Beacon Pre-School Playgroup

Beacon Pre-School Playgroup Beacontree Heath Methodist Church, The Broadway, Dagenham, Essex, RM8 1DZ

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/10/2013 26/04/2013

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

p.1

This provision is satisfactory

 Children develop a sense of belonging. They show interest in the activities on offer and play happily.  Staff are attentive to children's care needs. They maintain a safe play environment and offer a range of healthy snacks.  Children especially enjoy a range of outdoor activities. These reflect the indoor provision and therefore encourage children to develop skills in all learning areas.

p.1

It is not yet good because

 Staff are not fully effective in promoting children's learning. They do not make good use of the system of observational assessment to focus on children's individual learning needs or to encourage parents to become involved in their children's learning.  Staff do not make the most of opportunities during free play to interact with children and use talk in different ways to challenge children in their thinking and learning.  The manager does not use an effective system to complete the progress checks for two-year-old children and it is not clear if three-year-olds have had these checks.

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 observed children taking part in a variety of play activities.  The inspector spoke with some members of staff and parents.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled the settings' documentation, in particular documents relating to children's progress and safeguarding.  The inspector interviewed the manager and deputy manager.

p.2

Information about the setting

Beacon Pre-School Playgroup registered in 1993. The management are overseen by a parent committee. The playgroup operates from a church hall in Beacontree Heath in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It is open every weekday from 9am until 12pm during term time. Children have the use of two indoor halls and a secure outdoor play area. The playgroup is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 27 children on roll in the early years age group. The playgroup employs nine staff, of whom the majority hold appropriate early years qualifications. The playgroup receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. The playgroup supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are learning English as an additional language.

p.3

must:

 look at different ways of talking with children to help them develop their speaking and listening skills.

p.3

must:

 maintain an effective system of monitoring and observational assessment in order to shape relevant learning experiences for individual children and to keep parents up to date with their children's progress and development, including through the required progress check for children aged between two and three years.

p.3

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

 look at different ways of talking with children to help them develop their speaking and listening skills.

p.3

who attend

Staff are not fully effective in meeting the learning needs of all children. They provide a variety of activities to encourage children to explore. For example, children enjoy playing with modelling materials, crawling through tunnels, investigating compost and chalking on chalk boards. These hands-on activities help children to discover new things as they investigate in different ways. Children enjoy opportunities to express their own ideas creatively. For example, they print with potato shapes using different coloured paints or select objects and materials to stick together to make models. Children benefit from opportunities to take part in physical activities. For example, they enjoy learning balancing skills as they walk along planks and developing coordination skills when playing with balls.

p.3

who attend

Staff sometimes offer support to children by joining them in their play and engaging them in conversation. In this way they stimulate children's interest and enhance children's enjoyment. However, staff often busy themselves with tasks that do not involve children or they tend to supervise activities rather than joining in. Therefore staff do not make the most of opportunities to interact with children and encourage them to think, make connections, experiment and investigate further. Consequently staff are not responding to children's emerging interests or guiding their development effectively through warm and positive interaction. This impacts on their ability to meet children's individual learning needs successfully. In addition the programme of two-year-old progress checks is not yet organised effectively, resulting in confusion amongst staff as to whether current three- year-old children had their progress checks or not. This means the systems of assessment

p.4

who attend

are not currently meeting the legal requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

p.4

who attend

Staff are aware of the importance of children developing skills in the areas of literacy and numeracy to support their future learning. They encourage children's enjoyment of books and stories, for example, when sharing books with individual children in the book corner. Staff use number rhymes and games at circle times to help children develop a knowledge and understanding of numbers. Sometimes staff increase children's awareness of shape, pattern or quantity during free play, for example, when children draw pictures or investigate balancing equipment. However, staff are not imaginative in their use of talk to help children develop good communication skills. They do not always maintain conversations with children or encourage children to talk about their experiences and discoveries. As a result, children are not always well supported in the acquisition of speaking and listening skills.

p.4

who attend

Staff observe children in their learning to help them assess children's individual stages of development. They are aware of children's next steps in learning and contribute ideas for addressing these when planning each week's activities. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well by setting individual targets to help them in their learning. However, staff are not always aware of the learning focus for each week's planned adult-led activities. Nor do they maintain children's individual learning profiles well so that these are up-to-date and can be shared with parents, encouraging them to become involved in their children's learning. This also impacts on staff's ability to meet children's individual learning needs effectively.

