The Hamlet Centre Children's Service

The Hamlet Centre Children's Service Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY435182 Inspection date 23/02/2012 Inspector Debbie Kerry

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Setting address Johnson Place, Vauxhall Street, NORWICH, Norfolk, NR2 1SJ Telephone number 01603 766 566 Email terri@hamletcentre.org.uk 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

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 Hamlet Centre was established in 1972 and re-opened when they moved into new premises in 2011 and is a registered charity, governed by a Board of Trustees and funded by a mix of national and local government funding, grant making trusts and donations from individuals and businesses. The Children's Services operates from purpose-built premises in the city of Norwich, Norfolk. The premises are fully accessible to all children and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 40 children under eight years of age, of whom 12 may be under two years of age may attend the centre at any one time. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The Early Support Opportunities Group is open Monday to Friday, during term only, from 9.30am to 11.30am, there is also an afternoon session on Tuesdays from 12.30pm until 2.30pm; there is a stay and play session on Thursdays from 12.30pm to 2.30pm and priority is given to children with special educational needs. A core part of the service is a toy library which includes a mobile service and has an extensive collection of toys and equipment chosen to support the needs of children with disabilities. A play scheme is provided during the holidays, Monday to Friday, from 9.30am to 3.30pm, for a maximum of 40 children with special educational needs. Children of different ages attend on

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Description of the setting

different days. Play schemes for children with complex health needs take place during the school holidays and on 20 Saturdays per year.

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Description of the setting

A core team of 14 permanent staff work alongside temporary workers and volunteers. Of whom, half hold appropriate early years qualifications to level 3. One member of staff is working towards Early Years Professional Status.

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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's welfare, learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage is fully supported by the experienced staff. They know children's individual needs well and undertake regular observations, with the next steps in their learning clearly identified. This is then included in the weekly plans to support children's ongoing learning. The setting has good relationships with parents in most aspects and seeks ongoing support and advice from other professionals and settings involved with the children to ensure that their individual needs can be fully met. The setting has established clear procedures for evaluating and monitoring their good practice and has identified areas for improvement to benefit children's continued learning and development.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  develop partnerships with parents further so they can share their children's achievements from home and add comments to their progress records.

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the early years provision

Children's welfare is fully supported as all staff have a good knowledge of safeguarding children and they are fully aware of the necessary steps to take should they have any concerns about the welfare of a child. The centre has clear policies and procedures in place for staff to follow and include local contact numbers; these are displayed so they are fully accessible to all staff. There are clear written risk assessments in place on all areas and equipment within the setting to ensure that children are effectively protected from any potential dangers. Staff complete risk assessments before any outings to ensure that children remain safe when away from the setting. Children learn about how to keep themselves safe through regular practises of the fire evacuation procedures. The premises are kept fully secure to ensure that children remain safe and cannot leave the premises unsupervised.

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the early years provision

Parents are kept fully informed about their child's learning and development through daily verbal feedback. Children's learning story records are made available for parents to view at the end of each session that children attend. Parents regularly meet with their child's key person to review and update their child individual education plan. However, there are no comments about their child's interests and learning at home added their learning storey records to ensure that they are fully involved with their child's learning. Parents are kept informed about the centre through the website, the noticeboard which displays all the policies and procedures. Parents are invited in to discuss and review their child's progress each term. The high staff ratios enable all children's individual needs to be fully supported and staff are available to speak with parents when children are collected. Staff at the centre work very closely with other professionals involved

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the early years provision

with children to support their health and medical needs well. They attend regular multi-agency meetings to ensure that the right level of support is obtained for each child in need. The centre has established excellent links with other settings within the local area that children attend for consistency of care.

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the early years provision

All staff have a good understanding on Early Year Foundation Stage and are involved with planning activities each week around the individual needs of their key children. The staff are fully supported in attending further training for their continued professional development. This ensures that outcomes for children continue to remain positive and helps to extend their knowledge. All staff members are included in reviewing and evaluating the centre's practice. Areas for improvement have been identified to benefit children's learning and development and to further improve the staffs' current good practice. The centre has in place a range of policies and procedures to support their good practice, which include a date for review to ensure they remain up-to-date. Parents are provided with evaluation questionnaires after every holiday play scheme to gain their feedback on the centre's practice and procedures. This knowledge is then used to make

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the early years provision

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 positive changes and improve staff practice further. There are plans to develop the outside area and to build a sensory room.

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and outcomes for children

Children are provided with a variety of different healthy options for snacks to effectively promote their healthy development. Children's independences is promoted as they select their own food, pour their own drinks and clear away their own cups and plates when finished. This allows children to make choices about what they eat to meet their own needs. All children are supported in developing an excellent understanding of personal hygiene routines, as they all know that they need to wash their hands before eating. Daily access to the outside play area ensures that children are developing an effective understanding on how to keep themselves healthy through regular exercise and fresh air. Children are provided with a variety of different resources and equipment in the outside play area to promote their physical development and learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children have opportunities to solve problems as they experiment with volume as they fill and empty containers during water play. Children play with a range of push button toys to help promote their understanding on technology. Children find their own name card at circle time and enjoy looking at books. This supports their early reading skills and develops their understanding of literacy. Staff sing a range of counting songs with children to help them develop their problem solving skills and their understanding around numbers. Resources are set out in low-level shelves. This enables children to make choices and self-select resources to meet their individual interests and learning needs. Staff are fully involved with the children to ensure that they can get the best from the activities provided and make good progress. Children help at tidy up time; this encourages them to learn about being responsible and caring for resources and their environment. Children are

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and outcomes for children

learning to share and take turns with resources and activities. Children are learning to communicate well with each other in a variety of ways both verbally and through signing. Through effective questioning by staff children are helped to develop their thinking skills. There is a range of resources in place to help children learn about diversity and the beliefs of others. Children also participate in a range of activities around different cultural festivals throughout the year. This helps them to develop a positive understanding on people's differences, other cultures and their beliefs.

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and outcomes for children

Staff undertake regular observations on children's individual interests and the next steps in their learning have been clearly identified. Staff are given time each week for planning activities and updating children's learning story records. Children's individual interests and learning needs are incorporated into the weekly plans to ensure that they are able to make progress in their learning. Plans are discussed and evaluated to ensure that the learning outcomes have been achieved and include areas for next steps to support children's continued progress. Children's learning story records clearly link the observation undertaken by staff to the six This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 areas of learning to show that children are receiving a broad and balanced curriculum to support their all round 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 1 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 1 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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