Fiveways Playcentre

Fiveways Playcentre Between 8 &10 Florence Road (Rear), Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 6DJ

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/06/2014 17/01/2014

p.1

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

p.1

This provision is good

 Children are very happy and relate well to the staff team. This is because their individual needs are met through good partnership working with parents.  Staff provide a well-resourced learning environment both inside and outside the setting. This means children have lots of opportunities to make choices and develop their independence.  Children's critical thinking and problem-solving skills are very well fostered by staff who consistently use open questions to prompt children's thinking.  Management and staff have a strong drive for improvement. They use a range of self-evaluation systems to monitor different aspects of the pre-school to continuously benefit the children.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 The staff are not routinely engaging all parents in supporting their children's next steps in their learning at home, to contribute to the children's learning processes.  Staff do not give children consistent explanations to help them learn to manage their own behaviour.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector had discussions with the management team and most staff members.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled records and documentation relating to children's progress and development.  The inspector observed children engaged in activities indoors and outdoors.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector and team leader undertook a joint observation of an outdoor activity at the pre-school.  Six parents were interviewed and their views taken into account.

p.2

Information about the setting

Fiveways Play Centre re-registered in 2011. It is run by a management committee. It operates from a purpose-built premise which includes the Gateway Children's Centre in Brighton, East Sussex. The play centre is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm term time only. Some play schemes operate throughout the year from 8.30am to 3.30pm. They have access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

p.3

Information about the setting

The play centre is registered on the Early Years Register and compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 111 children on roll in the early years age range. The play centre receives funding for the provision of free early education. In addition, there are 113 afterschool children on roll. Children come from the local community area. The play centre supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are learning English as an additional language.

p.3

Information about the setting

There are currently 34 members of staff who work a variety of sessions with the children. Of these, 28 members of staff hold relevant childcare qualifications at level 3. One member of staff has a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Early Years and Education.

p.3

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

 strengthen strategies that successfully engage all parents in supporting their children's learning at home and in contributing to the learning processes

p.3

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

 ensure that staff implement behaviour management strategies effectively to help children achieve positive outcomes.

p.3

who attend

Children are making good progress in their learning and development. The staff have a thorough knowledge of each child's needs and plan a broad range of activities to support their learning effectively. The pre-school uses an extensive range of resources and activities efficiently, both indoors and outdoors, to promote children's development in all seven areas of learning. For example, children develop physical agility and risk-taking skills using the climbing logs and play house slide. They explore different creative materials, sand, water, jelly and junk modelling developing a range of skills to express their own ideas. The team of staff have a secure understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements. They use this knowledge well to a plan and teach challenging learning experiences that take account of children's interests and help them move on in their learning.

p.3

who attend

Staff used a recent topic on life cycles to teach the children about nature as they watched tadpoles grow into frogs. They grow plants and are curious at learning about mini beasts in the garden. These experiences also help to support children's social and emotional development as the staff encourage them to think about their own and others' feelings and caring for living things. Staff consistently interact with the children to develop their communication and language skills successfully. They interact positively, asking challenging questions such as 'what will happen if?' to develop children's thinking, and extending their language. For example, children are encouraged to talk about the creatures under the sea as a story is told. They use props such as fabric to drape over to allow the children to imagine been under the sea, giving it meaning, context and purpose for the children.

p.4

who attend

Staff carry out an initial assessment together with the parents when children first start, to help them plan for a child's individual learning and provide a consistency of care. They systematically record observations of children's progress and link these back to planning. Staff use these assessments of the children to help them implement the progress check for two-year-old children, to share with parents and outside professionals.

p.4

who attend

Strong partnerships are developed with parents and carers. Parents spoken to during the inspection know their child's key person. They speak highly about the pre-school, commenting how their children love coming and how the staff are very skilled when getting the children ready for school. One parent expressed, 'my child is settled and has come on leaps and bounds developmentally'. Systems are effective in keeping parents well informed about their children's care, learning and development. This is through informal daily discussions, termly meetings, fundraising events and newsletters.

