Pennymoor Preschool Nursery

Pennymoor Pre-School Nursery Community Centre, 26 Pennymoor Road, Wilnecote, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B77 4LG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/11/2012 19/01/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 The programme of activities offers a varied range of experiences to help children make satisfactory progress in their learning and development.  Staff provide a warm, welcoming environment, promote positive relationships and children are secure and develop a sense of belonging and have a clear understanding of how to stay safe.

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It is not yet good because

 The programme of activities does not offer enough adult-led activities to further extend learning across all areas of learning.  Staff do not consistently use ongoing observations and assessment of children's next steps to effectively focus planning to plan challenging experiences, in particular, for the older and more able children.  Self-evaluation does not identify all areas for improvement in raising children's achievement.  Systems to fully involve parents and carers in their children's learning and development are underdeveloped.

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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 the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the person in charge and chair and treasurer of the committee.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of practitioners working within the setting, the provider's self- evaluation form and a range of other documentation.  The inspector also took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Pennymoor Pre-School Nursery is operated by a voluntary committee of a registered charity. It was registered in 1981. The setting operates from the community centre building in the Stoneydelph area of Tamworth. The setting serves the local area. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor area. The setting opens Monday to Friday during school term time only. Sessions are from 9am until 12.45pm. Children attend a variety of sessions. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 25 children on roll of whom all are in the early years age group. The setting receives funding for free early education for children aged two, three and four year olds.

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Information about the setting

There are five members of staff employed to work with the children. Of these, one holds qualification at level 5 in early years, three hold a qualification at level 3 in early years and one is unqualified. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 develop further the educational programme by; offering a broader range of experiences through a better mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities across all areas of learning, both indoors and outdoors  offering more challenge by asking children questions to make them think and introducing new vocabulary, ideas and concepts  providing a more stimulating range of resources and practical experiences to encourage children to explore mathematical concepts, such as using numerals and exploring size, capacity, weight and measures  develop further the planning, observation and assessment arrangements by; reviewing the observation and assessment arrangements to help staff more consistently identify next steps in children's learning to inform planning and further extend children's learning.

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

 improve the self-evaluation systems to more clearly identify all areas for improvement and implement well-focused improvement plans to help secure improvement

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

 build further on the systems for involving and keeping parents and carers up-to- date about their children learning and achievements.

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who attend

The overall quality of teaching and learning is satisfactory. Children make reasonable progress through a varied range of experiences across all areas of learning. Staff plan purposeful play and children spend much of their time freely choosing what they would like to do and show appropriate levels of enjoyment. When adult-led activities are planned with a clear learning intention, children show increased levels of involvement and enjoyment. However, adult-led activities are not fully enough incorporated into the educational programme and consequently, staff do not always offer sufficient challenge. This particularly relates to children's communication and language and mathematic development. Staff know the children well as they make regular observations of what children do, like and enjoy and, therefore, plan well for their interests and enjoyment but they do not consistently use children's next steps to focus planning in particular, to further

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who attend

extend the older and more able children.

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who attend

Staff work well with parents when children need support and make appropriate interventions when required. However, systems to involve parents and carers in the continued assessment arrangements and to keep them fully informed about their children's achievements and progress are underdeveloped.

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who attend

Staff provide regular opportunities through the session for children to talk freely about their interests and what they are doing. For example, during 'circle time' children share what they have been doing at home and discuss the weather. Staff use rhymes and action songs to provide enjoyable opportunities for children to increase their vocabulary. However, adult interaction sometimes lacks challenge because staff do not consistently challenge children's thinking by introducing new vocabulary, ideas and concepts.

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who attend

Staff provide suitable opportunities for children to increase their literacy skills. For example, children begin to recognise their own names at registration and are being introduced to linking sounds and letters through 'letter of the week.' Staff provide a variety of writing materials, such as pencils, crayons, chalk and paper indoors but they do not sufficiently incorporate these in the role play area and outdoors. A book area which incorporates a selection of books and regular story sessions helps increase the children's fondness for books and stories.

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who attend

Staff provide appropriate opportunities for children to begin to count, sort, match, problem solve and consider shape through using a varied range of construction toys, puzzles, games and the computer. Staff use the daily routine and children's play well to encourage children to count and consider early calculation. However, older and more able children have few opportunities to recognise numerals and consider concepts such as, size, weight, capacity and measurement through practical experiences, such as the water and sand, both indoors and outdoors, to further extend their learning.

