Blisworth Pre-SchoolOfsted inspection, 6 Mar 2014

Blisworth Pre-School Village Hall Stoke Road, Blisworth, NORTHAMPTON, Northamptonshire, NN7 3BZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/03/2014 05/10/2009

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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 provide a welcoming, warm and caring environment in which to care for children. This helps to promote children's sense of security and belonging and supports their emotional well-being.  Staff sensitively support children in settling into the group. Transition from home and within the nursery is addressed well. Partnerships with parents are positive.  Children show that they are happy and growing in independence and confidence as they freely explore the range of resources on offer.  Children are kept safe in the pre-school. Staff give good priority to keeping the premises secure and know the procedures to follow in the event of any concerns.

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It is not yet good because

 Observation and assessment is not analysed effectively, as staff are not consistently using observations to accurately assess children's learning and to plan appropriate challenge to extend children's learning across the seven areas of learning.  The supervision of staff is not sufficiently focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning. This does not fully improve staff's personal effectiveness in the implementation of the learning and development requirements.  Children do not have daily access to fresh air and outdoor play. Consequently, they do not have sufficient opportunity to learn about healthy lifestyles and physical exercise.

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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 room used.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager of the provision, the nominated person and spoke to staff throughout the inspection when appropriate.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Blisworth Pre-School opened in 1971; it is managed by a voluntary management committee, made up of parents and past parents of children at the pre-school and members of the local community. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register only to care for 26 children. The nursery operates from the village hall in Blisworth, Northamptonshire; it has use of one large room and associated facilities. The group serves the children from the surrounding villages and the outskirts of Northampton. There are steps at the front entrance of the setting with level access to the rear. The setting opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 9am until 12noon on Mondays and Fridays with a lunch time club until 1pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

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Information about the setting

Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. The setting is able to support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. The setting employs four members of childcare staff all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 improve the implementation of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use observations more effectively to develop precise assessments of children's level of achievement, interests and learning styles. Use these assessments to shape learning experiences across the seven areas of learning to challenge children so they can make good progress

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must:

 develop further the supervision of all staff to ensure teaching and learning requirements are fully implemented to enhance and extend children's learning experiences

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must:

 develop opportunities for children to play in the outdoor environment on a daily basis, so children can enjoy fresh air and take part in play that further promotes healthy living and their skills in physical development.

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who attend

Staff at the pre-school have sufficient awareness of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements. Planning is in place and broadly covers all the areas of learning. Observations are recorded in the children's learning journals supported by photographs and examples of the children's work. However, the information gained is not used with full effect to plan the next steps across all areas of learning and results in some activities lacking a good level of challenge. Consequently, this has an impact upon the progress that children are able to make and this, in particular applies to the more able children. Arrangements are in place to track children but they are not being used effectively. This results in them not being able to measure children's progress across all areas. Staff supervise children appropriately, but teaching does not always have depth or breadth to challenge all children.

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who attend

Resources are set out on tables and the floor which children can easily access and all areas of learning are accounted for. Children have access to a computer which they use independently and with confidence to make marks and complete simple programs. This develops their awareness of everyday technology. Children are able to access role-play resources and books to encourage the development of imagination. Children enjoy listening to stories and join in with actions, staff use props, good expressions and facial gestures to engage the children. This supports them to adequately learn skills for the future and prepares them well for sitting and listening to instructions in preparation for school. However, on occasions, routine tasks and activities are not sufficiently focused on teaching and learning, for example, children are asked to choose books under the direction of staff and sit for an inappropriately long time. Children enjoy drawing with

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who attend

large chalks and pencils, the children confidently use scissors to cut around the shapes they have drawn. Children are keen to show their key person what they have made. Staff give children time to share their experiences and praises their contributions, all of which helps to develop children's communication, language and literacy skills. Many children are highly confident communicators. They ask questions and thoroughly enjoy being involved in conversations with adults. They share with the inspector what they like to play with at the pre-school and who their friends are.

