Ready Teddy Go Pre School

Ready Teddy Go Playgroup Thorpedene Community Hall, Delaware Road, SHOEBURY, Essex, SS3 9NW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/09/2013 23/06/2010

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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

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children are happy, settled and secure. They relate well to the staff and are confident to ask for help when needed.  Children are making steady progress and have easy access to a broad range of toys and play materials. They relish making choices and taking decisions in their learning.  Effective links exist with local schools to promote smooth transitions and continuity in children's learning and development.

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It is not yet good because

 Risk assessment is not rigorous enough to identify all potential risks to children's safety. As a result, although children are well supervised in the outdoor area, potential hazards have not been identified or addressed in a timely way.  Planning and assessment is sometimes inconsistent and does not effectively support all individual children's learning, development and progress. In addition, the opportunities for parents to become involved in their children's learning are not fully developed.  Routines, such as snack time are not organised effectively to fully encourage children's self-care and independence skills.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the indoor and outdoor learning environments. This included joint observations with the manager.  The inspector held discussions with the manager, staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed a sample of the children's development records and the activity planning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector saw evidence of suitability and qualifications of the staff, risk assessment, policies and procedures and other documentation in relation to health and safety checks.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Ready Teddy Go Playgroup was registered in 1999 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from a community hall in Shoeburyness, Essex. It is privately run and managed. The playgroup serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The playgroup employs 10 members of childcare staff. Of these, two hold early years qualifications at level 4, four hold qualifications at level 3 and three hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2. The manager holds a degree and is working towards Early Years Qualified Teacher Status.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school opens Monday to Friday during school term times. Sessions are between 8.45am and 3pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and from 8.45am to 11.45am on Thursday. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 34 children attending who are within the early years age group. The pre-school 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 and/or disabilities.

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must:

 ensure that the procedures for risk assessment are robust and implemented effectively to identify and address all potential risks to children's safety, particularly in the outdoor area

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must:

 clearly establish children's starting points and conduct regular and precise assessments of children's stages of learning and development in order to effectively monitor the progress which children make or any emerging gaps.

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

 strengthen the opportunities for parents to contribute to children's ongoing learning, for example, by recording their own observations in children's development records, so that a more all-round picture of each child's development is gained

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

 provide more opportunities for children to consistently develop their self-care and independence skills within everyday routines, such as snack time.

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who attend

The staff have a sound understanding of how young children learn. This means that children are provided with a suitable range of activities and experiences, which they enjoy and acceptably support their development across the areas of learning. There is an appropriate blend of focused, adult-led activities and experiences that children can select for themselves. Children particularly relish the opportunity to choose between indoor and outdoor play for much of each session. Staff recognise the speech and language difficulties of some of the children and give particular focus to developing children's communication skills through their play. For instance, staff use open questioning that encourages children to think and attempt to recall previous events in their lives. Story times and singing activities are used well to introduce rhyming words and to increase vocabulary. Children also learn about letters and sounds and begin to point out words

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who attend

beginning with the letter 's'. They also learn to look at books for pleasure and this supports children in gaining an interest to develop their future learning skills, in readiness for starting nursery or school.

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who attend

Children are suitably motivated to learn, particularly when staff offer imaginative resources to provide meaningful play activities. For example, children become absorbed in rolling colourful balls along chutes and develop problem-solving skills as they experiment and move the chutes to make the balls roll faster or slower. Children work cooperatively together to use milk crates and plastic piping to build a bus that takes them on imaginative journeys. The staff support their ideas by finding additional resources they can use, for example, a plastic plate is utilised as a steering wheel. Children eagerly develop their understanding of the natural world and explore the changing seasons. They help feed the fish, plant and water flowers in the garden and work out how the windmills spin in the breeze. They examine insects and worms they find in the garden and staff share their excitement and help them to match what they see with pictures in books. Children

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who attend

have appropriate opportunities to count and are beginning to recognise simple shapes as they take part in art and craft activities. They explore volume as they fill containers with sand and develop an early understanding of measurements as they compare their height.

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who attend

The staff carry out observations of children as they take part in activities and some staff provide specific examples of how children have made progress in various areas of learning. This term a new system for identifying individual children's next steps has been introduced. This means that all staff are now involved in planning and adapting activities to meet the children's learning priorities. The staff are well aware of their responsibility in completing the required progress checks for children when they reach the age of two. However, assessments are not consistently recorded and are variable in quality. There is no initial baseline assessment to determine the children's stage of development when they join the playgroup and the summary assessments are not regularly carried out. This means that it is sometimes difficult to determine whether children are making better than steady progress or if there are gaps in children's learning.

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who attend

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language are appropriately supported as staff work with outside agencies to provide consistency. For example, the area special educational needs coordinator regularly visits to offer strategies for behaviour management and ideas for activities to support individual children's learning.

