Busy Bees Pre-School Playgroup

Busy Bees Pre-School Playgroup (Wollaston) Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 220247 Inspection date 02/03/2011 Inspector Melanie Eastwell

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Setting address Village Hall, High Street, Wollaston, Northamptonshire, NN29 7QQ Telephone number 07713 707263 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

Busy Bees Pre-School Playgroup opened in 1979 and operates from rooms in the village hall in Wollaston near Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. The pre-school serves the village and surrounding area. It is open each weekday during school term time. Sessions are on Monday 9.00am to 12.00pm, Tuesday 12.45pm until 3.15pm, Wednesday 9.00am to 12.30pm, Thursday 9.00am to 11.30am and Friday 9.00am to 12.30pm.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the early years register. A maximum of 40 children may attend at any one time. There are currently 26 children on roll. The pre-school is able to support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Description of the setting

There are five members of staff, three of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The pre-school has been awarded accreditation from the Pre-school Learning Alliance quality assurance scheme. 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 outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

An extremely well developed knowledge of each child's needs makes sure that staff are very successful in promoting children's welfare and learning. Children are safe and secure and enjoy the high quality interaction from their key workers. The partnerships with parents, the local school and other agencies are a key strength and are significant in making sure the needs of all children are well met, along with any additional support needs. This means that children make rapid progress, given their age, ability and starting points. Ongoing self-evaluation and consolidation of already effective practice by the manager and staff makes sure that priorities for future development are identified which results in provision that responds to the needs of the children.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 developing further the systems for self-evaluation to further involve the staff and children.

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the early years provision

The care and development of the children at this setting is greatly enhanced through the well-organised and dedicated staff and committee team. Although This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 there have been a number of recent changes to the staff team they have remained resolute in maintaining high quality experiences for the children. Safeguarding is given significant priority. All members of staff and the committee have the required clearances in place and effective systems have been implemented to ensure the ongoing suitability of the staff. The manager and deputy have undertaken further training in child protection and ensure that documentation is maintained and kept up-to-date. Entry to the building is managed effectively and the children are well- supervised throughout the session. Robust risk assessments are in place that contribute to everyone's safety in the setting and these are updated and reviewed

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the early years provision

regularly. Children begin to learn about managing their own safety. For example, the staff supervise them carefully with particular activities. They talk to them about their activities and ask them if they think it is safe and 'What do they think will happen if?' this involvement in their assessment of risks develops children's awareness of safety.

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the early years provision

Children enjoy being able to make their own choices and decisions. They are able to select their own art and craft resources from a trolley and they are confident to ask for different play materials. One day every week all the activities are led by the children. The day before this happens a member of staff speaks to each child about what activities they would like to have available to them the following day. To help them make decisions the staff team have created a box that contains photographs of all the resources which helps the children make informed choices. Children are supported to lead the play and activities and the staff show that they value their input through listening and responding or explaining why certain activities need preparation before they can take place. Very effective use is made of the available space; the large main hall is divided up by the use of low-level barriers and furniture and all six areas of learning are reflected into the room set

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the early years provision

up each day. Children enjoy using a smaller adjacent room for story time and an enclosed outside play area that has a fixed canopy for protection from the sun and light rain is set up with activities each day and the children can have free flow to the outside as they want it.

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the early years provision

The staff team work hard to build very effective working partnerships with parents, the local school and other agencies who are involved with the children. Parents are welcomed into the setting and are invited to take part in the parent helper rota. They have access to attractive and well displayed notice boards that give lots of information about the planning and purpose of the activities as well as copies of the policies and procedures. Parents are fully involved in their child's learning and development. For example, the notice board displays an 'Interest tree' where parents can add sticky notes of activities their child enjoys at home or has requested. These suggestions are then incorporated into the planning for the following week. A 'Star system' also involves parents through recording children's achievements at home that are displayed in the main room and are incorporated into the child's record of achievement by the key worker. Children have the

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the early years provision

opportunity to take 'Tat the bear' home with them. This bear is involved with the child's activities at home and parents can record a diary or take photographs which are bought back into the setting to be shared. These effective systems develop strong links between children's homes and the pre-school.

