Uley Under 5s Playgroup

Uley Playgroup Village Hall, The Street, Dursley, Gloucestershire, GL11 5AL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/03/2014 08/04/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 4 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 2

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This provision is good

 Staff are confident in their teaching and provide children with a good range of activities that capture and sustain their interest. As a result, children make good progress in their development.  Staff are secure in their knowledge and understanding of safeguarding matters, As a result children's safety health and well-being are effectively supported.  Children are confident in the nursery environment because they know what is expected of them. They behave well and become independent individuals who make their own choices and decisions.  Positive relationships with parents and carers are developed through effective induction arrangements and frequent communication. This means information is continually gathered and exchanged, which benefits each child's ongoing care, learning and development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Arrangements for making sure children can regularly access drinks are sometimes affected by other daily routines, causing some delays in children having a drink.  Systems for monitoring staff performance do not yet fully include peer observations to enable staff to learn from each other through honest and critical reflection.

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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 had a tour of the premises and observed children playing the playrooms and the outdoor area.  The inspector spoke with staff, children and parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including children's records, safeguarding procedures, risk assessments, policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children and discussed the provider's improvement plan.

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Information about the setting

Uley Playgroup operates from Uley village hall, in a rural location on the outskirts of Dursley, Gloucestershire. The facilities include an entrance hall, main hall, side room, kitchen and toilets. Outside play areas include an enclosed semi hard surfaced strip to the side of the premises and an enclosed orchard to the rear. The group serves local villages and outlying areas. The playgroup is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 37 children in the early years age range on roll. The playgroup receive funding for the provision of free early education for three-and four-year-old children. The playgroup offer support for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The playgroup is open during term times only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am to 1pm, with younger children collected at 12 noon. On Thursdays, sessions are from 9am to 3pm.

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Information about the setting

There are five members of staff who work with the children of which four members of staff holds an appropriate childcare qualification.

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

 review routines and facilities for making sure all children can have frequent access to drinks throughout the session

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

 build on existing systems for monitoring staff performance so children continue to receive the best teaching and care possible; for example, by fully establishing the use of peer observations for staff.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good because the manager and staff recognise that children learn through play and provide a stimulating and welcoming environment where children feel confident and secure. They have a good understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how to engage and capture children's attention. They skilfully facilitate children's interests so that children are absorbed in their activities and are consistently engaged in purposeful play. Staff complete regular observations of children, which they share with parents. Information gained from their observations and discussions provides staff with a clear picture of each child's individual learning and development needs. Staff monitor their planning of the activities so that they can be sure that they are covering all areas of learning with a broad and balanced curriculum. Staff also closely monitor individual children's achievements. As a

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who attend

result, children are making good progress throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage and developing skills for their future learning.

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who attend

Children thoroughly enjoy their time in the setting. They have made firm friendships and play together well. For example, children role play that they are at the doctors. They ask each other if they have a temperature and take on different roles. Staff skilfully extend children's vocabulary further by introducing words, such as 'pharmacy' and 'prescription' This means that language skills are developing within a meaningful context as children gain an awareness of the world. All children have good opportunities to make marks. For example, as they use paint, crayons, and chalk. Staff make use of the dedicated book area to reinforce topics and children's interests. Staff sit with the children and look at books about farms. Children get very excited and join in as they point out the different animals that they recognise. This interaction also helps to develop children's recognition of colours and size as they tell staff that the tractor is big and brown and the cow is black and white.

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who attend

Staff ask good open ended questions while reading the book, encouraging children to think about the colours of the animals and asking where they live. Children receive lots of praise as they reply with the correct answer. This helps to develop older children's recognition of colours and understanding of the world in preparation for future learning.

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who attend

Children develop their mathematical and positional language during play. Problem-solving skills are encouraged as children complete puzzles and build models using a wide range of construction bricks. Children use numbers and counting as they play, and develop a good understanding of shape, space, size and colour. Staff help the children develop secure mathematical skills. For example, they instigate counting frequently and use a number line in a fun and skilful way to encourage children's recognition of numerals and the correct sequencing of numbers. Children have good opportunities to access the outdoor play area. They enjoy jumping on a trampoline and negotiate climbing equipment. They learn about nature and show enthusiasm and excitement in doing so. Children show delight as they find a woodlouse. Staff support the children while they name the parts of the woodlouse; for example, one child says 'it has knees'. Staff are enthusiastic and encourage the

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who attend

children's participation. This promotes the children's confidence, self-worth and helps to ensure each child feels valued.

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who attend

Strong relationships with parents are formed early on and clear and frequent lines of communication mean parents are well-informed and kept regularly updated with information. There is good emphasis and focus to involve parents in children's learning so this can be continued at home and shared between both settings. Initial assessments of children's starting points on entry are completed by staff and shared with parents. Verbal communication and home-link books are shared between the setting and home to help ensure information regarding children's daily care routines is passed on effectively. This enables staff to gain a good knowledge of each individual child's likes, dislikes and care routines. Learning profiles are available to parents, and provide them with an overview of their child's progress and development. This, in turn, enhances the opportunities for parents to share information about their child's achievements at home, and further

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who attend

involves them in their child's learning and assessment.

