Latham Lane Playgroup

Latham Lane Playgroup The Grove United Reformed Church, Oxford Road, Gomersal, BRADFORD, BD19 4JR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/11/2013 28/01/2010

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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 requires improvement

 Staff use observations and information from parents to make accurate assessments of children's development.  The experienced staff form strong, caring relationships with the children and provide clear guidance about acceptable behaviour. Consequently, all children feel safe and enjoy their time at the playgroup.  The playgroup have clear safeguarding policies and risk assessment procedures so children are kept safe from harm.

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It is not yet good because

 The quality of teaching is variable and not fully supported by focused professional development. As a result, opportunities to extend children's thinking are missed and not all children make the best possible progress.  Staff do not always use the observations and assessments of children to inform planning which means some activities do not provide sufficient challenge for the children.  Daily access to the outdoors is not consistently provided. As a result, this does not help to support children's individual learning preferences and general well-being.

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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 children's activities in the two playrooms.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector talked to the nominated person, manager, staff, key persons and children throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at various documents, including a sample of policies and procedures, children's records, planning and assessment and evidence of staff suitability.  The inspector took account of parents and carers views.

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Information about the setting

Latham Lane Playgroup has been operating for approximately 30 years and was registered at the current site in 2009 on the Early Years Register. It operates from two first floor rooms located within The Grove United Reformed Church in Gomersal, West Yorkshire and is led and managed by a committee. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. Access is via the side door on the left of the church, disabled access and facilities are provided.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs seven members of childcare staff. Of these, six hold appropriate early years qualifications at level two or above.

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Information about the setting

The playgroup operates during term time only and is open from 9am to 11.30am Monday to Friday and from Monday to Thursday from 12.30pm to 3pm. A lunch club is provided on Tuesdays and Fridays from 11.30am to 12.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 46 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children.

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Information about the setting

The setting is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance and has been awarded the Quality Practice Award by the Local Authority.

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must:

 ensure children have daily access to an outdoor play area or planned daily outdoor activities in order to promote children's good health and well-being and to support their preferences for learning.

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

 develop systems to monitor the practice of staff so weaknesses in the quality of teaching, for example, by extending children's thinking, can be addressed and all children make the best possible progress

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

 strengthen how observations and assessments of children are used to inform planning, so that an increased level of challenge is offered to all children.

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who attend

The playgroup manager and staff demonstrate they have a sound awareness of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff obtain information from parents about children's starting points before they start at playgroup. Staff make regular observations of children to make assessments of their development which show children are making satisfactory progress. However, while staff plan next steps for the children, this information is not effectively used to inform what activities are offer. As a result, children do not make the best possible progress. Children's portfolios are shared with parents at parent's evenings and they are regularly invited to contribute to summary assessments.

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who attend

Staff support children's personal, social and emotional development well and children are happy and confident during their time at playgroup. Children have access to a range of resources and activities appropriate for their age which they enjoy playing with. For example, pirate ships chosen by the children are extremely popular and promote imaginative play in boys. Staff support children's learning by listening attentively and responding appropriately to their talk. As a result, children are keen to demonstrate their abilities, for example, forming letters of their name and counting pegs into a boat. However, the quality of teaching is variable and staff do not always skilfully question children. Consequently, interactions between adults and children do not always challenge children and maximise their learning. Access to outdoor play is not offered on a daily basis due to building work and the sharing of the outdoor area with other users of the church.

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who attend

Staff have included daily action songs and stretching exercise to promote physical development but the lack of outdoor play means not all children's individual learning preferences are accommodated.

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who attend

Children enjoy story time and are encouraged to comment and join in with rhymes. Staff ask questions about the story but there are too many children in the group for staff to effectively challenge and extend all children's learning. Children's literacy at home is promoted by a shared book reading scheme. Staff understand the importance of developing writing skills in preparation for school and older children demonstrate their letter formation at a writing mark making activity using envelopes and letters.

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

Children form secure and positive relationships with their key person which supports their personal, social and emotional development. Consequently, children settle quickly at the playgroup, are engaged and play happily alongside each other. Children are confident and staff support them to be independent and as a result, children display many of the characteristics of effective learning. For example, they persist with trying to find a way to hang up their apron or put on dressing-up clothes. They are all very proud of their achievements which are praised by staff. The children's behaviour is good and they seek support from staff to resolve a dispute with another child. Children are able to play imaginatively and cooperatively together for an extended period of time in the home- corner with a variety of dolls and utensils that represent different cultures. Staff have high expectations about behaviour and support this by explaining why they must sweep up

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

sand and tidy away carefully. These expectations help children to gain an understanding of their own personal safety and manage risks.

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

Children's health and well-being are promoted satisfactorily. They have grown tomatoes and at snack time they are offered fruit, milk and water to help them gain an understanding about healthy foods. Staff talk to children during snack time to find out what their favourite foods are. Staff have encouraged physical movement through action songs but the lack of outdoor play during many sessions means that children's general well-being is not supported to the optimum.

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

Staff place a high priority on preparing the children for school. As a result, children are emotionally well-prepared for school. The playgroup has a strong relationship with the local school with teachers regularly visiting the children in the summer term. Staff have opportunities to take children into school to help support their smooth transition. Teachers also share with the playgroup resources and ideas to help prepare children for school.

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provision

Children are safeguarded because all staff have attended safeguarding training and procedures for reporting concerns are understood by staff. All staff have worked at the playgroup for a considerable period of time but procedures for safe recruitment are in place. This results in a stable staff team who work effectively together and support each other. All staff have first aid training and there are clear policies and procedures in place to record and monitor accidents and the administration of medication. Nearly all staff have relevant qualifications and managers attend network meetings to keep up-to-date with changes. Staff have many years of experience and parents recognise that staff have a genuine interest in children and enjoy working with them.

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provision

Staff use the monitoring system of children's assessments effectively to identify gaps in the educational programme. For example, boys were not accessing imaginative play so they worked with the boys to choose pirate ships and knight costumes for dressing-up. Staff are able to choose training they would like to attend. Currently the systems of supervision and appraisals for staff are not focused enough on the quality of teaching and training is not linked to identified weaknesses in practice. By strengthening the use of peer observations, as part of monitoring staff's practice, the impact of interactions on the children's learning can be assessed and developed. The playgroup regularly update their self-evaluation and are part of a quality assurance scheme. They work with local authority consultants who help them evaluate their practice which helps them prepare for the inspection. This process demonstrates that staff are reflective and have introduced

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provision

The playgroup have several strategies in place to develop learning partnerships with parents. Information flows both ways with newsletters and homework sheets keeping parents informed about what their child is doing at playgroup. 'All about me sheets' provide information from home about children's interests and preferences. Staff also make contact with other settings children attend to share information about children. Staff have worked with external agencies to provide effective intervention strategies for children they identified as requiring additional support.

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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 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. 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

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. 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 EY398245 Local authority Kirklees Inspection number 859946

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 46 Name of provider Latham Lane Playgroup Date of previous inspection 28/01/2010 Telephone number 07734603355

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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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