Clennon Valley C.O.YMCA

Wootton & Dry Sandford Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 133413 Inspection date 15/06/2011 Inspector Susan May

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Setting address Community Centre, 1 Besselsleigh Road, Wootton, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX13 6DN Telephone number 07811 028988 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.

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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

Wootton & Dry Sandford Pre-school is a committee run provision that opened in 1965. It operates from the Community Centre in the village of Wootton, near Abingdon. The group has use of a hall, kitchen and a secure outside area. The pre- school serves families from the local community and surrounding villages.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register, compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register and may provide care for a maximum of 26 children. There are currently 24 children on roll in the early years age range of whom 22 are in receipt of early education funding. The pre-school is able to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those for whom English is an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school opens four days a week from Monday to Thursday from 9:15am until 12 noon. A lunch club operates from 12 noon until 1:15 pm. They are open during school term times only. Children may attend for a variety of sessions.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school employs four staff, of whom half hold a recognised early years qualification.

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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 play in an attractive and welcoming environment where their individual needs are met as staff recognise each child's unique qualities. Children's confidence is developed as they build secure trusting relationships with each other and staff, have opportunities to gain independence skills in most areas, behave well and develop a sense of belonging within the setting. They have good access to a range of toys and activities indoors and outside that enable them to make good progress across all areas of learning. The setting has a good relationship with parents and other child care practitioners and recognises the value of developing regular information sharing. The dedicated staff team demonstrates a strong commitment to improvement to ensure the setting promotes children's learning and welfare effectively. To achieve this they complete ongoing training and are seeking to improve further the systems to help them identify future development,

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

aims of the setting and how best to implement them to benefit the children.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the methods of reviewing and evaluating the service provided to children and parents and seek ways of using their feedback to implement This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 changes and make improvements where necessary  support the important relationship with parents by developing the systems for sharing information about the children's learning on a regular basis  provide further opportunities at snack times for older children to develop their independence skills.

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the early years provision

The commitment from the staff team is evident as they work to improve the standards of care that support children's welfare, learning and development. Children's learning is promoted as they play in the attractive welcoming environment with easy access to a range of age appropriate toys, activities and resources. All required policies and procedures are in place, have recently been reviewed and are accessible to parents.

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the early years provision

Procedures to ensure all staff are checked and suitably qualified are robust and the introduction of appraisals and ongoing training provides staff with relevant and up- to-date knowledge. All staff complete safeguarding training and are fully aware of procedures to follow if they have any concerns. Risk assessments and daily checks identify any possible risks and the steps taken to minimize them help keep children safe at all times. Staff demonstrate awareness of their individual roles, work well together as a team and deploy themselves effectively to ensure children receive appropriate levels of individual care and attention to meet their needs. Children's unique qualities are recognised and each child's family circumstances and culture respected and valued.

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the early years provision

Staff have in place systems to review practice and demonstrate commitment to driving improvement as evaluations outline future progress and aims to benefit children. However, while input and feedback from staff and assessments and advice from outside agencies such as the local authority is positively encouraged and implemented as appropriate, less consideration has been given to requesting feedback from parents to improve the service offered.

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the early years provision

Parents are provided with information about the nursery through verbal discussion, on the parental notice board and through newsletters. All the required information about the children is obtained from parents at initial visits. Children's documentation and records are kept up-to-date and confidentially observed at all times. Parents express a high regard for the care and learning experiences their children receive and the good communication links that staff have forged. However, while information on children's time at the pre-school is shared through conversation and at parents' evenings, parents expressed through their comments that they would like information about the children's learning to be shared more frequently. Staff are aware of the benefits of establishing links with other providers and are actively seeking to build links that will benefit the children by providing consistency in their care and a smooth transition as they move through the

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the early years provision

education system. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children's individual learning needs are met as staff provide good opportunities to help them make progress across all areas of learning. They have a clear understanding that children learn through play and offer a broad range of adult and child initiated activities to provide children with stimulating and challenging experiences. Each area of the pre-school is set out to provide opportunities for children to self-select what they wish to play with and appropriate areas enable them to enjoy what they have chosen. Especially beneficial is the introduction of free flow play for those children who prefer to play outdoors as they have good access to a range of learning opportunities outside. Children are eager to join in with activities and confidently participate in all aspects of the pre-school session for example, they happily sit down for a singing session and join in enthusiastically, taking turns to choose what they want to sing. Children develop control and

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and outcomes for children

coordination as they play with malleable materials such as play dough, using tools such as knives to cut and shape the dough. Physical skills are developing well as children explore and access equipment on which they can climb, jump, scoot and ride. For example, children move across logs set into the ground balancing and stretching as they move from one to the other. Children develop their senses as they play in sand and water, and explore their creativity as they handle a range of different textures as examples of their art work demonstrates. Quiet areas enable children to sit comfortably, quietly looking at books alone or with others, complete puzzles and use their imagination as they play together with the dinosaurs, dress as superheroes and act as characters from favourite stories. Systems to record children's abilities and achievements are efficient and include observations and assessments, some information from parents, progress and their next steps. Staff

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and outcomes for children

plan together, with the child's key person highlighting individual children's needs in order to offer a range of activities and experiences that will enable each child to move their learning forward. A record of children's progress is maintained and development records available to parents if they wish to see them

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and outcomes for children

Staff are very good at promoting children's thinking, vocabulary, reasoning and numeracy through activities and everyday events as children are encouraged through skilful dialogue to explore size and shape, build with small and large construction equipment, count how many boys and girls are present at registration and peg clothes such as socks onto a washing line in pairs. Children begin to recognize that the written word has meaning as resources are labelled, and greetings in both English and other languages displayed on a welcome poster. Language skills are developed as children explore letter sounds through regular phonic sessions. Children begin to find out about the wider world as they have access to resources that promote positive images, recognising similarities and differences between families and cultures through resources such as books and dressing up clothes and talking about and celebrating events that are important

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and outcomes for children

and relevant to them. They find out about the natural world as they hunt for bugs, examining and drawing pictures of the mini beasts they find. Children talk about the weather and have opportunities to be outdoors in all weathers as they put on the wet suits provided for them. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children are competent and sociable. They are lively but behave very well and are learning to share and take turns. Children are curious and eager to try new things while demonstrating a growing awareness of keeping themselves and others safe for example, taking care outdoors when it has been raining as the ground and equipment has become slippery. Children begin to find out about good hygiene as staff remind them to use tissues and clean their hands before eating although bathroom facilities do not always make it easy for children to wash their hands

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and outcomes for children

without assistance. Lunch boxes provided by parents are stored appropriately and some advice and information is available about healthy eating. Children collect their own beakers and plates for snacks and while there is some degree of independence offered as older children may request to pour their drinks and on occasion prepare the snack themselves, this is not a regular event. Children begin to understand about their bodies as they look at x-rays of their bones, becoming familiar with technology as they know to put the x-rays on top of the light box in order to see them clearly. Staff respect the children's views and listen to their ideas, children build good relationships with each other and staff, showing respect for each other and the environment. Children's work is valued and praise frequently given by staff for their achievements, this helps to build self-esteem and foster children's sense of belonging within the setting.

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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 2 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 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 3 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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