Promise ChildcareOfsted inspection, 17 Oct 2013

The Forest Chapel Playgroup The Forest Chapel, Charnwood Drive, Leicester Forest East, Leicestershire, LE3 3HL

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/10/2013 24/04/2013

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 3 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

p.1

This provision is inadequate

 Risk assessments are not effective for indoors or outside and do not identify serious hazards that put children's safety at risk.  Children's individual needs are not adequately met because the space is not organised well to meet the welfare needs of babies.  Learning opportunities during care routines, such as mealtimes and managing their own behaviour during the day, are inconsistent.  The provider does not carry out suitability checks on family members or follow up references for any individual. Monitoring of the requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage is inconsistent and at times inadequate to ensure all children's welfare and learning needs are met.  Babies are not provided with an educational programme that offers them a range of interesting activities that provide challenge, taking into account their starting points and interests.

p.1

It has the following strengths

 Staff complete regular and precise observations on older children and use these effectively to plan a challenging curriculum.  The key person system is generally effective and supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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 had a tour of the premises and met and carried out observations with the manager.  The inspector observed children and spoke to staff and parents.  The inspector looked at documents, policies and procedures.  The inspector looked at children's observations and planning.

p.2

Information about the setting

The Forest Chapel Playgroup was registered in 1996 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a small chapel in Leicester Forest East and is managed by a private individual. The playgroup serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from two rooms and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

p.3

Information about the setting

The playgroup employs six members of childcare staff, three of whom work part-time. Of these, five hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and 3, including the manager who holds Early Years Professional Status.

p.3

Information about the setting

The playgroup opens Monday to Friday all year round, from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Wrap-around care is offered, before and after school and during school holidays. There are currently 46 children attending, who are in the early years age group. The playgroup provides funded early education for 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. The playgroup is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

p.3

must:

 implement a rigorous system of risk assessments to easily identify potential hazards, such as safety in the garden from broken equipment

p.4

must:

 ensure the premises and resources are safe for all children to use and are organised in a way to meet the needs of babies

p.4

must:

 ensure that systems to determine staff suitability include all individuals who have regular contact with children, with particular regard to family members

p.4

must:

 ensure planning and monitoring of the educational programme for babies is effective and offers them a range of interesting activities that provide challenge, taking into account their starting points and interests.

p.4

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

 foster a culture of learning across all care routines and activities at the setting, so that children have the opportunity to learn throughout the day and develop their independence and confidence.

p.4

who attend

Partnerships with parents is a strength for the setting. Staff welcome children and their parents into the setting and value the information that parents share with them about their children's learning at home. The manager provides 'learning bags'; these are bags containing activities for parents to take home and share with their children. They include recipes, story book and games. Each has a card explaining how it links to the Early Years Foundation Stage and what parents can do to support the child's learning at home. These have been well-received and children talk about how much they enjoy taking them home. Parents highlight the strength of this partnership. Children settle well and separate with ease. Parents are shown their children's learning journeys and contribute to them. Staff use this information and detailed observation records to establish children's starting points in their learning.

p.4

who attend

Most staff have a generally good understanding of Early Years Foundation Stage but not all are confident about the characteristics of learning or how to use them to promote children's learning. Information is recorded about the child's day, including the activities and teaching that they were included in. This documentation, along with children's interests, is used to inform detailed planning for staff to use in their practice. As a result, children's next steps are accurately planned for older children and appropriate activities and resources are provided for them. Staff make spontaneous observations of them and take the time to observe older children over longer periods to monitor what they are learning. In addition, staff record their learning and development on a tracker to monitor the overall level of progress. Therefore, older children make generally good progress for this age of children. However, for younger children and babies the planning and

p.4

who attend

assessment is poor, with little organisation or monitoring to ensure these children make appropriate progress, especially in the prime areas of learning.

