Coaley Village Playgroup

Coaley Village Playgroup Coaley Primary School, The Street,Coaley,, Dursley, Gloucestershire, GL11 5EB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 05/03/2014 30/09/2008

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 The role of the key person is clearly established, which helps to strengthen children's confidence and self-esteem when they first start.  Staff are nurturing towards all children and offer encouraging praise throughout the day which motivates them to learn.  The playgroup promotes a healthy lifestyle by providing a good range of nutritional and healthy snacks and children have daily opportunities for fresh air and exercise.  The learning environment is child-friendly and suitably arranged so children can access resources located in low-level storage units and shelving.

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It is not yet good because

 Arrangements for supervising and monitoring staff performance and practice are not fully established and robust enough to support good outcomes for children.  Children's assessments are inconsistent at times and their starting points are not always clearly identified. As a result, information taken from observations is not used fully to effectively plan children's next steps and track their overall progress.

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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 playing in the main room and the outdoor area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the play leader, the staff and the children throughout the inspection and undertook a joint observation with the play leader.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, the planning documentation and the systems for monitoring of children's progress.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and sampled a range of documentation.  The inspector spoke to parents and carers and took their views into consideration.

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Information about the setting

Coaley Village Playgroup registered in 1994. It operates in the playgroup room and hall at Coaley Primary School in Gloucestershire. The playgroup has access to an enclosed outdoor area. The playgroup serves Coaley village and surrounding areas. There are currently 20 children on roll within the early years age range. The playgroup receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The group opens on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday from 8.45am to 3pm and on a Friday morning from 8.45am to 12.45pm, during school term times. Children attend for a variety of sessions including full day, morning and afternoon. Children are cared for by four staff. Of these, three staff hold recognised qualifications in early years at level 3. One staff member is currently working towards her qualification in childcare at level 2. The playgroup is registered on the Early Years Register.

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must:

 ensure there are appropriate arrangements in place for the supervision of staff, which includes opportunities for staff to discuss any issues, particularly concerning children's assessments, and provide coaching for staff to improve their effectiveness

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must:

 improve methods of monitoring assessment and planning to ensure all staff accurately use information from observations to plan the next steps in children's learning to help them make good progress towards the early learning goals.

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who attend

Staff have a generally sound understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They demonstrate a sufficient knowledge of the learning and development requirements by providing a range of activities in all areas of the playgroup, which cover the prime and specific areas of learning. Following the last inspection, the staff have made changes to the planning by introducing a balance of daily adult-led activities as well as child-initiated play experiences. Staff observe children to see any emerging interests and record this in children's individual learning diaries. For instance, the children have shown an interest in pirates recently. Therefore, with the assistance of the staff, the children have created their own pirate ship outdoors using a range of different materials. Staff demonstrate that they follow children's interests. However, they do not always use information gained from observing children, to help them support children to make good progress, particularly in

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who attend

acquiring the necessary skills towards reaching the early learning goals. As a result, staff at times miss opportunities to reflect in their plans where children need further support, in order to stretch them in their learning. In addition, children who are less able do not always receive the targeted support they immediately need to narrow and quickly close any gaps in their learning.

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who attend

The learning environment is child-friendly and set up so children can access resources in low-level storage units and shelving. This encourages children to make free choices about their play and help themselves to resources. Staff use appropriate teaching skills to support children's communication and language skills throughout their daily activities and routines. For example, staff discuss pancake day with the children by exploring the different ingredients they used at home with their parents, including their favourite pancake toppings. Staff are skilful in asking open questions that encourage children to reflect and extend their use of language. They follow children's interests by making pancakes at the playgroup in line with the current theme. They further extend this by celebrating 'World Book Day' and planning an adult-led activity, where children make their own 'pancake hand puppet' for story telling. Children enjoy creating their own unique

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who attend

hand puppets; they show good levels of concentration and work well in a group as they describe what their puppet looks like. This experience also provides opportunities for children to develop and extend their creative interests as they use a range of creative resources. Children further learn how to handle tools such as scissors and make marks with pencils. Staff celebrate children's achievements by showing their hand puppets made earlier to the rest of the group. Staff then follow this by introducing a story-telling session using 'Mr Pancake' and the other individual pancake puppets the children made earlier. The children get fully engrossed in this learning experience as they stand in front of the group and role play using their hand puppets, which encourages their use of imaginative skills. This further provides opportunities for children to develop their interests in stories as well as stretch their language development as staff model language well. Children develop

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who attend

their confidence, social and communication skills because staff encourage them to speak in front of others while participating in group learning. Staff encourage children's understanding of numbers through everyday activities. They count the number of letters on their name card and play number games outdoors, where they also learn to recognise the correct number before jumping onto the number mat. This provides them with the skills needed to be ready for the next stage in their learning.

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who attend

Staff keep parents well informed on a day-to-day basis. They talk to parents everyday and encourage parents to share information about their children when they first start. Parents complete 'all about me' forms every term, which staff then use to update their knowledge of children's current interests and experiences outside of the playgroup. Staff also complete progress checks for children who are two-years-old and invite parents to share in this assessment. However, the progress checks are not consistently recorded, which means it is not always clear what stage of development children are at, in order to plan their next steps.

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

Children and parents receive a warm welcome from staff. Each child has their own key person who helps them settle. The role of the key person is clearly established, which helps to strengthen children's confidence and self-esteem from when they first start. The environment in the playgroup is homely and welcoming, which helps children to move around freely between the indoor and outdoor areas with ease. Consequently, children grow in confidence once they have settled, and begin to explore and investigate as part of their play.

