Berry Hill Under 5's Group

Berry Hill Under 5's Group Lakers School, Five Acres, COLEFORD, Gloucestershire, GL16 7QW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/03/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

 Staff enable children to make good progress. Children benefit from good teaching and interactions with staff.  Teams of staff work well together to benefit each child. Staff take purposeful and effective action to create interesting and varied learning opportunities that meet children's needs well.  Staff use effective arrangements to promote the safety and health of children and their understanding of good practices.  Children benefit from individually tailored, supportive partnerships that staff develop with other providers and agencies.  Staff forge strong links with parents to help involve them in their children's care and learning, and to keep them well informed of their children's progress.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 staff do not make the most of learning opportunities arising in children's routines to foster children's independence and skills, particularly at snack time  staff do not regularly encourage children to access child-made or adult-scribed books to help children share stories with others. They do not consistently encourage children to write their own name or write for different purposes.

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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

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged 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 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  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playroom and the outside learning environment.  The inspector had discussions with parents, children and staff.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's records, planning, safeguarding procedures, policies and self-evaluation forms.

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Information about the setting

Berry Hill Under 5's Group opened about 37 years ago as a committee-run setting. It registered in 2001 and re-registered in 2012 at this venue. It operates from Lakers Comprehensive School at Five Acres near Coleford, Gloucestershire. The indoor accommodation includes a main playroom with integral toilets and a refreshment area and cloakroom. There is immediate access to an enclosed, outdoor area with grass and paving. The school hall, library, canteen and outdoor areas are available for children's use. The group opens each weekday during term time from 9am to 3pm, with flexible end of session times, for example, at 12 noon and 1pm. The group may open before and after school between 8am to 8.45 am and 3.15pm to 5pm if there is a need. The group is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 39 children from two years to under five years on

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Information about the setting

roll. The group supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The group is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. There are six members of staff working with children. Of these, five hold appropriate early years qualifications and one is studying for a level 4 qualification. The manager has an Honours Degree in Early Childhood Studies and the deputy holds Early Years Professional Status. Operational links are in place with the senior school on the shared site. The group holds a recognised quality assurance/improvement award.

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

 enable children to share their stories using child-made or adult-scribed books and provide them with a range of opportunities to write for different purposes about things that interest children

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

 provide materials and resources to extend children's learning in daily routines, for example, teaching children how to use tools safely to prepare snacks or encouraging their independence by allowing them to serve snacks for themselves

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who attend

Children's progress is at least good in all areas of learning, taking into account their starting points and patterns of attendance. All children receive good support to settle so they are eager to come in and choose activities. Children enjoy the huge range of stimulating, quality resources set out in learning areas around the spacious, light, bright room. Children often concentrate for long periods and transfer to their next chosen activity without delay. Staff plan group times to include all children and so that children's play and concentration is disturbed as little as possible. During play times, staff move around, being attentive to children's needs, and enthusiastically joining in their play. As a result, children receive good support from adults who give them space to explore resources, while understanding when they will benefit from closer attention. Staff skilfully enable children to talk about their activities and to share and extend their ideas. They offer challenging

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who attend

open comments and questions, for example following up a child's idea to use their pattern of mats as 'sand' by saying, 'As long as it's not that quicksand. Shall we make them into a trail?' They offer further resources, such as a blanket to make a den dark and children fetch their own equipment, including a hammer, to 'fix' it.

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who attend

Between sessions, the key staff effectively share information about children's responses in each area of learning. As a result, all staff have secure knowledge about children's stages of learning and interests, which they use in frequent reviews of children's learning needs. Staff have a good understanding of the requirement to check the progress of children aged two years. Now that the group has just started caring for two-year-olds, the staff will use the local authority format. They plan to share this with parents for their comments and for them to be aware of any developmental needs the children may have. Staff successfully use observations of children to plan appropriate experiences that help them move on to the next stage in their learning. They know when children are ready and confident to progress to different aspects of activities. For example, children eagerly make marks using brushes and balls in paint. Writing materials are plentiful at the children's

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who attend

level, although children are not always encouraged to write with a purpose in mind, for example to name their work. Staff make good use of spontaneous and planned group activities to foster children's learning. For example, children join in discussions about the days of the week to develop their listening and language skills. At story time, children focus intently on the chosen book and respond well to questions about the illustrations. However, children do not use books they have made, or in which adults have scribed children's words, to encourage their progress in literacy. Children easily recognise their own name labels at snack times and they learn from the many examples of wording around the playroom, such as the clear printed labels on storage.