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the early years provision

Children's smooth transition to the local school is promoted through the effective This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 links that have been developed between them and the pre-school. Children are prepared through regular visits to the school during their final half term and the class teachers return these visits to see the children in their familiar setting. The staff team have devised a booklet for the children that show them photographs of different aspects of the school which helps to reduce concerns and one of the staff team works regularly in the school reception class therefore providing a familiar face when they start attending. The staff team welcome other agencies into the setting and work alongside parents to support children who require specific assistance. These successful systems for partnership working promote a consistent approach for the children that contributes to their feelings of well-being and

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the early years provision

The pre-school has recently had a new manager who is committed to continuing to develop the high quality experiences for the children who attend. The staff team are positive and enthusiastic and this dynamic approach benefits the children. The setting has implemented systems for self-evaluation that identify areas of strength and their priorities for the future. The new manager and staff team are keen to continue to develop this to further improve the outcomes for children. The setting has taken action on the previous recommendations and demonstrates a strong capacity for continuous improvement. Parents' views are sought through the use of questionnaires as part of the quality assurance scheme and any suggestions made or issues raised are considered and acted upon if appropriate. The staff evaluate their practice and activity with the children on a daily basis and are very effective in responding to their needs.

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and outcomes for children

The staff know each child very well and are very well-organised to manage their individual needs effectively. They work closely to ensure that all aspects of supervision and the daily routine are smooth for the children. For example, they closely supervise certain activities such as the balancing beams and hammers and pins and they are organised with regard to who is the storyteller and who is preparing the snacks. Children demonstrate clearly that they feel safe in the setting. They arrive happily and quickly settle to play. They know the daily routine and respond to the hand bell which is used as a signal for the change of activity. Children are confident to move between their chosen activities, to access the drinking water and to ask for specific resources. The staff promote this atmosphere of self selection and autonomy even for the younger children who are seen to move resources from one area to another to extend their play.

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and outcomes for children

Children are learning about being aware of their own safety. They are enthusiastic in helping to tidy away their activities and help with the sweeping up. During a birthday activity where children are invited to sing happy birthday and blow the candles out the staff use a rhyme to remind them about the dangers of matches. The children are familiar with this rhyme and all join in. Children are learning to manage their own personal hygiene. They are supervised in the toilet area and the staff talk to them about the reasons for maintaining good personal hygiene. They This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 are able to wash their hands independently in the main room after messy activities such as corn flour and painting. Snack time is a group, social occasion where the children choose where they sit and are able to select a variety of healthy food including fruit and hot cross buns and they pour their own drinks from small jugs.

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and outcomes for children

This choice and self service promotes their independence skills. The setting offers a lunch club on some week days. Children enjoy sitting with the staff and chatting together during their lunch before the end of the session.

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and outcomes for children

The staff actively promote children's awareness of the wider world and diversity. The pre-school has attractive displays of children from around the world wearing national dress and posters of flags from around the world. The children have recently enjoyed celebrating Chinese New Year and talk enthusiastically about the activities involving eating slippery noodles and making pictures of rabbits and dragons. Each child is treated as an individual and with respect. The staff listen to their opinions and involve them in many aspects of the pre-school operation. This creates a harmonious atmosphere where children get on very well together, they seek out their friends and have in-depth conversations about the roles they will take on in the game or about the books they look at together. The great range of resources such as puppets, small world characters, and the children's input into the planning contributes to this productive and calm atmosphere.

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and outcomes for children

The staff and manager demonstrate a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and are successful in implementing this to manage each child's progression and development. They make regular use of the Practice Guidance document to assist with the planning of activities and to identify each child's next steps in learning. The planning is an ongoing process from one week to another. The staff gather information from the parents, the children and from their observations to use in the weekly planning meeting. The staff team plan one adult focused activity under a specific area of learning for each day of the week and identify particular children to be observed as part of their next steps. The planning is organised to ensure all aspects of each area of learning are covered throughout the year and that the children's current interests and ideas from home are incorporated. The staff are skilled in taking activities to the children if they do not

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and outcomes for children

naturally access them from all of the areas of learning. They use their individual preferences or favourite characters to provide ideas that are interesting to specific children.

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and outcomes for children

The key workers keep each child's very well presented record of achievement folder up-to-date. These folders clearly show children's progression through different types of observations, photographs and samples of their art work. The staff record snapshot observations on an ongoing basis during the sessions for all the children, sharing these records with the child's key worker. Every term the key workers record a detailed tracking observation for individual children which is then evaluated under each of the areas of learning and next steps arise from these evaluations. The key worker then meets with parents to discuss the identified next steps and invites them to make their own comments. The effective systems for planning, observation and assessment are all linked together in order to be seamless and this has a positive impact on the children's progress and development. Children thoroughly enjoy the highly positive and enthusiastic

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and outcomes for children

interaction from the staff in all their activities at this friendly and dynamic pre- This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 school where the staff are committed to promoting children's feelings of well- being, value and individuality. 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 1 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 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 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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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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