One Step AheadOfsted inspection, 26 Jun 2013

One Step Ahead Nevendon Playcentre, Nevendon Road, Wickford, ESSEX, SS12 0NL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/06/2013 21/10/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The safeguarding policy has not been updated to include the use of mobile phones and cameras to further protect children.  The organisation of daily routines, resources, activities as well as the supervision of children, limits children's play and learning experiences.  Staff do not have a secure understanding of how to promote the learning and development of young children. Consequently, children are not making good enough progress.  Arrangements for supervision meetings for staff are not in place, which affects the ability of staff to strive to make improvements with regards to children play and learning.

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It has the following strengths

 Suitable relationships are made between children and the staff, ensuring children are settled and secure within the setting.  Children's physical health is suitably promoted, as they have ongoing opportunities for active play and they enjoy a range of healthy snacks.  Suitable relationships are established between the parents and staff to support continuity in children's care.

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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 observed both the indoor and outdoor play and learning environments and undertook a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 Inspector observed activities and daily routines including registration and snack time and the departure procedures.  The inspector spoke to the managers, team members, parents and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the policies and procedures including the safeguarding policy, risk assessments and staff's suitability.  The inspector checked documentation including children's assessment records.

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Information about the setting

One Step Ahead is a privately owned setting and was registered in 2002 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The pre-school operates from two rooms in a play centre located within walking distance of the main shopping area in Wickford, Essex. The setting serves the local area and is accessible to all children and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The setting employs eight staff members of childcare staff. Of these seven hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and 3.

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Information about the setting

The setting opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 9.15am until 12.15pm and 12.45pm to 3.45pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 75 children attending who are in the early years age group. The setting provides funded early education for two-, three -and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs.

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enforcement action:

We will issue a Welfare Requirement Notice requiring the provider to:

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enforcement action:

ensure children are adequately supervised at all times; particularly in relation to when children move in and out of the foyer area and the outside area

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must:

 ensure children are adequately supervised at all times; particularly in relation to when children move in and out of the foyer area and the outside area

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must:

 update the safeguarding policy to include the use of mobile phones and cameras in the setting

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must:

 ensure appropriate arrangements are in place for the supervision of staff

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must:

 improve the educational and assessment programmes to include the seven areas of learning and ongoing formative assessment to clearly track children's developmental progress

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must:

 improve staff's knowledge and understanding of how to promote the learning and development of young children to ensure all children make ongoing progress.

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must:

 notify Ofsted as soon as reasonably practicable of any significant event that is likey to affect the suitability of the early years provider.

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

 develop effective systems to promote children's awareness of their own personal safety

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

 implement a more thorough self-evaluation process to identify strengths and areas for development and devise an action plan to overcome weaknesses that have been highlighted as a result of the process.

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who attend

Staff understand children's care needs to ensure that they are secure within the setting, however, they have not kept up to date regarding to changes in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Activities do not sustain children's learning and do not effectively foster the key features of effective learning. Therefore, children's progress is limited. Children have individual learning journals that provide a narrative of their play experiences. Observations are not consistently used to identify children's stage in development or next steps, therefore, planning is not sufficiently based on children's emerging interests or needs.

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who attend

Children enjoy arriving at the setting, however, they soon lose interest due to the lack of exciting activities, the organisation of resources and staff's poor understanding of how to promote the learning development of young children. As a result, children's learning is more incidental, rather than meaningful with purpose, and some children become bored. Children are able to participate in a range of early writing activities, however, books and stories are not sufficiently integrated within activities. This means that children are not easily able to develop an appreciation of books and stories. Early number skills are promoted through singing number rhymes, number games, matching activities and puzzles, ensuring children experience some mathematical concepts.

