Mary Godwin Under Fives

Mary Godwin Under Fives The Mary Godwin Pavillion, Wymans Lane, Swindon Village, Cheltenham, GL51 9QS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/09/2012 26/04/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The group's practice enables children to do well and to make good progress relative to their starting points. Overall, children benefit from teaching and interactions that are good and focus on their interests and needs.  Staff work well together to take purposeful, effective action to create interesting, varied learning environments for promoting children's all round development and meeting their needs well, including those with additional requirements.  Strengths include the promotion of children's personal, social and emotional development and this is reflected in the warm, caring relationships that clearly exist for children so they feel and are happy  The requirements for children's safeguarding and welfare are well met.  The group evaluates the provision well and strong links with parents actively involve them in their children's learning and development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 the range of resources immediately available for children's choice is not fully extended to support their ideas.  use of open comments and question to extend children's thinking is not maximised

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are scheduled:  at least once in every inspection cycle. The current cycle ends on 31 July 2016  more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged as inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage; or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised for inspection where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playroom and in the outside play area. A shared observation of children's outdoor play was achieved with the play leader.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the management committee chair, the play leader and the staff who were present.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journals and at a range of documentation. This included the group's activity plans and progress monitoring forms.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of parents and carers in recently completed questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

Mary Godwin Under Fives opened in the 1980s and registered in 1993. It operates from a room at The Pavilion that is situated on the edge of playing fields in the Swindon Village area of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Children have access to a fenced, paved area and to the playing field. The group is open each weekday during term time from 9am to 12 noon and on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 12.30pm to 3pm. On Wednesday, pre-school children bring a packed lunch and stay until 12.30pm.

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Information about the setting

This provision is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 18 children aged from two years six months to under five years on roll. The group currently supports a number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are four members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The group is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four years.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 enhance the range of resources immediately available for children's own choice, for example, by providing art and craft materials that are accessible for children to use to explore their own

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 maximise use of open comments and questions to extend children's thinking, for example, by introducing vocabulary to enable children to talk about their observations and ask questions

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who attend

All children make good progress in each area of learning, taking into account their capabilities and frequency of attendance. Staff are able to plan effectively from the outset as there are good arrangements for gathering information about children's starting points. Staff have effectively revised their weekly planning so that key persons consider each child's learning and development requirements to devise individual plans in each area. As a result, children are eager to take part in stimulating activities and experiences that well meet their needs and interests. For example, activities, such as noticing the moon and spontaneous role and small world play as fire fighters, enhance children's abilities to understand the world around them. Good use is made of current events, as children arranged a street party for the Queen's Jubilee. They also paraded a real Olympic torch around the sports field before competing in their own games.

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who attend

In this small group with a high adult to child ratio, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from particularly good support. Staff devise detailed, individual plans in liaison with their parents and other professionals. They revise these frequently to effectively meet children's needs, for example, to focus on extending their concentration and understanding of language. Staff demonstrate that they have clear expectations for children's personal and social development. For example, they effectively support children's participation and perseverance as they enjoy the responsibility of carrying out small tasks. Though staff accept children's decisions to move on, children are invited to complete an activity or game and receive praise when they achieve this. The enthusiastic staff strongly engage and motivate children to develop and learn. They offer to join in children's chosen activities and suggest useful ideas to extend the play. They all provide

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who attend

open-ended comments and questions, although use of these is not always consistent to extend children's thinking. Staff are sensitive to when children prefer to play on their own.

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who attend

Staff skilfully support children's developing communication and language, as well as their literacy skills. They encourage young children to talk about their ideas; they initiate activities about sounds through making animal noises and experimenting with percussion instruments. Children enjoy looking at books and concentrate to 'read' these to themselves. They demonstrate good physical development to use one-handed tools and equipment. for example, eagerly make marks using a variety of media, including paint and chalk. Children make good use of information technology to enhance their mathematical ideas. For example, they choose programs to match and count pictures and recognise numbers. The strong focus on children organising their own play enables children to develop good learning skills and to be ready for their transition to school.

