Colbayns High School

Play and Learn Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 115361 Inspection date 09/05/2011 Inspector Lara Hickson

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Setting address Scouts' Hall, Mayplace Road West, Bexleyheath, Kent, DA7 4JB Telephone number 07762320165 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

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

Play and Learn Pre-School is run by a private provider. It opened in 1993 and operates from a scout hall in a Bexleyheath, in the London borough of Bexley. A maximum of 24 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. The pre- school is open each weekday from 9.15am to 12.20pm for 38 weeks of the year. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 24 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 25 children aged from two years to under five years on roll. Children come from a local catchment area. The pre-school currently supports a number of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and also supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school employs five members of staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications. Three members of staff hold a paediatric first aid qualification. The setting receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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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 progressing well in all areas of learning as a result of the pre-school's knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Their understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage enables them to plan activities to meet children's individual needs. Partnership with parents is promoted through the sharing of information both verbally and in writing. Overall, parents are kept informed about how their children are making progress, although they do not fully contribute to the assessment process. The setting demonstrates a good capacity for improvement as all previous recommendations have been effectively met and systems for self evaluation effectively promote outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 involve parents with the ongoing observation and assessment process to promote children's learning and development  continuing to provide more opportunties for children to make choices about their play 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 safeguarded well within the pre-school as systems are robust and regularly reviewed. All staff demonstrate a clear understanding of the referral process and the named member of staff with overall responsibility for child protection updates her knowledge on a regular basis. A comprehensive safeguarding policy is in place and includes the procedure to follow if an allegation is made against a member of staff. Clear recruitment and vetting procedures ensure that all staff have appropriate checks carried out to ensure their suitability. Regular risk assessments are completed for all areas of the setting and any hazards recorded and addressed, thus ensuring children play in a secure, safe environment. For example, recently the padlock keys to the gates of the outside play area were not returned to the hall by another user. The Manager took additional safety precautions to ensure children's safety whilst using the outdoor

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the early years provision

area. This included setting chairs across the gaps to the car park area and ensuring additional staff were deployed in the outside area. Although the front gates to the car park are always locked whilst the setting is in operation these additional safety precautions demonstrate a clear understanding of how to minimise risks. Children practise the emergency evacuation procedures regularly to ensure that they are clear about the procedure to follow in the event of an emergency. The front door is kept locked throughout the session to prevent unwanted visitors from gaining access or children from leaving the building unnoticed. When children go outside a head count is completed and this repeated as they come back into the hall. This ensures that children's welfare is fully promoted.

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the early years provision

A wide range of resources and toys are available around the setting to cover all six areas of learning. Children play with toys on child sized tables and on large mats on the floor, utilising all available space. Toys are in good condition and suitable for the ages and stages of children attending the pre-school. Inclusion is actively promoted by staff through offering a good range of resources which promote different cultures and disabilities. All children are highly valued within the setting and additional support from outside agencies is obtained where necessary, to ensure children's individual needs can be met. Partnerships with outside agencies have been extremely well developed and the level of support given to children with additional needs is excellent. The pre-school's Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) works with parents and the Area SENCO and Speech and Language Therapist to implement individual educational plans for

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the early years provision

children with identified learning difficulties and/or disabilities. These are reviewed regularly to ensure that children are continuing to progress well and being given the appropriate level of support.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents is good. A settling in period is implemented which includes visits to the setting so that children can meet staff and peers and see how the session is run. This period also gives staff and parents the opportunity to complete all the required documentation such as contracts, child record forms and the child profile. A parental involvement policy is in place and the setting clearly outlines the benefit to children when their parents and pre-school work together in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 partnership. The pre-school recognises parents as the most significant person in a young child's life and works effectively to promote these partnerships. Parents are happy with the pre school and praise the effective settling in procedures and the friendly, approachable staff team. Although parents are invited to look through their child's developmental profile currently the setting does not involve parents

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the early years provision

with the ongoing observation and assessment process.

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the early years provision

The setting has addressed all the recommendations from the previous report and have further enhanced the system used to record children's achievements to show clearly how they are making progress. The self-evaluation clearly identifies the changes the setting has made to improve outcomes for children and additional areas it is planning to develop further. The Early Years Advisory teacher comes into the setting to review practice on occasions and is on hand at any time to offer advice and support to the group. The Manager is extremely experienced and has a strong, committed and consistent staff team who work well together. Staff deployment is excellent and this ensures children's safety as well as providing valuable learning opportunities. For example, staff sit with the children and join in their conversations cleverly asking open ended questions to extend children's communication, understanding and vocabulary. Although staff hold relevant

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the early years provision

childcare qualifications they ensure that they keep their knowledge up-to-date by attending regular training and workshops.

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and outcomes for children

The setting provides children with good opportunities to make effective progress across all areas of their learning and development. The detailed information gained from parents during the settling in period enables staff to base their planning on children's starting points upon entry to the setting. An effective key worker system ensures that observations are used effectively to track children's individual progress and to plan for the next steps in their learning. Children are happy, confident and enjoy their time at the pre-school. They relate well to the staff and enthusiastically engage in a good balance of adult-led and child-centred activities that cover the six areas of learning. The warm and welcoming environment, together with the consistent staff team, helps children to experience a sense of belonging.

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and outcomes for children

Children play well together and are forming valuable friendships, learning to share and negotiate with each other. Staff support children extremely well by sitting with them, talking to them, and extending their language and thinking by asking open ended questions and giving children time to respond. Children use language to organise their play and to talk about events that have happened to them. For example, there is lots of excited chatter about new babies that have recently been born and about others that are due to be born. Children enjoy mark making opportunities in the inside and outside environments. For example a chalkboard and pots of water and paintbrushes are used by many of the children when playing in the outdoor area. In the hall paper and pencils are available in the creative area as well as in the role play area and in the construction area for children to design This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

their models. Staff extend children's concept of letters through looking at alphabet puzzles and introducing different letters. One child is encouraged to find the letters in his name and finds most of these as well as the initial letter of a sibling's name. Staff praise and encourage this achievement and extend this activity further by finding letters and asking the child to tell them what item starts with the sound of this letter. Behaviour within the setting is managed extremely well by staff who understand the need to get down to a child's level and use age and stage appropriate language and strategies.

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and outcomes for children

As storage is very tight and activities and resources have to be put away at the end of every session most activities are chosen and set out by staff prior to children's arrival, restricting children from making choices about what they want to play with. However, children move freely around the pre school hall from one activity to another and confidently make decisions about what they would like to play with from the selection available. At snack time they choose when they want to have a snack or drink and what they would like. There are opportunities for children to extend their independence at snack time as they pour their own drink.

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and outcomes for children

Children's individual needs are met extremely effectively by the staff team through the robust systems that are in place to ensure this. For example, child registration forms are completed for each child upon entry to the pre-school and these contain all of the required information for staff to be able to provide appropriate care and meet individual requirements. A separate medical form is completed where required and includes specific information on a child's medical need. 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 2 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 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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