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who attend

Children make particularly good progress in their personal, emotional and social development. They gain good self-esteem, showing that they feel they belong to the group, as they take part in favourite activities, such as the puzzles. They develop positive relationships with adults and other children. Strong friendships between children of similar ages are in evidence. Children develop their physical skills well. For example, they confidently climb and balance outdoors and become proficient with tools, such as hammers and nails, at the woodwork bench. Staff skilfully incorporate mathematical learning into routines and play. For example, they help children to count the number of people on their table and then take sufficient pieces of fruit. Staff effectively foster children's understanding about the world so that, for example, they are keen to learn through technology using a computer and interactive whiteboard. Children dig in soil and

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who attend

investigate ice that forms overnight on their wheeled toys. They delight in using the variety of indoor and outdoor resources to extend their creative skills. They choose from the wide range of instruments on view to experiment with loud and soft sounds. Children cooperate well when playing imaginatively. For example, they act out different roles in their dens and pretend to care for their 'babies'. Overall, children gain good independence skills. They show competence in dressing and managing their picnic lunches. However, they are not routinely involved in preparing their snacks to encourage them to practise their skills further. The children's confidence in organising their own time, and focussing on their play, stands them in good stead for making a smooth transition to school.

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

The effective key worker system helps all children form secure emotional attachments. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive strong support for them to settle and develop their learning. The two-year-olds benefit from being with older children during the day. The older ones learn to be considerate of younger children and help adults to settle them. They develop special friendships with other children and often engage in imaginative play with them. Throughout the group, children play well together and receive effective support from staff to understand the consistent expectations for behaviour. Children learn to share resources and willingly allow others to take turns with any toy brought from home. They carefully help to tidy equipment away and understand the importance of saying 'please' and 'thank you'.

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

Children effectively take responsibility for the safety of themselves and others. For example, they take care when peddling around the outdoor, open spaces. On walks to the school garden, they learn to wait their turn to look for wildlife in the pool. Children select for themselves from a very wide range of good quality resources and play materials that cover the seven areas of learning. These include many positive images of today's diverse society so that children learn to value differences in people. Children choose to practise a wide variety of skills in attractive surroundings. For example, they create models and take part in role play using the many attractive materials displayed at their level. The effective presentation of the resources strongly supports children to be independent and to try out new experiences.

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

Children learn effectively about the importance of healthy lifestyles. Staff show diligence concerning the quality of personal care and hygiene of each child. Pre-schoolers know why they spend time on their personal hygiene and they wash their hands before handling food because germs 'make you poorly'. Meal times are calm, sociable occasions. Children sit together with staff to eat healthy snacks and lunches provided by their parents, who receive guidance on what to include. Children are active indoors and during outdoor sessions in the fresh air. They understand that vigorous movements help to keep them warm. Staff are currently re-siting the school's 'trim trail' equipment for the children to use to extend their physical development further.

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provision

The experienced owner-manager provides strong leadership for the group. There are particularly good arrangements for vetting staff and keeping children safe. All staff members receive training in safeguarding children so their knowledge of procedures is good. The child protection lead persons have undertaken a training course that enables them to identify, understand and respond appropriately to any concern. Plans to keep children safe on the premises are good. Staff record daily checks of the premises to identify any hazard which could cause an accident. Staff review a risk assessment before each outing to help keep children safe. Policies and procedures reflect the daily practice of the group and staff follow these to promote children's safety and well-being effectively.

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provision

The group has a robust understanding of how to meet the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The manager monitors the key persons' assessment of children monthly to check that children's needs are well identified and met through timely intervention. Staff initially work on the personal, social and emotional development of children who have recently started at the group. Parents welcome the good provision for their children. They see plenty of useful information about what is going on. Staff request considerable, general information about children before they begin sessions at the group. Parents benefit from the clear, individualised, two-way communication about their children and different aspects of the group's organisation. They welcome discussions about the detailed reports on their children's progress and value the staff's friendliness, understanding and flexibility. Staff have a good understanding of the

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provision

importance of securing strong partnerships with other settings children attend. For example, they talk with children's other key staff and share their learning records. Staff are proactive in establishing communication links with other agencies, such as speech and language therapy, to check whether children require further support.

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provision

The group uses effective systems for recruitment, staff supervision, performance management, training and ongoing professional development. Good use is made of several self-evaluation documents to set priorities and challenging targets for improvement. The management takes good account of parents' opinions, for example through the management committee. Staff meet regularly to review their practice to plan improvements. They work well together to develop various aspects of the provision, such as adopting revised sheets, provided by the local authority, to monitor children's progress and next steps in learning. Staff seek children's views by carefully listening to them and noting their preferences. The manager liaises closely with the local authority and values the input of the childcare advisor. The group has well focused plans for the future. These include continued development of the outdoor area, completion of information for parents

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provision

about children's learning and plans for children to display their own work.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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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 action. 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 EY449671 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 882237 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 35 Number of children on roll 39 Name of provider Berry Hill Under 5's Group Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01594810808

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Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: 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, which are usually the childminder’s 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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