Rainbow Playgroup

Rainbow Playgroup Eastwood Road, Oundle, Nr Peterborough, PE8 4DF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/06/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

 Teaching is good. Children make effective progress in their communication and language skills because staff skilfully question them, which encourages them to think further. Consequently, children are reaching expected levels of development.  Children's safety is promoted. Staff training and supervision have a strong focus on child protection and all policies and procedures are reviewed and updated regularly. As a result, the safeguarding and welfare requirements are met.  Children and staff form strong relationships because key staff work hard to promote bonds and attachments with children and their families. Children's self-confidence and independence are well promoted and children show good concentration skills.  Partnerships with parents and carers are good because they work together to support and promote children's learning and development. As a result, they make a strong contribution to meeting children's needs and home learning is well promoted.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children moving on to school, outside of the local area, are not given the same consistent opportunities because relationships with these settings are not as well promoted.  There is scope to develop children's knowledge and understanding of the wider world by, for example, enhancing the environment and learning about a range of other communities and cultures.

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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 compulsory part 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 all areas used by the pre-school and she spoke with staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of staff suitability, and a range of other documentation, including the setting's policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out joint discussions with the owner of the setting in relation to observations of the children's play, learning and progress.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of some parents, through discussion and she reviewed the provider's self-evaluation.

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Information about the setting

Rainbow Playgroup opened in 1994 and was re-registered in 2013 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, when moving to new premises. The playgroup is situated in newly built premises in the East Northamptonshire market town of Oundle and it is privately owned and managed. The playgroup serves the local and surrounding areas and is accessible to all children.

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Information about the setting

The playgroup employs five members of childcare staff which includes the manager, who has qualified teacher status. Of the remaining four staff, the deputy holds a qualification at level 3 and three staff are qualified to level 2.

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Information about the setting

The playgroup opens Monday to Friday during school term times. Opening times are from 8.30am until 12pm with funded sessions starting at 9am and an optional lunch club is available until 12.50pm. On Mondays and Thursdays, there are additional funded sessions from 12pm to 3pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The playgroup provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children and there are 29 children in the early years on roll.

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

 strengthen partnership working by promoting communication links with schools outside the local area that children attend, so that they fully benefit from a shared understanding and a common approach to supporting their move to school

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

 enhance children's knowledge and understanding of the wider world by developing opportunities for them to learn about differing cultures and communities.

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who attend

Children are making good progress and their learning and development is well promoted. Staff demonstrate an effective knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use observations and assessments to plan according to children's individual needs and interests. Staff interact well with children and use all opportunities to extend their thinking where possible. For example, during story telling staff ask children questions, which encourages them to think further. Staff demonstrate a genuine interest and enjoyment of their work and join in with children's play. For example, as children create a train, which they use to visit 'the beach', staff join in. As a result, children's learning and development is enhanced because staff openly support and encourage their play. Children's progress and achievements are well reported in their learning journals by the effective tracking system used by staff. Children's individual next steps are identified

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who attend

and incorporated regularly into planning, to support each child's ongoing progress. As a result, teaching is good and children are reaching expected levels of development in readiness for school.

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who attend

Children's communication and language skills are well promoted because staff give ample opportunities for them to speak and be listened to. Staff value what children say and ensure that all their voices are heard. For example, during outside play children are given time to explain their ideas as they create a moat in the sand pit for their ship to float. Their suggestions are warmly received and staff fully encourage them to share their ideas. Consequently, children's personal, social and emotional development is promoted well. Children's independence is good as staff encourage their readiness for school. For example, they help themselves to water throughout the day and are very good at changing from their outdoor to indoor shoes as they move between the inside and outside areas. Opportunities to explore a range of mark making resources are promoted in every session and children are keen to demonstrate how they write their names as they use

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who attend

pens, paper and clipboards in the outside area. Children explore a range of activities and experiences which supports their development in the specific areas of learning such as activities that promote maths development. However, opportunities for children to learn about the wider world are not as well promoted and this means that children's knowledge and understanding of other cultures and communities are not maximised.

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who attend

Children have good opportunities to develop their physical skills as they access the well- equipped outside area, on a freely chosen basis each day. They develop their coordination skills as they ride bikes and trikes and skilfully manoeuvre around their peers. Additionally, children are able to access a range of resources, such as books and water play outside. This means that children can experience the same opportunities as they do inside while accessing fresh air on a daily basis. Partnerships with parents are well promoted because from day one staff encourage them to be a part of their children's learning. During the settling-in period, staff are keen to explore parents' knowledge of their children and use the Early Years Outcomes document to guide them in finding out where parents feel that their children are in their learning. This gives staff a good opportunity to progress from children's starting points and enables parents to be fully involved in their child's learning.

