The Playstation Preschool

Playstation Pre-School Hadleigh CP School, Station Road, Hadleigh, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP7 5HQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/03/2013 04/03/2010

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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

 Children are sensitively settled into the nursery by warm, caring and attentive staff. Consequently, they feel happy and secure.  Staff understand how children learn and are sensitive and responsive to children's individual needs and interests. This promotes children's learning and progress towards the early learning goals.  Positive and trusting partnerships are established with parents and carers to promote a consistent approach to children's care and learning. This ensures children receive appropriate support to meet their individual needs.

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It is not yet good because

 The provider did not inform Ofsted of a significant event, which is a breach of requirements.  The outdoor area is not fully exploited and children have limited opportunities to explore the natural world.  Large group times do not always engage all children, particularly younger children, which results in them losing interest and focus.  Some opportunities are missed to support children's growing independence and skills, for example, opportunities for them to pour their own drinks at snack time. Some activities lack challenge for older or more able children.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the main playroom and the outdoor play area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the staff at appropriate times throughout the inspection and discussed activities with them.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had a discussion with the pre-school manager and invited her to undertake a joint observation, which was completed.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journey development records, the pre- school's self-evaluation form and a selection of policies and children's information records.  The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of the staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the comments and views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Playstation Pre-School was registered in 2001 on the Early Years Register and is run by a voluntary parent committee. It operates from a refurbished building situated on the site of Hadleigh County Primary School. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The pre-school employs seven members of childcare staff, six of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff has Early Years Professional Status.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school opens Monday to Friday during term time only. Sessions are from 8.45am until 11.45am and 12.30pm until 3.30pm. A lunch club operates from 11.45am until 12.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 52 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. It supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 improve knowledge of when it is necessary to inform Ofsted of a significant event.

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

 improve the range of natural activities in the outdoor area and offer children increased opportunities to investigate the natural world

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

 revise the organisation of large group activities to ensure that they benefit and engage children of all ages

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

 support children's growing independence and skills by offering opportunities to try tasks for themselves, for example, allow children to pour their own drinks or prepare their own snack

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

 implement plans to improve activities to ensure they continue to offer sufficient challenge for older or more able children.

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who attend

Children are keen to come into the pre-school and confidently explore the activities available. Clearly defined areas help to focus children's play and picture-labelled storage containers enable them to independently make their own choices. Children freely select from the resources and enthusiastically help when it is tidy up time, carefully scanning the labels on the boxes to find the correct place for each toy. The activities available, and the confidence and skills children are gaining, help to prepare them for the next steps in their learning and for school readiness.

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who attend

Staff engage well with the children and play at their level, promoting their learning through fun experiences. A small group of children, of varying ages and abilities, enjoy a table top pirate game together, supported by a member of staff. They learn to takes turns and patiently wait for their turn. Conversation is introduced about the colour and number of swords. Children are encouraged to consider and express what may happen and conversation is promoted to enhance children's language development. The activity engages children for a considerable period, promoting their concentration and perseverance.

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who attend

Children are forming friendships and bonds with one another and demonstrate compassion and concern when one of their close peers becomes upset. Children have opportunity to explore a range of media and several children delight in blowing through straws to make bubbles. Children who are not yet confident to explore this activity directly are content to sit and watch, supported by a member of staff. Children are developing physical skills and coordination as they use scissors and make marks on paper. They competently manoeuvre the ride-on toys outside and learn to assess risk as they use the climbing apparatus. Activities outdoors are varied and staff occasionally take children to nearby woods. However, overall, opportunities to investigate the natural world are limited. A whole group time is used to summarise the morning's activities, showing examples of the children's craft work, and a story is read to the children. However, the group is quite large and not

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who attend

sufficiently well managed to take into account the children's varying ages and concentration spans, which results in some of them losing interest and focus.

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who attend

Staff have a sound knowledge of how children learn and ensure the educational programmes cover all areas of learning. When a child starts at the setting, staff use discussions with parents and their own observations to help them get to know a child well and establish each child's capabilities and starting points. As a result, they are able to offer suitable activities and support to promote children's individual learning and development. The pre-school works closely with local authority support staff and in June 2012 was reviewed against the Infant Toddler Environmental Rating Scale. Staff implemented recommendations from this to improve play and learning experiences for younger children. Staff offer a variety of fun experiences to build on children's existing abilities and increase their knowledge and understanding. However, some activities lack sufficient challenge to continue to inspire and motivate older and more able children. The staff have recognised

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who attend

this and have identified this is an area for improvement through their own observations and knowledge of individual children.

