The Harwich School

St Augustine's Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 115369 Inspection date 06/01/2011 Inspector Jane Wakelen

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Setting address St. Augustines Church Hall, St. Augustines Road, Belvedere, Kent, DA17 5HH Telephone number 0208 312 0616 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.

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as 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

St Augustine's Pre-School registered in 1992. It is a registered charity and located in a church hall in Belvedere, in the London Borough of Bexley. The pre-school has sole use of the hall, kitchen and toilets during the hours of operation. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The pre-school is open from 9.00am to 12.15pm Monday to Friday, term-time only.

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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 30 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 24 children aged from three to under five years on roll. The pre-school currently supports a number of children with English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are six members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least NVQ level 2. The setting provides funded early education for three and four-year-olds.

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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 settle well at the pre-school and are valued as individuals. Staff have a well developed knowledge of each child's needs, family circumstances and culture to ensure their individual needs are met. Children play in a safe and secure environment and enjoy playing in the diverse culture of the pre-school. The partnerships with parents and other local agencies is strong and helps to promote children's welfare and learning. This means that children make good progress from their starting points, towards the early learning goals of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Regular self-evaluation by the manager and staff helps to identify areas to develop and information from parental questionnaires are implemented to ensure the provision meets the needs of the families who attend.

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further?

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

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further?

 use children's next steps identified through observation to inform planning, to ensure all children's individual needs are met  review the policy for behaviour management to ensure all staff implement it effectively  promote children's independence skills in everyday routines such as snack time and choice of activities This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Safeguarding is given high priority in the pre-school and all staff have a good understanding about the procedure and implement the policy effectively. Staff renew their training on a regular basis to ensure their knowledge is up-to-date and that children are fully protected within the setting. All staff have relevant checks carried out to ensure their suitability and yearly appraisals to monitor their on- going suitability. There is clear information for parents on how to raise complaints or concerns to protect children's welfare. Staff are vigilant about children's safety and carry out daily check lists to support their risk assessments of the premises. A secure system for the safe arrival and departure of the children promotes their welfare and security.

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the early years provision

Children attend from diverse cultural backgrounds; all children learn to accept each others differences, for example, when learning about different celebrations. Each child is allocated a key person who obtains all the necessary information to ensure their individual needs are met. Toys and resources reflect the diversity within the setting, including positive images of disabilities and music from different countries. Food tasting is a favourite activity for the children, tasting different fruits and food from around the world. Staff promote inclusive practice well, enabling all children to develop a sense of belonging.

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the early years provision

Children use a satisfactory range of resources and toys that are age appropriate for the children attending the pre-school. They are able to make some choices from the resources and activities staff have chosen for them but are unable to self- select resources due to storage restrictions; which prevents children from being fully independent. Staff are happy for additional requests as they move around the room to support children in the various activities; however, not all staff are observant about activities that do not engage children's attention, resulting in occasional boisterous behaviour. All staff attend regular training courses throughout the year to keep their skills and knowledge up-to-date. Staff are aware of the policies and procedures within the pre-school but some staff do not always fully implement the behaviour policy, to provide a consistent message to the children.

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the early years provision

The manager and staff give high priority to working in partnership with the parents and carers, to provide a warm and welcoming environment for the children. Parents exchange information about their child for an initial profile to support their child's development. Parents are kept regularly informed through contact books, open mornings and verbal discussion about their child's progress. They contribute to their child's learning and development in all six areas of learning, through written comments and discussion with their child's key person. Staff issue questionnaires to parents during the year to obtain feedback on the provision, implementing changes where possible to meet the children's needs. A parent's noticeboard, policies and procedures and the parents pack give parents good information about the pre-school. Partnership with outside agencies is fully promoted, including the Area Special Needs Co-ordinator and the local Children's

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the early years provision

Centre. Regular meetings with agencies and support in the local community help to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 develop effective practice to meet children's individual needs.

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the early years provision

The manger and staff monitor the provision on a regular basis, taking into account the views of the parents and how well children are achieving. They are part of a project within the borough of Bexley called 'Every Child a Talker'. This has provided the staff with a tool to carefully monitor children's communication, language and literacy development in all six areas and to look at the provision and resources available. Staff meetings and completion of the self-evaluation form are used to discuss specific areas of the setting and to identify any weaknesses in the provision or areas to improve or develop, which ensures good continuous improvement.

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and outcomes for children

Children happily enter the pre-school, keen to play with the toys and see their friends. They are greeted by the staff and begin by spending time looking at a book with their parents until all the children have arrived. This helps encourage children's enjoyment of books and a library system supports a good partnership between home and the pre-school. Children enjoy opportunities to begin to identify letters in their name through sound and letter recognition and practice this when using their self-registration name cards. Daily opportunities to make marks using a variety of different mediums such as paint, pens and cornflour encourage children's handwriting skills and hand and eye co-ordination. Children eagerly use the computer programmes to further extend their letter and number recognition, promoting their skills for the future. Children enjoy using construction toys to build and joining the train track. They move the carriages around the track and show

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and outcomes for children

curiosity with the way the bridge lifts up and down and how the carriages join together with magnets. The dolls house is a firm favourite helping children act out familiar roles whilst moving the multicultural families around the house.

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and outcomes for children

Staff make regular observations of children's development and link this to the areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation stage. Staff use this information to identify the child's next steps in their development. Planning is in the process of being changed to ensure the long term plan incorporates all the aspects for each area of learning throughout the pre-school. Medium term plans are being developed together with short term plans to ensure children are provided with a good range of activities. However, children's next steps do not always inform the planning, resulting in some children's needs not being fully met and therefore activities do not always provide a challenge or engage interest.

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and outcomes for children

Children are encouraged to count the children at the table during snack time and how many pieces of banana there are when it is cut. They learn simple fractions when the apple is cut in half and learn about sharing the pieces equally amongst the children. Colours and shapes are included in everyday activities, for example, construction and art and craft, together with specific mathematical resources to promote children's numeracy skills. Children show good concentration when using their creative skills with the collage materials and paint and enjoy using their This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 imagination in the home corner with the kitchen utensils and the doctor's kit. They play well in small groups when an adult is present but occasionally become over excited when playing on their own and forget the rules of the setting about taking turns.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy daily opportunities for free flow play both indoors and outdoors, benefiting from the fresh air to support their well-being. Children have many opportunities to use the large play equipment, such as the climbing frame indoors or the sit and ride toys outdoors. They actively join in large group activity sessions, moving their bodies in time to the music and carrying out the actions told to them, thereby, learning the benefit of exercise for a healthy lifestyle. This is supported by a good range of healthy snacks, such as fresh fruit to ensure children's health is fully promoted. However, children use a bowl of water to wash their hands before snack time, which does not fully promote good hygiene routines.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn about keeping themselves safe, for example, sitting on their chair properly and not to climb directly behind the person going up the side of the climbing frame. Children show a good feeling of being safe as they build relationships with the staff and their peers. They approach staff when upset and need a cuddle or want to show their key person a picture they have made. Children assist staff in tidying up and receive praise from staff, helping to build their self-esteem. However, some staff do not encourage children's independence; for example, children do not always pour their drink at snack time, help cut up the fruit or spoon their raisins onto their plate. Therefore, children's life skills are not fully promoted. Children are reminded of the setting's 'golden rules' each morning, with many children being able to explain these to others. The majority of children behave well. However, when activities do not engage their full attention, some

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and outcomes for children

children become boisterous and forget the rules of the setting. Staff encourage children to be kind to each other and share the toys, taking turns with the help of an egg timer on favourite activities such as the computer. 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 2 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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