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who attend

Ongoing information is shared with parents on a daily basis and they are encouraged to support their children's learning at home by, for example, the sharing of story sacks. Staff are interested in what children are doing at home and encourage parents to complete observations of their children during play at home. As a result, children's progress and achievements are well supported by this consistent approach to their learning.

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

Children are effectively praised and encouraged on a regular basis, which supports their personal, social and emotional development. For example, staff regularly congratulate children for good listening and good sharing. As a result, children's emotional well-being is promoted. Children behave well at pre-school because they are supported by staff who promote consistent boundaries and role model good examples. Children are encouraged to share as staff use sand timers to support their understanding of taking turns. Additionally, children's confidence and self-esteem at pre-school are very well promoted because staff help them to form effective relationships, attachments and bonds. Children's independence is good and, although staff are very supportive, children are consistently encouraged to be independent in their daily pre-school life. Additionally, resources are of good quality and are stored well to allow children freedom in making independent choices

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

The pre-school key person system works well to support and encourage firm relationships and friendships between staff, children and parents. Children take part in settling-in visits, which are organised on an individual basis according to each family, so their care needs are well supported. The introduction of an afternoon toddler group at the pre-school encourages young children and their families to become familiar with the environment before their move to pre-school and in addition to this they get to know staff well. As a result, children settle with ease and their move from home to pre-school is a smooth one. Children moving on to school are also warmly encouraged by staff, who support them in their understanding of school life during visits to their new school. However, children moving on to school outside of the local community are not always given the same opportunities to explore their new school. As a result, the smooth transition to school for

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

Children are developing a good awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyles. They are provided with a range of nutritious snacks, with staff promoting their understanding of what is good for their bodies through discussion. They have strong opportunities for fresh air and exercise as they take part in outside play on a daily basis and are able to access fresh drinking water at all times. Children also take part in a range of planting and growing activities. They learn about the need to care for growing things and are able to explain that the fruit and vegetables will die if they are not given water. Additionally, as children take part in activities, such as inflating a small boat, as part of their beach topic, they learn about the impact breathing has on their bodies. As a result, children's understanding of being healthy is well promoted. Children's awareness of their personal safety is supported because staff use every day opportunities to talk about this. For

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

example, as children naturally climb over a resource to get to where they want to be staff use the opportunity to support children's understanding of risks and by gently encouraging children to talk about what might happen they develop awareness for their own personal safety. Children are also aware of the precautions they must follow when using tools, such as the hammer and nails activity or when they are using wood in the outside area for building with. As a result, children's understanding of their personal safety is good.

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provision

The Early Years Foundation Stage safeguarding and welfare requirements are met and children's safety is well promoted. Staff are vigilant in ensuring that child are cared for in a safe environment and complete regular risk assessments to support this. Staff are aware of the procedures to be followed in the event of a child protection concern and have attended additional training to support their knowledge. The owner of the pre-school works daily in the setting and manages the overall responsibility on a daily basis. She ensures that staff are suitable to work with children and has completed the required suitability checks on all staff. Staff are vigilant during drop off and collection periods and this means that children are well protected.

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provision

The manager, who has qualified teacher status, demonstrates a good knowledge and understanding of her role and responsibility for monitoring and evaluating the teaching and learning within the pre-school. She observes staff practice on a regular basis and carries out regular supervision meetings and yearly appraisals with each member of staff. In addition to this, the manager monitors and evaluates children's learning journals, as well as completing them herself, to ensure that observations are effective and children's progress is ongoing. The well-established staff team are all qualified and use self- evaluation very well to promote continuous improvement. For example, at the end of each session staff discuss the activities and experiences, which have been available to children. They debate the learning intentions and outcomes to assess children's next steps and future planning. Regular staff meetings are also held to discuss a range of topics so, with

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provision

staff ideas and suggestions incorporated in to the pre-school on a daily basis, the quality of the learning environment is good. As a result, children are effectively supported to ensure that they are making good progress in their learning and development.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are strong because staff and parents work together to support and nurture children's learning and development. The views of parents and children are important to staff and daily communication ensures that these views are incorporated into the pre-school. Parents speak highly of the pre-school staff and comment on how their children arrive and settle happily each day. They enjoy the parent consultations offered and the daily discussions ensure that their children's needs are met accordingly. Partnerships with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage are good because staff work closely to promote a consistent approach to children's learning.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY465195 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 943157 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 29 Name of provider Catherine Louise Goldsmith Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 07803241409

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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

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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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