Trinity Methodist Playgroup

Trinity Methodist Playgroup Trinity Methodist Church, Hallam Crescent East, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE3 1FH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/02/2014 29/06/2010

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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

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This provision is inadequate

 The designated lead practitioner has not completed the relevant child protection training and the provider has not ensured that staff fully understand the safeguarding policy and procedures or have an up to date knowledge of safeguarding issues. Therefore, safeguarding procedures are not secure.  Recruitment procedures with regard to determining the ongoing suitability of staff are not established. This compromises children's welfare.  The key person system does not ensure children are settled effectively to promote their emotional well-being.  The learning environment is not effectively organised and staff's knowledge and understanding of the characteristics of effective learning is inadequate. They do not plan effectively to ensure children benefit from rich learning opportunities.  Regular staff appraisals are not carried out, which means ongoing training needs are not identified effectively, and this results in weak teaching practice.

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This provision is inadequate

 Staff do not effectively support children to understand about good hygiene practices.  Procedures to monitor the overall quality of the provision are ineffective, which means children make poor progress in their learning.

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It has the following strengths

 Relationships and partnership working with most parents are good.

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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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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.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documents, including suitability records, staff files, the safeguarding policy and a selection of written records.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the children and staff and held discussions with the registered person.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff and children interacting during activities in the main playroom and hall.

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Information about the setting

Trinity Methodist Playgroup opened in 1994 and is on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from a large hall in the Trinity Methodist Church in Braunstone and serves the local community. Access to the premises is by steps and a ramp. There is an outdoor play area that is accessible via two small steps.

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Information about the setting

The playgroup opens every weekday during term time from 9.15am until 12.15pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The playgroup also operates a summer play scheme which runs during the summer holidays for two weeks. There are currently 28 children on roll in the early years age range. The playgroup supports children who speak English is an additional language and provides funded early education for three- and four- year-olds. There are six part time staff who work with the children. Of these, one holds an early years qualification at level 2, four hold level 3 and the manager holds level 6. The setting is a member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance.

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must:

 ensure that the designated lead practitioner attends relevant child protection training course

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must:

 ensure that all staff are trained to understand the playgroup's safeguarding policy and procedures, and ensure that all staff have up to date knowledge of safeguarding issues

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must:

 implement robust recruitment procedures that ensure that staff have a clear understanding of the expectation for them to disclose any factor that would affect their ongoing suitability to work with children

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must:

 ensure the key person system helps children become familiar with the playgroup and offers a settled relationship for the children to effectively promote their emotional well-being

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must:

 use information obtained from observing children to understand their level of achievement, interests and learning styles. Shape learning experiences for each child reflecting those observations to help children make the best possible progress in their learning and development

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must:

 support children to develop the characteristics of effective learning by ensuring that room and session organisation enables high quality play experiences and interaction with adults and each other

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must:

 ensure regular staff appraisals are carried out in order to identify opportunities for continued professional development and improve their teaching skills.

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

 improve procedures to monitor the overall quality of the provision, including the quality of teaching and the delivery of the educational programmes, so that children make good progress

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

 support children to better understand the reasons behind good hygiene practices, with specific regard to hand washing.

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who attend

The quality of teaching across the whole staff group is not consistently secure. This means that the needs of all children are not met effectively and limits significantly their progress in order to be ready for school or the next stage in their learning. For example, staff do not intervene and join in at appropriate times during children's play and activities. Children are often playing on their own for long periods of time. This means that valuable opportunities for learning are missed. Staff have received training from the 'Every Child a Talker' government scheme. However, there is not enough evidence of the impact of this training with regard to improving the quality of teaching and learning. For example, during a carpet time session all children are asked sit in a very small, cramped space. There is not enough room and children become agitated and unsettled. A member of staff uses flash cards for a calendar and weather activity. Many children do not listen and they fidget

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who attend

and talk over the teacher. This is because the activity is not appropriate for such a large group consisting of two-, three- and four-year-old children who have very different learning and development needs. As a result, their learning needs are not met.