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who attend

Some arrangements are in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children with English as an additional language. Staff find out about the language children use at home from their parents, when they start attending the pre- school. Therefore, they are aware of their backgrounds and language they may use. Staff work hard to help children learn about similarities and differences in people in ways they can easily understand and relate to. For example, children learn about different customs and traditions through, creative experiences and songs. Staff celebrate children's birthdays and encourage all children to sing the happy birthday song, making individual children feel valued. Parents are provided with information everyday about the activities their children have participated in and are encouraged to comment in their learning journals.

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

Staff work closely with parents and children to help with the settling-in process. This helps to foster relationships and ensures children are supported during the transition from home into their care. A key person system is in place and children are happy and settled. Children feel safe and secure and staff support their emotional well-being very well. Children arrive extremely happy and politely greet the staff by name and they express their own needs and views during the session.

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

Overall, children's behaviour is good; children listen to instructions and respond to requests. Staff take opportunities to praise the children. For example, they are praised for selecting their names during self-registration, turning pages in a book, picking up toys and participating in story time. As a result, their self-esteem is enhanced and they feel good about themselves. Staff talk to children to help them learn about being kind, giving clear reasons to help children appreciate the benefits. This means children are beginning to develop social skills and are learning how to respect each other. Staff reinforce safety rules so children learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, they explain to children that they should be careful with scissors as they might cut themselves if they are not held correctly.

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

Children are developing their personal independence through selecting from the adequate available resources, working independently and moving freely between activities. Children take part in occasional outings. For example, children walk to the local shops and post office. However, daily access to the outdoor environment is not being made; staff are not taking advantage of the newly acquired outdoor space. As a result, children's learning experiences about healthy lifestyles and physical exercise is not being promoted. Staff promote children's self-help skills and emerging independence well. For example, the pre- school operate a rolling snack where children are encouraged to feed themselves and pour their own drinks. The children manage their personal care, such as, washing their hands before snacks. Therefore children are gaining an awareness of personal hygiene practices in order to protect their own health.

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provision

Required ratios are consistently met and children are well supervised at all times. Security arrangements are effective, ensuring children cannot leave the premises unsupervised. In addition, visitors are asked to provide full identification and are required to sign into the visitor's book. Appropriate recruitment and selection procedures are in place to assess staff and committee members' suitability and staff are not allowed unsupervised access to children until all checks are completed. All staff are qualified in first aid and as a result, children can be appropriately treated in the event of an accident. The staff team and chairperson are aware of procedures they must follow to safeguard children. Information on the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures is easily accessible and the written safeguarding policy contains all of the required information. This policy and a range of other policies and information for parents are easily accessible. Therefore, children are

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provision

There is suitable capacity for continuous improvement. Management and staff have met the recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. This has an impact on the children's learning and health. Self-evaluation is currently completed by all the staff and reviewed on an annual basis. Staff attend training and work with the local authority advisors and some action plans for general improvement are in place. However, the supervision of staff is not sufficiently focused on improving the quality of teaching and learning. Therefore, staff's implementation of the learning and development requirements is not fully effective to ensure that children make as much progress as they can.

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provision

Management and staff in the pre-school are very friendly and welcoming to parents and visitors. They personally greet them on their arrival and show a genuine interest in what they want to talk about. Children's learning journal records are shared with parents and they can access a range of information in the form of displays, photographs and newsletters. A great emphasis is placed on daily, face-to-face communications, achieved through the meet and greet open door policy. Staff are beginning to invite parents to formal, organised sessions to discuss their children's time at the pre-school. Parents are highly complimentary about the caring nature of the staff, they feel confident leaving their children, knowing that they are happy safe and secure. Parents know who their children's key workers are and they feel comfortable raising any concerns they may have. Systems for effective working with other early years providers, such as local schools are in place.

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provision

For example, opportunities are made for the local reception class teachers to come and visit and meet the children who will be leaving for school. This helps to ensure a smooth transition to the next stage of their learning.

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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 220219 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 865861

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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 34 Name of provider Blisworth Pre-School Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 05/10/2009 Telephone number 0780 3662433

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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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