Christ Church School Playgroup

Christ Church School Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 309271 Inspection date 06/12/2011 Inspector Andrea Paulson

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Setting address Christ Church C of E Primary School, Derwent Road, LANCASTER, LA1 3ES Telephone number 07779 660 581 Email Type of setting Childcare - Non-Domestic 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

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

Christ Church School Playgroup opened in 1966. It operates from two rooms in a self-contained building situated in the grounds of Christ Church school in Lancaster. It serves the local area.

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Description of the setting

The setting are registered on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 20 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. It operates from 9am to 11.30am on Monday and 9am to 11.30am and 12.30pm to 3pm from Tuesday to Friday, term times only. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 33 children aged from two to under five years on roll. Of these, 14 receive funding for nursery education. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There is one child attending for whom English is an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The committee employs six members of staff including the two joint supervisors. Five staff hold appropriate early years qualification and one member of staff is working towards a qualification.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school receives support form the local authority.

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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 make good progress as they actively participate in this inclusive, homely and imaginative setting. Children's individual needs are met well through high levels of staff interaction and health and safety is promoted effectively through consistent practices. Planning for children's learning is comprehensive and well- presented. Partnerships with parents, carers and the community are strong overall though there is scope to strengthen some aspects. Significant improvements have been made since the last inspection, such as the outdoor play areas. Effective evaluation identifies and supports further areas for development so demonstrating good capacity for continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop more consistent systems for parents and carers to contribute to the ongoing observation and assessment process  improve arrangements for supporting children's transitions as they move on to school. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The well-informed and experienced management team ensure that children are well safeguarded. The vetting procedures are securely followed to check that all adults working with children are suitable to do so. Staff are highly aware of their responsibility to keep children safe as they implement secure procedures, for instance, when children are collected. Self-evaluation includes feedback from staff, parents, children and local authority monitoring. Consequently, improvements are made which enhance the provision so that children achieve well. A significant improvement is the outdoor play provision which extends children's learning experiences and opportunities for more active play. The dedicated and hard- working staff are well-organised in planning challenging activities for each child. They work well together to supervise children in all the play areas to maximise children's choice of resources.

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the early years provision

Indoors the wide range of resources is managed well to create a homely learning environment in which many of the displays are created by the children. The emphasis is to create a home from home environment with resources which are familiar to children and which build on their interests. Children also have exclusive access to imaginative outdoor play areas with challenging experiences to help children develop first-hand contact with the natural world. The setting is pro-active in establishing partnerships with others involved with the children through many means of two-way communication. However, the partnerships with the local schools are less well established and this hinders children's smooth transition into full time education. The setting works closely with parents and carers to further support each child's continuity of care and learning. Practices, though, lack some consistency in regularly involving parents in their children's progress. Parents and

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the early years provision

carers speak highly of the staff and the good quality provision. They comment on how happy the children are, how caring the staff are and about the high level of trust.

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the early years provision

The staff team work well together to securely implement the comprehensive and inclusive policies and procedures. Children's unique qualities are acknowledged and valued with staff providing sensitive individual care, for example, when providing a flexible settling in period to suit the needs of each child. Staff members take pride in their work and make a strong team which supports individual play and learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children's learning and development are promoted well through secure staff knowledge and effective planning which ensure good progress for each child. Observations are used well to plan the next steps and are closely linked to all the areas of learning. Staff members are committed to providing each child with stimulating experiences so that they enjoy and achieve well. Children benefit from a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities so that they grow in confidence and become more independent. The effective interaction of staff This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 extends their learning during spontaneous play. For example, children showed delight when working out how to fill the water tray by using a network of pipes and hoses. They compared colours, for instance observing that the very dark blue looks almost like black. Children counted the number of yellow construction blocks

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and outcomes for children

and worked together to make a ramp for toy cars, much to their amusement. Children's communication skills are well promoted. They practise linking letters and sounds and recognise simple words such as their name and the labels on resource boxes. They enjoy songs, concentrate well as they listen to stories and love reading books. In this way their confidence and future skills are developed well. Staff care very much about the children's well-being. They develop children's awareness of the importance of good health and physical activity. For example, children are learning to keep themselves healthy as they discuss which foods are good for them and demonstrate good personal hygiene when washing their hands. They enjoy much physical activity and show increasing skills in balancing, climbing and riding trikes. Children learn that regular fresh air and daylight help them grow strong. They keep well as they put on their coats to keep warm, and help

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and outcomes for children

themselves to water when thirsty. Children know how to keep themselves and others safe through good behaviour and careful practices. Staff encourage this through meaningful explanations, so that children understand to tie shoelaces so as not to trip up. Well resourced activities provide children with good opportunities to develop their awareness of their own environment and the wider world. Children learn about the natural world as they use binoculars to study birds in the adjoining field and trees. They learn to consider others as they fill the bird feeder. Children's social skills, such as sharing and taking turns are effectively promoted. For example, they take turns to have snacks as part of the caf-style provision. Children staying for the day bring packed lunches which they enjoy as part of a social experience when sitting together. Good standards of behaviour are evident within the setting as children follow the good role models of staff. The warmth and

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and outcomes for children

friendliness of staff help children to feel valued and grow in confidence and self- esteem. Children often express much joy in their achievements and interact confidently with staff and other children. This lays a good foundation for future learning. 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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