The Riverside Playgroup

The Riverside Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 511431 Inspection date 14/07/2011 Inspector Christine Stimson

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Setting address York House Annexe, York House, Richmond Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW1 3AA Telephone number 020 87442459 Email playriverside@btopenworld.com 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

The Riverside Playgroup opened in 1986 and was re-registered in 1992. It operates from a building in the grounds of the annexe to York House, Twickenham and serves the local community. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. It is open on Monday from 9am to 3.35pm and from 9am to12.05pm on the other days of the week, term time only.

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Description of the setting

The playgroup is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 30 children may attend the playgroup at any one time. There are currently 42 children aged from two years six months to under five years on roll. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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Description of the setting

There are ten members of staff, seven of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least National Vocational Qualification level 2. The playgroup provides early education funding for three and four year old children.

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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 secure and happy at the playgroup and are making good progress towards the early learning goals. A high staff/volunteer presence ensures every child receives lots of attention and interaction whilst taking part in activities. Management encourage staff to embrace training opportunities to improve outcomes for children, but does not have an appraisal system to help identify staff training needs. Parents and staff are involved in evaluating practice to ensure continuous improvement. Planning of activities for children is in place, but this is not based on children's starting points or next step notes. Most recommendations from the last inspection have been met.

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further?

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

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further?

 analyse observations to help plan what next for individual children.  develop system to ensure that parents have regular opportunities to look at children's development files  use experiences that children bring home as starting points for learning  conduct regular staff appraisals to identify the training needs of staff This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Management have made sure staff have kept up to date with first aid training and there is a well stocked first aid box in place to deal with minor accidents. All staff have been vetted to ensure they are suitable to work with children. The playgroup has an evacuation procedure that is practised with children weekly, to ensure they know how to leave the premises quickly and safely. Fire detection equipment is in place within the facility to further ensure children's safety. Children play in a safe, secure environment where daily risk assessments are conducted. Hazards found by staff are dealt with quickly or reported to the caretaker of the building. Staff have a good understanding of the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child and many have attended safeguarding training. All staff are due to refresh their knowledge of child protection issues in September. Written polices and procedures are in place and are shared with staff and parents to further safeguard

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the early years provision

The playgroup have a consistent staff bank who are encouraged to drive improvement by embracing training opportunities. They then cascade their knowledge to others to improve outcomes for children. Children play with a wide range of good quality resources, selecting items from labelled and pictured boxes kept on shelves. Other items on tables and the floor enable children to make a choice in their play. Amongst the resources there are many items that reflect diversity to help children learn about the wider world. Inclusive practice is promoted by the relationships staff have with parents. Glowing comments from parents show they are very happy with the care and learning their children receive. Parents talk about the positive relationships they have with staff and how their children have grown in confidence since attending. However, management does not establish children's starting points with parents to find out children's interests

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the early years provision

and abilities. Parents are aware development records are kept, showing their child's progress, but the playgroup have no formal system in place to share these with parents. Verbal feedback from staff, ensures parents are informed of what their child has been doing each day. All children have a learning journey folder, showing a profile and assessment of their progress, which is passed to parents when their children leave the playgroup. Children's self-esteem is boosted as work they have completed, is either sent home or displayed to show it is valued. The manager has established relationships with other childcare providers by exchanging details of development records to ensure continuity of care and learning .

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the early years provision

Management evaluates practice and includes parents and staff in this process. Questionnaires are sent to parents to gauge opinion and used to improve practice. Informal weekly staff meetings ensure staff opinions are valued and acted upon. Several recommendations were made at the last inspection to improve practice. Since then the group have improved staff's knowledge and understanding of child protection procedures and made sure the attendance register is used during fire drills to ensure children's safety. Over half the staff now holds Early Years qualifications. The playgroup has devised procedures for outings and uncollected children and has updated the complaints procedure with Ofsted's details. Many This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 staff have attended training in the Early Years Foundation Stage and are now delivering the curriculum to children. The planning, observation and assessment of

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the early years provision

children's progress covers all areas of learning and older and more able children are challenged within this to reach their full potential. The playgroup still do not have regular formal opportunities for parents to share children's assessment records and agree next steps for children's individual learning, However, they do convey this verbally to parents on a regular basis. The recommendation to develop a system to monitor and record staff performance, including the identification of future training needs, has not been fully met. This has been brought forward as a recommendation for the purpose of this inspection.

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and outcomes for children

Children are supported by staff who engage them in activities that capture their imaginations, asking children questions to make them think and interacting with them as they play. An example of this happened as the children released butterflies, they had been observing and caring for from when they were caterpillars, into the garden. Prior to this each child had made decorated wings from old material and antenna from glitter covered baubles stuck onto hair bands. A member of staff played the guitar and the 'butterfly' children sang and danced to a song about butterflies, prior to their release. Another member of staff read a book to children about a caterpillar turning into a butterfly and children then gathered round the net cage where the butterflies were living. Children were encouraged to ask questions and vied with each other to name them. Children were asked to look at them carefully in case they came across them whilst playing

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and outcomes for children

in the park or in their gardens. Whilst children were looking they were asked to identify the colours on the butterflies and several children remembered they were called Painted Ladies. Children were encouraged to count them and their discarded cocoons. As the butterflies were released one by one, children waved them goodbye and worked out how many were left.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing skills for the futures as they have opportunities to mark make with paints, writing materials and easels easily accessible. Work on the wall and in children's folders show they have attempted, and in many cases succeeded, in writing their names on their work. The playgroup regularly celebrates the festivals of others and has many resources that reflect diversity in the forms of play people, dolls, puzzles and books. Staff have made a laminated book of pictures showing people in jobs not normally associated with their gender, various pictures of people from different cultures and positive images of children with disabilities. These are shared and discussed with children at circle times.

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and outcomes for children

Children have free access to the lovely walled garden which is very well equipped, providing a stimulating learning environment for children. The apparatus available helps children to practise their physical skills and stimulates their imagination. Children are learning how to lead a healthy lifestyle as staff talk about good foods at snack time and during cooking activities. Children help staff grow vegetables outside and once grown these are cooked for them to try. For example, children This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 have grown potatoes and helped care for them. They dug them up, washed them and staff cooked them in a variety of ways for children to try. Children grew carrots, which they tried with dips and are looking forward to harvesting the runner beans, tomatoes and courgettes, which will be roasted and tried by children. Good hygiene routines are learnt by children as they wash their hands

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and outcomes for children

before snack time and after using the toilet. Children are helped to feel safe as boundaries such as not running in the indoor areas, and not jumping into the ball pond before checking no one else is in there, are reiterated by staff. Children make a positive contribution to the playgroup by making choices in their play and assisting staff with tidy up time in the garden and indoor areas. 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 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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