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who attend

Children have suitable opportunities to develop their physical skills as the garden area provides an enjoyable play space where they can go through tunnels, down the small slide and use scooters and tricycles. The designated natural garden enables children to learn about the natural world as they can observe insects and see how plants and flowers change throughout the year, and they are currently growing an apple tree. They also learn about life-cycles, mini-beasts and reptiles and a family recently brought in a pet lizard for children to observe. Children have daily opportunities to participate in a range of creative activities; there is generally a balance of sand play, water and painting activities. Children enjoyed the hand painting activity where they were able to explore the texture of paints and also make marks.

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who attend

Children participate in a range of festivals and celebrations as staff find out about children's cultural heritage. Celebrations include St David's Day, Father's Day and Easter and also activities from Turkey, Pakistan and Vietnam, supporting children's understanding of the world. Staff develop suitable relationships with parents and they very much appreciate the work that staff put into meeting their child's needs. There are regular parents' evenings enabling staff to update parents on children's progress. Parents also have access to children's learning journals. The regular newsletters and notices in the foyer area keeping parents informed of what is happening in the setting. Parents are also invited to trips, for example, seaside resorts and local wildlife venues. Parents are happy with their child at the pre-school as staff support children's care needs.

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

Children form suitable attachments with their key person, and make friendships with their peers, consequently, children are generally secure and confident within the pre-school. They also mostly share and are co-operative. However, due to the organisation of routines and activities there are occasions when the more confident and/or older children seek attention. Whereas the quieter children tend to stay in the background and are not always given the appropriate support to interact with their peers, consequently, not all children's individual needs are being consistently met.

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

Children are developing an understanding of healthy lifestyles and routines as they are encouraged to wash their hands when required, they have healthy snacks and children have suitable opportunities for active physical exercise. Children skilfully use all the space within the play area, as they line up and find a space on the mat when asked, and they practise regular fire drills. However, children are not always supported in developing their understanding about keeping themselves safe as staff do not consistently remind children of the rules, this includes children informing staff when they are going to the toilet, and also using self-registration systems for areas of play. There are clear arrival and departure procedures to ensure children are safe.

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

Transitions for children whom are due to start school are suitable as staff work with both parents and staff to support children's emotional well-being and confidence in settling into the school environment. Staff attend the local school community meeting, providing an opportunity to share information with the local teachers. Children also talk to children about their new school through daily routines and at circle time, further supporting children.

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provision

The inspection took place following a concern raised about unsupervised children. The inspection identified that an incident had occurred, however, since the event the managers have reviewed outdoor play procedures in relation to children going back inside the premises. However, the vigilance in supervision is not consistently implemented, particularly with regards to children accessing the foyer area. This is because children wander into this area when bored and staff are constantly directing children back into the main play room. While children are at the setting, the main entrance and the garden area are secure. In addition to this, the safeguarding policy as not been updated in relation to the use of cameras and mobile phones. These are breaches of the welfare requirements. In other respects, staff have an adequate understanding of child protection procedures and attend training to update their knowledge. Staff have a suitable understanding of

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provision

supporting children in the event of any minor accidents as they records accidents accordingly and most staff hold first aid qualifications, which means they can respond to minor accidents appropriately.

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provision

The managers work hard and are committed to improving the quality of care for children. However, self-evaluation is not sufficiently rigorous as the managers and staff do not clearly identify areas for effective improvements, or monitor the overall effectiveness of the setting. As a result, priorities for improvement are not always identified or acted upon to ensure requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage are met, or to further improve the provision for children. Vetting and recruitment procedures are in place and the managers provide ongoing support for all team members. However, supervision meetings have not yet been implemented to enable focused discussion about training and areas for support and development, which further limits improvements to the setting.

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provision

Partnerships with parents and others who share care of the children are satisfactory. Staff are committed to and work hard with other professional health and social care agencies in supporting the variety of individual needs of children and family. The notice board in the foyer area provides a range of information for parents, there is also information regarding children's key person, this ensures that parents are informed about the pre-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 EY236469 Local authority Essex Inspection number 924495

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 0 Total number of places 0 Number of children on roll 0 Name of provider Donna Doyle & Anne Badham Partnership Date of previous inspection 21/10/2011 Telephone number 01268 765675

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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

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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