Belton Playgroup

Belton Pre-School Playgroup School Lane, Belton, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 9TU

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 02/10/2013 12/05/2011

p.1

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

p.1

This provision is good

 Staff are experienced and skilled and use effective teaching methods to support children's learning and development. This promotes children's good progress.  A well-established key person system ensures that children build strong emotional attachments and therefore, grow in confidence. As a result, they quickly settle at the setting and are happy to attend.  Children use a vast range of good quality resources, which are safe and effectively organised to enable them to make choices about their play. Staff are well deployed and provide clear guidance about what is acceptable behaviour. They lead by example and as a result, children behave well and are gaining an understanding of what is expected of them.  Staff engage highly effectively with parents and other early years professionals. This excellent joint working offers parents and other professionals' meaningful ways to contribute to children's learning and development.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to provide further opportunities for children to develop independence skills at snack time by pouring their own drinks and serving their own food.  The space within the book area is not utilised to its full potential to enable children to sit, relax and chat with their friends whilst looking at books.

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 chatted with children during their activities and talked with staff.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the chair of the committee and the manager of the pre-school.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of inspection and questionnaires received.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journey records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working within the setting and a range of other documentation.

p.2

Information about the setting

Belton Pre-School Playgroup is committee run. It opened in 1970 and operates from the village hall in Belton in North West Leicestershire. All children share access to a secure outdoor play area. The pre-school serves families from the surrounding district. The pre- school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

p.3

Information about the setting

There are currently 45 children on roll aged between 2 years to under 5 years. The pre- school is open Monday to Thursday, from 9.15am to 12.15pm and on a Monday and Wednesday afternoon, from 12.15pm until 3.15pm. The pre-school operates during term times only. There is a toast club from 9am to 9.15am for children whose parents need to leave early or who have siblings at school. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.3

Information about the setting

The pre-school employs eight members of staff, of whom seven hold appropriate early years qualifications and one member of staff holds quality teacher status.

p.3

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

 encourage children to develop their self-care skills and become more independent, for example, by allowing them to pour their own drinks and serve their own food during snack time

p.3

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

 create a homely space where children can sit and relax in comfort to chat with friends and look at books.

p.3

who attend

Children make good progress because staff are skilled and use effective teaching methods to support their learning and development. The effective planning is well informed by rigorous assessment of children to provide a good variety of activities and experiences covering all areas of learning. As result, children are acquiring the skills for the next steps in their learning. For example, children show good counting skills as they join in numbers rhymes. They have great fun using tape measurers to compare the size of each other's legs and staff regularly question children using words, such as, 'longest', 'shortest' and 'widest'. Staff extend children's learning further by encouraging them to recognise numbers as indicated on the measuring equipment and children show increasing skill in using numbers to support their play.

p.3

who attend

Children enjoy a good balance of adult-initiated and child-led activities. They respond excitedly to wide range of creative activities, which staff prepare well to encourage them to have fun and learn through their play. For example, they enjoy exploring paint and enthusiastically use various vegetables and pieces of fruit to create prints in preparation for Harvest festival. Children love role play and take their imagination outside to the play area, where they use materials and equipment to construct a large spider's web. Children like to discuss their own creative ideas and are guided well by staff who encourage them to express their thoughts and develop their language.

p.4

who attend

Children are beginning to recognise their name through effective labelling of their work and personal drawers. They enjoy practising their early writing skills and use a range tools and materials both indoors and outdoors to make marks for different purposes. For example, the role play area is currently a cafe and children love to write menus. Staff maximise outdoor opportunities to support children's early writing skills, for instance chalk blocks are provided, which children use skilfully to draw on blackboards, the ground and walls. Children enjoy listening to staff who read their favourite stories and particularly enjoy joining in using props, such as farm yard animals in an animated fashion.

p.4

who attend

Children learn to care for plants and tend seeds that they have grown, such as sunflowers and tomatoes. This helps promote their understanding of the natural world they live in. They are helped to consider and value each other's differences. Staff ensures that they are provided with opportunities to learn about the wider world through a range of resources, play opportunities and activities, which reflect diversity and acknowledge cultural differences.

p.4

who attend

Good opportunities are provided for children to develop their physical skills. They benefit from a variety of activities that involve moving and stopping, for example, parachute games. They move freely between the indoor and outdoor environment and use a wide variety of large and small equipment with increasing skill and confidence.

p.4

who attend

Staff work in close partnership with parents and other professionals, such as the special educational needs coordinator to identify realistic, yet challenging targets for any children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They are very careful to ensure that they monitor the development of children who require additional support and regularly review children's progress and discuss any concerns promptly. Therefore, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities are encouraged to reach their full potential.

p.4

who attend

Staff have completed the progress check for children aged two and have shared this with parents, so that individual needs are effectively supported. Parents are informed about their children's learning through daily discussions and have meetings with staff to discuss children's development. Staff encourage parents to take their child's learning journey record home and suggest ways that they can support their child's learning at home. This means that children's progress is effectively shared with parents and they are able to contribute to their children's learning.

