Southfields Pre-SchoolOfsted inspection, 28 Jun 2011

Southfields Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 260888 Inspection date 28/06/2011 Inspector Sandra Hornsby

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Setting address Southfields Community Centre, Stanground, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE2 8RY Telephone number 07950 942589 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

Southfields Pre-school has been operating since 1969. It operates from a large hall in the Southfields community centre in Stanground, Peterborough. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school opens Monday to Friday during school term times and sessions are from 9am until 12noon. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 26 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 19 children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. They provide funded early education for three- and four-year-olds. The group supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school employs four members of childcare staff. Of these, two hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Staff have sound knowledge about individual children and support their welfare, learning and development needs appropriately. Safeguarding procedures are understood by staff and children feel safe and secure in an environment where they enjoy their play while making some progress. Partnerships with parents are sound; staff generally keep them informed about their children's development and link with other providers and agencies to further support continuity of care. The management team have some understanding of their strengths and areas for development and are taking steps to make improvements. Some improvements have been made since the last inspection.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure records are easily accessible and available for inspection by Ofsted (with prior agreement by Ofsted, these may be kept off the premises) (Documentation) 14/07/2011

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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  develop further observational assessment and use of children's next steps in order to plan to meet children's individual learning needs  plan and provide experiences which are appropriate to each child's stage of development and organise a challenging environment that extends children's learning as they progress towards the Early Learning Goals  ensure parents review their children's progress regularly and are encouraged to contribute, support and extend children's on-going learning and development  enhance the current system of self-evaluation to involve staff, parents and committee members in identifying, analysing and monitoring the settings strengths and priorities for development that will improve the quality of provision for all children.

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the early years provision

Safeguarding arrangements are in place. Regulations and duties are met and policies and procedures are in line with requirements which means staff know what to do if they have concerns for a child in their care. Staff have undergone suitable child protection training and demonstrate an understanding of safeguarding procedures. The setting identifies dangers and takes steps to eliminate any risks or hazards. They carry out visual and documented risk assessments daily and make sure all safety measures are in place, such as the garden being free of hazards. Yearly risk assessments are recorded and reviewed to ensure children remain safe. Children learn how to keep themselves safe through play, for example, by taking risks and participating in fire drills. The setting follows suitable recruitment and vetting procedures, and all staff have criminal record bureau checks. Most staff have induction and appraisals, this ensures staff are suitable and continue to be

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the early years provision

suitable to work with children. However, due to a change in committee members and some older recruitment documentation being stored off the premises some information is not immediately available for inspection. This is a breach of a specific legal requirement.

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the early years provision

Staff and parents share a positive relationship with staff showing sensitivity towards parent needs. Parents are advised about the policies and procedures which they can view at the setting. Parents are invited to parent sessions where they share children's records of achievements with adequate information about how well their children are achieving. A large 'floor book' is freely available to parents and children which contains pictures, quotes, areas of children's learning and future activities. Parents and children enjoy this book and it is used with the children as a tool to promote children's language development. Parents supply the setting with an 'all about me' document that outlines their children's care needs, likes and dislikes. However, parents' involvement in children's on-going learning is minimal. Staff are keen to involve parents and share information on a more regular basis. But these systems are not as effective as the staff had hoped and as a result

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the early years provision

hinders children s continuity of care and partnerships. There are systems in place to support the setting's relationship with other agencies. The local authority advisor continues to support the group and when required they work alongside the local authority special needs co-ordinator. This ensures children with special This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 educational needs and/or disabilities are identified and supported effectively to promote their achievements and well-being.

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the early years provision

The setting has undertaken a self-evaluation tool and is able to generally identify areas in need of development. There is an action plan in place, with help from the local authority, and the setting continues to tackle these plans steadily. However they do not analyse and monitor the impact of the changes on the children and some areas in need of development had not been fully identified. On the whole, staff are very committed and are keen to implement some new systems and positive changes to their provision. As a consequence outcomes for children are broadly satisfactory and improving.

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the early years provision

Resources broadly support children's learning and most children's development and progress is satisfactory as a result. There is a good staff/child ratio and staff are deployed within the setting to meet children's needs.

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the early years provision

The setting promotes children's equality and know the children in their care reasonably well. Children are treated with respect and sensitivity and staff are kind and caring. Children see positive images around the setting, including words in different community languages which helps them appreciate others. Children also use resources that reflect different cultures in their general play, such as books and dolls. Children celebrate different cultural events and enjoy having Chinese food during Chinese New Year.

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and outcomes for children

Staff have sound knowledge of the learning and development and welfare requirements. Children are very happy and feel safe and secure. They engage in freely chosen activities and show independence and enthusiasm in selecting and carrying out their activities. Children use a small selection of resources which provide them with a sufficient range of activities and experiences to satisfactorily meet their needs. Children have some adult-led activities which their key person organises, such as a memory game, however, the continuous provision is dull and uninspiring and does not hold challenge or excitement for the children. Role play and imaginary play is not organised and does not inspire children to use their imagination. A plastic box of unclothed dolls, covers, clothing and handbags next to the book corner does not encourage children to think creatively or inspire them to become engrossed with the equipment to re-enact their own first-hand

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and outcomes for children

experiences. Children receive lots of opportunities for free-flow play which helps those children who learn best in an outdoor capacity to benefit fully from their experiences. Children thoroughly enjoy playing with sit-and-ride toys, sand, dens and slides which help children gain confidence, improve skills of co-ordination control and movements. Children's social and emotional well-being benefits from the warm relationships between children and staff. Staff are kind and sensitive towards the children who help them feel safe and secure, as a consequence they gain confidence, feel valued and show an enthusiasm to learn. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children have some access to information technology equipment, such as lap tops which help them gain some knowledge and skills for their future. Children confidently use a computer and keyboard and listen to and follow instructions.

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and outcomes for children

Children participate in contributing to the 'floor book' where they add pictures and captions and draw pictures on the pages. This unique activity helps children to think about and describe their experiences and put their thoughts into words. Children also plan what they want to do in the future, for example, having a pirate day or undertake a healthy eating project. Writing and mark making opportunities help children to understand the relationship between the written and spoken word and there are some resources to support this area of children's development.

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and outcomes for children

Observations are undertaken by staff, some are recorded in record of achievement books and others shared verbally within the staff team. They use their knowledge about their key children to generally plan the environment on a weekly basis. The planning includes their adult-led activity and continuous provision. The continuous provision is generally the same type of activities and little change occurs over the week, such as home corner, play dough, puzzles and books. Staff accommodate new interest children show and ideas in the 'floor book' in their planning. Next steps in children's learning are not always devised and as a consequence planning does not always target children's individual learning needs. This also means the environment does not always provide children with enough challenging and stimulating activities and resources. Although children have fun, the planning systems do not always enable children to meet their full learning potential.

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and outcomes for children

Children's welfare is promoted soundly. Children's medical and dietary details and permission to seek emergency medical advice and treatment is in place and staff are first aid trained. Snacks are healthy and children enjoy fruit, malt loaf and bread sticks. They make their own minds up when they feel thirsty and help themselves to their drinks, so are learning about their bodies. Children display a settled and content disposition and are forming positive relationships with their key staff as they chat and share games and resources happily together. Behaviour is good and children respond positively towards staff and their peers. 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 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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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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