Jigsaw Pre-SchoolOfsted inspection, 14 Jul 2011

Jigsaw Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY341029 Inspection date 14/07/2011 Inspector Anne Daly

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Setting address Gordon Hall, Bardfield, Basildon, Essex, SS16 4JN

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Telephone number 01268 552 037 Email jigsawpreschool@hotmail.co.uk 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

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

Jigsaw Pre-school is one of three settings operated by Kingswood Pre-School Partnership. It originally opened in 2001 before registering under new management in 2006. It operates from a community hall on the outskirts of Basildon, which has level access to the entrance and where all children share access to a secure, enclosed, outdoor play area. A maximum of 26 children may attend the setting at any one time, which opens each weekday from 9.15am to 12.15pm during school term times.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 41 children from the local and surrounding catchment areas on roll, all of whom are in the Early Years Register age range. Children attend for a variety of sessions and the setting provides funded early education for two, three-and four-year-olds. The setting supports a small number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and can support a small number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The setting employs seven members of staff, of whom two hold level 2 early years qualifications and three hold level 3 early years qualifications. A regular volunteer also works at the setting, which receives outside 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

Children are well cared for in a safe and caring environment in which they are making steady progress in their learning through play. The management team and staff are beginning to develop systems to ensure that planning meets all children's individual needs, interests and learning styles. Staff have a sound working knowledge of the written policies and procedures and of some of the records to enable them to support and protect children. Some partnerships with other agencies successfully promote children's welfare and learning, although, systems are not yet fully developed to enable parents to support their children's learning. The management team is beginning to identify the setting's strengths and weaknesses and are aware that they have the capacity for improvement to ensure beneficial impacts on children's welfare, learning and development.

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further?

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

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further?

 obtain information from parents of all children regarding who has legal contact with the child and who has parental responsibility for the child (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 01/09/2011 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 improve the systems for the organisation of the setting to include ongoing effective self-evaluation procedures involving all staff, parents and children  develop further the two-way flow of information with parents to involve them in practical support of their child's profiles, learning and development  develop further and regularly review the use of assessments to plan for the next steps in a child's developmental progress.

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the early years provision

The setting has a clear, detailed policy and a designated staff member to take the lead if concerns arise about children's safety. Some staff have attended safeguarding training and all staff understand their responsibility to safeguard children from harm. The sound recruitment and vetting procedures ensure that appropriately qualified staff and volunteers are suitable to be working with children. The setting maintains some of the required records, although, it does not hold information about who has legal contact or who has parental responsibility for a child, which potentially results in staff not being able to fully safeguard and meet individual children's needs.

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the early years provision

Children's safety and security are given priority throughout the setting, including effective six-monthly risk assessments and staff completing daily risk assessments of all areas to ensure safety before receiving children. The majority of staff hold recognised early years qualifications, while some additional training ensures improvements to children's learning environment. Staff renew their paediatric first aid qualifications to enable them to appropriately care for children in the event of accidents or illnesses. Required ratios are well met and registers are maintained for children and staff to ensure that everyone can be safely accounted for at all times. Children are learning to keep themselves safe through regularly practising emergency evacuation drills. Staff provide different interesting experiences without compromising children's safety at anytime, including appropriately placing safety mats around the large outdoor play equipment.

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the early years provision

The staff team work well together to enable children needing extra support to settle into the setting. A balanced range of activities is attractively set out in the hall and garden before children arrive to support their independence by enabling them to choose what they would like to play with, although, daily garden play is timetabled. Children's developing awareness and understanding of people's differences are being promoted by the provision of books and play provision and by the celebration of their own and other cultures, beliefs and festivals. Children support charities, including taking part in a local fundraising walk, to help them to learn to respect the needs of others. They are learning about people who help them, with mounted Police Officers and the School Patrol Crossing person visiting the setting. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The setting provides an inclusive service and a warm welcome for all children and

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the early years provision

their families, with systems allowing staff to identify a child's needs for additional support as early as possible. The special educational coordinators are improving outcomes for children by actively taking steps to close identified achievement gaps. They work closely with interagency teams and parents to develop individual education and care plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, while daily communication books inform these parents about their child's care and learning during each session. Staff are developing links with other providers, including some local primary and nursery schools to help children make a smooth transition between settings.

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the early years provision

The manager is beginning to develop evaluation systems by devising a very basic action plan to identify some weaknesses. However, the self-evaluation has yet to include the current views of all staff, parents and children to identify the setting's strengths and priorities for development to improve the quality of provision for all children. The setting has the capacity to maintain sustainable improvements, with the registered providers presently reviewing the planning system to ensure inclusion of the individual needs and interests of all children.

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the early years provision

Parents spoken to during the inspection confirmed that their children were very happy at the setting. They confirmed that they receive a prospectus detailing the setting's policies and procedures and regular newsletters. Staff initially gather information to support their children to make the transition between home and the setting by enabling staff to respond well to individual care needs. Parents can speak to the friendly staff at anytime if they have any concerns and appreciate how well staff support their children's speech and language development. Key persons complete children's learning journeys, although, systems are not fully developed to share them immediately with parents when next steps are identified, resulting in parents being unable to fully support their child's learning and to contribute to their child's profile.

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and outcomes for children

Children and their families are warmly welcomed into an inclusive environment, where children make independent choices to discover the people and things around them. The variety of opportunities helps them to make steady progress across all areas of learning and development and to become inquisitive learners. Key person's termly assessments identify each child's next stages of development and progression towards their early learning goals. However, they recently identified that the weekly planning was not allowing them to respond to and to plan for individual children's next steps and different styles of learning. Consequently, the registered providers are developing a new planning system to commence in September to enable staff to utilise their observations and assessments.

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and outcomes for children

Children are happy to display confidence and to take initiatives when working well independently, as well as co-operating with each other. They are given ample time and encouragement to develop their language, literacy, writing skills and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 mathematical concepts. The outdoor area enables them to undertake activities in different ways and on different scales as compared with indoors, for example, they thoroughly enjoy acting out a familiar story about a bear hunt and finding the small bear. The environment offers a variety of activities to encourage children's interest and curiosity, while developing an understanding of words to describe capacity. They know when their bucket of sand is full and that the bucket will be empty if tipped out to make a sand castle. Children find out about and identify some features of living things, while also developing their control of equipment.

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and outcomes for children

They examine the changes over a period of time when using a watering can on a tomato plant. They describe how water helps the plant to grow and how small green tomatoes are like flowers on one of the trusses. They recall and recount their own experiences while sharing them with others, including a recent visit to the Zoo with staff and parents, resulting in them using their ideas when painting a snake picture.

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and outcomes for children

Children are provided with opportunities to develop the necessary skills for their future. They are encouraged to behave well, with consistent clear boundaries for behaviour within the setting, helping their confidence by knowing what is expected of them. Everyday activities help them to sort and match where play provision is kept when helping to tidy away toys before the end of sessions. They learn about the importance of personal hygiene and are becoming increasingly independent in their personal care. Their understanding of keeping themselves safe in the sun is demonstrated by wearing sun hats when playing outside. They are motivated to learn and to make steady progress given their starting points and capabilities. 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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