p.4

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

Children are happy, settled and content. Staff have a good understanding of children's individual needs from detailed settling-in sessions and assessment of their starting points. They provide reassurance for less confident children, which help them form secure emotional attachments. Staff are skilful in identifying the needs of children and they are prompt to engage and include all children in activities that will be of interest to them. This helps to ensure they are happy and developing a sense of belonging. Staff foster children's independence well and consequently, they are confident to ask for help from adults. Staff follow effective care practices, which help children feel emotionally secure and promote their physical and emotional health. Staff respect children's privacy and ensure they maintain this during toileting times to protect children's well-being meaning that children feel safe and secure.

p.4

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

Staff help children develop a good understanding of healthy lifestyles. They encourage children to adopt good everyday personal hygiene practices, such as hand washing before eating. The pre-school provides varied healthy snacks during the day, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, breadsticks and hummus. Staff regularly cook with the children as they talk about what food is good for them. Children have access to the outdoor area on a daily basis, which provides them with ample room to run around and plenty of opportunities for fresh air and physical play. Drinks are readily available and children learn about the effects of exercise on their bodies. For example, as they tell staff they are getting a drink as they have tired legs after playing on the see-saw in the garden.

p.4

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

Children play with an impressive range of resources, the majority of which are available for them to reach independently. The staff provide visual aids, photographs and labelling around the setting such as on the boxes within the storage units. This supports children's developing literacy skills and helps them to find the resources that they want to play with easily. The staff manage children's behaviour generally well and have recently undertaken training. However, staff do not always consistently explain the consequences when conflict occurs. Staff teach them to take turns and share resources from an early age so this becomes common practice by the time they are ready for the move to school. Children learn to keep themselves safe, for example by practising the regular fire drill evacuations and being taught to use scissors sensibly.

p.5

provision

The staff have recently reviewed their practice and continue to do so in detail to drive improvement in the quality and outcomes for children. A detailed action plan highlights areas of improvement and these are evident, such as planning for children's individual needs is more secure. Children's progress is monitored effectively as staff are able to identify when a child is in need of support to help narrow gaps in their learning. Staff effectively evaluate the activities together with the children. Staff take into account their voice and views to consistently aim to improve practice and show the children their opinions matter. They work closely with support staff from the local authority, actively seeking advice to help improve their provision.

p.5

provision

Staff have a secure understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The clear policies and procedures, which have recently been reviewed and updated, are implemented to support the smooth running of the pre- school. The pre-school shares these with all staff and parents to ensure a collaborative understanding of the care and education the children receive.

p.5

provision

Effective recruitment and vetting procedures are in place to enable management to check the suitability of staff to work with children. Staff regularly update their safeguarding training and all staff hold a relevant first-aid qualification. This means they have a good understanding of safeguarding issues and the procedures to follow in the event of a concern about a child in their care. The management team follow clear induction procedures to make sure that staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities. These are regularly monitored and then reviewed through supervision and appraisals, identifying targets for professional development. This means that staff work together well, regularly share information and develop their knowledge and skills to improve the quality of the pre-school for children.

p.5

provision

Staff establish strong partnerships with parents and others involved in children's care. Parents meet their key person each term. However, although systems are in place, for parents to view their children's files not every parent routinely contributes to the ongoing learning process. The pre-school exchanges information with other providers when children move settings, and there are well-established relationships with the local primary schools to support children in their transition to school. Staff communicate with parents, other settings and outside professionals to effectively put in place strategies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or children who are learning English as an additional language. This ensures that the needs of all individual children are being successfully met.

p.6

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

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number EY422545 Local authority Brighton & Hove Inspection number 965363 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 52 Number of children on roll 111 Name of provider Fiveways Playcentre Date of previous inspection 17/01/2014 Telephone number 01273500257

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

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’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10