Promise ChildcareOfsted inspection, 9 Apr 2014

The Forest Chapel Playgroup The Forest Chapel, Charnwood Drive, LEICESTER FOREST EAST, Leicestershire, LE3 3HL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/04/2014 13/01/2014

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 Safeguarding of children is compromised because parents are not suitably informed that they should not use mobile phones while on the premises.  Deployment of staff and supervision of children is not always effective. This results in periods of time throughout the day where staff do not consistently interact, support and engage children in purposeful play experiences and ensure their safety.  The key person system is not effective in meeting the needs of all the children, resulting in some children's well-being not being fully supported.  Children do not always make adequate progress in their learning because staff do not use their assessments of the children's next steps for learning to inform their planning. This results in teaching not providing challenge to extend and support children's learning.  Leadership and management of the playgroup is poor because the manager fails to monitor the educational programmes effectively to ensure all children are making

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This provision is inadequate

progress and any gaps in their are identified. Monitoring of staff practice is in its early stages and does not yet set challenging targets for improvement.

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It has the following strengths

 Parents speak highly of the playgroup and staff work well with other agencies.

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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 children during indoor and outdoor activities.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the staff and manager at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records and a range of other documentation.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers.

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Information about the setting

The Forest Chapel Playgroup was registered in 1996 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a small chapel in Leicester Forest East and is privately owned and managed by a single provider. The playgroup serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from two rooms and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The playgroup employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, five hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and 3, including the manager who holds Early Years Professional status and a member of staff who has Qualified Teacher Status. The playgroup opens Monday to Friday during term time, from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Wrap- around care is offered, before and after school. There are currently 43 children attending who are in the early years age group. The playgroup provides funded early education for

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Information about the setting

three- and four-year-old children. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The playgroup is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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must:

 ensure that the safeguarding policy is clear about the use of mobile phones at the setting and that all parents, carers and visitors are informed about the updated policy

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must:

 deploy staff so that children are effectively supervised at all times, to fully ensure their safety and that each child is effectively supported and actively engaged in purposeful play experiences

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must:

 ensure the key-person system helps staff to met the needs and promote the well- being of all children, particularly when staff are absent for long periods

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must:

 ensure that supervision and performance management focus on improving the quality of teaching so that staff's knowledge and confidence improves and challenging targets are set

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must:

 use information gained from assessments of children's next steps for learning to plan challenging learning experiences for children and monitor the educational programmes to ensure that all areas of learning are sufficiently covered and any gaps in learning can be identified.

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who attend

Staff obtain information from parents about what their child already knows and can do when they first attend the playgroup. Regular observations and assessments of children's learning enables staff to identify children's interests and next steps in their learning. However, the next steps identified are not used to plan activities that take into account the skills children have already acquired. As a result, activities do not challenge all children and they are not making good progress towards the early learning goals. This also means they are not adequately prepared for the next stage in their learning and the move to school. Parents are kept informed about their child's progress through regular progress summaries and daily communication. Staff give some parents suitable ideas of how they can support their children's learning at home.

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who attend

Since the last inspection, the manager and staff have worked hard to provide children with activities that motivate and interest them. Resources are improving and staff attempt to use children's interests to support their learning. For example, a group of children who were interested in pirates, enjoyed reading treasure maps and hunting for treasure. This supports children's emerging reading skills because they are learning that pictures and print convey meaning. Staff provide children with gold coins, pirate books and resources, such as pens, pencils and crayons to make marks. Children are excited by these resources and are keen to draw maps and treasure. When children enjoy playing in the water, staff model play and vocabulary appropriately. This supports children's understanding and use of language, and encourages them to use new words. However, this teaching is not consistent throughout the playgroup. Small group adult-led activities are not suitably

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who attend

organised to meet the needs of all the children. For example, during a craft activity children are given ready cut templates and staff draw shapes for children to stick on their Spring animals. Children are not asked to think about the resources they need and think creatively about ways to make their Spring animals. Staff do not take into account that there are a range of abilities within this group that require different levels of support. Older and more able children are merely occupied by these activities, they are not challenged to extend their learning and creativity because staff fail to plan according to their needs and interests.

