Hawkchurch Church of England School

Amber Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 113356 Inspection date 29/11/2010 Inspector Kerry Iden

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Setting address Scout Hut, Amberley Road, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 4LN Telephone number 01403 272173 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

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

Amber pre-school was registered in 1984 and is managed by a committee. The pre-school is located in the Roffey area of Horsham, West Sussex. The pre-school have access to a hall, with kitchen and outdoor facilities.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 16 children between two and five years, may attend the setting at any one time. There are currently 33 children on roll, of whom 23 are in receipt of educational funding. The provision welcomes children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The provision opens Monday to Thursday with morning and afternoon sessions available and an extended morning session on a Friday. Children may attend for a variety of sessions. The setting receives support from a mentor form the local authority and has close links with nearby schools. There are currently seven members of staff working within the group, all of whom have a relevant childcare qualification.

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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

The manager and staff work well as a team and are being supported by a newly formed committee who are beginning to understand their responsibility to the group. Children are well settled within the group and are making good progress towards the early learning goals with most documentation in place to support the running of the setting. Throughout the day-to-day running of the sessions staff and children evaluate well. They make their contributions about changes in resources and future activities. Through discussion staff members and parents are encouraged to contribute their ideas to the manager who is formalising evaluation by completing the Ofsted self-evaluation form and identifying areas for future development. The committee and manager have an accurate awareness of the strengths and areas for development and with their positive attitude demonstrate that they have the capacity to make continuous improvement within the setting.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure all records are easily accessible and available for inspection at all times (Documentation) 10/01/2011

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  develop systems to ensure a robust and organised system for the storage of all relevant staffing records  ensure confidentiality in all records when recording details on children

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the early years provision

Children are safeguarded effectively because staff have an understanding of child protection procedures. Some staff have undertaken child protection training and the manager acts as the designated person taking overall responsibility in this area. The recently appointed chair of the committee and pre-school manager work collaboratively to recruit and appoint new staff; they display a good awareness of the clearances that must be undertaken on new staff. However, the systems in place for the details and records of staff is not sufficiently robust and systematic to ensure they are aware of what details are held on each staff member, during inspection not all documents were immediately available. The staff work collaboratively with parents about the safe collection of children from the setting. Children are not released into the care of someone unknown to staff members and parents are requested to notify staff if collection arrangements change. Emergency

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the early years provision

strategies are put in to place where necessary to ensure children's safety. Documentation in place is effective in supporting the setting although systems for recording injuries to children were not organised in order to ensure confidentiality. Risk assessments are completed daily on the setting as well as additional assessments being completed for outings away from the setting and emergency changes to procedures such as the sudden change of hall use. All risk assessments are recorded systematically and are currently under review for their effectiveness.

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the early years provision

The committee, staff, parents and children are all able to contribute their ideas within the pre-school. On a daily basis staff and children evaluate the resources making changes to ensure a continually interesting environment, children also add their ideas for future activities. Parents are able to contribute their ideas verbally to staff members and become involved within the pre-school by joining the committee. The manager and chair of the committee are keen to review and improve systems to support the staff and the running of the pre-school. For example, the manager has implemented a new training analysis where staff cascade training they have attended. Three- and six-month evaluation of such training identifies the usefulness of this within the setting. Additionally the chair of the committee has implemented new parent/committee packs and staff handbooks for their information. Collectively they demonstrate an accurate awareness of the

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the early years provision

strengths and weaknesses within the setting and show they have the ability to drive improvement within the setting.

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the early years provision

The staff make good use of the resources available to them. In their normal hall children have access to many resources enabling them to make many decisions about their play. Their art work, good labelling around the hall and photographic time lines displayed, give children a real ownership of their setting. Staff organise resources well in the temporary change to the larger hall ensuring children continue to have opportunities to make choices about their play. Free flow to the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 outside space is organised for parts of the morning extending children's choices. All equipment is of a good quality and fit for purpose, the environment is conducive to learning, safe and well cared for.

