East Coker Playgroup

INSPECTION DETAILS

Inspection Date 21/06/2004 Inspector Name Bridget Copson

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SETTING DETAILS

Day Care Type Full Day Care Setting Name East Coker Playgroup Setting Address East Coker Sports Pavillion Long Furlong Lane, East Coker Yeovil Somerset BA22 9LQ

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ORGANISATION DETAILS

Name East Coker Playgroup Address East Coker Sports Pavillion Long Furlong Lane, East Coker Yeovil Somerset BA22 9LQ

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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

East Coker Playgroup is a committee run pre-school which has been established since 1973. It is situated in the Sports Pavilion in the village of East Coker, on the south side of Yeovil. It serves the village, surrounding rural areas and the suburbs of Yeovil. Accommodation includes a main playroom with kitchen facilities, a smaller playroom, toilets and store facilities. There is a concrete outdoor play area under a veranda and a large sports field for children to use. The playgroup is registered to care for 24 children aged 2 to 8 years. It is open Monday to Friday in term time from 09.15 to 13:15 with additional afternoon sessions organised in the summer term. In the school holidays the group organises sessions according to the demand for places. The playgroup is registered to receive funding for 3 and 4 year olds. There are currently 50 children on the register, of these there are 26 children aged 3 years and

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Information about the setting

15 children aged 4 years in receipt of funding. There are no children attending with English as an additional language and no children attending with special educational needs. There are 9 regular child care staff employed, 6 of who either hold or are working towards a level 2 or 3 childcare qualification. Additional staff join the team during the school holidays to offer special skills. The group has links with the local Early Years Partnership.

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How good is the Day Care?

East Coker Playgroup offers good quality care for children. The team of staff regularly attend training opportunities to update their knowledge and skills. They are clear of their roles and responsibilities and work effectively to offer well organised sessions within a well planned, warm and welcoming environment. The staff have a good understanding of safety issues and ensure appropriate measures are in place to keep children safe and secure at all times.

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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 Good health and hygiene is promoted through good practice and educating children. The playgroup offers children a good choice of play provision to promote all areas of development and learning. Children experience a wide variety of resources depicting positive images of diversity to give them an insight into many different cultures and beliefs. The staff interact with enjoyment and interest. They encourage children to contribute their own knowledge and skills in discussion and practical activities. They create a happy, positive environment for children to learn and develop at their own pace. The children are happy, confident and developing good independence. The staff manage children's behaviour consistently and well, offering lots of

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How good is the Day Care?

encouragement and praise. The children are clear of the expectations and will correct each other appropriately. The staff have a good understanding of promoting equal opportunities within the group. They actively involve all children and have effective systems in place to meet each child's needs, including any special requirements for children with additional needs. The staff are available to parents each day should they wish to discuss their child's progress and well being. There are effective systems in place to ensure all information relating to children and their families is kept confidential. Documentation is organised and easily accessible, however some additional information is required from parents.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

At the last inspection the playgroup agreed to develop procedures for lost or uncollected children, to conduct a risk assessment of the premises and to keep a record of significant incidents. The playgroup have produced procedures for lost and uncollected children. They have conducted a detailed risk assessment of the premises, although this has not been updated since March 2003. In addition they check all areas of the provision each day before children arrive. They have an incident book for recording anything significant.

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What is being done well?

• The staff are all clear of their roles and responsibilities and work effectively to offer well organised sessions within a well planned, warm and welcoming environment. • The staff interact with enjoyment and interest. They create a happy, positive environment for children to learn and develop at their own pace. The children are happy, confident and developing good independence. • The playgroup offers children a good choice of play provision to promote all areas of development and learning. Children experience a wide variety of resources depicting positive images of diversity to give them an insight into many different cultures and beliefs.

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What is being done well?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000; and Section 122 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 • The staff have a good understanding of safety issues and ensure appropriate measures are in place to keep children safe and secure at all times. • The staff have a good understanding of promoting equal opportunities within the group. They actively involve all children and have effective systems in place to meet each child's needs, including any special requirements for children with additional needs. • The staff manage children's behaviour consistently and well, offering lots of encouragement and praise. The children are clear of the expectations and will correct each other appropriately.

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What needs to be improved?

• Documentation; to ensure parents sign to acknowledge any record of medication administered to children; • documentation; to obtain from parents details of named individuals authorised to collect children.

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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 parents sign to acknowledge any record of medication administered to children. 12 Obtain from parents details of named individuals authorised to collect 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?