p.4

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

Children develop confidence as they move around the play areas making their choices. They feel safe in the setting because the ratio of staff to children is high. Therefore children can easily find an adult if they want to seek reassurance. Staff promote a calm and relaxed atmosphere and this helps children to settle quickly. They learn the expectations of staff with regard to behaviour, for example, the importance of not running between the two halls. Staff remind children to share when taking part in activities and this helps children to play harmoniously alongside each other.

p.4

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

Children are generally well behaved and attentive to staff. For example, children respond positively to staff when reminded how to behave or instructed to join a group. Staff encourage children to be independent in their personal needs, for instance, choosing from a selection of foods at snack time. Staff offer a variety of healthy and nutritious foods, such as fresh fruit and bread. This encourages children to adopt healthy eating habits. Staff set out the toilet area with everything children need to learn good hygiene practices, for example, soap and towels. Children know to wash their hands before eating snack. When playing children can pour themselves a drink of water independently so they do not become thirsty.

p.5

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

Children benefit from the opportunity each day to play in the large outdoor play area. They learn to negotiate space as they move around in different ways, for example, running, pushing buggies or manoeuvring trucks. They learn to use tools to do a particular job, for example, when digging and filling containers. Children find out more about nature and living things when growing and watering plants. They have opportunities to go on trips in the local area and learn more about the local community. They learn about diversity in a wider world when celebrating different cultural and religious festivals. These activities help children to gain respect for other people and for their environment.

p.5

provision

The playgroup has appropriate policies and procedures in place to promote the safeguarding of all children. The manager makes sure that all new staff undergo the relevant checks to ensure they are suitable to work with children. She liaises closely with the committee, especially with regard to staffing and documentation. She responds immediately to any staffing issues to ensure that all staff remain suitable to work with children. All staff regularly update their training in safeguarding issues. They know the correct action to take if they have any concerns relating to child protection.

p.5

provision

Staff prioritise the safety of children attending playgroup. They carry out daily safety checks to make sure the premises are safe for children. They keep a good eye on children in the different play areas to help ensure children keep safe. In particular they make sure that the toilets and outdoor area are always well supervised. At the beginning and end of each session staff are positioned on the outer and inner doors to help parents and children feel secure and keep safe as they come and go. Staff take care to assess any risks when organising outings. They also review safety in the setting following any accidents to children.

p.5

provision

Parents receive clear and detailed information about the provision for children when starting at playgroup. They are asked to provide background information about their children and any particular needs. Staff liaise closely with parents during the settling in process and this helps to build close relationships. Parents are able to talk with staff whenever they wish about their children's progress, although there are no set procedures to ensure key persons regularly update parents about children's development. Parents state that they are happy with the provision for their children and especially appreciate the friendliness of staff.

p.5

provision

The manager and deputy encourage all staff to take advantage of training events to support their professional development. Staff are involved in the ongoing evaluation of their practice, helping them to reflect and highlight points for development. The playgroup is linked to an early years advisor who supports the management team in putting together action development plans. However, the management team do not have effective monitoring procedures in place to check the progress of these action plans. This results in some targets not being met, despite target dates having been passed. For example, the system of observational assessment is not yet used effectively by staff to help monitor and assess children's individual progress, as required. This means staff are unable to fully support children's learning and development.

p.6

provision

The manager is keen to develop a close-knit team of staff and to help them work together to improve the outcomes for all children. She works closely with the deputy to support her in implementing new ideas, for example, the introduction of a tracking system to check children's overall progress in relation to given stages of child development. In addition staff are at present taking part in a quality assurance process which will provide them with points for further improvement. This helps the playgroup to maintain a capacity for overall improvement.

p.6

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.6

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.7

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.7

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.8

Setting details

Unique reference number 100209 Local authority Barking & Dagenham Inspection number 935547 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 27 Name of provider Beacon Pre-School Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 26/04/2013 Telephone number 0208 595 4611

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.8

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.8

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.9

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.9

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.10

Type of provision

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

p.10