Crofton Early Learners

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique Reference Number EY364379 Inspection date 24/06/2008 Inspector Rebecca Hurst

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Setting address Crofton Baptist Church, 100 Crofton Lane, ORPINGTON, Kent, BR5 1HD

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E-mail

Registered person The Trustees of Crofton Early Learners Pre-School Type of inspection Integrated Type of care Sessional care

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E-mail

Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be freely reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided the source and date of publication are stated.

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage.

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The provider must give a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must give a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Day Care and Childminding (inspection) (England) Regulations 2005 No 2300 Regulations 5 and 6).

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are outstanding. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are outstanding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Crofton Early Learners has been open since 1977 and operates from Crofton Baptist Church, Crofton Lane, Orpington. It serves the local urban area of Petts Wood and Orpington. The group is run by the Trustees of Crofton Early learners. There is a regular team of 12 staff and two bank staff, at least five of whom attend each session. Seven staff hold a range of childcare qualifications including the Pre-School Learning Alliance Diploma in Pre-School Practice (DPP) and a Batchelor of Education.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There is an ongoing commitment to staff training with several members of staff working toward recognised qualifications including the DPP, NVQ Level 3 in Childcare and classroom assistant.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group receives support from the local Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership and has good links with local schools.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The children have use of a large sports hall and smaller side room and occasional use of the Oak Hall. There are two secure outside areas used by the children. The children's toilets are off the main hall. Staff have the use of a secure kitchen area which is sometimes shared with other users of the church premises.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The group is registered for 32 children under five years; of these, not more than four may be under three years. There are currently 46 children on the roll who attend a variety of sessions during the week. There are 42 three and four year olds receiving funding. The group currently supports several children with special educational needs and there are three children attending for whom English as an additional language. Opening times are 09.15 to 12.15 hours from Monday to Friday during term time.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are receiving a healthy and balanced diet whilst they attend the setting and as a result they thrive. Children's acquisition of independence skills is greatly enhanced by skilful staff. At snack time children serve themselves their own drink which they are able to choose between milk and water. Children also have great opportunities to use utensils. They butter their own bread with grown up knives. Children's safety is paramount to the staff as they explain the importance of holding a knife correctly.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children are fully aware of the need to wash their hands. Children are fully aware of routine within the nursery and tell the staff when they need to wash their hands. Staff ensure children wash their hands before any food and after they have been to the toilet. This protects children from cross infection and contamination. Children are further protected from cross infection as staff clean all tables before and after food with anti bacterial spray.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children have daily opportunities to access physical play within the nursery. Staff ensure children have a wide range of activities that promote both large and small muscle movements. Children have large spaces to move around in where they can experiment with their movements. Children enjoy bouncing around on space hoppers using their large muscles and exploring in the sand with shells using their small muscles.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's safety is paramount to the staff. Staff carry out daily safety checks of the building before children arrive in the morning. Any items highlighted are noted into a separate book which then gets passed onto the church. When it has been fixed the staff then mark it in the book. This ensures the children are protected from harm. Children's safety is further enhanced as all doors are secure which prevents any unauthorised entry.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are welcomed into a bright and airy inclusive setting. Children's self esteem is nurtured as they have their work displayed on the walls in the setting. Children have access to a wide amount of resources that are safe and maintained to a high standard. All resources are appropriate for the age of the children that are accessing them.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are protected from harm and neglect as all staff are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children and child protection. Children's safety is further enhanced as the manager ensures there are staff present who have an up to date first aid certificate. Staff teach the children the importance of walking within the setting and explain what could happen to them if they fell over.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are extremely happy at the setting. They arrive happy and eager to start the day. When they arrive at the setting they are greeted by all the staff. All children self register when they arrive, this aids the children's early word recognition. Activities are attractively set out and children enjoy the freedom and encouragement they receive to explore their environment and to make choices. Staff are skilful at extending children’s language as well as their imagination. Plans and developmental profiles demonstrate the extreme regard that staff have for maximising individual children's progress. Children are developing excellent levels of concentration and enjoy their time in the setting as a result of the praise and positive reinforcement from staff. Nursery Education The quality of teaching and learning is outstanding. Excellent assessment procedures, sensitive and evaluative observations and a wide range of well thought