p.4

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

Children are eager to attend the pre-school and good, warm and caring relationships between key persons and children are evident. Prior to starting the setting key persons gather useful information from parents about their children's likes, dislikes, interest and abilities. This enables them to build on positive relationships with children and their families. As a consequence, children benefit from continuity in their care and learning to support them to make the change between home, school and the pre-school. As a result, children settle well.

p.5

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

Staff are good role models of behaviour and attitude and children follow their example. They are attentive towards children's individual needs and encourage children to use their manners, to share, to be kind and take turns. They regularly praise children for their achievements and provide stickers as a means of reward for their efforts. This helps to promote children's self-esteem and as a result, children are learning about acceptable behaviour.

p.5

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

Children have access to vast variety of stimulating resources and equipment that are accessible to them in labelled containers. They confidently move around the available space and toys and resources are rotated on a regular basis to ensure children remain stimulated. This helps to foster children's choice and play an active role in their learning. However, space within the book area is not utilised to its full potential to enable children to sit and relax in comfort to look at books and chat with their friends.

p.5

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

Children's health is supported well because staff talk to them about eating well and nutrition. They are provided with a variety of nutritious snacks and mealtimes are relaxed social occasions when children sit around the table to enjoy their food and each other's company. However, at these times, children do not always have the opportunity to pour their own drinks and serve their own food. This does not help enhance children's self-care and independence skills. Staff are fully aware of any children who have allergies to specific foods and ensure their requirements are met.

p.5

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

Children are familiar with the daily routine and know to wash their hands at appropriate times throughout the session. Older children use the bathroom without assistance and younger children are supported well in the process. Children learn about staying safe through daily routines and discussions. Staff gently reminds them of the setting's rules to ensure they develop a good awareness of safe behaviour. As a consequence, children show a good understanding of personal safety. For example, they know that they wear warm clothes when they go outside in cold weather and to hold hands when walking around the local community. Their understanding of safety is further promoted as they learn about fire safety. Staff practise the evacuation procedure with them to ensure that they know what to do in the event of an emergency.

p.5

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

Children are helped to understand how exercise helps them to stay healthy. They use an extensive variety of large and small equipment in the outdoor area skilfully, such as, balancing on beams, peddling wheeled toys, throwing, catching and hurling hoops. All of these physical activities provide opportunities for children to socialise with their peer and have fun.

p.5

provision

Management ensure that the safeguarding policy is implemented throughout the setting. Staff have completed safeguarding training and hold paediatric first aid qualifications. As a result, they have a good understanding of their role and responsibility to protect children in their care. However, management did not inform Ofsted of a significant event within the required 14 day period and as a result, was issued with a low-level warning letter. Management have since taken action to include this procedure as part of their safeguarding policy. Staff are now fully aware of the procedure to follow to ensure that Ofsted is informed of any further changes to the setting. Robust vetting and recruitment systems ensure staff are suitable to work with children. Staff have a good awareness of security and carry out daily safety checks on the premises to ensure that they are safe and secure. They ensure children cannot the leave the premises unsupervised and that there

p.6

provision

can be no unauthorised access to children. There are good arrangements for admitting visitors and for handing children over to their parents and carers. This promotes children's safety.

p.6

provision

Management and staff are clear about how to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements. As a consequence, children's welfare, care and learning needs are met well. The management regularly review the education programme and children's learning journals to ensure consistency. Through this process management is able to identify any gaps in children's learning and put suitable strategies in place to resolve any issue. All staff demonstrate a strong commitment to continuous improvement and regularly attend training to update their knowledge and skills. As a result, the areas for improvement that were made at the last inspection are met. For example, information is obtained from parents about children's individual needs and abilities to support staff in assessing their starting points and ongoing development. In addition, children's health is promoted through improved hand washing arrangements, which include the use of paper towels to

p.6

provision

Management and staff work well together and this is reflected in the happy atmosphere created for children. Staff are monitored effectively and have regular meetings to discuss their training needs. Everyone's views are valued, including those of parents and children. Questionnaires are provided and carefully analysed. The information is taken into account to help to identify strengths and prioritise development that will improve the quality of provision for all children. Excellent partnerships have been established with parents. It is evident from discussions with parents that they greatly appreciate and value the service provided. For example, one parent stated that 'the management and staff are faultless' and other comments include how caring and friendly staff are and the good range of activities provided. Information is shared with parents through ongoing dialogue, newsletters, policies and procedures, electronic mail, telephone text messaging and details

p.6

provision

posted on the noticeboard. Staff have highly effective links with the local church and school to support children's learning. Teachers invite children into school, so that they get used to the school environment. They also visit children in the pre-school setting to get to know them and build relationships. This provides good support to children who move to school. Links with other early years professionals are extremely effective as staff exchanges information about children with them. This collaborative working promotes consistency in children's care and learning.

p.7

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.7

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.8

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.8

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.9

Setting details

Unique reference number 226194 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 910605

p.9

Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 45 Name of provider Belton Pre-School Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 12/05/2011 Telephone number 07761836983

p.9

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.9

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.9

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.9

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.9

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.10

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.10

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.11

Type of provision

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

p.11