South Petherwin Pre SchoolOfsted inspection, 18 Nov 2010

South Petherwin Pre School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 102856 Inspection date 18/11/2010 Inspector Janet Dinsmore

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Setting address South Petherwin CPS, South Petherwin, Launceston, Cornwall, PL15 7LE Telephone number 01566 779476 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

South Petherwin Pre-school has been registered since 1995. It operates from its own separate building in the grounds of the village school. The premises consist of a large playroom, entrance hall, kitchen, toilets and enclosed outside play area. The school playing field and playground are also used by the Pre-school and the pre-school children visit the reception class weekly. The setting is managed by a board of trustees, made up of parents and interested others, and is a registered charity. The Pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register to care for up to 24 children. There are currently 27 children from two-and-a-half to four-years on roll and some are in receipt of early years education funding. The setting is able to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those for whom English is an additional language. The pre-school offers sessions from 8:45

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Description of the setting

am to 3 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and 8.45 am to 1 pm on Wednesday and Friday during term-time only. Three members of staff work with the children. One has a relevant Level 4 childcare qualification, one level 3 and one level 2. The setting receives support from the local authority and is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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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

South Petherwin Pre-school is inclusive and provides a safe, stimulating learning environment where children's individual needs are well met. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, learn and develop well because of the good support and care they receive from well trained staff. Parents are fully involved in supporting development work at the pre-school and running the committee and there are good links with the Primary school ensuring a smooth transition. Local authority staff are assisting the pre-school staff in improving self- evaluation and assessment procedures, giving it a satisfactory capacity to further improve however systems are not sufficiently robust to address all weaknesses as there is a breach of a welfare requirement.

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further?

To meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 ensure that all records are easily accessible and available for inspection at all times 31/01/2011

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure that observation and assessment clearly records children's individual achievements in all areas of development, identifies the next steps in learning This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and carefully monitors their progress  improve self-evaluation with systematic and robust procedures for gathering the views of staff, parents and children, and for making improvements to the provision

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the early years provision

Leaders and managers are appropriately focused on embedding and driving forward improvement and they ensure that children are safe, settled, happy and enjoy their learning. Resources are well deployed, especially staffing. Appropriate policies and procedures are now reviewed and updated on an annual cycle and welfare requirements are mostly all met. Children are safe, and procedures have been improved to fulfil the recommendation in the previous inspection report. Necessary staff checks have been carried out, but these are not readily accessible and this is a breach of a welfare requirement. All staff have had safeguarding training within the last year and the committee chairman conducts an appropriate annual review for staff including job description, terms and conditions and appraisal.

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the early years provision

Work with the local authority early years advisory service has assisted staff with an audit and self-evaluation of the welfare requirements. This is ensuring that the setting is inclusive and promotes equality and diversity well. Recommended changes in practice are still at early stages of development. As yet there has been insufficient time to demonstrate the improvement in the assessment procedures to ensure that there is a record that children are making good progress in all areas of learning and development, or to use this record to identify any weaknesses in provision. There is not yet a systematic, robust self-evaluation process in place taking account of the views of all staff, parents and children.

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the early years provision

The good partnerships with special educational needs and/or disabilities specialists and speech therapists assist staff in supporting children with additional learning needs. The local children's centre teacher has also made suggestions to promote the teaching of phonics, which has led to a planned 'sound of the week'. Strong partnership with the school and weekly contact with the reception teacher enable good links and transition to occur.

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the early years provision

There is a good partnership with parents and carers. Planned activities and daily snacks are displayed in the lobby so they are fully informed about what their children will be doing and there are regular newsletters. The key-worker system in place provides a direct staff link to parents. Staff work well with parents and carers to maintain consistency between pre-school and home, for example, in supporting toilet training. Staff have established good relationships with the parents of children who have English as an additional language. As part of the admission procedure parents identify how they hope their children will develop at the pre- school. As children progress parents and carers review their child's learning journey record and add comments, also informing staff of their child's achievements at home. Parents are actively involved in running the committee that administers the pre-school and have given practical help in improving the outdoor

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the early years provision

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 area. They appreciate the work of the pre-school and all that their children achieve there.

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and outcomes for children

Children are calm and purposeful, making good use of the creative and play opportunities offered. They particularly enjoy using paint from spray bottles outdoors on large paper and commenting about the drips flowing down. The writing area is used well, enabling children to develop skills in drawing around objects, selecting mark-making materials and different papers from a good range provided.

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and outcomes for children

Children are safe and independently adhere to hand-washing routines before snacks. They know the importance of washing hands, for example, after touching the visiting animals at the school the previous week. Children enjoy sitting together with staff at lunch time and have good discussions about the food in the lunch box and the chickens at home. During the inspection the contents of lunch boxes were healthy and being enjoyed by the children.

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and outcomes for children

Children's independence is promoted well in the setting by all staff. Adult support is provided at a table where healthy snacks are offered daily. Children develop good independence with a self-registering system involving name recognition and by collecting mugs and plates. They pour their own drinks and spread the toast with a spread, effectively supported by an adult. They can put on their coats and boots independently before accessing the outside area. Relationships are very positive and adult interaction provides good models of language for children, through praise and questioning to extend learning. Good examples were observed in commending one child helping another with mouse skills at the computer and cooperative behaviour on the swings. Children participate enthusiastically in the adult-led group time incorporating relaxation exercises to music, Makaton signing and action songs. Children have free access to suitable computer programmes.

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and outcomes for children

They make positive contributions to their own learning, for example, a story request by a child led to an effective small group activity. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported with advice from the area specialists.

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and outcomes for children

The indoor and outdoor provision is well laid out giving children access to a range of resources to develop learning and play. Children enjoy playing with flour, filling cups, offering 'coffee' and discovering small hidden objects, which effectively promotes their sensory, manipulative and social skills. The recently developed outdoor provision, using parents' skills, has fenced areas for role play, large scale physical play, creative activities and an area for the children to grow vegetables. Detailed weekly plans identify a full range of activities covering all areas of learning and development for individual children as a result of previous observations. Broad themes linking the story choices and activities and the current water theme are used effectively to discuss water shortage in developing countries and all the uses made of water. The children helped make objects and pictures for a display relating to this so enabling them to contribute to the learning. Whilst observations

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and assessments record individual children's achievements, the next steps in their progress are not closely or systematically monitored against the stages of development. The dates of evidence recorded show that there is not a sufficiently regular systematic focus on this. 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 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 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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