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who attend

Children are given opportunities to develop their physical skills. Babies enjoy using sit on rockers, climbing and using slides. Older children are able to practise climbing, riding wheeled toys, manoeuvring their bodies and negotiating their way around the available space. Children enjoy playing in the role-play areas both inside and outside. However, these activities occupy children but do not challenge them sufficiently in their learning. This is because staff do not always engage in children's play when needed, for example, to ask them open-ended questions which extend their learning.

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

The provider has breached some welfare and safeguarding requirements, so children's sense of security and well-being is compromised. For example, the playgroup does not ensure parents are fully informed about not using mobile phones on the premises and this does not safeguard children's welfare. The playgroup promotes a healthy lifestyle because children have regular access to exercise and outdoor play, along with healthy and nutritious snacks. The staff encourage the children to learn to put their coats on and to pour their own drinks and clear their own plates after eating. This contributes significantly to children's self-confidence and motivation to be independent. Children are learning good hygiene routines and know they must wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating.

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

There is a key-person system in place at the playgroup. Each child is assigned a key person and parents have good relationships with staff. However, the key-person system is not adequately embedded because the quality of staff knowledge, understanding and practice is not consistently good across the entire playgroup. In addition, when staff are absent due to long term sickness, there are no alternative arrangements made to support children with another key person. Staff communicate well with each other during the day to generally ensure that there is safe supervision of the children when taking them to the toilet and outdoors. However, the supervision of the children inside is not adequate because staff do not notice children who require support in their play. Staff are not suitably deployed around the room to be actively involved in children's play and support their individual needs. For example, when young children are climbing on apparatus they

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

are not always suitably supervised or helped to manage their own safety. This puts children at risk of injury because they take inappropriate risks.

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

The move to school is managed through a good partnership with the local school. Staff take children on visits to their new school. This enables children to become familiar with their new surroundings and supports children to be emotionally ready for school. Children's behaviour is generally good because staff give them clear boundaries and children know what is expected of them.

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provision

Overall the leadership and management of the playgroup is inadequate. The manager does not demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and this has a direct impact on children's safety and well-being. For example, she does not manage and deploy staff adequately to ensure that children are supervised and safe at all times while attending the playgroup. This means that legal requirements are not met and this also applies to the Childcare Register. Following a recent incident, the manager appropriately notified Ofsted and a full investigation took place into the circumstances. The manager suspected that a parent had used a mobile phone when in the playgroup. She has identified steps to prevent recurrence. The manager plans to amend her policy on mobile phones to make it clear that the use of personal mobile phones is unacceptable. In addition, she plans to

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provision

inform all parents and carers that mobile phones are not to be used while they are on the premises. Although the manager has been prompt in identifying these actions, they have not been implemented. The manager has appropriate systems in place to ensure those working with children are suitable to do so. For example, she gains references and completes Disclosure and Barring Service checks on all staff. Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of the signs and symptoms of abuse and can describe procedures that they would follow to protect children from harm or neglect, should a concern be raised. In addition, they have a secure knowledge of the procedure to follow if they had a concern about another member of staff should this arise. Staff hold current paediatric first-aid certificates and suitable qualifications to work with young children.

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provision

The manager and staff have an improving knowledge of how children learn and have made some improvements since the last inspection. Staff now provide babies and children with sensory experiences which engage and support their learning. With the support of the local children's centre rhyme times have improved and children are now motivated and interested to learn, in addition teaching has improved in some areas. Staff make observations and assessments of children's learning and generally identity next steps for children's learning. However, they do not take into account the children's next steps for learning when planning activities. Consequently, activities lack challenge for some children to extend and support their learning. The manager monitors staff performance through supervisions, appraisals and is starting to monitor their practice through observations. However, this is not focused on setting challenging targets to improve their teaching and

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provision

the children's learning. The manager fails to effectively monitor the educational programmes to ensure all children are making progress, all areas of learning are sufficiently covered and any gaps in learning identified. Children do not, therefore, make sufficient progress in their learning.

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provision

Staff form positive relationships with parents who are pleased with the care and learning that their children receive. To aid all children, good links have been established with outside agencies, such as the local children's centre and other agencies. This means that children's specific needs are assessed and that appropriate support is given over time.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that children receiving childcare are kept safe from harm (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that children receiving childcare are kept safe from harm (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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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 226487 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 967460

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 23 Number of children on roll 42 Name of provider Ruth Lynam Date of previous inspection 13/01/2014 Telephone number 07882 883 935

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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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