Playmates Pre-School

Playmates Pre-School Gipsyville Community Centre, The Greenway, HULL, East Yorkshire, HU4 6JG

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21/03/2013 22/06/2011

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 2 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

p.1

This provision is satisfactory

 The free-flow outdoor environment provides challenging physical experiences for children and, as a result, this grants them with the opportunity to reflect on their successes and achievements within their continual physical development.  Children benefit from a wide range of play materials to support their interests because the welcoming play areas create stimulating environments for all ages of children; this promotes their independence, curiosity and imagination.  Children are motivated and enthused because practitioners give them individual time and attention which enables children to become confident and secure in the pre-school. This demonstrates positive relationships are encouraged.

p.1

It is not yet good because

 The planning is not effectively helping practitioners to understand individual children's level of achievement, interests and learning styles, in order to use this to shape learning experiences for each individual child and support children's emerging needs.  There is scope to improve illustrations and examples of print displayed within the outdoor learning environment in order to ignite and support children's interests in early reading and writing skills as they play and explore outside.  Monitoring, self-evaluation and the views of staff, parents and children are not used effectively to show how the pre-school intend to make improvements and set targets for the future in order to raise the quality of practice and children's achievements.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the pre-school room, in the back room and in the outdoor environment.  The inspector observed the snack time and the lunch time.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's files, containing observations and assessment records. She also looked at the planning, the evidence of the suitability of staff, and a selection of policies and risk assessments.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector completed a peer-on-peer joint observation with the manager, and held meetings with the manager and the practitioners.  The inspector also took into account the views of parents spoken to on the day.

p.2

Information about the setting

Playmates Pre-School registered in 2004. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is run by a committee. It operates from a community building, situated in Gipsyville in the west of Kingston upon Hull. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play. It serves the local area and is accessible to all children.

p.3

Information about the setting

The pre-school employs seven members of child care staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and 3. The pre-school is open each weekday from 8am until 2pm term time only. Children attend for a variety of sessions. It provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. There are currently 42 children attending who are within this age group. They receive support from the local authority and are a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

p.3

must:

 refine the planning by adding more detail about how learning experiences will be used to further support children's emerging and identified needs and interests, to fully assist their continuing progress and next steps in their individual learning

p.3

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

 provide and encourage children to notice illustrations and print in the outdoor environment in order to ignite their interest in early reading and writing skills

p.3

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

 improve the self-evaluation to clearly identify strengths and set targets for the future, in order to monitor and action, analyse and self-challenge all areas of practice; and consider the views of staff and children, parents and carers.

p.3

who attend

The pre-school's practitioners clearly understand the seven areas of learning and have a generally good understanding that children learn through play. Each room is well- organised and supports the seven areas of learning appropriately. This provides an environment for children to explore freely, enabling children to gather and move resources independently to support their play. However, the planning does not fully help practitioners understand individual children's level of achievement, interests and learning styles, in order to plan and shape learning experiences effectively. The free-flow outdoor environment provides children with the opportunity to explore and find bugs and worms, investigating and showing their awareness of the world. They freely dig and delve in the mud and sand, hunting and counting what they find. They use wool to design their own idea of a 'spider's web', and use techniques to join the web together, talking through their

p.3

who attend

thoughts to gain the desired effect. This supports children's creative and mathematical development, enabling them to match and recognise patterns in their environment. However, the outdoor area offers fewer opportunities for children to notice illustrations and print in order to ignite their interests in early reading and writing within their play and exploration outside.

p.4

who attend

Children's communication skills are promoted suitably because practitioners read familiar stories and rhymes that embrace well-known actions and sounds, and encourage children to join in with repeated refrains and vocalisations. For example, secure reading areas enable children to listen quietly in small groups whilst practitioners motivate their interest through the use of puppets and familiar noises, to stimulate children's listening and attention. The phonics session provides older children with the opportunity to listen and vocalise initial sounds in words within a small group situation. This means children gain an understanding of linking sounds to letters in order to begin to recognise the naming and sounding of the alphabet. Children self-register themselves using their name cards and use these cards well during the session. Writing is encouraged on the computer and on children's pieces of work and their creations, as they are encouraged and supported to

p.4

who attend

The outdoor space is accessed freely from the pre-school room and the children clearly benefit from the free-flow play this provides. This means the children gain an understanding of the importance of physical exercise. They actively engage in and are motivated to use the outdoors as they successfully dress themselves in all-in-one suits and put on boots, which enable them to use the outdoor space effectively whatever the weather. Children challenge themselves by mastering what they call 'tricks'. They manoeuvre vehicles over 'mounds' and around a 'course', and negotiate with others to steer vehicles for them, whilst stood at the front. This provides children with the opportunity to challenge themselves and others. They eagerly show and talk to others, peers and adults alike, of their successes and achievements, which is supported by nearby practitioners appropriately.

