Balderton Pre-School

Balderton Pre-school (Chuter Ede) Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY330616 Inspection date 09/02/2011 Inspector Janice Walker

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Setting address Chuter Ede Primary School, Wolfit Avenue, Balderton, NEWARK, Nottinghamshire, NG24 3PQ Telephone number 01636 683550 (school) 07946176694 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

Balderton Pre-school (Chuter Ede) became registered in 2006. It is one of two settings managed by a shared committee. Some staff also work in both provisions. It operates from a modular building on the Chuter Ede Primary School site. The provision have access to a main playroom, kitchen, office and toilet facilities. There is ramped access to the provision and facilities are all at ground floor level. There are two small outdoor garden areas that provide for the children's outdoor activities along with a partly-covered veranda. The provision serves families from the local area and most children move on to Chuter Ede school. The pre-school has positive relationships with the school and with the local Sure Start Children's Centre, they make use of the school facilities, such as the school field, at agreed times. The pre-school opens from 9am to 3.15pm each week day during school term times.

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Description of the setting

During school term times the setting also provides a breakfast club and an after school club. This facility is available for the pre-school children and for school-aged children up to the age of eleven years. The breakfast club runs from 8am to 9am and the after school club from 3.15pm to 6.00pm. There is also a holiday club that operates from 8am to 6pm during all school holidays except Christmas. These facilities are offered to children aged two to eleven years.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and also on the compulsory and the voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is registered to provide care for 42 children aged two to under eight years, all of whom may be in the early years age range. It is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four years. Children attend a variety of sessions each week depending on the individual requirements of each family. There are currently 60 pre-school children on roll and 120 children on roll for out-of-school-care provision, 15 of whom are in the early years age range. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Description of the setting

The setting employs 15 staff to work in the pre-school, 14 of whom hold an appropriate early years qualification with the remaining member working towards a qualification. There are seven additional staff employed to work in the out-of- school care provision, five of whom hold either play work or early years qualifications. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is inadequate.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children's welfare is compromised because the policies and procedures relating to safeguarding are not clear. Their individual needs are appropriately met as key workers share relevant information with parents to ensure that they have a sound knowledge of the children in their care. The setting has mainly effective links with other providers and professionals to promote continuity of care and learning and take generally effective steps to ensure they continually improve outcomes for This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children. Systems for identifying strengths and areas for improvement in the provision are not sufficiently robust to ensure all gaps are identified. Suitable progress has been made with the recommendations made at the last inspection.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall, the early years provision requires significant improvement. The registered person is given a Notice to Improve that sets out actions to be carried out.

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further?

To comply with the requirements of the EYFS the registered person must take the following action by the specified date:

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further?

 ensure an effective safeguarding children policy and procedure is implemented and ensure that all members of staff understand this (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare). 18/02/2011

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further?

To improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 improve the systems for ensuring the ongoing suitability of staff and ensure that they have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities  develop further the use of self-evaluation in order to support the continual improvement across all aspects of the provision  review the use of space and resources and organisation of daily routines in order to maximise those available, including the outdoor area, in order to enhance the learning experiences for children  make better use of observation and assessment in order to plan activities that are tailored to the needs and abilities of individual children.

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the early years provision

Arrangements for safeguarding are not secure. The related policies and procedures contain contradictory information making it unclear what these are and where responsibilities within the setting lie. This means that the specific legal requirement to implement effective safeguarding procedures is not being met. Recently reviewed recruitment and selection procedures help to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children but systems for monitoring their ongoing suitability are not robust enough. Additionally, some roles and responsibilities, particularly within the wider management team, are not clearly identified, leading to some inefficiency in overall management systems. The provision has committed an offence by failing to notify Ofsted of the details of a new committee member. This is a specific legal requirement in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Ofsted does not intend to prosecute on this occasion. Risk

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the early years provision

assessments are in place and daily checks undertaken of the indoor and outdoor area to ensure potential hazards are continually identified and minimised. Required documentation, policies and procedures are in place and, with the exception of the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 safeguarding policy, contain sufficient detail to support staff in promoting children's wellbeing.