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

Children are happy, relaxed and confident in this very welcoming and friendly environment. Staff ensure children feel safe and secure as they get to know their individual needs well. They take time talking to parents during their initial visits, which supports children in the move between pre-school and home and helps to ensure they have a strong bond and attachment with their key person. Parents are fully aware of who their child's key person is and liaise daily with them, regarding children's routines and what they have enjoyed doing during the day. Staff are aware of the importance of each child having a key person to create secure bonds and attachments with, in order to successfully learn and develop. Children are well behaved because staff are good role models, who implement consistent strategies and offer children explanations and lots of praise. They are developing a thorough understanding of right and wrong because

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

explanations staff provide are simple and age-appropriate. For example, staff give children gentle reminders and positive praise for tidying away resources and equipment. Children are then motivated to co-operate.

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

The premises are clean and well-maintained and resources are of good quality. All children show a strong sense of belonging in the pre-school and approach staff with ease to make their needs known. This helps them form secure bonds and promotes their emotional and physical well-being. Older children are observed to say 'please' and 'thank you' to their peers and staff as they eat their snack and help themselves to a good selection of fruit and a drink. Children are also encouraged to pour their own drinks and put away their cups and plates. Although drinks are readily available to children at snack and lunchtime, with additional jugs of water and cups provided in between. However, the cups are sometimes tidied away for a short while, which means that those children playing outside may miss the opportunity to have a drink when they come indoors. Children have access to daily fresh air and an outdoor environment, which is rich in opportunities for them to

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

develop their physical skills. For example, children roll hoops and tackle a range of levels and surfaces, as they climb grassy mounds and run on concrete. This allows children to be independent, play with their friends, use their imagination and become entrenched in their play and learning.

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

Staff are consistently supportive of children's own efforts and developing independence, as they encourage them to zip up their coats and fasten buttons on their clothing. They offer praise and encouragement, such as 'good listening' and 'good trying' to promote children's self-esteem and well-being. Staff ensure that good hygiene practices keep children safe and healthy. For example, children learn to independently wash their hands before mealtimes and after going to the toilet. Children's safety is given high priority. Staff are attentive at all times, ensuring children are well-supervised and kept safe without restricting their independent investigations. Staff teach older children to risk assess for themselves. For example, children take turns to be the designated 'safety monitor' for the session. As a result, the children are developing a good understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe. Children develop their understanding of equality and diversity

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

through a wide range of activities. They taste foods from around the world and participate in role play. Through effective teaching, children are developing their knowledge that everyone is different and are learning to tolerate each other's differences. This is demonstrated through the strong relationships they have both with staff and their peers and is helping to prepare them for the larger social environment of school.

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provision

The leadership and management of this setting are good. All staff demonstrate a high level of commitment, drive and ambition to driving improvement and raising the standards of the provision. The management team has a comprehensive knowledge of the learning and development requirements. The manager evaluates the planned learning to help ensure children's experiences consistently offer them challenge. This ensures children maintain good progress across all areas of learning and development. Ongoing mentoring of staff means training programmes are identified and discussed at appraisal meetings, and any mandatory training is updated. However, the use of peer observations is not fully developed to help tackle any underperformance and improve the ability of staff, who already have effective teaching skills.

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provision

Rigorous recruitment and induction procedures are in place to ensure staff are suitable to work with children. Induction procedures help new staff to be confident in implementing the setting's policies and procedures effectively. Comprehensive policies and procedures, including a complaints policy, are in place and shared with parents. Children's safety and well-being receive good consideration. Staffing arrangements help to ensure that children are well-supervised at all times. Risk assessments are completed and daily safety checks help to ensure staff provide an overall safe environment. The manager and staff in the nursery have a thorough understanding of child protection issues and give children's safety high priority. They have all have attended safeguarding training to develop their knowledge of how to keep children safe. There are clear lines of accountability and staff are vigilant.

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provision

All users of the pre-school and the staff are involved in evaluating the provision. The manager supports parents' understanding of the nursery's practice by providing copies of the policies and procedures. They demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the service the setting provides. The management team takes into account that parents often have very busy lives, so their views are sought in a variety of different ways, including questionnaires and daily discussions. This helps staff to work effectively in partnership with parents. Staff reflect on their practice and appropriate changes take place as a result. For example, in response to parental feedback and staff observations of the children, the morning circle time arrangements have been changed around so some activities are more enticing for the children. This shows a continued capacity to improve the provision for the children.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are strong. They are extremely pleased with the care and learning provided for their children. Parents report that staff are friendly and they appreciate staff teaching them about the different areas of learning, as this helps them to continue children's learning at home. Staff keep parents up to date about their children's progress and have the opportunity to share their opinions and concerns during arrival and departure times and at pre-arranged meetings. Staff and management are fully aware of the need to work alongside other professionals, such as speech and language therapists and the local authority. They also establish links with local schools and other settings that children attend, resulting in consistency of children's care and learning.

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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 101520 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 916820 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 37 Name of provider Uley Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 08/04/2013 Telephone number 07896587983

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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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