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

Children are well behaved and good mannered. They show an increased understanding of acceptable behaviour and staff effectively role model expectations to them. Staff are nurturing towards all children and offer praise and encouragement throughout the day. They use 'high-five' to acknowledge children's good work as well as reward their efforts by using a sticker chart. Parents are encouraged to complete 'wow' vouchers to record their special moments outside the playgroup, which staff then use to celebrate their experiences with other children. Consequently, this promotes children's self-confidence and self-esteem.

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

Children learn about different people and communities through adult-led experiences as well as through role play, dressing up as community people such as fire fighters and nurses. The playgroup celebrates world festivals including more recently, Chinese New Year. This helps to extend children's understanding of different people and cultures from around the world. Children show a strong sense of belonging at the nursery. The staff have requested family photographs, which they have used to create a family tree, which is displayed for them to make connections and feel emotionally secure.

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

Staff help children to learn about managing their personal hygiene. For example, they support children in washing their own hands before snack and after using the bathroom. Staff have taught children a hand-washing song, where they sing about washing germs away by imitating the actions along to the words. Staff consistently take all opportunities to encourage children to develop their independence and self-care skills. For example, during snack time, the children select their own healthy fruit from the serving bowls. They independently go over to the next table to collect milk and water, if needed, to refill the small non-slip jugs, which they use to pour their own drink. Children take turns, waiting patiently for the biscuit tray to be passed around, and are polite in saying please and thank you; staff at times remind them if they forget. The playgroup promotes healthy living by providing nutritional and healthy snacks and drinks. Parents bring in prepared

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

lunches from home and staff work closely with parents to ensure the contents of packed lunches are healthy. In addition, the school offers parents the option to purchase for their child a hot school dinner. The children relish trying the different fruits during snack time, which parents bring in daily for them to share with others. Staff use meal times as an opportunity to extend children's language and vocabulary as they learn the names of the fruits. Children have daily opportunities for fresh air and exercise. They have access to an outdoor space, which can be accessed as part of free-flow as well as a number of outdoor areas including the school playground. The children go on daily visits to the forest school area to explore their natural environment, which is located at the end of the school field.

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

Staff have put good measures in place to keep children safe and secure. For example, they conduct daily checks in the indoor and outdoor environments before the children start the session. Staff teach children about keeping safe during their play and when handling equipment such as scissors. When outdoors, staff remind children to use the scooters and ride on play vehicles safely. Consequently, children are learning how to keep themselves safe as they play.

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

Staff effectively organise children's transition to school by working closely with the reception class teacher and parents. The playgroup is located on school premises and most of the children move on to this school and already have siblings who attend. The staff arrange for the children to attend six weekly visits during the last term, before leaving the playgroup to start school, which helps them to settle. The key person also prepares transition records for each child, which is then passed on to the next teacher to support their next stage of learning.

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provision

The playgroup is managed by a voluntary management committee. The nominated person has been newly appointed and demonstrates a secure understanding of her role in meeting the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. The play leader manages the day-to-day operations of the playgroup and works closely with the nominated person and other committee members to ensure suitable arrangements are in place to safeguard children from potential harm. For instance, there are clear procedures for recruiting staff in line with their recruitment policy. All staff are appropriately vetted, early years qualified and suitable to work with children. Staff are deployed appropriately in all areas of the playgroup. The arrangements for meeting appropriate adult to child ratios including qualification requirements are effective in safeguarding children. The play leader is the designated person for safeguarding. She has

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provision

completed advanced child protection training to extend her knowledge. All staff have done safeguarding training. This ensures that they understand their responsibilities towards the children in the playgroup and know what steps to take if they have concerns about a child.

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provision

The management committee ensures new staff and volunteers receive a suitable induction programme and relevant policies are shared. Management meet with staff to conduct their yearly appraisal where they discuss local training. Despite this, the arrangements for supervising and monitoring staff performance and practice are not fully established and robust enough. For instance, staff do not always receive regular one-to-one supervision to help them understand, develop and make improvements in their roles, in particular in relation to using ongoing assessments plan for children's next steps in learning.

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provision

The play leader satisfactorily understands and delivers the learning and development requirements. She is motivated to further develop her knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has attended a phonic programme and has used knowledge gained from this course to run a parents' workshop on developing children's early reading skills by introducing phonic sounds. The play leader has further completed an early years special needs course as part of her role as the designated special needs coordinator. Changes to the planning system have been made since the last inspection and this area has now improved to reflect a balance of adult-led activities in all seven areas of learning, in both indoor and outdoor spaces. The manager has identified a new tracking form to record children's progress. However, the tracking form is at its early stage of being discussed and implemented, mainly due to the initial weaknesses in assessment

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provision

records to ascertain fully children's stages of development.

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provision

The management committee and playgroup staff show they are committed to future development and improvement. They are supported by the local authority early years team and receive termly visits from the consultant to identify areas for improvement. The staff team have completed a self-evaluation, which clearly identifies key strengths and weaknesses in the provision. The staff work with parents to obtain their views through parent questionnaires and use children's questions to reflect their interests to inform future plans. Overall, partnership with parents is good. Parents have access to a range of policies and procedures through the provider's website and further receive regular newsletters with key dates of events and information to support their child's learning both at home and in the playgroup.

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provision

The play leader has established good links with other settings that children attend. She has introduced a communication book to pass on messages to children's key person including what topics will be covered each term, in order to consolidate their learning experiences at both settings. Parent spoken to on the day comment that 'staff are very supportive and really fantastic' and 'the playgroup provides a welcoming environment and my child is very happy here.'

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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 101562 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 952822 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 20 Name of provider Coaley Village Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 30/09/2008 Telephone number 01453 890 424

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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

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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