Stone with Woodford Playgroup (Village Hall)

Stone with Woodford Playgroup (Village Hall) The Village Hall, Stone, Nr Berkeley, Gloucestershire, GL13 9LE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/04/2013 04/10/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children extend their love of books and make excellent progress in their language and communication through innovative story time and good quality interaction and questioning.  Good partnerships with parents, other settings and the local school promote consistency and progression and support children's transitions smoothly.  Children are motivated, active learners because good quality planning, assessment and skilful support and interaction inspire children's learning successfully.  The dynamic playleader and supportive committee stimulate the enthusiasm of staff, fostering a culture of mutual support and very good teamwork.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 staff do not make the most of opportunities to encourage children to make marks to practise writing their name on their pictures, to help prepare them for school  although systems for planning and assessment are good overall, information obtained from children's 'All about me' records contains little information about their starting points across the seven areas of learning, to assist staff in planning well-targeted activities that promote children's learning straightaway.

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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 children's play inside and in both outdoor areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the playleader, staff and committee members at appropriate times during and after the session.  The inspector took account of the views of three parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at planning documentation, children's learning journals and sampled safeguarding records and information for parents.

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Information about the setting

Stone with Woodford Playgroup is run by a voluntary committee of parents, whose children attend the playgroup and toddler group. It is based in the village hall in Stone and serves the communities of Stone, Woodford and surrounding villages. Children are accommodated in the main hall, with access to two outdoor areas. The playgroup is registered on the Early Years Register and provides care for children between two and five years. There are currently 16 children on roll. The playgroup receives funding to provide free early education for children aged three and four years. It operates on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am to 12pm during school term times. Friday sessions are for children aged three years and above. An optional lunch club is available on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 12pm until 1pm. The playgroup supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The committee employs three

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Information about the setting

staff, including the playleader, to work directly with the children. Two staff hold relevant childcare qualifications to level 3 and above. The deputy holds a degree in early years and is currently working towards a master's degree and Early Years Professional Status.

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

 provide more opportunities for children to practise their mark making and emerging writing skills by writing their name on their pictures

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

 strengthen existing information obtained when children first start to assess what they can and cannot do, to help identify their starting points and stage of development.

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who attend

Children are motivated, active learners who make good progress in all aspects of their learning and development. They settle well and enjoy their time at playgroup because staff tailor settling-in arrangements according to each child's needs. General discussions between parents and children's key person and completing a basic 'All about me' record help staff to gain good knowledge about children's likes, dislikes, interests and specific care needs. However, these do not show in detail children's starting points across the prime and specific areas of learning to aid planning straight away. Nevertheless, staff know their key children well because they use a good balance of quick, tracking and timed observations to help monitor children's learning. Staff evaluate this information thoroughly. Every six weeks they assess areas children prefer to use, their progress and any gaps in their learning. This enables staff to summarise children's learning, compile

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who attend

three detailed progress reports a year and identify future learning priorities to target planning effectively. This provides staff, parents and other settings children attend with a comprehensive assessment of children's progress and learning.

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who attend

Good quality and highly inclusive planning provides children with challenging and exciting learning opportunities and a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities. At the end of every session, children select photographs of activities or toys they wish to play with the following day. Daily team meetings enable staff to discuss their key children's needs, agree strategies to promote their inclusion and reinforce intended learning for activities. This increases all staff's knowledge, enabling them to facilitate and encourage children's learning effectively. A good balance of whole group activities, one-to-one work and small group time helps staff provide meaningful support that challenges children's skills and learning successfully. Staff tailor games, stories and activities to children's needs and stage of development to help them build on what they already know and can do.

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who attend

Staff actively encourage children's ideas, creativity and learning further. Older children initiate play with the mud in the garden. They use colanders, spades and an assortment of tools to collect mud, exclaiming excitedly they are making muck for muck spreading. Staff introduce water and a large bucket for children to extend their imaginary play further outside. Children encourage their younger friends to join in their play and make skilful use of language to introduce a narrative. Good quality interaction and effective questioning extend children's communication skills and play ideas further. As a result, children are confident speakers who use language very well in their play. They describe how muck helps plants to grow and that sunshine and water are essential for growth. Younger children spend long periods exploring the small stones. They fill and empty pots and show increasing control and co-ordination as they transfer stones from one container to

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who attend

another. Staff introduce recycled bottles and model making shakers with the stones. This cleverly encourages younger children and those with specific learning needs to extend their play.

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who attend

Innovative, fun activities and good use of story props actively encourage most children to participate excitedly in story time. For example, children eagerly sing and join in actions to the scarecrow song and immerse themselves in the story by using the scarecrow props to bring the story to life. Children enjoy wonderful opportunities to recognise and name letters and letter sounds and their name in print. They also enjoy good opportunities to practise their early writing skills. They have fun making marks in shaving foam, soil and gloop and use various writing tools to make marks outside. Innovative, well-planned activities extend older and more able children's writing skills successfully. They use stones to form letter shapes and help staff make recipe books, to increase their understanding that marks have meaning. This inspires children to create their own books. They use their imagination to tell a story from the picture they draw, which staff record. However, staff

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who attend

do not encourage children to write their names on their pictures consistently, to help prepare them for school. Very good questioning encourages children to estimate, calculate, count and use mathematical language correctly in their play. Staff confidently challenge and extend children's problem solving and learning by skilfully introducing activities to compare length, weight, capacity and time. This demonstrates staff have detailed knowledge of the Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage and understand how young children learn. This helps them provide activities and experiences that motivate and challenge children's curiosity and learning successfully.