East Coker Playgroup offers children high quality provision helping them make very good progress towards the early learning goals. Teaching is very good. The staff have a good understanding of the early learning goals and are clear what they intend children to learn. Staff set appropriate challenges for children, supporting and extending learning according to each child's stage of development and allowing them to work at their own pace. Staff apply effective teaching methods. They offer interesting, well planned activities with lots discussion and practical activities with real life resources. Staff manage children's behaviour consistently and well. They create a cheerful, positive environment with an emphasis on enjoyment. However, this can on occasions act as a distraction to some children during quieter group times. Partnership with parents is very good. Parents are encouraged to share information

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How effective is the nursery education?

about their child with staff on admission and throughout the year. Parents are provided with details of all forthcoming themes, topics and special events. They are encouraged to get involved with their child's learning at home and to actively contribute resources, information and skills to support themes and help in person with special events. Leadership and management is very good. The Manager and staff are all clear of their individual roles and responsibilities and are supported by a parent committee. Through daily communication and regular staff meetings they are able to monitor all areas of the provision. The group is committed to improvement. They have developed good liaison with the village school who they visit and invite to attend the playgroup. They discuss teaching methods with the reception teacher to ensure consistency and borrow resources to support individual learning needs. Staff are

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How effective is the nursery education?

committed to updating their knowledge and skills through training opportunities and will share information with the team.

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What is being done well?

• The children are happy and excited in their play. They access new activities with interest, sharing their own knowledge and experiences with confidence in the familiar group. • The children make good use of the books to read alone, in groups and for reference. • The children write and scribe freely whilst learning to hold a pencil correctly. Older children are learning to write correctly formed letters. • The children are developing a good understanding of time and place. They look at their own local environment as well as exploring different cultures and beliefs of people in other countries.

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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 children use their imaginations well in many different activities. • The staff apply effective teaching methods to promote learning and development. They offer interesting, well planned activities with lots discussion and practical activities with real life resources. • The staff set appropriate challenges for children, supporting and extending learning according to each child's stage of development and allowing them to work at their own pace.

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What needs to be improved?

• organisation of group times to provide a less distracting environment for children.

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What has improved since the last inspection?

The playgroup has made very good progress since the last inspection. The staff provide spontaneous and organised activities for children to learn letters of the alphabet. Children are learning to recognise, name and sound letters well. The staff provide children with problem solving activities which encourage them to use their knowledge to complete, such as jigsaw puzzles, deciding if more or less is required.

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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 excited in their play. They access new activities with interest, sharing their own knowledge and experiences with confidence in the familiar group. They are forming good relationships with staff and peers, learning to share and play well together. They are developing good personal independence both in caring for themselves and accessing play provision. Children are establishing a good sense of belonging. They talk freely about home life, holidays, friends and experiences.

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COMMUNICATION, LANGUAGE AND LITERACY

Judgement: Very Good Children's spoken language is developing well. They are learning new words regularly and learn to think about how to use words to describe and to rhyme when making up poems. They are learning to recognise, name and sound letters of the alphabet well. Children make good use of the books to read alone, in groups and for reference. They write and scribe freely whilst learning to hold a pencil correctly. Older children are learning to write correctly formed letters.

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MATHEMATICAL DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children are developing a good understanding of numbers. They can count from 1 to 10 with confidence, older children can count much further. They are learning to recognise numerals and older children can sequence numbers correctly. Children are developing a good understanding of shape, size and position and are learning to use the correct descriptive language associated. They use their knowledge to solve practical problems such as completing jigsaw puzzles.

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KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD

Judgement: Very Good Children explore and investigate different objects and materials using all their senses. They study nature and living things, such as growing plants. They learn about ICT through programmable toys and equipment which they use independently. Children are developing a good understanding of time and place. They look at their own local environment as well as exploring the wider world. They learn about many different cultures and beliefs through studying the lives of people in other countries.

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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 move with confidence and co-ordination in singing, music and movement and negotiating equipment around the room. They express themselves imaginatively moving and dancing to different types of music. Children learn about staying healthy and caring for their bodies throughout the different seasons. They use many different tools with materials which staff teach them to use safely and effectively, such as scissors, staplers and hole punches with paper, and miniature real tools with wood.

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CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Judgement: Very Good Children use their imaginations well in many different activities, including art and craft, story and poem making and music and movement. They experience different role play situations in their themed home corner which includes real life resources to extend their play. They express their thoughts and feelings well through discussion, sensory activities and role play. Children explore different types of music and instruments from around the world, listening and creating their own sounds.

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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 high quality. Children are making very 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

There are no significant weaknesses to report, but considerations should be given to improving the following: • There are no significant weaknesses reported, but consideration should be given to improving the following: • improve the organisation of group times to provide a less distracting environment for children.

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WHAT THE SETTING NEEDS TO DO NEXT

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

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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