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who attend

Staff plan some meaningful opportunities for children to explore, observe and find out about people, places and the environment. For example, children have been planting and caring for flowers, care for the fish and have been following the life cycle of the butterfly. Children begin to learn about their own and others cultures through themed activities about religious festivals and tasting foods from other cultures.

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who attend

Staff provide a varied range of opportunities for children to express their creativity and imagination through using a variety of arts and crafts materials, small world toys and the role play area. For example, staff plan regular opportunities for children to explore a variety of painting techniques such as, sponge, hand, foot and free painting. In addition, children have a developing range of opportunities to consider texture and use their senses as they use play dough, shaving foam and instant mash.

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

An appropriate assigned key worker system helps staff foster positive relationships with both children and their parents and carers. Staff ensure they tailor their care according to the needs of the children and place an emphasis on getting to know their likes and dislikes well. Systems to help staff build more effectively on children's next steps in learning and provide a more challenging range of resources and experiences across all areas of learning are still developing. The structure of the session and positive relationships with the staff help children gain a sense of belonging. Children are well behaved because staff remind them at the beginning of the session about their behaviour expectations, which reinforces positive behaviour. Children enjoy the routine, for example, they quickly respond to the 'clean up song' and happily sing along as they help tidy up.

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

Staff provide appropriate opportunities for children to be physical both indoors and outdoors through a variety of physical play equipment. Helping children to stay safe is a key strength of the setting because staff place a clear focus on this. For example, children take it in turns to conduct a daily risk assessment of the outdoor area and help identify and minimise any potential risks. In addition good links with the fire brigade, police and ambulance, who regularly visit the setting, reinforce well their role and what the children can do to stay safe. Snack time is well organised and made available throughout the session, children are provided with a healthy snack consisting of a variety of fruits, vegetables, toast and milk. Staff and children adopt satisfactory hygiene practices to prevent the spread of infection, such as using anti-bacterial gel and hand wipes and areas are kept appropriately clean.

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

Children are cared for in one room and therefore staff get to know the children well. There are strong systems in place to share information with the two main local feeder schools. Systems to more fully involve the other schools and other early years settings that children attend are developing, to further support care, education and transition.

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provision

The person in change works directly with the children and staff daily and consequently, uses her daily observations to monitor, coach and manage staff performance. The person in charge, staff team and committee work well together and are enthusiastic about the care of the children. They have a clear understanding of their responsibility to meet the safeguarding requirements. Therefore, key aspects of safeguarding and helping support children to understand risk are a strength. However, their developing understanding of the learning and development results in staff not consistently providing a broad enough range of experiences that are fully matched to children's learning needs. Self-evaluation identifies all areas for improvement but these areas for improvement are not targeted well enough with well-focused improvement plans to further support and monitor improvement. Consequently, although some progress has been made since the last

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provision

inspection, such as improved risk assessments and improved sharing of information on transition to school, the recommendation in relation to planning, observation and assessments remains an ongoing area for further development.

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provision

There are clearly written policies, strategies and procedures in place to ensure the safeguarding and welfare of children. All staff know and understand clearly their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children. There are appropriate vetting and induction procedures in place to ensure adults caring for children or having unsupervised access to them are suitable to do so. All the required records, policies and procedures are in place and up-to-date. A well-motivated staff team supervise children well and give good priority to keeping children safe, through conducting effective written risk assessments of the environment, which help secure children welfare and safety.

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provision

Partnerships with parents and carers, other settings and agencies are satisfactory to support children's education, care and welfare. Parents and carers spoken to on the day are positive about the setting and report how quickly their children have settled and how staff always make themselves available to talk to them. On induction all new parents and carers receive a welcome prospectus which gives a basic overview of the setting and policies are made available in a file on the front desk. A notice board provides key information and a white board is completed daily by staff to keep parents and carers informed about the activities the children have undertaken each session. In addition regular newsletters keep parents informed about topics and how they can contribute towards their children's learning such as, bringing in an object in relation to the 'letter of the week'.

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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 218200 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 818137

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 25 Name of provider Pennymoor Pre-School Nursery Date of previous inspection 19/01/2010 Telephone number 01827 893078

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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.

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Type of provision

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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