St Edmund's Playgroup Ltd

St Edmund's Playgroup St Edmund's Church Hall, Nelson Road, Twickenham, Middx, TW2 7BB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21/05/2013 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

 Highly skilled staff work effectively as a united team. This results in children bonding well with their key person as well as other members of staff who fully understand each child's personality and their next steps in their learning.  A well-organised play environment creates enabling environments for all children, to promote independence and participation in purposeful play.  Relationships with parents are strong and parents are kept well-informed; the leadership style effectively involves everyone to support continuous improvement.  Staff meet safeguarding and welfare requirements well for each child. Staff follow policies and procedures that are robust, which ensures the protection of children is secure.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The outside play area is not sufficiently developed to provide children with opportunities to build and construct, as well as fully challenge their physical play.

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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 spoke to the staff team and parents, taking their views into account.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a number of documents including policies and procedures, children's files and parents' feedback forms.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the organisation of the large hall and how staff use the areas to support children in their learning  The inspector observed children's play outside.

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Information about the setting

St. Edmund's Playgroup registered in 2012. It is situated in a church hall located in Twickenham, Middlesex. It is privately owned and run by a team of four early years practitioners. The playgroup services the local area and is accessible to all children who are aged two to five years. The children play in one large hall and there is a small area for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

All staff hold early years qualifications from degree to a level three in childcare and education. The playgroup opens Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 12.15 during term times. It is registered on the Early Years Register. The playgroup provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children and there are currently 29 children on roll in this age group. The playgroup also supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special needs and/or disabilities.

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

 develop the children's outdoor play area, by providing them with further opportunities to build and construct in order to challenge both their physical and mathematical skills, for example through the use of obstacle courses.

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who attend

Children have great fun and look forward to their playgroup morning. All staff have a very secure knowledge and understanding of the seven areas of learning and development. They demonstrate this well by planning activities that highly stimulate the children as well as meeting their individual needs. Children freely choose from a high quality range of interesting toys and resources. For example, they learn about the sounds of the Caribbean and enjoy beating rhythms on the steel drums, developing their coordination and listening skills. Children also show their ability to understand technology by competently operating the compact disc recorder, showing their interest in a diverse range of music from classical to modern popular songs. They enjoy dressing up and, with staff guidance, show how they adapt to dancing to the various rhythms, using the whole of their bodies to wriggle and shake.

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who attend

Children quickly learn that letters have a meaning through introducing a letter of the week. Children draw the letter 'S' in the air and use water to create the shape on outside walls. This gives them confidence as they recognise and relate the letter to objects, animals and scenes. They chatter about going to the seaside to see starfish and children show pictures that confirm their understanding. This makes children enthusiastic in trying to write their own names, which some do well. Children learn about growth as they plant sunflower seeds. Staff provide resources such as pictures of famous sunflower paintings, which they discuss with the children. These help children to understand their natural world while they create their own sunflower versions in their artwork.

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who attend

Children are developing good mathematical skills. This is because staff create opportunities that encourage children to count and think about different shapes and numbers in their everyday routines. They count candles while they mould play dough into round birthday cakes; they also count the pieces of fruit they have on the plates during snack times. Outside, they walk with ease along low beams. However, there are fewer opportunities for children to engage in activities such as building their own obstacle courses, to challenge both their mathematical and physical skills.

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who attend

Staff and parents have a very good working relationship in supporting children's development and progress. Staff have daily discussions with parents. They share with them their children's programme of learning in attractive books that are on display for parents to help themselves. These accurately show children's progress. Parents like the information on themes and topics that children do, which enables them to talk about these and extend the ideas at home.

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

Children are confident, settled and develop strong bonds with their key person and the friendly and caring team. Secure settling-in arrangements mean children happily separate from parents or carers. They become increasingly independent in their personal care needs, including putting on their coats before outside play and preparing themselves for snacks. Children bring fruit in each day to share with their friends, which raises their awareness of healthy eating. They have plenty of space in the large hall to move around and the daily,supervised access to the paved outdoor area allows them to play in the fresh air.

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

Staff are consistent in their high expectations concerning children's behaviour. They lead by positive example and create a calm atmosphere. Children take turns of being daily helpers; this encourages them to consider the needs of others. They glow with pleasure when staff give praise for achievements and are willing to help during tidying-up times. Children's artwork is displayed during the session and this develops their sense of pride and self-esteem. Through playing with a rich variety of resources as well as speaking other languages such as French and Italian, children learn to respect and value diversity.

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

The playgroup has very strong links with the teachers at the local school. Most children who attend the playgroup go with their friends to the reception class, which eases the process of transition to school. Staff are vigilant about safety at all times. They risk assess all areas and children become aware of caring for their own safety as they play outside and use the resources. Children also learn about safety when talking to staff about what they like to do in the summer, such as climbing trees and playing in the garden. Regular fire drills involve all children, helping them to understand the importance of speedy evacuation of the building in an emergency.

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provision

Leadership is good and management is effective because the staff team works as a cohesive group. They all have a good understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements. There is an accurate overview of the curriculum through close monitoring of the educational programmes and each member of the team takes equal responsibility for the delivery. This means that the playgroup staff offer a broad range of experiences to help children make good progress towards the early learning goals.

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provision

Staff have a flexible approach to teaching. They follow children's interests well yet are able to engage them in exciting projects such as making volcanoes and discovering dinosaurs, where they include all areas of learning. The learning journeys that complement and track children's progress are clear and enable all staff to plan well for children's next steps. Staff target individual children who they identify may need specialised help and effectively put in place early intervention strategies to ensure they receive appropriate support.

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provision

The leadership and management have a good understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Their participation in the Quality Improvement Programme from the local authority shows that all staff have completed training in child protection and know the procedures to assess staff suitability. Staff implement safeguarding procedures and all have confidence to respond to any concern about a child. All required documentation with regard to the daily management of the setting is in place, including accurate records for risk assessments, accidents and administering medication.

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provision

The management demonstrate they know the procedures for safe recruitment and induction of new staff. Staff motivate each other to take additional training, which drives improvement. Parents have a good platform to express their views through surveys and staff being available every day. Parents spoken to were highly complimentary about the skills of the staff and their ability to help children acquire essential skills prior to going to school.

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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 EY455935 Local authority Richmond upon Thames Inspection number 890555 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 0 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 22 Name of provider St Edmund's Playgroup Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 07934314885

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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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