Brayford Square Playgroup

Brayford Square Playgroup 6 Brayford Square, London, E1 0SG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/04/2013 01/05/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 None of the staff hold a current paediatric first aid certificate, as required.  Staff do not complete the required progress check for children aged between two and three to support their future individual learning needs.  Two-way information sharing with parents is not actively promoted.  Staff do not maintain a record of complaints and their outcome to promote effective parent partnership.  The systems for reflective practice are weak. They do not effectively identify areas for improvement.

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It has the following strengths

 Children benefit from daily physical outdoor play to support their physical skills and well-being.  Staff create a warm and welcoming environment and children settling in are appropriately supported enabling them to feel secure in their environment.

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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 the staff and children during their play.  The inspector sampled documents, policies and procedures.  The inspector completed a joint observation of a group routine with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the resources and equipment on offer and how they are organised to support children's learning and play.

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Information about the setting

Brayford Square Playgroup was registered in 1978. It operates from a purpose built single storey building, situated on the Exmouth estate in Stepney within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Children have access to an enclosed outside play area. There are currently 32 children from two to under five years on roll who attend a variety of sessions. The playgroup receives funding for the provision of free early education to children age two, three and four years. The playgroup currently supports children who speak English as an additional language. The playgroup is registered on the Early Years Register. The playgroup is open each weekday, from 8.45am to 11.45am and from 12.15pm to 3.15pm, during term time only. The playgroup employs two members of staff, both of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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must:

 ensure at least one person holds a current local authority approved paediatric first aid certificate and they must be on the premises at all times when children are present

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must:

 ensure the progress check for children between the age two and three is carried out, review their progress, and provide parents with a short written summary of children's development in the prime areas

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must:

 improve the partnership with parents to encourage them to contribute to initial and ongoing assessments in order to provide staff with a good knowledge of children's abilities and help them to plan activities more effectively to build on what children already know and can do

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must:

 keep a written record of any complaints, and their outcome

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must:

 implement effective self-evaluation systems and use this to drive future improvements by identifying the playgroup's strengths and weaknesses and making sure that staff knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage is fully up to date.

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

 consider further ways to support children learning English as an additional language, for example, by asking parents to share key words, and creating a rich environment where children see symbols and marks which they are familiar with to support their communication and language development.

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who attend

Children are generally happy and settled. Staff create a welcoming and friendly environment enabling children to feel secure. Staff do not successfully encourage parents to contribute to children's initial assessment record, which means they are not able to effectively build on children's starting points. Children's key-persons are able to talk about how they are moving children on in their next stage of development to support their learning and they use focused activities to support individuals and groups of children. However, the methods used to monitor the effectiveness of the educational programme lack rigor Staff also fail to complete the required progress checks for children between the ages of two and three years. This means they do not review children's progress in the prime areas of learning and staff cannot be sure that they are providing children with all the necessary support and challenge they need to promote their further learning. Some

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who attend

sharing of information takes place about children's learning and development. Parents' evenings held bi-annually are used as an opportunity to share children's progress records. However too little is done to promote regular ongoing information sharing, to help staff to get a full picture of where children are in their learning.

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who attend

Although staff are not fully familiar with the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage they do plan a varied range of activities and experiences for children that cover every area of learning. They give children sufficient support, overall, during activities to promote their learning. Most children are confident talkers. Staff use appropriate open-ended questions to encourage children to express their thoughts and ideas. Children enjoy informing adults that they have a 'polka dot top' and others explain that their siblings like pasta. Children attending the preschool are from varying cultural backgrounds. The preschool provides care for children who speak English as an additional language and one member of staff uses their expertise to talk to children in their home language. However, other staff do not obtain key-words in children's home language and display varying languages to effectively support children's communication and language

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who attend

Children make early marks while taking part in drawing and painting activities. They take pleasure using the chalk board while playing outside and they have easy access to a range of books to promote their interest in printed material. The book area is cosy and inviting with soft furnishings. Children enjoy story time sessions because staff ensure they are interactive. Children are encouraged to choose books they would like staff to read. They are given props and benefit from predicting events and imitating actions, such as huffing and puffing. While playing outdoors children chat excitedly about the three snails they have found. Staff use this as an opportunity to talk to children about 'how many' and size to support their mathematical skills. Children spontaneously use some number words. While playing with dried pasta they talk to staff about having lots and others count from one to five before jumping off wooden blocks.

