St Giles School

Phoenix Playmates (Nailsworth) Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 101852 Inspection date 17/05/2011 Inspector Sheila Boyle

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Setting address Nailsworth Primary School, Nympsfield Road, Nailsworth, Glos, GL6 0ET Telephone number 01453 833 511 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

Phoenix Playmates opened in 1991 in a terrapin building within the grounds of Nailsworth Primary School, in the Forest Green area of Nailsworth. In September 2010 the provision relocated to a refurbished ground floor unit within the school. Phoenix Playmates serves the local community and the majority of the children attending transfer to Nailsworth Primary School. The group is managed by a voluntary committee of parents and has charitable status. The group is open from 9am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday during term-time. The accommodation consists of a large playroom, with a separate kitchen, a changing room with disabled toilet facilities, children's toilets and cloakroom area, an office, and an entrance which is shared with the reception class. The setting has its own garden and shares the reception class's outdoor play area and facilities. Children also have regular access to the school playgrounds and gym. There is suitable disabled access.

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Description of the setting

Phoenix Playmates may care for no more than 26 children from two years to the end of the early years age group at any one time. There are currently 50 children on roll who are cared for at varying times throughout the week. Of these 35 receive funding for early education. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children for whom English is an additional language. The group employ five members of staff who work directly with the children. Of these, three hold relevant Level 4 qualifications and the others a Level 2 qualification. The group receives support from the local authority consultant for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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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

Phoenix Playmates is a stimulating, and very safe setting where children enjoy themselves. They make good and sometimes excellent progress in their learning and development as they experience a wide range of interesting and exciting activities. High priority is given to inclusion and diversity and to promoting children's safety and well-being. The setting is pro-active in fostering good partnerships with parents and carers, and outside agencies to ensure that children are fully supported and their individual needs met. There is a clear vision for improving the provision but this is not clearly linked to the setting's development plan. The capacity for future improvement is outstanding.

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further?

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

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further?

 extending the use of the information from review and evaluation, including the contributions made by parents, to devise a plan which shows how the setting will improve and develop the provision. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The leadership and management are outstanding. Management place strong emphasis on safeguarding children as well as providing them with enjoyable learning experiences and opportunities whilst they are at the nursery. Effective procedures for keeping children safe including child-protection procedures are in place and implemented consistently by staff. These include the vetting of all adults working in the pre-school provision, regular checks of the areas where children play and learn and checks on the equipment. Trips off-site are risk assessed. Staff are trained in first-aid procedures and suitable equipment is stored in a convenient location. Regular fire drills are undertaken and children know the procedures for evacuating the building.

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the early years provision

Highly effective relationships and systems of communication are established with parents and carers at an early stage and, as a result, children make a smooth transition from home to school. The good links are evident from the way that parents and carers, children and staff communicate at daily handovers and in the good attendance at parents' and carers' evenings and to a lesser extent attendance at the stay and play sessions. However, parents' and carers' contributions are not always clear in the planning or their children's learning journeys.

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the early years provision

Good links with other providers and agencies ensure children with speech and communicational difficulties, social, medical or dietary needs are supported well and make good or outstanding progress. Effective links with the school's Early Years class through play times and the sharing of the excellent outdoor resources, contribute greatly to children's personal and social development and their self esteem. Regular visits from the reception teacher at story time and visits from other school's reception teachers prior to their transfer, ensure children are well prepared for moving to the next stage of learning. All staff have completed training on the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. As a result, their planning takes good account of the children's needs and interests as well as the areas of learning for that age.

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the early years provision

Equality for all children and promotion of diversity lie at the heart of this successful setting. Effective use is made of the very good range of resources to support children's learning. The good range of visits off site, including regular visits by bus to the town centre, the local wooded area and a local environmental centre, greatly enhance children's opportunities for learning and development. The setting's leader is committed to improving the provision and regular reviews and evaluation of its work are undertaken. However, priorities for improving the provision are not recorded in the setting's development plan. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy learning because they are provided with a rich and stimulating environment, together with a wide range of fun and challenging activities, both indoors and outdoors which reflect their age and interests. As a result, all children quickly learn new vocabulary and grow in confidence and self esteem. Children frequently use the outdoor climbing facilities and mobile toys to develop their physical skills as well as coordination and social skills. These are developed further by playing ball games, jumping, playing team games and playing cooperatively. They persevere for long periods, often playing in small groups where they demonstrate the ability to take turns and share with each other. They play imaginatively indoors by dressing up as characters from fairy stories. Recently, they re-enacted events from the Royal Wedding through role-play activities. Through child-initiated play, they develop excellent language and social skills as

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and outcomes for children

well as their skills of investigation and enquiry. Strengths in children's knowledge and understanding of the world are developed most successfully. For example, outdoors, children explore different materials, such as sand, water, clay, paint. Beyond their play area, they explore nature's products, such as trees wild flowers and mini beasts within the local wooded area. There are many excellent examples of children's painting and creative work displayed on walls and recorded in their learning journeys. During the inspection, children were learning about castles and some were re-enacting a battle near a castle they had made from natural materials.

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and outcomes for children

Children's economic well being is outstanding as they continually develop their literacy and number skills in well-focused sessions. The older children link sounds and letters, write their names, count to ten and beyond and identify some regular shapes and primary colures. The younger children's language and counting skills are developed most successfully through singing nursery rhymes and joining in group activities with older children.

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and outcomes for children

Children demonstrate excellent independence by helping themselves to drinks from the tray and fetching their lunch boxes at lunch times. They identify healthy foods in their lunch boxes, such as grapes, tomatoes and carrots. They make healthy choices at snack times, mostly choosing portions of fruit. Children quickly learn the daily routines and demonstrate an excellent awareness of health and hygiene by washing their hands after using the toilet and before meals. They are very happy and show affection and respect for staff by listening to them, behaving well and following instructions.

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and outcomes for children

Children quickly learn to tolerate, respect and support one another. Through topic work on the theme of 'Celebration', the children learn about important events in their lives, such as christening, weddings and birthdays as well as religious and cultural festivals, such as Christmas, Easter and Chinese New Year. Visitors to the school including representatives from the emergency service, such as the police, together with visitors for story time including the reception teacher and the local church minister enhances their knowledge and understanding of the world. Children's outstanding development in all areas, including their personal and social This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 skills, means they achieve exceptionally well and are well prepared for the next steps in their 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 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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