Epworth Thurlow Preschool PlaygroupOfsted inspection, 13 Jun 2011

Epworth Thurlow Pre-School Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision

p.1

Unique reference number 205696 Inspection date 13/06/2011 Inspector Rachel Ayo

p.1

Setting address War Memorial Fields, Station Road, Epworth, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN9 1JU Telephone number 01427 875016 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.

p.1

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.

p.2

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

p.2

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.

p.3

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).

p.3

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.

p.3

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

p.3

Description of the setting

Epworth Thurlow Pre-school Playgroup is run by a voluntary management committee and was established in 1967. Although, in 1998 it had its own purpose designed building constructed in the grounds of Epworth War Memorial Fields in the rural village of Epworth, near Doncaster in North Lincolnshire. Children have access to one large room and an enclosed outdoor area. The pre-school operates during term time only on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am to 11.30am and each afternoon from 12pm to 3pm. A lunch club is available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11.30am to 1pm. The pre-school operates on a Thursday afternoon from 12pm to 3pm. The pre-school accommodate children within the local and wider villages. A parent and toddler group is run at the pre- school on a Thursday morning and they also organise a creative play session at the local children's centre. These facilities are available to all families within the

p.4

Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register to care for a maximum of 20 children. There are currently 33 children aged from two to under five years on roll attending a variety of sessions. The pre-school currently support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Funded nursery education is provided for those children eligible to receive this. The setting is also registered on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

p.4

Description of the setting

There are six members of staff employed to work directly with the children, including the manager. Staff work on a part time and full time basis. Of these, two members hold an appropriate early years qualification, one of whom is commencing their Foundation Degree. Three staff members are currently working towards a Level 3 childcare qualification. The setting has attained the first stage of their local authority quality assurance scheme 'Steps to Quality'.

p.4

The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

p.4

The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children's welfare is promoted very successfully overall, although certain requirements are not fully met. Children make good progress in their learning and development. This is as a result of generally robust planning and individualised observational assessment with children's personal, social and emotional development being superbly fostered. There is overall highly effective partnership working with parents and other providers or professionals to ensure children's individual needs are effectively met. There are good systems for self-evaluation, demonstrating the pre-school's commitment to continuous improvement, and they have made great strides since their last inspection including addressing numerous recommendations.

p.4

further?

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 To meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

p.5

further?

 review the organisation of staff to ensure that there is at least one person who has a current paediatric first aid certificate on the premises at all times when children are present (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) (also applies to the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register) 20/06/2011

p.5

further?

 obtain clear written parental consent to seek any necessary emergency medical advice or treatment (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare). 27/06/2011

p.5

further?

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

p.5

further?

 ensure that the risk assessment covers anything with which a child may come into contact, with particular reference to the water feature in the sensory garden  further improve the systems for individualised observational assessment by establishing children's clear starting points in conjunction with information provided by parents.

p.5

the early years provision

Through up to date training, adults have a good knowledge and understanding of child protection issues and there are robust vetting and recruitment procedures. Risk assessments are detailed in most aspects to ensure that hazards are identified, minimised and clearly recorded. For example, adults are vigilant in their supervision of the children and there is effective security arrangements including an external gate being unlocked and monitored by a designated staff member when children are arriving and departing. However, the risk assessment does not specify certain hazards, with particular reference to the sensory garden's water feature. Visitor's identification is thoroughly checked before entry and they are readily asked to sign in. Documentation is well maintained in most aspects and reviewed regularly, although consents to seek emergency medical treatment or advice are unclear and do not, therefore, fully meet requirements.

p.5

the early years provision

Effective use is made of space and resources and staff are generally deployed effectively to promote the efficient and safe management of the provision. However, although there are very clear mitigating circumstances why certain staff have been unable to update their first aid training, which recently expired, the provider has not reviewed the organisation of staff to ensure that those with this are on the premises at all times. This is a breach in requirements. Thorough induction of staff ensures they are clear about their roles and responsibilities. Yearly appraisals, for example, support the professional development of staff including helping them gain a childcare qualification. Adults are committed to promoting equality and diversity, including through good access to training. Children's individual needs are fully considered and met, including through highly This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

p.5

the early years provision

effective systems for ensuring that children with additional needs receive any necessary support. Resources and staff practice reflect no gender bias and children eagerly take part in all activities.

p.6

the early years provision

As part of good self-evaluation systems the pre-school are currently working towards the second stage of their local authority quality assurance scheme. Adults review their practice continually, for example with regular staff meetings and planning meetings, and as part of this make changes or adaptations, for instance, to the environment. Good access to funding has supported the pre-school in making many enhancements to the indoor and outdoor provision. Staff effectively utilise knowledge gained on short courses to improve their practice and provide further learning opportunities for the children.