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who attend

Children show a keen interest exploring their environment. They display excitement at finding a spider and observing the spider closely in a container. Children learn about care and concern for living things because staff use this as an opportunity to talk to children about not stepping on the spider. Children learn some aspects of living things by taking part in growing activities, such as, planting daffodils. Children use a range of technology resources to support their understanding of how things work, such as a compact disc player and laptop. Staff provide opportunities for children to talk about and explore change to support their learning. This is because staff seize the moment to catch falling hailstones in a container and allow children to observe the hailstones melt and ask questions about why things happen.

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

Children's well-being is compromised. This is because in the event of a child sustaining an injury while at the preschool staff do not hold a current paediatric first aid certificate. This is a breach of a legal requirement. Children are well behaved and polite. They generally use 'please' and 'thank you' at appropriate times. Children feel good about themselves because they are praised for their efforts, such as putting their coat on. Children follow instructions well and they share snacks with their friends showing kindness and consideration. Children can choose to play indoors or outdoors. They benefit from daily physical play that supports a healthy lifestyle. Children use a range of movements while joining in music and dance sessions. They march on the spot, jump, move back and forth to nursery rhymes such as 'The Grand Old Duke of York'.

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

Children have developed positive relationships with staff. New and upset children settling in are supported appropriately by staff. Staff ensure children are comforted and reassured throughout the day. This results in children engaging in activities and exploring their environment with minimal support. Children's independence skills are promoted through everyday routines. Children make choices at snack times and serve themselves. Children learn to think about their own personal needs because fresh drinking is readily available. Children receive a range of healthy snacks including fruits enabling them to develop positive healthy eating practices. Children are cared for in a clean and well maintained environment. Children follow appropriate hygiene routines to minimise the spread of cross infection, such as washing their hands at appropriate times. However, staff do not talk to children about why they should do so to support their learning and self-care skills.

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

Staff are appropriately deployed both indoors and outdoors to support children's learning and safety. Children learn how to keep themselves safe while playing on the slide because staff spend time talking to them about not being at the bottom of the slide so that they do not hurt themselves. Regular fire drills help children become familiar with the procedures so they know how to leave the premises quickly and safely. Children's transitions to school are appropriately supported. Staff give children's developmental records to their parents to share with children's school. Staff visit children's schools so that they are familiar with the new surroundings and can talk to children about what to expect and provide reassurance about the move, as required.

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provision

Children's well-being is compromised because the preschool is breaching safeguarding and welfare requirements. Staff do not have a clear understanding of the learning and development requirements to effectively support children's future learning needs. Most required documentation for the safe and efficient management of the setting is well maintained

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provision

Staff have a sound knowledge of child protection procedures to help promote children's welfare. Children's safety is promoted through the use of risk assessments of areas they use. Safety hazards are identified and minimised. The preschool is appropriately organised. Children have free and easy access to activities both indoors and outdoors enabling them to make choices about their play. Children learn about similarities, differences and the wider community through planned celebrations and they have access to a range of resources that reflect positive images.

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provision

Since the last inspection previous recommendations have been responded to and these promote positive outcomes for children. Children's independence skills are promoted at snack times and they use a suitable range of media and materials to support their imaginative and creative skills. Although there are processes in place for self-evaluation it is ineffective in identifying all areas for improvement. Staff have developed generally positive relationships with parents. Staff are readily available to talk to parents at the beginning and end of sessions to exchange information about children's play and other general information. Parent's feedback is positive about the care and service provided. Although, parent's views are obtained through discussions and questionnaires, concerns and their outcomes are not documented in a complaints record, as is legally required. Staff work well as a team and regular appraisals are undertaken to support their professional

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provision

development. Staff are encouraged to attend training and forthcoming courses include special educational needs training and training to support children's speech and language. Additionally, staff are working towards undertaking a higher childcare qualification. However, not all training requirements are met.

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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 119555 Local authority Tower Hamlets Inspection number 910585 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 16 Number of children on roll 32 Name of provider Brayford Square Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 01/05/2012 Telephone number 0207 791 2426

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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.

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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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