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who attend

Staff plan activities across the seven areas of learning that are adult-led and also ensure that children can choose what to do. However, adult-led activities are usually focused on producing a finished item, for example, a butterfly painting or a display about the Winter Olympics. These sorts of activities do not effectively support children to develop the characteristics of effective learning. Children do not get vital opportunities to engage in open-ended play; they do not have long, sustained periods of time to explore, concentrate, think and talk about things that fascinate them. Furthermore, the playroom, resources and session organisation do not facilitate opportunities for effective teaching and learning. The playroom is cluttered and untidy and there is an excess of furniture. This means there are no quiet, calm places for children and adults to talk and listen. The hall space is not utilised effectively, for example, too many push-along toys are housed in

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who attend

the role play area and children wander around with these in the playroom instead

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who attend

Parents are encouraged to provide information when children first start at the playgroup, for example, information about their child's likes and dislikes. Ongoing discussions and sharing of information take place between parents and staff at the start and end of sessions. Children's next steps for learning are shared termly with parents, who sign the planning form when they have seen it. Children have regular opportunities to borrow books from the playgroup. Observation and assessment procedures are implemented and individual children's progress is tracked. However, identified priorities are not effectively used to inform the planning of challenging experiences that are fully matched to their ongoing learning needs. This means that children do not make rapid progress. For example, staff plan to support a child to 'spell' his name, but use strategies, such as providing dotted name cards for the child to trace over, which are not appropriate. Staff

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who attend

understand the requirement to complete the progress check at age two so that they are aware of children's development at this stage. However, staff lack the knowledge and skills to meet the differing needs of very young children.

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

The playgroup has a key person system in place and most children form trusting relationships with the adults who care for them. Parents are invited to stay when children first join. This means that most children separate from their parents and make the transition from home to playgroup with ease. Parents spoken to on the day of the inspection are happy with the partnership and most children are settled with staff. However, the key person system does not offer children effective support to ensure emotional well-being. For example, some children who are upset at the start of the session are left for long periods of time in a corner of the room with no staff support or interaction. Consequently, this has a negative impact on children's self-esteem and emotional well-being.

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

There are missed opportunities for staff to interact with children and support them with their understanding of good hygiene practice. While staff support children and ensure that they wash their hands after messy play activities or before snack, children do not always know and understand the need for this. They know how to take sensible risks in their play and staff support them to stay safe and to have a go. For example, children climb up soft play steps and jump, run, hop or walk down a soft slope. Staff offer to hold the hands of less confident children as they negotiate their way across the apparatus. They give children gentle reminders about the safe use of the space and equipment in the hall.

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

Children are provided with a range of healthy snacks, such as pieces of cucumber, banana and apple. They are supported to select the fruit they want by pointing to a menu board. This means that children who do not want to speak in large group situations can make their needs known. Staff model positive behaviour and encourage children to say 'please' and 'thank you' when taking a piece of fruit off the serving plate. Children are encouraged to pour their own milk from large jugs. This provides scope for them to practice their physical skills and encourages them to be independent. Children respond well to the visual timetable and some are able to confidently explain the meaning of the different pictures. This means children are supported to understand and anticipate what is going to happen, particularly for children who speak English as an additional language. It also provides structure and predictability and promotes independence. For example, children readily

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

help to tidy up when they hear the bell and see the picture for this routine activity.

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provision

The leadership and management of the playgroup is inadequate. The provider was not able to show evidence that the designated person responsible for safeguarding has completed relevant training. She was also vague in her understanding about certain aspects of the safeguarding procedure and policy. In addition, the provider has not ensured that she has trained staff to fully understand their role in safeguarding children, or the playgroup's safeguarding policy and procedures. This compromises children's safety and puts them at risk. There are adequate systems for recruitment in place and all staff and volunteers working with children have been subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check. However, the provider does not ensure that staff have a clear understanding of the expectation for them to disclose any factor that would affect their ongoing suitability to work with children. Systems, such as routine risk assessments for

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provision

ensuring the children are kept safe on a day-to-day basis, are in place and are operated effectively by staff. For example, the premises is kept secure at all times via a door locking system on the front door to the playroom, and parents and visitors only gain admittance when vetted by a member of staff answering the door. Visitors are asked to sign a visitors' book.

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provision

Systems for monitoring staff practice are ineffective, which means that the quality of teaching is generally poor and inconsistent. Suitable arrangements are in place for staff supervision; however, systems for regular staff appraisals to ensure their continuous professional development are not in place. This means children do not make good progress in their learning. Ineffective self-evaluation results in the leadership and management having a poor and inaccurate picture of practice and provision at the playgroup. This means that effective plans for continuing improvement are not put in place.

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provision

Parents are very happy with the playgroup and express their satisfaction. They comment that their children are happy and that they are made aware of their children's learning needs and progress. Staff work alongside other professional organisations, such as the local authority and Sure Start centres, to improve the quality of the playgroup. The playgroup has good partnerships with local feeder primary schools. Consequently, transition for children from playgroup into school is good.

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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

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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 226920 Local authority Leicester City Inspection number 818336

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 28 Name of provider Trinity Methodist Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 29/06/2010 Telephone number 0116 2892182 0116 2332967

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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

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’.

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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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