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who attend

Children are reasonably well placed to continue their learning at home because staff display information about the activities each day. Parents also learn about any achievements in the playgroup through conversations with the key persons and have opportunities to view the home-link books and their children's development records. However, few parents are making use of the home-link books and development records to contribute their observations of the children's learning at home. This means that planning for children's learning is not always sharply focussed, as the key persons are not consistently obtaining a complete all-round view of their interests and achievements.

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

The staff are sensitive and develop a warm and affectionate rapport with the children. Each child is assigned a key person and this means that any individual care and welfare needs are known and suitably provided for. Parents are just beginning to provide more information about their children's interests, likes and dislikes when they join the playgroup. This helps the key persons plan activities suited to the children's enthusiasms to support the settling-in process. The staff team work hard to make the premises welcoming to children. Furniture is arranged so that children can play and eat in comfort and they are encouraged to become active learners as they freely select from the available resources. Examples of artwork and posters linked to the learning experiences are displayed so that children know their efforts are valued and they can discuss the activities they have taken part in.

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

Children are encouraged to develop healthy lifestyles as they learn to manage their personal hygiene needs. Toilet training and nappy changing is sensitively undertaken to preserve the children's dignity. Children make healthy options when they are offered nutritious snacks and choose from a variety of fruit. When children stay for lunch they are supported in managing their lunch boxes and learn to unwrap sandwiches and open their food containers. However, snack times are not always used effectively to promote children's independence skills as they are not consistently encouraged to pour their own drinks. Plenty of opportunities are provided each day for children to exercise and develop their physical skills. They move expressively as they wave ribbons in tune with music and develop their coordination as they balance and climb on apparatus.

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

Children learn to behave well because they know what is expected of them. They learn about simple rules relating to kindness and responsible behaviour and when staff need to gain their attention they listen carefully. Staff manage children's behaviour appropriately and help them to understand that their actions can cause harm to others. For example, children are encouraged to share resources, to be gentle with equipment and not to run indoors. A fire evacuation procedure is in place and is carried out with the children on a regular basis. This supports children to develop an understanding of how to keep themselves safe in an emergency.

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

Children are supported in their move to nursery or school as the staff arrange for teachers to visit the playgroup to meet the children and talk with parents. Resources such as uniforms and photographs of the schools are used effectively in activities so that children can explore and talk about changes in their lives. This supports children's emotional well- being and encourages children to feel safe and secure in a new environment.

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provision

Staff have developed an appropriate understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. All the required policies, procedures and records are maintained and are stored securely on the premises. The staff complete safeguarding training and have a sound awareness of suitable procedures to follow should a concern arise with a child. Appropriate recruitment and vetting systems are completed to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. The staff are vigilant about the security of the children. There is a controlled entry system for the main entrance door and an additional safety barrier and gate has been installed to prevent unauthorised access or a child exiting the premises unnoticed.

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provision

This inspection was carried out following concerns raised to Ofsted about an accident to a child using the slide in the outdoor area. In this instance, the injury to the child was not immediately apparent, and consequently, it was the parents who sought medical attention for the child. The inspection found that the staff are reasonably well aware of their responsibilities and hold first aid certificates so they can deal with minor injuries. They have taken this event seriously and an initial investigation of the accident has been suitably carried out by the manager. Adequate steps have been made to reduce the likelihood of the accident reoccurring. The relevant authorities have been notified and staff deployment has been reviewed to ensure that children are constantly supervised when playing on climbing apparatus. In addition, the slide has been removed, and padded safety mats are now placed alongside other climbing apparatus in the outdoor area.

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provision

Acceptable accident records are kept and staff usually inform parents immediately and ask them to sign to acknowledge the entry. The staff carry out visual checks of the outdoor area each day. However, children are not robustly protected as the risk assessment has still not been rigorously reviewed to identify all potential hazards in the outdoor area.

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provision

The manager and staff are keen to make improvements to the provision and are developing effective systems to do so. Self-evaluation is used as an appropriate working tool and takes account of the views of staff, children and their parents. The staff are reflective of their practice, which helps them identify further areas to develop. For example, they have made changes to provide further learning opportunities for children to explore nature while gardening or when taking part in forest school activities. Staff receive supervision meetings and regular appraisals and are encouraged in ongoing training opportunities. This supports them well in developing their knowledge and understanding of developing the provision to promote children's development. The manager has recognised that improvements are needed in the monitoring of the children's progress. As a result, much thought and consideration is being given as to the best approach to take

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provision

regarding the new assessment records that are being implemented. The manager has also introduced a staff planning and preparation session each week so that the entire staff team can get together to discuss and enhance the activities they offer the children.

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provision

Parents are kept well informed of their children's activities and have opportunities to share their views when they complete the playgroup questionnaires. Several parents were spoken to during this inspection. They say the staff are friendly and approachable and compliment the staff team on the way they help the children to settle. The staff have built effective partnerships with the nearby schools to ensure that there are smooth transitions when children enter into full-time education.

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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 119511 Local authority Southend on Sea Inspection number 937395

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 34 Name of provider Susan Lorraine Cardy Date of previous inspection 23/06/2010 Telephone number 01702 584817

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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

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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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