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

All children move around the hall and outdoor play spaces confidently because the key person arrangements foster strong relationships. Staff form particularly close bonds with their key children and use knowledge of their needs effectively to plan individually for each child. This nurtures children's confidence and helps them to feel safe, develop independence, interact and participate willingly. Some children proudly wear their playgroup sweatshirt and tee-shirt, helping them to feel special and a strong sense of belonging. Staff help children to understand their emotions effectively, so that they feel secure and build strong emotional attachments. Daily discussions and encouraging children to use their thumbs up or down to express their emotions about whether they feel 'happy' or 'sad' enable all children to participate. Children are happy, confident and have fun becoming independent learners who enjoy coming to playgroup. They are very

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

motivated, initiate their own play and engage purposefully in planned activities. For example, they jump up and down in excited anticipation, announcing 'it's gangland style' time. Children's enthusiasm for learning sets them up ready for school.

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

Children behave well because staff are consistent, good role models and support them effectively. Older children play alongside others well, use timers to assist with turn taking and appeal to staff if their younger friends do not share toys appropriately. Staff intervene quickly and positively with any conflicts, resolving issues amicably. Staff use timers, music and a cowbell and give children clear warnings about what is happening next. Children respond eagerly, announcing 'it's carpet time' and switch off the music. This helps them prepare for change and increases their confidence in coping with transitions during daily routines, in readiness for school. Children help each other to pack away and carry the garage, working collaboratively and reinforcing good relationships. Staff discuss the rules and boundaries for acceptable behaviour at the beginning of each term, so children quickly learn what is acceptable. Staff offer clear explanations most of the time, so

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

children learn about the consequences and manage their own behaviour. As a result, children show good table manners and help to reinforce the rules with their younger friends.

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

Children's understanding of the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is threaded through daily routines and well-planned activities. They participate in the story Handa's Surprise and use fruit provided by parents to talk about how it helps them grow. Children are very energetic and enjoy boundless opportunities to be active and participate in regular exercise indoors and outdoors. They enjoy daily wake and shake, free access to outside, and have great fun as they stretch, twist, jump and dance in time to their favourite song Gangland style. Children recognise and talk about safety issues confidently because staff use effective questioning to encourage them to think for themselves. They understand they must not walk around while eating and use scissors and large play equipment safely. This gives children the essential skills they need to keep themselves safe when they move to school.

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provision

Safeguarding arrangements are secure, fully understood and implemented by all staff. Extensive risk assessments, robust safety procedures and thorough security measures enable children to explore their surroundings safely. All staff are very vigilant and show good awareness of child protection issues to protect children's welfare. Play areas inside and outside are welcoming and inviting. This inspires and motivates children's learning across the seven areas of learning effectively. Staff set out a wide range of stimulating toys, games and resources in open storage units and cupboards each day. This readily encourages children's independence and captures their imagination and learning as they explore resources and play areas for themselves. Staff adapt activities and resources skilfully through good understanding of how young children learn and detailed knowledge of each child's needs. This enhances children's skills, enabling them to make good

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provision

progress in their learning and development from their individual starting points.

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provision

The effective playleader successfully fosters a culture of support, mentoring and reflection to create a close, highly motivated, committed team. The play leader is extremely knowledgeable of the learning and development requirements and uses this productively to model good practice and coach staff. The committee are very supportive and readily encourage staff's professional development through good access to training. Staff supervision every six weeks, regular appraisals and frequent staff meetings support effective performance management.

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provision

Comprehensive methods of self-evaluation, although not inclusive of children, are effective in evaluating the quality of provision and children's learning. The committee and staff team make very good use of previous inspection reports, detailed self-evaluation and feedback from yearly parent questionnaires. They analyse these rigorously to identify strengths and devise well-targeted action plans to address key areas for improvement. Staff now arrive at the setting earlier to set up and have morning team meetings to discuss the children and intended learning for activities. As a result, staff are well prepared to welcome children and provide meaningful support and challenge. This promotes children inclusion, enabling them to take a full and active part in the setting. Significant improvements in the quality of activity planning, introduction of six weekly assessments and termly progress reports enhance the quality of children's learning effectively. This

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provision

demonstrates the dedication and commitment of the playleader, staff and committee to drive and secure improvements for children.

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provision

Very positive relationships with parents encourage their involvement in the playgroup and their children's learning effectively. They receive a raft of useful information about the playgroup before their children start, including the Early Years Foundation Stage. Parents express appreciation of the staff's excellent work in meeting their children's individual needs. They value the activity ideas and two-way communication about their children's education, enabling them to contribute to termly progress meetings and/or their children's two-year progress check. Staff work very closely with parents and other professionals to devise and successfully implement individual educational plans to address key areas and begin to close any gaps in children's development. The playleader establishes very good partnerships with other settings children attend, so everyone takes a consistent approach. They share progress information every term and use a communication book to keep up-to-

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provision

date with relevant news about children's individual needs. Strong links with school skilfully promote children's smooth transitions to school.

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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 101705 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 790971 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 16 Name of provider Stone with Woodford Playgroup (Village Hall) Committee Date of previous inspection 04/10/2010 Telephone number 07856 8536 06

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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

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’.

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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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