Gorsewood Pre-School Playgroup

Gorsewood Pre-School Playgroup Gorsewood CP School, Gorsewood Road, Murdishaw, RUNCORN, Cheshire, WA7 6ES

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 02/05/2014 06/10/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2

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This provision is good

 Staff plan interesting activities to engage children and use effective teaching techniques that promote children's learning and development. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress from their starting points.  Managers and staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities to keep children safe. There are robust policies and procedures in place to protect children and, as a result, children are well safeguarded at the setting.  Staff know the children well because they observe them closely and spend time talking to their parents. Children feel safe and secure at the setting and, consequently, they settle quickly.  Partnerships with parents and other agencies are good. Staff work closely with other professionals to ensure they are using correct strategies for individual children and, therefore, children's needs are well met.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always fully challenge children's thinking skills by consistently using open- ended questions during play.  Peer observations are not yet frequent enough in order to have a fully positive impact on staff's improving performance.

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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 observed activities in the playroom and the outdoor learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked staff qualifications and suitability to work with children, along with induction and supervision records and a sample of policies.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed children's planning and assessment records, tracking of achievements and the setting's own self-evaluation and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a joint observation with the deputy manager, held a meeting with the management team and spoke to staff at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents spoken to on the day and within the setting's own questionnaire.

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Information about the setting

Gorsewood Pre-School Playgroup opened in 1978 and is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from a designated room within Gorsewood Primary School, in the Murdishaw area of Runcorn. The setting is managed by a committee of parents, whose children attend the setting. It is open Monday to Friday, during term time from 8.45am to 11.45am and 12.20pm to 3.20pm. Children have shared access to an enclosed outdoor play area within the school grounds. There are currently 46 children in the early years age range, all of whom attend on a part time basis. The setting receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It serves children from the local community and supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are currently six members of staff, all of whom have an appropriate early years

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Information about the setting

qualification. Three of the staff have qualifications at level 2, two staff have qualifications at level 3 and one holds a qualification at level 4. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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

 enhance children's thinking skills further by using open-ended questions more frequently during activities

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

 extend the current process of supervision to include more frequent observations of staff and feedback to help them improve even further in order to raise children's attainment to the highest level.

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who attend

Staff provide a wide variety of interesting activities which engage and motivate children. Furthermore, they consistently use a range of effective teaching strategies to extend children's learning. For example, they model language, extend sentences and introduce new vocabulary as they play. They use sign language and give children appropriate time to understand and respond. As a result, children are making consistent and, in some cases, rapid progress in communication and language skills in relation to their starting points. Staff use opportunities during play to use numbers and count with the children. For example, they count the petals on the flower that children have made with play dough. Therefore, children are developing good number skills and learning to count in sequence. Children have access to a wide range of books and staff are on hand to share stories with them and, sometimes, their favourite stories are tuned into activities. For example,

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who attend

children have been enjoying a story about a pirate finding treasure, so staff support children to make maps and then go into the outdoor learning environment to search for treasure. Consequently, children are developing an understanding that books carry meaning and using their imaginations to extend the story into their play. Staff talk to children about how to construct a building in the construction area, or how much play dough is needed to make a sausage. Therefore, children learn problem solving skills. While staff use some open-ended questions, this is not consistently applied and so children's thinking skills are not always extended.

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who attend

Staff observe the children closely and record what they find in children's learning journals. They use this information to plan activities that interest children and meet their individual needs. Assessments are regular and accurately reflect children's abilities. This ensures that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress towards the early learning goals. Where children's starting points were lower than other children of their age, assessments show that they are improving over time. Children are gaining the skills they will need for their next steps in learning, particularly as they move on to school.

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who attend

Partnerships with parents are good. Staff collect a range of information from parents as children start at the setting and this is used to establish children's starting points. Regular conversations ensure staff know about children's achievements at home and parents are kept informed about what children are learning at the setting. Parents are very complementary about the setting, in particular about the progress their child is making and how they are encouraged to be involved.