p.4

who attend

Positive relationships are encouraged with parents, and children settle well. Parents share what they know about their children on the 'All about me' sheets, before their child starts at pre-school to establish clear initial starting points. Practitioners continue to gain appropriate knowledge of children's learning and development through requesting parents to share children's current interest and achievements, on observations and relevant sheets, verbally and on the 'good deeds' tree. For example, adding snowflakes and flowers with short written comments on. This supports sharing knowledge of children's accomplishments and demonstrates a sound knowledge and understanding of developing a generally good partnership with parents. Experiences and opportunities to support children's on-going learning and development at home is shared with parents, through 'My current interest and achievements' sheet, to support their progress suitably through the

p.4

who attend

seven areas of learning. Parent evenings are offered to engage parents in their children's development and learning in the setting and at home.

p.5

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

The key person system is suitably in place and practitioners support children to form sound emotional attachments, with parents and children offered regular visits to the setting to support establishing appropriate bonds. The pre-school places a high priority on outdoor play which encourages children to use and transfer resources throughout the pre- school. This promotes their interests and successfully supports their play and imagination. Children behave acceptably overall and play cooperatively, their behaviour is suitably managed by the majority of the practitioners, children are reminded to share and are motivated to say sorry to their friends. Certificates of achievements and pre-school rules are displayed on the wall to establish clear guidelines of acceptable behaviours and boundaries. Although, a few children with emerging concerns disrupt learning experiences and play because the planning and shaping of learning experiences do not consistently

p.5

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

take into account individual learning styles and next steps in development. Consequently, not all children's needs are fully met through structured interventions.

p.5

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

Snack time and lunch time provide valuable opportunities for children to develop an understanding of healthy practices. At snack time they make healthy choices from a good selection of fruits. Children are encouraged to manage their own hygiene and personal needs relevantly. Practitioners encourage children to be independent and manage their personal needs relevantly for their age. For example, children are encouraged to put on all-in-one suits and boots for outdoor play, which promotes their competence in dressing and self-care. Children look for their size exhibiting their self-awareness and confidence. Children discuss their packed lunches and talk about what is healthy, and their likes and dislikes. A wall-display demonstrates how children have looked and explored their emotions, through drawing themselves and how they feel.

p.5

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

Parents are offered visits to the pre-school initially to help children settle. Parents complete 'All about me' sheets and provide regular information on children's interest and achievements. This provides practitioners with relevant and important knowledge of the child's interests and achievements whilst at the pre-school. The pre-school maintains suitable links with the local schools. For example, Reception teachers are invited into the pre-school and transition forms are completed appropriately. Diaries are completed for children who attend other settings in order to exchange information on children's interests and accomplishments, and experiences to promote the sharing of information and a two- way routine. They send transition forms for children to other settings and occasionally receive information in return. This provides continuity and coherence for all children and aids their transition into the next stage of their learning.

p.5

provision

The pre-school's practitioners have a suitable knowledge and understanding of providing a relevant range of interesting experiences for children. Practitioners assess children's learning and development through appropriate observations, although, children's individual learning styles and next steps are inconsistently noted. This means practitioners' planning does not effectively take into account individual children's emerging needs in order to use this to shape future learning experiences for each individual child, or to guide their development and respond to children's emerging needs. As a result, children are not fully supported in making the best possible progress through planned purposeful play to meet their next steps in development and learning effectively.

p.6

provision

Practitioners assess children's progress through summaries, and the progress check for children aged two, and overview grids monitor children's achievements and abilities fittingly. This establishes a generally good awareness of children's strengths and any areas where the child's progress is less than expected. Practitioners create a warm, welcoming environment and are aware of safeguarding policies. They all complete safeguarding training and are aware of local safeguarding procedures. The door is secure and parents and visitors ring the doorbell to gain entrance. Practitioners complete daily checks and risk assessments across all aspects of the environment in order to ensure children's safety. The manager completes staff appraisals on the staff to identify any training needs and support their continued professional development adequately. Recruitment procedures are appropriate, which ensures that all staff working with children, are suitable to do so.

p.6

provision

The pre-school completes improvements appropriately as suggested through the local authority advisor. However, the self-evaluation process has not been used to clearly identify areas for development and set challenging targets for the future. In addition the views of staff, children, parents and carers are not considered as a means of identifying areas for change. Therefore, the drive for improvement is not clearly demonstrated through identified priorities that clarify the strengths and weaknesses of the provision through effective monitoring, analysis and self-challenge.

p.6

provision

Partnerships with parents are positive; they speak highly of the pre-school and the support given by the practitioners. The pre-school work with parents and relevant professionals to gain adequate support for children and parents as needed. For example, resources are provided to support children's diverse backgrounds and relevant forms are completed as required to support external agencies. This means children's progress in their care needs and in their learning and development is shared on the whole in order for all those involved with the children to be appropriately informed. Although, not all children's needs are consistently met through structured interventions to effectively meet their next stage in their learning and development. Transition forms are completed for the school and other settings as required. These partnerships with other professionals are acceptable in order to provide continuity for children in their care and aid transitions to the local schools,

p.6

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

p.6

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.

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number EY277351 Local authority Kingston upon Hull Inspection number 872787

p.8

Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 39 Number of children on roll 42 Name of provider Playmates Pre-School Gipsyville Date of previous inspection 22/06/2011 Telephone number 01482 354261

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

Type of provision

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. 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. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

p.10

Type of provision

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

p.10