Rainbow Children Community Pre School

Rainbow Children Community Pre School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY363842 Inspection date 18/10/2010 Inspector Debbie Newbury

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Setting address St. David's RC Church, Everest Road, Stanwell, Staines, TW19 7EE Telephone number 01784244497 Email Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Rainbow Children Community Pre-School originally registered in 2000. It moved to new premises in 2007 and now operates from a purpose-built building within the grounds of St. David's Roman Catholic Church, in Stanwell near Staines in Surrey. Children have access to a play room and a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The pre-school is managed by a voluntary management committee, made up of parents of children at the pre-school and co-opted members. Children come from the local and wider community.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register, and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 26 children may attend at any one time. There are currently 27 children aged from two to four years on roll. Of these, 25 children receive funding for nursery education. The pre- school supports children with special educational needs, learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school opens each weekday from 9.10 am to 12.10 pm during term time. The pre-school employs seven members of staff. Of these, four hold appropriate early years qualifications and two are currently studying for Level three qualifications. The pre-school receives support from the local authority's Early Years advisors.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children enjoy their time at the Rainbow Children Community pre-school where they benefit from a stimulating and enabling environment. As a consequence, outcomes for children in respect of promoting their welfare and supporting their learning and development are positive. Staff work hard to meet the individual needs of the children attending and they successfully promote most aspects of inclusion. They engage positively with parents and carers, whilst arrangements for working in partnership with other professionals who may be supporting individual children are a particular strength. The pre-school demonstrates a good capacity to maintain continuous improvement.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 develop use of systems of self-evaluation to monitor the ongoing progress of the pre-school and identify any gaps in provision  update the record of risk assessment to include any assessments of risks for outings This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  develop further the promotion of inclusive practice by displaying words in the home languages used by children in the setting.

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the early years provision

Children are fully protected because staff are secure in their understanding of safeguarding issues. They are aware of possible indicators of abuse and neglect and the action they must take if they have any concerns. Information about referral procedures is readily accessible and parents have been made aware of the pre-school's responsibility. There are robust systems in place for the recruitment, vetting and assessment of ongoing suitability of staff. Risk assessments and daily checks of the indoor and outdoor environments are completed. However, the record of risk assessment has not been extended to include the outings children go on in the local community. Nevertheless, children's safety on these trips is assured because high adult:child ratios are adhered to and staff undertake checks beforehand. The pre-school has also recently purchased high visibility jackets for children to wear when they go off site. This means children can be easily seen.

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the early years provision

Children benefit from an enabling environment, inside and out, which is beautifully presented and well organised. Lots of attention is given to ensuring each area of learning is covered and that children can be as independent as possible, for example by ensuring coat pegs are positioned at low level. Good team work is evident between staff, management and the committee, with everyone fully aware of their roles and responsibilities. This means that sessions flow well and the overall organisation of the pre-school is geared towards promoting positive outcomes for children. The staff team meets required qualification levels and take advantage of further training opportunities, which ensures ongoing professional development. There is a culture of reflective practice evident at the pre-school, which includes taking on board the views of staff and advisors from the local authority. This has led to the review of practice and implementation of changes,

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the early years provision

such as the re-organisation of resources to ensure they can be more easily accessed by children. All recommendations made at the pre-school's last inspection have been successfully addressed. The outcome of these means that children are presented with a more enabling learning environment and, as a result of the review of documentation there are clearer systems in place in respect of safeguarding procedures and the seeking of parental consent for emergency treatment. This contributes to children's overall safety. However, systems to monitor the ongoing progress of the pre-school and for identifying any gaps in its provision are not fully effective. Self-evaluation forms have been completed in the past but have not been revisited recently. Similarly, the pre-school has issued parental questionnaires in the past to gauge the views of its parents, but again has not issued these recently to gain the current input of parents and carers on a more

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the early years provision

Parents are warmly welcomed into the pre-school and staff chat freely with them. This helps to build strong, friendly relationships. They are well informed about the organisation of the pre-school and are presented with many opportunities to engage in discussions with staff about their children's achievements and progress. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 This is achieved through the display of information, issue of newsletters, viewing their child's learning journey and meetings with the key person, for example at the termly coffee mornings. Parents are made aware of how the key person is supporting a child's identified next steps in their learning and they may be asked to assist with this at home. Parents spoken to during the course of the inspection were very complimentary about the pre-school and the staff looking after their children.

