St Peter's Primary School

Abbeydale Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 101739 Inspection date 09/12/2011 Inspector Sandra Croker

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Setting address Abbeydale Community Centre, Glevum Way, Abbeydale, Gloucester, GL4 4BL Telephone number 01452 301492 or 07775890544 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.

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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

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

Abbeydale Playgroup opened in 1985. The playgroup is managed by a voluntary committee of parents and carers. It operates from Abbeydale Community Centre in the residential area of Abbeydale. The playgroup operates from the main hall, and also has use of the toilets and kitchen area. Children have access to an enclosed outside play space. The children attend from the local area.

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Description of the setting

Abbeydale Playgroup is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 53 children aged from two and a half years to four years on roll. The playgroup provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The playgroup supports children with special educational needs and physical disabilities, as well as those who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The Pre-school is open during school term time, on Monday, Thursday and Friday between 9am and 12 noon. It is open from 9am to 2pm on Tuesday. The playgroup also opens on Monday, Thursday and Friday from 12.15pm to 2.45pm. There are six staff employed to work with the children; of these, five have early years qualifications at level 3. The playgroup 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 good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children enjoy coming to this playgroup. They feel safe, happily take part in the activities provided and make good progress overall in their learning and development. Strong relationships have been established with parents and other professionals, including early year practitioners in other settings. These solid connections ensure children's individual needs are well met. Children's safety and welfare is well protected as staff implement secure procedures and supervise children consistently. The playgroup has an accurate understanding of its strengths and weaknesses and overall plans for the future are well targeted.

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further?

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

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further?

 enhance the use of positive images in the daily environment, to promote children's awareness of diversity. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

There are rigorous recruitment procedures in place to check the suitability of all adults working with the children. All staff have a comprehensive understanding of what to do if they are concerned about the welfare of a child. Effective partnerships with parents, carers and other professionals, and a friendly environment, help to ensure that children feel safe and are able to participate fully in playgroup life. There is a robust system for the collection of children by authorised persons only. Effective precautions are in place to prevent children leaving the playgroup unsupervised and intruders are prevented from entering the premises through robust checking of visitors.

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the early years provision

Staff have highly positive relationships with parents which help to ensure each child's needs are well met. There are clear channels of communication, both verbally and in writing, which keep parents well informed of their children's well- being, learning and development. Parents contribute regularly to their children's learning journeys, sharing their achievements from home. Regular newsletters keep parents informed of events in the playgroup.

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the early years provision

This inclusive service values all children as individuals. The playgroup is improving outcomes for children and taking effective strides to close identified gaps in attainment. For the most part, staff are effective in helping children to understand the society they live in, although there is limited use of positive images in the displays around the playgroup. The staff present the playgroup as an appealing and interesting environment to support many aspects of children's learning. It has a good range of resources that are placed at low level to encourage the children to make independent choices. Children use books with photographs to help them identify and choose more toys that interest them. Children show staff the picture linked to the activity and then staff help the children to find the activity in the room.

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the early years provision

The playgroup has good self-evaluation measures in place for identifying its strengths and areas for improvement. The staff are effective in monitoring and evaluating responses from parents and children, and have been successful in making and supporting improvements. They are well organised and have a clear understanding of their duties.

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and outcomes for children

A warm, child-friendly environment helps children to make good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. They show a sense of belonging to their own community as they sing a 'hello' song at the start of the session and 'goodbye' song at the end. Rigorous planning, observation and assessment This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 systems illustrate the progress children are making and ensure the next steps in their learning are identified. All children are fully involved in the playgroup. Children become confident in their language and communication skills. They share books excitedly in small groups with staff and are confident to ask questions and share their ideas. For example, a child explains what they know about night time. They tell everyone that it gets dark before they go to bed. Staff effectively help the child to think critically by asking them what they notice about the dark. The child

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and outcomes for children

explains that it means they can see the stars and sometimes they can see the moon. They tell everyone that in the day they cannot see the stars.

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and outcomes for children

Children act out family life excitedly with dolls and push-chairs. They look at photographs of family life displayed on the walls. This enables staff to build on family practices when tuning into children's needs and ideas. Staff work effectively with children, helping them to count confidently when playing. For example, children throw a bean bag onto a number line and jump until they reach where it lands. Staff support the children skilfully to recognise the numbers on the number sequence. Older children use emerging mathematical ideas well when counting the children who have washed their hands before snack and counting those who are still waiting in the queue. Children love to use number names during a physical activity lesson. They hop, jump and count to the music and songs being sung. Children show great joy in their play. They are curious to see the marks left by different-sized balls as they roll each ball through paint in a tray. Staff help the

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and outcomes for children

children to predict what they will see as they add paint of different colours. Children practise their writing skills in a variety of ways, using pencils, crayons, chalks and paintbrushes. All these experiences help children develop good skills for their future learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children are well behaved, take initiative, and work well on their own and with friends. They share toys as they play with the doll's house, and exchange characters and take turns to let them ride in the toy car. Children use the computer with confidence; for example, they use the computer mouse well to build up an image of a snowman. Children take turns effectively to identify parts of the snowman still missing.

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and outcomes for children

Children's health is promoted well through physical exercise. They eagerly take scooters into the outside play area, participate in regular movement lessons inside and go for frequent walks in the local area. Children show a good awareness about what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. They know they need to wash germs off their hands before they eat. Children choose healthy options for snacks at the snack bar, including a choice of fruit. They get a cup and pour their own water competently when they want a drink. They use knives skilfully when preparing their snacks. Children demonstrate a clear understanding of how to stay safe independently of adult reminders. For example, when changing their costumes for the nativity play rehearsal, they hand spare polythene bags straight to staff, to keep themselves and their friends safe. 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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