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who attend

Succinct and relevant observations are clearly recorded by key persons in a learning journey development record for each child, supported by photographs and examples of the children's work. These offer a clear and accurate overview of each child's development and progression through each area of learning. Possible lines of direction indicate areas to work on with each child and these are used to inform planning. The key person completes a summary sheet at regular intervals to offer an overview of each child's progress in each area of learning. This clearly identifies where an additional level of support or challenge may be required.

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who attend

Staff encourage regular communication with parents regarding children's learning and development, and parents are welcome to view their child's learning journey at any time. A daily communication sheet has been introduced to further promote two-way sharing between staff and parents regarding each child's achievements at pre-school or at home. When children are aged two years their progress is reviewed, in consultation with parents, and progress summaries are clearly and comprehensively completed. These identify children's abilities and highlight any areas where they may require additional support.

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

The pre-school is bright, inviting and well resourced, particularly indoors. Activities indoors are readily accessible and children's can select toys of their choice, although the support of children's growing independence skills is not consistently provided throughout the session. Staff are well deployed and are vigilant regarding safety and security, enabling children to play freely. Children settle well at the pre-school, as they are supported sensitively by caring staff. Staff liaise closely with parents to ensure each child's transition from home into the pre-school is a smooth and positive experience. Parents complete an information sheet about their child's likes, dislikes and capabilities, which helps staff to understand and meet children's individual needs. Photographs of significant people in the child's life are stuck on the reverse of the sheet. This is used by staff to aid discussion with

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

children and to help reassure them. Children develop trusting relationships with staff and know them by name. They freely approach staff with comments and requests and are also confident to talk to visitors at the pre-school. This confidence supports them with future transitions to other settings. Children visit the adjacent school and teachers visit the nursery, to help promote a seamless transition into school.

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

Staff are very positive role models of behaviour and treat children with kindness and respect. They are skilled at supporting children to learn how to manage their behaviour and emotions. Staff calmly intervene, if required, and offer clear explanations and choices to children. Consequently, children are learning how to manage their own behaviour and are becoming increasingly tolerant of others, for example, when sharing toys or waiting their turn. Positive behaviour is acknowledged and praised by staff to help reinforce children's understanding.

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

A healthy lifestyle is promoted as children have daily opportunities for fresh air, daylight and exercise in the outdoor area. Snacks are varied, healthy and nutritious, and staff encourage children to try different foods and make positive choices. Parents provide their child's packed lunch but healthy foods are promoted by the pre-school and children are encouraged to eat the healthier items first. Children manage their personal needs well and learn good hygiene habits through regular routines. For example, they independently wash their hands before snack and after toileting, only prompted by reminders from staff if required. However, some opportunities to increase their skills and abilities through everyday activities are missed. For example, children are mostly waited on at snack time and do not have the opportunity to pour their own drink or help prepare the snack.

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provision

The pre-school's arrangements for safeguarding children are satisfactory. Three staff have attended safeguarding training and the pre-school has written safeguarding procedures to protect children. However, a recent significant incident, which did not occur on the pre- school premises, nor involve the pre-school children, was not reported to Ofsted by the pre-school, which is a breach in requirements. However, the manager was aware of the situation and took action to assess and ensure ongoing suitability of staff. She maintains an open-door policy with staff and monitors their practice to ensure their continued suitability. She has a cooperative and professional attitude and a commitment to improve practice.

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provision

Weekly team meetings are held to review practice and discuss planning and assessment. The educational programmes are monitored effectively to ensure all children are making progress. The manager has completed an Ofsted self-evaluation form with input from staff. Parents' views are also sought and valued, both verbally and through annual parent questionnaires, and used to improve practice. The self-evaluation highlights the pre- school's strengths and achievements and outlines aspects identified for future improvement. This is supported by a time-limited action plan, focussing on well-targeted areas requiring improvement, for example, the development of outdoor play experiences. Staff appraisals are held annually to promote personal and professional development.

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provision

Positive and trusting partnerships are established with parents and carers. Regular discussions are encouraged between staff and parents, to ensure children's individual needs are met. Staff liaise closely with parents, and with other early years professionals if appropriate, to ensure that children receive any additional support required at an early stage. Comments received from parents on the day of the inspection are very positive. Parents are very happy with the care and experiences their children receive and the progress they are making. Some parents are actively involved on the management committee. The pre-school establishes purposeful links with other settings children attend, and with childminders who collect the children, to promote consistency with regard to children's care and learning.

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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 EY292798 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 905115

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 52 Name of provider The Playstation Pre-School Group Date of previous inspection 04/03/2010 Telephone number 01473 824271

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Type of provision

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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