p.6

the early years provision

Partnerships with parents and others are exemplary. Parents receive extensive information before placement and ongoing including through a comprehensive array of displayed notices and signs. They are highly involved in all aspects of the provision including fundraising events, coffee mornings and different parent and toddler activity groups. Their opinions are highly valued and sought through a range of means, for example, questionnaires. There is superb involvement of parents in their child's learning, for example, through home resources, such as 'chatter packs', home link sheets, invites for parents to talk about their jobs or share information about their particular culture. Parent's evenings or days, for instance, provide a superb forum for sharing information about children's progress. The 'pre-school to other settings' booklet, for instance, promotes excellent links to ensure a coherent approach to children's care and learning.

p.6

and outcomes for children

Children are happy and well settled. They show high levels of engagement and interest in their environment, made bright and welcoming, for instance, through a wide array of annotated photographs, artwork and labelling. Adult's skilful questioning and interest in what the children say and do extends and supports their learning and helps develop their inquisitive nature. Staff provide a broad range of interesting activities across the six areas of learning using a variety of effective planning documents, such as the 'weekly enhancements' and 'adult directed activity' forms. Both individual and group observations are undertaken regularly and staff use 'look, listen and note' monitoring sheets to clearly target and incorporate individual's next steps in planning. Although, staff are not effectively undertaking an initial assessment to establish children's abilities and capabilities, in conjunction with parents, to fully ensure they make optimum

p.6

and outcomes for children

A highly accessible environment unquestionably enables children to make choices and take decisions. Children's behaviour is exceptional and they undoubtedly join in and make friends as they link up with their peers to share, take turns and cooperate within a wide range of activities. Staff use superb praise and encouragement to foster children's confidence, self-esteem and they encourage children to develop a strong sense of responsibility as they help tidy up or prepare This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the lunch table. There are excellent transitional arrangements for children starting the pre-school, including their attendance at the pre-school's parent and toddler groups. A puppet is used in conjunction with the local primary school to aid transition and as part of role play resources, school uniforms are provided. A broad range of visual images help children to appreciate and value the similarities and

p.6

and outcomes for children

differences between themselves and others as they take part in interesting activities linked to particular festivals, for example, dressing up as a dragon as part of Chinese New Year. Visits from the fire service and police effectively help children to learn about road safety, stranger danger and fire safety and they engage in topics, such as safety in the sun.

p.7

and outcomes for children

Children are developing good communication skills and staff have recently become involved in the national 'Every Child a Talker' scheme and implemented positive initiatives from training. For example, to help wean children off of dummies to support their speech, these are given to the 'dummy teddy' and children receive a small teddy and a certificate in exchange. Children show good fine motor skills as they paint, make marks and thread. They confidently use the computer mouse to operate simple programmes. They observe laminated numbers indoors and outdoors and learn about a range of mathematical concepts, such as height and weight as they measure sunflowers and talk about the logs being heavy. Children clearly enjoy joining in with activity songs and musical rhyming activities with the shakers they have made.

p.7

and outcomes for children

Children have very good access to outdoors including through the use of all weather suits. The area has been greatly enhanced through involvement in the local authority 'early excellence outdoors' scheme. Children clearly enjoy the inviting environment which is well resourced with interesting equipment and natural materials. For example, there are planks, large tyres, watering cans, brushes and rollers to make marks with water, soil, sensory area, piping, dangling pans, tree stumps and logs. Children harvest a wide range of fruit and vegetables, such as strawberries, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce and broccoli. With these resources they have made potato and leek soup and engaged in potato printing. They have also helped to create a herb garden where labelling asks them what they can smell. Laminated pictures sequencing the planting and growing cycle further reinforce children's understanding. Children are provided with healthy snacks and

p.7

and outcomes for children

parents are encouraged to support the healthy eating ethos through posters about healthy lunch boxes. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

p.7

Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

p.8

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

p.8

children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

p.8

Early Years Foundation Stage

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 3 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

p.8

Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

p.8

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 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

p.8

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

p.8

Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

p.9

Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

p.9

Annex B: the Childcare Register

The registered provider does not meet the requirements of the compulsory and or voluntary part/s of the Childcare Register.

p.9

Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

p.9

Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified above in the early years section of the report (Welfare). 20/06/2011

p.9

Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

p.9

Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified above in the early years section of the report (Welfare). 20/06/2011

p.9