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the early years provision

The environment is light, bright and airy. Resources throughout are suitable and children are able to freely move around and make their own decisions regarding their play from the toys and activities that are available. There are some opportunities for them to select their own resources. However, best use is not always made of available space. In particular the outdoor areas, including the covered veranda and the newly surfaced area, are not used to their maximum potential to provide the best learning opportunities for children. The setting's procedures and practices relating to equality of opportunity and admissions help to promote equality and diversity well and ensure that all children and families are valued and respected in line with their individual beliefs and backgrounds. Staff work positively with other professionals to ensure that children with special educational needs and /or disabilities are well supported to be fully included within

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the early years provision

The setting has strong links with the on-site school to support a smooth transition for children moving on. Staff communicate sufficiently with other providers, where the care of children is shared, to appropriately support children's well-being. Staff regularly exchange information with parents, sharing relevant details to ensure that they are able to respond appropriately to children's needs. Planned events, such as open days and 'come and play' sessions are aimed at helping parents to support their children's learning. The setting has acted on all the recommendations made at the last inspection which supports ongoing improvement. Senior members of staff demonstrate a fair awareness of the priorities for development and the manager has recently initiated some new systems and procedures to begin to work towards these. However, the process of self-evaluation is not yet fully effective in ensuring continuous improvement across all aspects of the provision.

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and outcomes for children

Children are well settled in this setting, they make sound progress in their learning and development and good progress in some areas. They enjoy an interesting variety of play experiences which cover all areas of learning. During free-play times they freely move around the activities provided and sometimes are able to make their own selections. Adult-led group times are well used to support children's developing social skills and they confidently stand and speak to the whole group. Sometimes though, particularly for the younger children, these sessions are not best planned which means that children sit still for lengthy periods. They become disengaged and learning is not meaningful. An orderly environment is maintained and children are encouraged to contribute to this by taking responsibility for putting toys and equipment away safely. Staff make useful observations of the children and these feed into assessment records so staff can monitor children's

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and outcomes for children

progress in their learning and development. However, this information is not used to inform planning in order that activities are tailored to the needs and abilities of individual children to best support their continued progress. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Reading and writing is given a high priority in the setting, most children recognise not only their own written name but the names of many of their peers. They confidently link sounds and letters and have good pencil control. They are encouraged to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world through the provision of toys and activities that help them investigate and explore. They use cameras and telephones and, in finer weather, they grow seeds and plants outdoors. They learn to value differences and diversity through their play, activities and positive images within the environment. For example, they have stories and

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and outcomes for children

related craft activities to acknowledge different festivals and play with multi- cultural foods and dolls in the role-play area. Children enjoy weekly singing sessions, accompanied by an elderly pianist. They not only learn about rhyming and patterns in songs but gain a very positive image of our senior citizens.

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and outcomes for children

Children are cared for in a secure environment. Effective levels of supervision by staff along with good quality toys and resources help to maintain their safety. They begin to develop an understanding of possible dangers and how to stay safe through planned events, such as, practising fire drills. They are given guidance by staff as they play, such as, not to throw sand and to walk nicely indoors. This is limited, however, because of the safeguarding issues detailed previously. Clear procedures relating to children who are ill help to promote children's good health. This is supported by good hygiene routines, such as, meticulous hand washing. Healthy eating is promoted well. Children enjoy a variety of fresh fruits at snack time and have free access to drinking water to keep hydrated. The setting works well with parents to ensure that children who stay for lunch club enjoy a balanced meal and children who attend the after school setting have a home cooked hot

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and outcomes for children

meal. Children enjoy opportunities to play outside for fresh air and physical activity most days. They form good relationships with each other and engage animatedly in imaginary play together in the role-play areas. Their behaviour is good; posters using words and pictures, for example, to share, be polite and remember to use please and thank you, act as visual reminders of what is expected of them. The system for monitoring use of the barrel is highly successful in providing children with the skills to organise themselves and they confidently practice their skills in reading, problem solving, reasoning and numeracy as they count the name cards to see if there is space for them and match the written names to the children using the equipment. All in all, children are beginning to develop the skills they will require to support their future learning. 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 4 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 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: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The registered provider does not meet the requirements of the compulsory and or voluntary part/s of the Childcare Register.

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified for the early years register. 18/02/2011 To comply with the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified for the early years register. 18/02/2011

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