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

out resources all contribute to a good learning environment in which children enjoy activities that cover all six areas of learning. Planning is well thought out and comprehensive. All staff are aware of the activities planned for each day. Children are making very good progress as they are taught by staff who have a strong knowledge of the Foundation Stage curriculum. Developmental records for individual children closely reflect staff's understanding of their individual needs and demonstrate that staff use this information to move children on to the next stage of learning. This detailed management of children's learning has a demonstrable effect on their excellent progress. Children settle to tasks for long periods of time and show extremely high levels of concentration which contributes to their achievements.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children's learning is challenged by experienced staff that are able to ask the children meaningful questions that make them think. Children are learning about the summer and the beach. Staff get the children to use their imagination to listen to the sounds from the beach. The staff ask the children what they would hear at the beach and what they would find. Children are eager to participate and shout out answers for the staff, as well as putting up their hands. Children's descriptive language is greatly nurtured by staff as they describe how to catch fish and what equipment they would need, such as rods and bait and maggots. A child said to the staff that she likes to eat fish fingers, and the member of staff said that she didn't know fish had fingers, all the children laughed and shouted no they don't. Some children said that you buy fish fingers in the shop.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children's language development and their understanding of concepts is nurtured by activities such as circle time, where the children look at the month, date, day, season and weather. Children have daily access to mark making materials both inside and outside the setting. This allows the children to practise their emergent writing skills, which is actively encouraged by all staff. Children's creativity is enhanced as they have free flow to explore malleable play with clay and play dough. Staff are highly skilled in adapting each activity for the age of the children that are participating in it. Children also have free access to materials for junk modelling. Children are exploring how to use their imagination and are given free rein to do this by caring and nurturing staff.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff make story time fun and exciting for the children. Staff invite children to participate by asking them questions about the story and what they think will happening next. Staff ask the children what they think the little girl in the story may be smelling when she woke up in the morning. Children eagerly responded bread, butter and strawberries. The member of staff asked the children if they could what the little girl was doing in the story, of getting dressed. One little girl replied if you can't do something you need to try and try and try again until you can do it.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children are taught about their senses in a meaningful way. Children explore sand activities with their hands and their feet. They are encouraged to put their feet in the sand and to explain what they can feel. They also use their taste buds for exploration. Children taste different foods and staff get the children to explain what they can taste. On the day of inspection the children where learning about summer and their taste was to explore ice cream. Staff explained to the children about how to scoop the ice cream out of the tub and then asked the children to tell her what it tasted like. Children were able to use a wide range of descriptive words to describe that it was cold, and how sweet it was.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children's spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Children have access to a good range of resources that promote children's learning of diversity and equal opportunities. Staff work with the Pastor of the attached church to teach children about Christian festivals. Children use the attached church for their nativity plays which gives aided meaning to their learning. Children also learn about festivals and celebrations from around the world, which further enhances their knowledge of diversity.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Staff have an excellent understanding of children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Staff actively involve all children in the setting and with activities that they plan. This ensures children attend a fully inclusive setting. Children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities have detailed individual education plans which show targets that have been set that the staff are working towards for them to progress with their development. Staff use Makaton throughout the session to communicate with all children. This ensures all children are able to communicate with each other, and children with a speech delay are not excluded from activities. Children also use time lines throughout the day so they are fully aware of the routine and what is happening next. This aids children to be settled in the nursery and helps new children to be familiar with the routine of the nursery. Staff work extremely

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Helping children make a positive contribution

closely with all outside agencies and parents of children. This ensures every one is working together for the progress of the children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

All staff are consistent with their approach to behaviour management. Staff manage a wide range of behaviour that actively promotes the children's welfare and their development. Staff consistently explain to the children about sharing and turn taking at a level that they understand. As a result children are well behaved. Staff are very good role models to the children as they ensure they teach the children the importance of having and using good manners.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is outstanding. Parents receive an abundance of information regarding the setting and the education that is on offer to the children. Parents have their own notice board which the staff ensure they keep up to date. This keeps the parents informed with what is happening in the nursery. Parents receive information about their children's progress every day during daily feedback. They also attend parents' evenings which the staff hold to ensure parents are able to freely discuss with the staff the progress of their children. Parents feel they get a lot of support from the staff and they are extremely happy with the care the staff give to their children. Children benefit greatly from the relationship between their parents and the staff.

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Organisation

Overall the setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides. All of the setting's policies and procedures are meticulously maintained. The staff ensure they record children's actual times of arrival and departure which keeps children safe from harm. Children's safety is further enhanced as all staff have current Criminal Record Bureau checks. The provider ensures all staff working with the children are suitable. Children are protected from harm and neglect as the staff ensure children are protected from non vetted people.

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Organisation

Children are happy within the setting where the excellent adult to child ratio ensures they are supported in their care, learning and play. Activities are appropriately organised and all staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities. Staff work effectively as a team to provide a positive and stimulating environment where children can develop at their own pace. Recruitment and vetting procedures are thorough to protect all children in the setting.

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Organisation

The quality of leadership and management are outstanding. The committee and the manager have a clear vision for the setting. They have plans in place to improve the setting, especially for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Staff's training needs are identified during their appraisals. The manager ensures all staff have opportunities to attend regular training session throughout the year. There is a happy atmosphere throughout the setting. The manager is supportive to all staff and is a very good role model. The evaluation of the curriculum is very effective as all children are making excellent progress.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the provider was asked to carry out two recommendations. These were to ensure snacks are healthy and nutritious and provide children with a variety of choices. The children receive a wide variety of nutritious snacks. The second recommendation was to ensure staff complete training in first aid for infants and young children which is consistent with any guidance issued to local authorities by the Secretary of State. The provider ensures there are enough staff present during the session that have first aid certificates to keep children safe.

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Complaints about the childcare provision

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards.

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Complaints about the childcare provision

The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are outstanding. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are outstanding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

procedures set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted’s role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2473) which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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