Caterpillas Under Fives

Caterpillas Under 5's Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 145896 Inspection date 04/05/2011 Inspector Doreen Forsyth

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Setting address Nadder Road, Tidworth, Hampshire, SP9 7QN

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Telephone number 01980 602460 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

Caterpillas Under 5's opened in 2000. The setting operates from Tidworth Community and Leisure Centre in Tidworth, Hampshire; where they have sole access to two large playrooms, toilets and a secure outside play area. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register to care for a maximum of 44 children aged from one to under five years old, at any one time. They open from 09:00am until 12:00 noon and 12.00 noon until 3.00pm on Monday to Thursday, and from 9.00am until 1.30pm on Fridays. A lunch club is available each day.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 103 children aged from one to under five years on roll; of these, 45 children receive government funding for free nursery education. The children who attend are mainly from the surrounding garrison town of Tidworth. The setting welcomes children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and also children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are 15 members of staff working with the children; of these,12 hold relevant early years qualifications at level two or above.

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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

Caterpillas Under 5's offers children a very warm, welcoming and inclusive early years provision where each child is valued as an individual and their uniqueness is recognised. Overall, the children progress well because the setting ensures that each child's individual learning and welfare needs are met by working with parents, and in partnership with other agencies whenever necessary. There are some weaknesses in the required documentation. The setting has a very positive attitude to improvement and self assessment and have been awarded the Pre-school Learning Alliance accreditation award. They have developmental plans in place and that will enhance the provision that is offered and therefore the outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure the record of risk assessment clearly states when it was carried out, by whom, date of review and any action taken following a review or incident ( Documentation) 31/05/2011

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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  link the well kept observation records to the early learning goals to ensure all areas are sufficiently promoted  explore ways of providing more play opportunities and learning experiences out of doors for the younger children in the setting.

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the early years provision

The setting is very well organised, particularly in ensuring the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs or disabilities are met. All necessary records are well maintained and all relevant policies and procedures are in place and shared with parents. However, the risk assessments are not dated and do not show a date for review this is a breach of a specific welfare requirement. Robust safeguarding procedures are in place and are fully understood by the staff; they are confident in the procedures they would follow if they had any child protection concerns.

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the early years provision

The children freely play a very attractive and child-centred environment. The two play rooms used are light, spacious and very well resourced; with toys and equipment that meet the needs of all the ages of the children that attend. The toys are well arranged, at low level, so that children can develop their independence by choosing what they wish to play with. Most of the day they have free access to a safe and secure outside play area. Staff have risk assessed appropriately to identify and minimised any potential hazards to the children, the children's safety is a very high priority in the setting. All of the staff undergo appropriate vetting procedures to ensure their suitability to have access to the children; any unvetted adults do not have unsupervised contact. Most of the experienced staff team have relevant early years qualifications and are encouraged to attend further training to enhanced their skills and knowledge.

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the early years provision

The setting works in close partnership with parents to ensure the children's individual needs are met. The very skilled Special Needs Coordinator ensures that all children are helped to progress by working with other early years professionals, including the area inclusion officer and speech therapists. One- to-one assistance for children who need extra support is provided if required. The setting recognises the importance of regular self-evaluation and values and acts upon the parent's feedback which they receive from regular questionnaires and termly parents' evenings. The managers and staff are continually seeking ways of improving the provision.

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and outcomes for children

The children happily enter their playrooms, greet the staff, leave their parents and carers and quickly choose their activities and settle to play. The playrooms are organised into different learning areas, such as the discovery area, the role play This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 area and reflection zones. Most of the session, except for some short keyworker group times, the children are free to choose their own activities from the extensive range planned by the staff and set out in the playrooms. They can access the garden for some of the session and use the wide range of resources there, especially to practise their physical skills. These include climbing and balancing on the climbing equipment, and large tyres, using bikes and other wheeled toys, or digging in the flower beds. When outside with a member of staff the children enjoyed watching a spider in the garden spinning it's web.

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and outcomes for children

The staff observe and record the children's progress in well kept learning journals. However, they do not link these observations to the early learning goals, which makes it difficult for them to ensure all the learning areas are well promoted. Each child has a written 'play plan' which is devised by their keyworker and agreed with parents; this has aims for the children's learning on an individual basis for each term. If the children have additional needs, the Special Needs Coordinator helps to identify the goals for the children's progress. In this way all children are helped to move on in their learning.

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and outcomes for children

Within the setting, appropriate steps are taken to prevent the spread of infection and to ensure the children's good health. Very good procedures are in place for administering medications if necessary, and for recording accidents. The setting offers the children healthy and nutritious snacks each session and drinking water is always easily available. If children attend the lunch club parents provide packed lunches. They are asked to consider healthy options when preparing packed meals. The children usually play outside in the fresh air each day, but the time planned for the toddlers to be outside is quite short. The children are beginning to learn about keeping themselves safe. For example, when playing outside the children learn about road safety using the bikes and 'roadway'. Inside they know not to run indoors as they might hurt themselves or others; and they regularly help to tidy away the toys so that they don't fall over them.

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and outcomes for children

The setting has golden rules which the children are expected to learn to use; they are reminded of these at group times each session. They learn about considering the needs of others, through their 'kind hands, kind lips, kind feet' rules. The children behave very well and become very confident, they relate well to each other and have build strong bonds with their keyworkers. Through their daily activities and the resources they use, such as books, dressing up clothes and small world toys the children learn about the wider world and begin to respect diversity. They celebrate special events and festivals, such as Chinese New Year, St Patrick's day and Easter. Most of the children are making good progress in communicating and literacy; they are developing skills using the computers and are able to express their thoughts and ideas in words well. They enjoy role play, such as in the 'hospital corner' and play together well as a group. The toddlers are

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and outcomes for children

encouraged to explore their surrounding and be curious and active learners. These are all skills they will need for their future learning. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 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 2 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 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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