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the early years provision

Excellent systems for partnership working with others supporting children, especially those with special educational needs, have been devised. Professionals and other agencies are welcomed into the setting and the pre-school is fully involved in the setting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of individual educational plans for children. Highly effective methods for supporting children's transition into school are also in place, which are extended further in respect of children with additional needs. This includes staff visiting the schools and such innovative ideas as taking photographs of the school environment, which they use as aids to talk to children about going to school. The intention of this is to help ease children's transfer to school.

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the early years provision

Staff recognise the individuality of the children in their care and work hard to cater for each childs individual needs and interests. They provide resources that depict positive images of diversity and plan activities and experiences relating to different traditions, beliefs and celebrations. This helps children begin to learn about and value others. Children who have English as an additional language receive appropriate support to help them improve their communication skills. However, there are no words displayed in their home languages to help them and their families feel fully included. This also means that opportunities to broaden the awareness of other children of linguistic diversity are missed.

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and outcomes for children

Children are supported in making good progress towards the early learning goals and in gaining skills for future learning. Activities are differentiated to cater for individual children and their key person monitors their progress and plans for the next steps in their learning. Children are happy and confident and separate with ease from their parents and carers on arrival at the pre-school. They benefit from a stimulating environment, inside and out, which offers opportunities for learning and development across all areas of learning. There are some delightful wall displays indoors featuring children's artwork. These show use of different materials and it is very clear that staff take a great deal of care to ensure children's work is valued and that they are presented with a visually stimulating environment. A free flow approach to outside play is followed and indeed, most children choose to spend their time outside in the extremely attractive and well equipped garden. The

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and outcomes for children

'mini-beast hotel' and planting areas which house different herbs and flowers, grown by the children, allows them to learn about living creatures and explore This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 growth. There is scope for different types of physical activity and ample space to run around. Children explore the balance beams and pedal around furiously on a selection of wheeled toys, including tandem bikes, which necessitates them working together. They are adept at changing direction and avoiding collisions. Children learn about numbers, shapes and colours and they engage in simple problem solving activities during the course of their play and as staff ask questions at every opportunity to encourage this. Children understand that access to some activities is confined to a certain number of children at any one time and they may need to wait their turn, if that number has already been reached. They enjoy

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and outcomes for children

constructing with the large wooden blocks and investigate different ways of putting these together to achieve their desired outcome. Children use their imaginations during role-play situations based on their own interests and familiar scenarios. For instance, the provision of a toy fuel pump leads to a child taking on the role of petrol attendant with the result that there is very quickly a line of 'drivers' patiently waiting to fill their tanks with fuel. They understand the concept of needing to pay and hand over their pretend money. Children listen with obvious enjoyment to well-known stories, such as 'The three little pigs' and join in with gusto to the familiar refrain of 'I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down.' Stories are well told and fully interactive. This is achieved through the provision of visual props that the children are in charge of and by asking questions to encourage them to

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and outcomes for children

express their ideas and to check on their understanding. Children choose to spend time looking at books and they confidently join in with rhymes and songs. They are gaining awareness of letters and sounds and explore mark-making in a variety of contexts, both indoors and outside, using different mediums. Children are presented with good opportunities to explore and investigate using their senses. They show a lot of interest in cornflour play and are supported in noticing how this substance changes from solid to liquid form. There are many natural seasonal resources to explore, such as leaves and conkers, which have been collected by children on autumn walks in the vicinity of the pre-school or are brought in by children who have collected them on outings with their parents.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from a safe and secure environment that is clean and well- maintained. They are mostly well supported in learning about good personal hygiene practices. However, there is a lack of consistency in ensuring children always wash their hands before eating, which could result in them receiving mixed messages. The pre-school operates a snack bar which enables children to make their own decisions as to when they would like a drink and something to eat. They are offered a nice choice of healthy foods and the provision of small jugs and tongs to handle some items encourages independence and the refinement of fine motor skills. Parents and carers contribute food items, which promotes a shared approach to healthy eating between home and pre-school. Staff supervise children carefully and support them in learning about how to keep themselves safe. For example, by providing guidance and clear explanations as children use scissors and

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and outcomes for children

by responding promptly to potentially unsafe situations that naturally occur during the course of the session. Children learn how to leave the building safely in the event of a fire as they practise fire drills regularly.

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and outcomes for children

Children's self-esteem and confidence is fostered well because they receive lots of praise and encouragement. Staff are kind and caring and act as positive role models for cooperative behaviour. For instance, by instilling and reinforcing This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 awareness of the pre-school's golden rule of 'kind hands' and what this means. Children have opportunities to find out about the needs of others as the pre-school actively engages in fundraising activities, both on a local level and by taking part in national events such as 'Children in Need.' This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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Early Years Foundation Stage

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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Stage

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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