Overton Playgroup

Overton Pre-School Playgroup The Community Centre, Winchester Street, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG25 3HS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/07/2013 30/06/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 1 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 work very well as a team and have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements enabling them to deliver a stimulating learning environment.  Children enjoy their time in a well-organised and attractive pre-school as they independently access an interesting range of learning opportunities.  Children develop good independence, self-esteem and self-confidence as they are continuously praised and encouraged. Children form secure, emotional attachments because of the sensitive and skilful support they receive from the staff.  Staff keep parents well informed about all aspects of their child's care and learning. This builds trusting relationships and provides continuity in their care.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always extend children's communication and language skills during group times to enable them to present their ideas to others.

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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 spent time observing in the main play room and in the garden.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journeys, planning documentation, the setting's self-evaluation form and a selection of policies and children's records.  The inspector took account of the views of parents' spoken to on inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings and completed a joint observation with the manager of the provision and spoke with staff at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Overton Pre-school Playgroup opened in 1974. It is operated by a parent management committee. The pre-school operates from two sites. This registration is based at the community centre in Overton, near Basingstoke. The pre-school has use of one room in the centre and has access to a dedicated garden area. The pre-school also operates on another site from a classroom at the local primary school. The manager and deputy lead alternate sessions at both sites. The pre-school operates five days a week during school term times from 9am to 3.15pm, offering a variety of attendance times from three, five and six hour sessions. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 92 children on roll in the early years age group. Children attend from the local area. The pre- school supports children with special education needs and/or disabilities, and children who

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Information about the setting

speak English as an additional language. There are 12 staff currently working with the children, nine of whom hold a recognised early years qualification. Two staff are currently furthering their qualifications.

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

 strengthen opportunities for communication and language, during group times by providing varied experiences and resources for children to communicate their thoughts, ideas and feelings.

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who attend

Children enjoy attending the pre-school because staff organise an inviting and stimulating range of activities. Staff provide well for their individual needs and maximise the opportunities to fully extend the challenges that individual children face in their learning. This support helps children to make good progress. Staff monitor and assess the progress the children are making through regular observations in all areas of learning. Staff know their children well and talk confidently about how well they are doing. Planning develops through staff observations and the children's individual interests. As a result, staff plan effectively to meet children's identified next steps of learning and take good account of children's ideas. The required progress report for two-year-olds has recently been completed and shared with parents.

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who attend

Children arrive to find an interesting range of activities to choose. They are happy and busy as they have the freedom to move between the indoor and outdoor environments. Children particularly enjoy being outdoors in the fresh air. Children have fun learning from first hand experiences, with staff beside them using purposeful interactions to support and extend their learning. For example, during water play in the garden, children delight in filling various containers with water and comparing the coloured water. Children have good opportunities to develop their communication and language skills. They listen and at times respond with enjoyment in groups. However, at times staff do not enable children to be fully involved during groups times, joining in with familiar stories and topics, expressing their ideas and feelings. They have many opportunities to become aware of the written word in their surroundings. Children look at good quality books and find the illustrations

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who attend

especially interesting. A strong emphasis is placed on children's personal development. Through the wide range of activities provided and the good progress they make it is clear children are becoming confident learners. Children develop mathematical concepts through a varied range of activities, which involve shape, numbers, patterns and problem solving. For example, they count together how many children are present and are keen to compare the number of boys and girls in the group. Children use their imagination as they delight in acting out familiar scenarios in the home corner and hairdresser's station. Children have plentiful opportunities to explore a varied range of information, communication and technology resources (ICT). As a result, children are able to practise and develop their ICT skills by using varied programmable toys and computer resources.

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who attend

Staff maintain attractive records of children's achievements, that are regularly shared with parents and demonstrate children's progress and next steps of learning. This supports parents involvement in their child's learning and development at home. Parents say 'the pre-school is wonderful because staff are welcoming and know the children well. It is a stimulating environment and provides a wide variety of child activities inside and outside'.