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the early years provision

The staff are establishing good links with parents to enable them to gain an awareness of each child's background and individual needs. Partnerships with outside agencies are also in place. The manager liaises with others also delivering the Early years Foundation Stage to share developmental information, key persons make available their identified next steps. Parents are kept fully informed of the progress their child is making through the regular discussions and their input through the termly records they complete. This is in addition to the verbal exchange of information on a daily basis with staff who make themselves approachable and available to the parents, therefore partnerships with parents are well established.

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and outcomes for children

Children enter the setting confidently and separate from their parents with ease. They are able to adapt to the temporary change in the arrangements as they use the larger hall; staff members excitedly inform them this is so they can have the garden area completed which they had been waiting for. The children show high levels of confidence and independence within the setting, they are able to make their own choices about their play and routines such as snack time and outside play. There is a feeling of familiarity between the children with some firm friendships in place. They interact well with each other and the staff members who join in with their play. Children are able to use their own initiative in organising themselves in games with few resources, for example, as a group of children used their imaginations and worked cooperatively together with just a large cardboard box or similarly when a small group of children organised themselves with a game

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and outcomes for children

of musical chairs. Staff promote child-led play; they interact well with the children, offering individual challenge and extension through open-ended questions and suggestions. All staff complete learning journals for their key children, within these they record observations of the children, complimented with many photographs of the children at play. Through the observations and identified next steps made on each individual child, staff ensure all children are making progress given their own capabilities. Parents are invited to be a part of their child's learning as they are regularly asked to give their feedback about their child's progress through charted written information and ongoing discussion. Despite the change of hall, the children still display an ownership of the setting, they know where things belong, for example as they access additional resources such as scissors from the trolley and are comfortable with the routine of the day. Staff support the children and all

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and outcomes for children

have a good understanding of how children learn, therefore children achieve whilst they enjoy their time in the setting.

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and outcomes for children

Children show they feel comfortable with the staff in the setting, they readily ask for help and discuss different topics. For example, following on from a brief group time where staff members inform them of events of the day the children are This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 confident to ask further questions through the morning as they celebrate St. Andrew's day and discuss some Scottish traditions. Children asked questions about 'Harry the haggis' they create in a craft activity as discuss it trying to compare it to other foods and most enjoy sharing in the hot porridge; staff use the opportunity to reinforce safety messages about hot pans and food. Children, generally have a good understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe in the setting. Several comment on making sure children are off the mat before coming down the slide and when asked by staff members why, the children know they need to have

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and outcomes for children

the large cushion on a rug or it will slide across the floor. Children are learning the benefits of a healthy lifestyles through the routines and activities within the setting. Children are able to access snack times when they choose, although staff monitor this well to ensure all children receive a snack and drink through the session. Towards the end of each half term the staff hand over the snack time to the parents who become involved in 'snack attack'. One parent coordinates this with ideas and suggestions contributed from all. Snacks may link with current themes, for example, when discussing nursery rhymes parents made clock faces with pitta breads, raisins and carrot sticks as they discussed hickory dickory dock. The outside space is currently under development to offer the children an all year round surface although they still have access to the hard standing area where they enjoy the opportunity to race on the scooters and kick up the autumn leaves.

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and outcomes for children

Children take initiative in their play, working well independently as well as collaborating and cooperating successfully with their peers. Their behaviour throughout the day is good as they are interested and motivated in their play. Children take responsibility through the day, such as helping to tidy up and deciding themselves when to visit the snack table and if to go outside. Children's progress in communication language and literacy is developing well. They have access to the reading area where they can read alone or with staff members. The setting actively promotes listening and sharing stories and introduced a reading scheme with families where children use their individual book bags to take home and share with their families a book or DVD of their choosing. Staff promote their mark-making and early writing skills through different activities and free access to writing materials. Children are mostly confident in their speech, some are able to

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and outcomes for children

share news and speak in front of the group. Staff value the children and the contributions they make ensuring everyone can make a positive contribution to the setting. 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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