St Augustine's Primary School

Brockworth Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 101448 Inspection date 17/11/2010 Inspector Janet Dinsmore

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Setting address Moorfield Road, Brockworth, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL3 4JL Telephone number 01452 862 809 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

Brockworth Pre-School opened in 1972 as a committee run group. It operates from a room within Brockworth Primary School village of Brockworth on the outskirts of the city of Gloucester. The pre-school is the only user of this room. The premises consist of a large playroom and toilets. There is an enclosed area for children’s outdoor play. The pre-school serves the local area. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register to care for up to 24 children in the Early Years age range. There are currently 31 children from two to four years on roll. Some children receive early years education funding. Children attend for a variety of sessions and older children are offered five sessions. The group supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school opens five days a week during school term times.

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Description of the setting

Sessions on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday open from 8.50 am to 3.05 pm and on Thursday from 8.50 am to 11.50 am. There are six part-time staff members who work with the children and two have level three early years qualifications, two others are working towards level 3, and one has a level 2 qualification. The setting receives support from a mentor teacher from the local authority. The pre-school is a member of the Gloucestershire Parent and Toddler Association.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Brockworth Pre-school is inclusive and provides a safe learning environment where children's needs are met. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities make satisfactory progress in their learning through the support they receive from dedicated, appropriately trained staff and good resources. The leaders show that there is a satisfactory capacity for improvement through self- evaluation, with good links with local authority advisors and the school. Parents are welcomed and contribute as volunteers and find the staff friendly and helpful.

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further?

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

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further?

 improve observation and assessment recording so that they clearly demonstrate children's progress in all areas of learning and development and identify next steps  ensure that children's independence is promoted, particularly at snack and lunchtime  improve access and resourcing of the outside area so that it supports all areas of children's learning at all times. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The staff have all had recent safeguarding training and necessary checks are carried out. Children are kept safe in the setting. The environment is checked effectively each day for potential hazards. Risk assessments are carried out for trips to ensure that children are safe. Administration of medicine and accident records are kept appropriately. Drop off and collection routines are secure so that all children are safe. The pre-school is well staffed. Good ratios are maintained at all times. All signs are displayed in English and Polish and there are good links with the parents of children who have English as an additional language as they take part in the volunteer rota.

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the early years provision

The manager promotes equal opportunities, values diversity and uses a range of self-evaluation tools to identify areas accurately that need further development. These include parent questionnaires, ideas from the staff team in weekly staff meetings, and recording what is provided using a recognised set of criteria. There are regular staff appraisals that identify training needs. The manager makes appropriate use of the advice and support received from the local authority early years advisory teacher. Four of the six recommendations from the previous inspection have been implemented. The use of the outside area for all areas of learning in all seasons is not yet fully developed, and assessments record areas of children's development and some indication of next steps, but do not yet give an overview of progress in all areas of learning and development.

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the early years provision

The staff team meets weekly to discuss the progress of children, but this is not formally recorded as part of learning journey evidence. There is a link with the children's centre, which is also on the school site. The speech therapist based there visits regularly and supports children with speech and language needs. Support for curriculum development is also being given by children's centre staff. There is a good partnership with parents, some volunteering regularly in the pre- school. Parents are pleased with their children's progress and report that they find the staff friendly and helpful.

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and outcomes for children

Children make effective use of a well resourced, spacious room to engage in purposeful play with staff and volunteers. Volunteers provide effective support for groups of children in the role-play area and later outside searching for toys in leaves. Children choose from a good range of floor puzzles, showing aptitude at completing them and staff provide support with appropriate questions or comments to assist learning. Large wooden blocks are used by children to build a track for vehicles and various types of towers. At the time of the inspection, a child commented on the effect of the slope that was made. The role-play area is used well and children enjoy 'washing up' after serving each other with the model food they have been playing with. Children frequently use the books in the book corner, demonstrating an active interest in the content. They request adults to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

read and this leads to small groups sharing a story throughout the morning. The area for number activities is well resourced and, at the time of inspection, children were using a bead and counting frame and could identify numbers and colours and count accurately. Pencils and crayons and a variety of paper are available and used by children for mark making. Attractive displays show examples of the children's current work as a result of a recent visit to an arboretum and children know that the leaves in the garden had fallen from the tree. Planning, discussed at the staff meeting, shows that activities cover all areas of learning and development and follow children's current interests.

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and outcomes for children

Children play safely with large pipes in the outside area as a result of staff interaction and supervision. Children enjoy playing with the leaves and balls and constructing a low balance beam on logs. The restricted time spent in the outside area, and its resourcing. limits its use for extending children's learning. Snack time is well organised so that children help prepare the table and try different fruit and vegetables. The opportunity is used effectively by staff to support learning, for example, children identify colours of plates and notice that the cup makes a circle imprint on a paper towel. Healthy snacks are available daily and parents provide healthy food in children's lunch boxes. These group activities are not fully exploited by staff to encourage children's greater independence for example, by pouring their own drinks and getting their own food out of the lunch boxes.

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and outcomes for children

Children respond well in the large group session, contributing the missing words in a familiar story and accurately counting backwards for a number song. There are planned opportunities several times during the week for children to use computer programmes, programmable toys, recording equipment and a digital camera. Although children's achievements are recorded there is not a consistent method of tracking children's individual progress across all strands of learning and development. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported because of the individual care and attention that they receive. 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 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 2 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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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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