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

The pre-school provides a welcoming and secure environment that caters well for children's individual needs and where all groups of children receive a good level of care. Children with additional needs are supported well, and activities adapted where necessary to provide inclusive care. The staff are well deployed to support children's learning and welfare. Strong, trusting relationships with their key persons help children to feel safe and secure and assists in their overall personal development. Behaviour is good because of the positive ethos that exists where all children are valued and managed well by staff. Staff support children's social development skilfully so they behave appropriately and make friends easily. They mix well with their friends and play harmoniously throughout the day. Children demonstrate a great maturity as they learn how to behave safely indoors and outside. For example, they have a growing understanding of how to keep themselves safe

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

as they help to tidy away resources and they learn to use equipment safely. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure as they approach adults confidently for support. Staff promote inclusive practice through the activities, discussion and the celebration of various cultural activities.

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

Children play in a clean and attractive, enabling environment. The manager and staff have sourced good quality, age appropriate furniture and resources, which are invitingly organised for children. Children freely engage in play and are motivated by the good choice of stimulating activities and play resources, easily available to them. All groups of children enjoy exploring their environment, especially as they have plenty of exciting opportunities to by physically active. They use a broad range of flexible resources and equipment that encourages the development of their physical skills as well as other areas of learning. For example, children delight in pouring coloured water through funnels and using natural materials they gather from the garden to make unusual concoctions in saucepans. Children benefit from learning the importance of healthy eating and making healthy nutritious snacks provided by the pre-school. Snack and lunch times are sociable

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

occasions with staff and children interacting together. The good progress made by children in their development of skills and attitudes, including gaining confidence, is preparing them well for the next stage of their education.

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provision

Children are cared for by staff who have relevant experience, qualifications and skills to do their jobs. There are effective systems embedded within the pre-school to enable staff to continue to develop their knowledge and skills through regular training opportunities. Consequently, staff are motivated in their roles. All staff have regular supervision and yearly appraisals, discussing their strengths and areas for development. Staff are deployed well as they are successfully engaging with, and supervising children. The pre-school provides a welcoming and secure environment that caters well for children's individual needs and where all groups of children receive a good level of care. Written policies and procedures underpin staff's effective practice and are made available to all parents. This helps the pre-school to be managed efficiently and in the best interests of the children. Children are effectively safeguarded and staff have a good knowledge and understanding

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provision

of what to do if they have any concerns regarding child protection. Arrangements for safeguarding children are regularly reviewed, carefully managed and understood by all staff. Regular risk assessments are carried out to ensure safety of the premises and equipment.

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provision

Children's welfare, learning and development benefits from the staff's strong commitment to ensuring good quality provision. The manager is passionate and confident about what the setting needs to do to improve further. Staff contribute their ideas through regular staff meetings and evaluate the success of their practice. Any actions taken by the staff team are well chosen, so the impact is evident in the areas in which it is needed. The staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of how to deliver a stimulating and effective educational programme which takes account of children's individual needs and interests. Staff effectively use the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage to plan activities. They ensure that children's assessment records are monitored and show how children are progressing. These are shared with parents regularly. This means the pre- school is taking necessary steps to ensure all children's needs are met.

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provision

Parents and carers are provided with good information about the pre-school. For example, there is an informative entrance hall and notice boards. They receive frequent newsletters and summary reports about their child. Parents' are kept well informed about their child's welfare and attainments through the well-established key person system. They have opportunities to attend parent sessions to discuss their child's developmental progress throughout the year. Good partnership working exists with the local authority staff who provide professional advice and guidance. This also facilitates links with other services and agencies, such as health and education that are able to provide support for children and their parents. Staff develop effective links with local schools. This supports a consistent approach to children's learning and prepares them for future transitions.

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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 507966 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 927654 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 92 Name of provider Overton Pre-School Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 30/06/2010 Telephone number 01256 770370 01256 773327

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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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