p.5

who attend

The environment is inviting for pre-school children. A spacious play room is well-organised with a good range of activities that provide learning across all the seven areas of the curriculum. Staff offer a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities. For example, children show an interest in superheroes, therefore, staff dress in costume, as do some children. An activity making 'batman' masks is organised to encourage children to interact with a new member of staff, to form bonds with her and enable her to get to know children. Children excitedly paint masks, while the staff member discusses the colours and textures and then she helps them add glitter and sparkles to the masks, if children choose. The member of staff is skilled at asking questions and allows children time to think creatively about their masks. As a result, children enjoy their time at the activity and the member of staff is able to gain more knowledge about the child. Staff are

p.5

who attend

trained to deliver specialist programmes to support communication and language and use these skills well to create a magical story with children. For example, children make up their own characters and plot throughout the week and the member of staff recaps each day and creates anticipation in their story telling. Children are given simple choices and new vocabulary introduced as the plot develops. Children gravitate to the front and all participate in the intrigue of the superheroes. Children with English as an additional language are given suitable support.

p.5

who attend

The setting does not, however, offer an adequate environment for babies. They use a small room that doubles-up for school children and contains hazards. The room is neither inviting nor safe for very small children and does not foster a culture of learning for such small children. Consequently, staff spend their time carrying babies around in the pre- school room or outside. After prompting by the manager babies are put down by an activity with dried pasta and cars. However, they put pieces of pasta into their mouth. Another baby is able to climb into a baby walker unseen and moves towards a small ledge in the room. As the walker tips over the edge a member of staff rushes over and catches them as they fall. As a result, young children are not sufficiently supervised or adequately challenged with stimulating activities and do not make adequate progress in their learning and their safety is at risk.

p.5

who attend

Children are prepared for school as many have older siblings at school and share their experiences with other children. Staff include routines into their day to support school readiness. For example, children bring their own sports clothes to change into for physical education activities and play games in small groups at the table. They have short visits to the primary school and reception teachers meet children at the setting. Consequently, children move to school with ease, having made friends at the setting.

p.5

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

Parents share information about their children's care routines with their key person, who makes good bonds with their children. Staff are knowledgeable about their children and help new children settle quickly, picking up on when they are anxious about being separated. For example, a member of staff stands by the window with a child to watch for 'mummy'. As a result, the child settles and is happy to continue playing, while waiting to be collected. Older children are starting to gain confidence and independence. They happily choose the activities to join in with and freely move between the inside and outside. Staff use some routines to build on this, for example, children choose to join in to 'circle time' in the morning. Children sit in a circle and sing about the days of the week, they discuss what they do at home and staff share information about the day with them. Children are confident talking in a group and take charge of the singing, choosing which

p.6

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

actions for 'Wheels on the Bus'. However, the baby room is not a safe, warm or welcoming environment. There are no toys or resources set up for babies to play with or suitably challenge them and staff carry them around. Not all routines are used well to develop children's learning. At lunchtime, food is simply placed in front of children, garlic bread handed out and drinks put on the table. Children do not have the opportunity to set the table or serve themselves. Consequently, they miss out on opportunities to develop an understanding of numbers and colours, using the cutlery and crockery or to build on their self-help skills by dishing up the food or pouring their own drink. Snack time is better because a different member of staff does allow children to pour their own drinks. Children in highchairs are lined up by the wall and fed last, they wait patiently for their food, however, they become unsettled and have no sense of inclusion at mealtimes.

p.6

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

Consequently, practice is not consistent to have a positive impact on progress.

p.6

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

The meals provided are healthy and cooked on site. The cook ensures that she provides a balance of the different food groups. New tastes are introduced, such as curry and different vegetables. Children are reminded to wash their hands, however, they are not supported to ensure they are properly washed and a member of staff sends children back, to wash them again. Staff start to teach children about their personal safety. Policies state that sand is swept up to reduce a slip hazard, however, spilled sand is left on the floor and made worse as children jump in the tray and purposefully fall over. Staff ask children not to fall as they may hurt themselves, however, children continue to play this game. Therefore, the teaching of positive behaviour is not well-managed, as inconsistent messages are given. Staff teach children road safety when they leave the nursery for outings and ask them to walk inside the building. Staff use real life situations to teach

p.6

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

children about safety and risks, for example, children learn about strangers and understand how to stay safe at the park. They understand that some equipment is out of bounds, as it is specifically designed for children over the age of seven. Some staff use appropriate language to encourage positive behaviour, asking children to 'use kind hands' when a child hits another child.