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who attend

Staff work particularly well with all parents, inviting them to join the committee to take part in the management of the group and to help in the sessions. New parents are well involved in the settling process, sharing detailed information about their children and being involved in visits until their children are ready to stay unaccompanied. Staff engage parents in their children's development and learning well. They keep parents well informed about their children's achievements and progress. Use of frequent conversation, posters and a sheet about children's home and group achievements enables all parents to share what they know about their children.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Staff care for children well with a warm and affectionate approach that helps them to feel as if part of a large family. As a result, children feel emotionally secure with familiar people. The key persons effectively support children and their families and focus on children's learning. Those with additional needs benefit from a good level of support and encouragement, including from the special educational needs coordinator as their key person. The group is proactive in requesting additional help as the need arises.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children are happy at the group as they enjoy and are engaged in their play. As a result, they willingly take turns as they join together to play in pairs and small groups. Staff offer good support for them to share, helping children to access additional resources if they wish to play with the same item. Staff also give clear indications of changes of routine, for example, well supporting a group of willing children to tidy toys at the end of the play session. As they clear the floor, children effectively gain an awareness of how to keep themselves and others safe. Children enjoy playing outside and choose whether to play in or out of doors. This, too, supports them to behave well. Considerable, low-level, room storage is in place, allowing children to independently help themselves to the resources available. Staff are aware that accessible storage options are limited by the compactness of the building. They effectively extend children's choices by changing equipment during

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

the session and providing resources requested by children. A picture catalogue of toys is available, although this does not include, for example, creative materials, and full use is not made of higher shelving to which children can point.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children benefit from good relationships with the small group of adults. They develop special friendships with other children and often engage in imaginative play with them. For example, they enjoy 'preparing food' in the home area and include staff in their games, for example, of 'eating numbered fish'. Children enjoy exploring using their senses, for example, making patterns with coloured rice and in dough, mixing paint colours and creating marks in foam.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Staff strongly support children to develop a good understanding of the importance of physical exercise and a healthy diet. They play energetically outdoors in the fresh air each day and become adept at managing their own hygiene and personal needs. Children gain good independence as they serve themselves with healthy foods and drinks for their snacks at the 'caf'. They gain a good understanding about healthy foods as they play a game in which an animal 'eats' the less healthy foods. Children become independent in dressing as they respond to challenges to put on dressing-up clothes, as far as possible. As a result, staff prepare children well for their transition into reception class.

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provision

The group is well organised as the management and leadership effectively understand and implement the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff consistently meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements at all times, to create an environment that is welcoming, safe and stimulating. All staff give priority to keeping children safe. Their training to recognise a child who may be at risk is up-to-date. They clearly know how to respond when a child needs protection and support. Employment procedures are robust with established practices to regularly review the adults' suitability to be with children. The chairperson and play leader use appraisal well to actively support staff members to improve their knowledge and skills; as a result, they are well equipped for their roles working with children. The premises are made safe and staff lock the gate to the outdoor play area when children play outside. Staff are vigilant and implement a comprehensive

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provision

programme of risk assessment for the premises and outings in order to minimise risks for children. All necessary records and documentation are in place and are effectively maintained.

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provision

The group works particularly well to foster beneficial links with external agencies supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. These include health visitors, therapists and medical consultants. The staff work hard to establish strong links with a variety of other provision attended by children. They visit, send letters and give invitations to children's other key persons. They telephone them regularly to liaise with each setting to discuss children's individual needs, interests and progress. Parents speak well of the group and feel closely involved in their children's care, learning and development; they play a key role in the assessment of their children's progress.

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provision

The management and leadership of the group have strong aspirations for the quality of the provision. These are reflected through the professional support given, for example, to newer staff to complete initial and further qualification training. There is well focused emphasis on evaluating the provision to realise ongoing improvement. The roles of the management committee of parents are now consolidated and members give staff good support. Staff have implemented both recommendations from the last inspection to improve aspects of children's safeguarding and learning. Views of supporting staff, parents and children effectively help to identify areas for development. For example, staff have recently revised the planning to reflect the current Early Years Foundation framework. They intend to complete home visits for children with additional requirements.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 101496 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 813193

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 13 Number of children on roll 18 Name of provider Mary GodwinUnder Fives Date of previous inspection 26/04/2010 Telephone number 01242 263746

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration. Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises that are usually their own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. 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,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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