The Cathedral School of St Mary

Fittleworth And District Community Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 113489 Inspection date 08/03/2011 Inspector Kerry Iden

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Setting address School Lane, Fittleworth, Nr Pulborough, West Sussex, RH20 1JB Telephone number 01798 865 777 Email enquiries@fittleworthplaygroup.co.uk 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

Fittleworth and District Community Playgroup is managed by a voluntary committee of parents and opened in 1972. The setting is situated within a community building next to the village school within the village of Fittleworth, Pulborough in West Sussex. It serves the local and surrounding area.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 26 children from two years to the end of the Early Years age group may attend at any one time. There are currently 43 children on roll and the setting receives funding for nursery education. The provision supports children with special educational needs 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 Friday term time only from 8:45 am till 3:30 pm. Morning and afternoon sessions are offered as well as a breakfast and lunch club. The provision employs six members of staff all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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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 are well settled within the group and are making good progress towards the early learning goals. The identified next steps in children's development is starting to be implemented within the planning of future activities and systems are under review for sharing information with parents. The staff work well as a team being led by a strong manager and all are enthusiastic in their work with children. Through systems of evaluation the staff and the committee know areas that need further development and are starting to address these showing they have the capacity to drive improvement within the setting.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the observations and assessments of each child to identify learning priorities and plan relevant and motivating learning experiences for each child  develop further the arrangements for working in partnership with parents to support children's learning, so that information is shared with all parents about children's next steps for learning and how they are progressing  develop further the links with other early years providers to ensure a collaborative approach to children's welfare and learning and development is fully achieved . This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children are protected from harm within the setting. All staff have a comprehensive awareness of safeguarding and the correct procedures they must follow if they have a concern about a child's welfare. All staff receive regular training in this area and the manager acts as the designated person for this role. Children are safeguarded by extensive recruitment and vetting procedures, including the successful induction of new staff and the ongoing suitability of all staff members. Comprehensive policies and procedures are implemented consistently and reviewed by the team. Risk assessments are robust and effective. Formal risk assessments are completed on all aspects of the setting and everything children come into contact with. These are supported by additional daily, weekly and termly checks made on different aspects of the provision. Children show a good awareness of safety issues such as completing fire evacuation effectively and

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the early years provision

The committee, manager and the staff team are working together well and demonstrate a commitment to drive improvement across all areas of the setting. The manager is dynamic in her role and supports staff in their development using a range of effective monitoring systems. The setting has a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for development. Through identified action plans and evaluations, improvements are ongoing in all areas; from the practical arrangements such as improvements in the garden to staff development. Therefore the setting show they have the ability to drive improvement within the setting.

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the early years provision

The pre-school are enjoying the fantastic new setting they have and use the resources very well to effectively support children in all areas of learning. Staff assess the layout of the furniture and organise additional resources in the workshop areas both inside and out to allow children to make choices about their play. The setting is vibrant and welcoming to children and their families, their art work adorns the walls along with colourful displays. Through the quality of resources the setting are taking well considered steps to ensure resources are fully sustainable. Staff deploy themselves well as they support specific areas of the setting but move with the flow of the children in a setting that promotes mostly child initiated play.

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the early years provision

The setting work with each family to support the individual needs of children. They gain an understanding of family background through documentation and ongoing discussion. Dedicated staff members in the setting liaise with all key persons where a child's needs for additional support are identified. Liaisons with parents are established along with links, where appropriate with interagency teams to ensure that each child gets the support they need. The setting continues to promote partnership working and has excellent links with the school which supports children's smooth transition. Links are being developed with other early years settings where children attend although systems are not yet fully in place to share developmental information about children's progress. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The setting has good relationships with the parents who comment on the

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the early years provision

approachability of staff and the welcoming environment. The setting encourages the views of the parents through suggestion boxes, questionnaires and by inviting them to join the committee or contribute in a session. Some parents receive detailed information about children's development and identified next steps although new systems are in their infancy and so this has not been consistent across all parents as yet. There are clear and effective channels for parents to communicate with the setting, mainly through the key person arrangements for each family.

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and outcomes for children

Children are happy and settled within the group. Most enter enthusiastically and separate from their parents with ease, some need a little support but soon settle and enjoy the session. There are some firm friendships within the group although most children play happily with everyone. Children enjoy being able to make their own choices from both inside and out of the setting and choose if they want to participate in the adult led activities. Through these staff extend children's thinking, for example, as they make pancakes they discuss the different ingredients and how much of everything they will need; they are able to use appropriate tools such as the sieve as they discuss how they don't want lumpy pancakes. Most staff members also skillfully extend children's thinking in child led play. For example, through the discussion of numbers as children buy items from the role play shop they work out how much more they will need when they are

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and outcomes for children

informed of the price of items. The setting are currently focusing their improvement plans on the development of the observations of children, using these to identify next steps in their development and offering more tailored planning for focused children each week. Although this is a very positive improvement, this is currently in it's infancy and not yet fully established.

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and outcomes for children

Children are settled and show good levels of confidence in the setting. They are developing a good understanding of health and safety issues and how to keep themselves safe. Through a spontaneous fire evacuation drill caused by cooking pancakes, children confidently demonstrate the safe systems organised to evacuate the building quickly and effectively. In discussion children understand dangers, for example as children use appropriate knives to cut fruit at snack time they know why they mustn't put the knives in their mouths when asked by a member of staff. Children are also developing their awareness of good hygiene procedures. Staff have recently been focusing on the effectiveness of independent hand washing to support children in the bathroom and most can manage this without support. Fresh fruit snacks and drinks are made available to the children throughout the day with topical subjects adding to the snacks for example,

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and outcomes for children

pancakes with the fruit for Shrove Tuesday. Children benefit enormously from the ability to participate in physical and outdoor play throughout the day, many choosing to head straight outside upon arrival. Staff also organise physical activities inside as children listen to taped instructions in a movement to music This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 session. Children understand about how exercise causes changes to their bodies as they talk about the need to remove jumpers and outer layers as their bodies get hot during exercise.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing well in their communication, language and literacy and their knowledge of using technical equipment to support them as they develop the skills they will need for future learning. They self register finding their own names and use similar systems for snack and lunch time. Children have access to lots of equipment that promote their understanding of technology and design. The construction area allows children to build using a variety of resources and technical equipment is in place for the children to independently access Additionally they navigate around programmes on the computer using the mouse with ease. Children behave very well throughout the day, they show they are settled by the good levels of concentration. To promote children's understanding of time and the sharing of resources staff use sand timers. Children know how to use these and do so well knowing when the sand runs out it's someone else's turn allowing everyone

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and outcomes for children

to make a positive contribution to the group.

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and outcomes for children

. 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 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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