhymes and also use instruments in their free play to experiment with sounds. They use their all senses through a range of activities provided.

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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

• improve the planning of activities to detail what needs to be done to either support less able children or extend the more able children's learning to ensure that all children continue to make progress • improve planning and staff's awareness of how to develop more able children's mathematical problem solving skills and how children can record their findings i.e. mark making, charts, pictures, and to encourage recognition of letters sounds and letters in more practical and everyday situations • provide opportunities for parents to share children's progress records so that appropriate targets are set for children and that both staff and parents know about them and can work together to teach and support their children.

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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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