p.6

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

The outside environment enables older children to play outside all year, however, it is not safe for children of all ages. Staff are unable to put the babies on the ground, as it is neither suitable nor age-appropriate. Older children whizz by on bikes and the toys are dirty from being outside. Staff do not identify equipment as hazards, nor take any preventative action. For example, a plastic climbing frame is pushed to the side with no safety matting, however, it is still within the garden and accessible to children, who are able to climb on this. When this hazard is highlighted to staff, they are unsure about what to do, eventually screens are used to section off the climbing frame, however, these are moved after lunch. There is no risk assessment for the climbing frame and as a result, children are not kept safe nor does the manager reflect from a previous accident, where a child broke their arm by falling from a climbing frame. The inside environment also has

p.6

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

hazards that have neither been risk-assessed, nor any method of reducing the risk implemented. A sliding door between the two playrooms attracts children's curiosity and they enjoy sliding it and hearing it bang shut. The manager is aware of the risks, but does not manage them. As a result, the door is played with by children all day and children's safety is put at risk.

p.7

provision

The inspection was bought forward, as a result of Ofsted investigating an incident, where a young child was left unsupervised whilst outdoors. Actions were set to ensure that children are within sight or hearing of staff and that risk assessments are effective to safeguard children. Risk assessments are ineffective. The manager has completed some but these do not identify some risks that were observed during the inspection. Therefore, children are not kept safe. The setting is poorly organised, the manager cannot find documents and evidence to share with the inspector, such as appraisal records and fire evacuation drills. Recruitment and vetting to ensure the suitability of staff is not effective. Although, all staff have Disclosure and Barring Service checks undertaken, other suitability checks are not carried out for family members who at times work in playgroup, nor references obtained for all staff. As a result, children are not kept safe. Inductions for staff

p.7

provision

are carried out and include policies and procedures for safeguarding, so all staff and the manager are knowledgeable about their safeguarding responsibilities and how to keep children safe in relation to the use of mobile telephones and cameras.

p.7

provision

The manager has Early Years Professional status and is hands-on, which helps to ensure the curriculum is delivered for some children. She observes staff practice and is generally able to challenge under-performance. As a result, the standards of planning and recording children's progress have greatly improved but only for older children. The manager has started to reflect on practice and evaluate the service she provides, however, this has not had time to have an impact on practice nor to fully consider the views of staff or parents.

p.7

provision

The baby room is not suitable and the manager has not considered how best to meet their learning requirements. As a result, there are several breaches of safeguarding and welfare requirements that have an impact on safety well-being. Monitoring of the educational programme is inconsistent. Older children are making progress in line with their starting points. However, there is ineffective monitoring, assessment and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage to meet the needs of younger children and babies to ensure they progress. The setting has developed partnerships with other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, who visit children in their play. Communication is shared three ways and joint observations ensure children make the best possible progress. When care is shared over two settings, the key person communicates direct with the other setting to share their observations. Parents are supportive of this

p.7

provision

partnership and see a progress at home with children.

p.8

The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

p.8

actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

p.8

To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 implement effective systems to ensure that all individuals are suitable to work with children (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure the premises and resources are safe for all children to use (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  implement a rigorous system of risk assessments to easily identify potential hazards, such as the security of the premises (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  implement effective systems to ensure that all individuals are suitable to work with children (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure the premises and resources are safe for all children (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  implement a rigorous system of risk assessments to easily identify potential hazards, such as the security of the premises (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)

p.8

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.9

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.9

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.10

Setting details

Unique reference number 226487 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 927100

p.10

Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 23 Number of children on roll 46 Name of provider Ruth Lynam Date of previous inspection 24/04/2013 Telephone number 07882 883 935

p.10

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.10

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.10

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.10

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.10

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.11

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.11

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.12

Type of provision

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

p.12