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

Staff know the children well because they carefully observe them and spend time chatting to parents to find out about their child's needs. This means they know about children's interests, routines and learning styles. Children are able to come to staff if they need reassurance and staff are always emotionally available to them. This helps children to settle quickly and feel secure at the setting. Transitions to other settings are managed effectively and, as a result, children are emotionally prepared for their next steps in learning. The setting has access to various parts of the school building and so children are familiar with the environment. Staff take children on visits to the classrooms and talk to children about what it will be like. Relationships are strong at all levels as staff support children to make friends and to respect each other. Staff are good role models, using polite language to each other and to children and give consistently clear messages about

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

what is acceptable behaviour. As a consequence, behaviour at the setting is very good.

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

The setting is well resourced and organised. There are interesting displays, including annotated photographs of the children participating in activities, along with printed words and numbers. Resources are well presented and stored at low levels, giving children opportunities to select what they play. Therefore, children are becoming independent. Furthermore, they are learning how to manage their own care needs, with appropriate levels of support from staff. They independently use the bathroom and staff encourage them to use fasteners on clothes. There are opportunities for children to practice their skills as they dress up in various costumes for role play. Children also learn how to keep themselves safe as they hold hands and listen to directions while walking through the school. They have daily opportunities to play on large equipment outdoors and staff remind children how to stay safe. Therefore, they are learning how to manage risk.

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

Healthy lifestyles are well promoted at the setting. Children have access to fresh air and active play on a daily basis and they have healthy snacks and drinks. Staff use snack time to talk to children about the benefits of healthy food and dental health is also discussed. As a consequence, children are learning about the importance of healthy lifestyles.

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provision

Managers and staff have a comprehensive understanding of their responsibilities to keep children safe. There are robust recruitment and selection procedures, which ensure new staff are carefully vetted before they work unsupervised with the children. A thorough induction process includes safeguarding policies and procedures and staff attend regular training to ensure they know what to do if they have a concern about a child. There are effective procedures for the collection of children by their parents or carers, which includes passwords. The door is kept securely locked, which ensures unwanted visitors cannot access the setting and children are unable to leave without an adult. Thorough risk assessments are carried out and staff check the premises daily to ensure they are safe. Accidents are carefully recorded and shared with parents and medication policies are effectively applied. As a result, children are very well safeguarded while at the setting.

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provision

Managers have a good understanding of their responsibilities to implement the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children's planning and assessment files are monitored frequently and children's achievements are discussed at team meetings and supervision sessions. This ensures there is a clear focus on how children are progressing and support for staff to continue to drive forward children's learning and development. The progress children make is beginning to be tracked and this is having a positive impact on how the team organise and plan activities. For example, some children were doing less well in some areas of learning, so staff accessed appropriate training and implemented different strategies. As a consequence, children are now progressing well across all areas. There are high expectations of staff and this is reinforced through regular team meetings and one-to-one supervisions. An established

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provision

programme of professional development helps staff to improve their knowledge and skills, through accessing relevant training. Managers sometimes observe staff and give feedback. However, this is not yet frequent enough to have an impact on improving practice further. Self-evaluation is continuous. Managers and staff identify the setting's strengths and weaknesses, using comments from parents and observations of children. A focused improvement plan is reviewed regularly and appropriate actions taken to address weaknesses. As a result, the setting has made considerable improvements since their last inspection to ensure good learning outcomes for children.

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provision

Partnerships with parents and other agencies are good. Staff effectively share information about individual children with other professionals to ensure they are implementing strategies appropriately. For example, they liaise closely with speech and language specialists and carry out their recommendations for particular children. Meetings are arranged with school staff to ensure transitions are managed well and they are fully prepared to meet the children's needs. Referrals are made to appropriate agencies if staff feel they need further support in meeting children's needs. As a result, staff are able to fully support children's all round development and ensure they make good progress. Parents are encouraged to be fully involved in their children's learning and development. Their views are collected using a comprehensive questionnaire. Furthermore, staff ensure parents know that their views have been taken into account by displaying a useful notice

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provision

near the door. Therefore, parents know that their opinions are valued and used to make improvements to the setting.

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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 303476 Local authority Halton Inspection number 876701

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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 46 Name of provider Gorsewood Pre-School Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 06/10/2010 Telephone number 01928 820 669

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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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