Dosthill Park Pre-School Playgroup

Dosthill Park Pre-School Playgroup Dorcas Centre, off Blackwood Road, TAMWORTH, Staffordshire, B77 1JE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/07/2014 02/12/2008

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 2 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Staff place a high priority on safeguarding children. Robust risk assessments, stringent safeguarding procedures and the development of strong relationships ensure children feel physically safe and emotionally secure.  Staff work closely with parents and carers and other professionals to ensure children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are appropriately supported and fully included.  Children enjoy making choices and decisions in their play and learning both indoors and outdoors, which develops their confidence and independence.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff are not confident about the identified next steps for all children. Therefore, children are not always fully challenged in their play and learning.  Staff are less focused on supporting children's skills in communication and language and do not support all children to use and develop their home language in their play and learning.  Managers do not ensure supervision and coaching is strongly focused on teaching and learning. This does not fully support continual improvement.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playroom and in the outdoor environment.  The inspector held meetings with the manager of the pre-school.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers included in the self- evaluation and spoken to on the day of inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the staff about the daily routines, children's individual learning and self-evaluation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of policies and procedures, which included safeguarding and complaints, risk assessments, children's assessment and planning records and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of all staff working with children.

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Information about the setting

Dosthill Park Pre-school Playgroup opened in 1992 and is on the Early Years Register. It is situated in a community centre in Dosthill park, near to Tamworth town centre. The pre- school is managed by a committee and serves the local area. It is accessible to all children and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The pre-school employs 11 members of childcare staff. Of these, seven hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, one at level 4 and two members of staff hold an early years qualification at degree level. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday during term time. Sessions are from 9am until 12 noon and 1.30pm until 4pm from Monday to Friday. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 68 children attending, all of whom are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language

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Information about the setting

and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 improve the planning and assessment of children's learning and ensure that all staff are confident with how to use this and are able to understand and make sense of children's individual next steps that have been raised so they can fully challenge children during their play and learning

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must:

 improve children's skills in communication and language by, for example, limiting music played during sessions, using open questions with many possible answers, and taking appropriate steps to support all children to develop their home language in their play and learning.

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

 improve the monitoring of the teaching and learning in order to support continual improvement.

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who attend

Overall, staff have a suitable understanding of how to promote children's learning through play. They provide children with interesting activities and experiences that cover the seven areas of learning. Resources are wide ranging and easily accessed by children both indoors and outdoors. This ensures children are supported to make good decisions in their play, which develops their self-confidence and independence. However, the development of children's skills in communication and language, is less well-planned by staff. For example, the progress children make for listening and speaking is hindered by music playing in the background throughout the session. In addition, some staff are less skilled in using open-ended questions when speaking with children. For example, at group times, staff ask questions about family holidays which require a one word answer, instead of using questions that lead to many possible answers. This does not fully support children to

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who attend

use language to connect ideas or describe the breadth of their experiences. Nevertheless, many children confidently use speech to engage with others, constantly asking questions of adults and visitors to the setting as a means of widening their contacts. Some children who attend the pre-school speak English as an additional language. However, staff do not provide opportunities for this group of children to use and speak in their home languages during their play and learning. This does not support their language development at home.

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who attend

Overall, children are working within the typical range of development for their age and are sufficiently well prepared for school. Staff observe children at play and record their findings in children's individual development folders. The information is used by the children's key person to assess the progress children are making and identify the next steps in their learning. Parents are kept well informed of their children's learning in various ways. They benefit from attending planned meetings with their children's key person and from receiving summary reports throughout the year. Parents are also encouraged to share information of their children's learning and development observed at home. For example, their wishes for their children's learning is recorded on the wish list tree and they record their children's achievements on balloons and kites which are displayed on the wall. However, teaching is variable as staff are not confident about the decisions made by the

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who attend

key person about some children's learning. This results in children not always being fully challenged or supported to attain a consistently good level of learning and development. For instance, when children are identified as needing support in handling tools and equipment, staff do not use all opportunities to encourage them to build with bricks, for example, or to throw balls or use tools in the sand.

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who attend

Children thoroughly enjoy a fun day linked to the theme of holidays. They are motivated and excited as they enter the pre-school dressed in summer clothes, such as sunglasses and summer hats. They enjoy exploring the fun activities linked to this interest both indoors and outdoors. For example, some children quietly sit and concentrate as they explore play dough using their hands and tools, such as rolling pins. Other children enjoy using their imaginations as they explore sand in the role-play area set up as a beach. They are supported by staff to make sandcastles using buckets and spades and show great excitement as they wade in water provided for them in the paddling pool. This develops their physical and creative skills. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported appropriately by staff so that they can confidently access all aspects of the provision. In this way, their growing independence is suitably fostered, as they develop

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who attend

the physical skills they need to coordinate their body movements and safely travel around the environment. As a result, they are able to join in the play with others, and have great fun bouncing on a blow-up dolphin and playing in the water. This develops positive relationships with adults and their peers.

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

Children and their parents and carers are supported by a key person to gradually settle into the pre-school. They are warmly greeted by staff at each session and children enter the pre-school happily. This develops strong and trusting relationships and promotes children's emotional well-being. Children are supported by staff to confidently say goodbye to their parents and quickly engage in play, demonstrating they feel safe and secure. As children get older, their move onto school is carefully managed by the pre-school to ensure children are ready for the next stage in their learning. Teachers from local schools are invited to visit the pre-school and meet with children and their key person in order to become familiar with children's individual needs. This helps children to settle into school more easily and embrace this new experience with self-confidence.

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

Staff promote children's physical well-being in various ways. For example, children enjoy a healthy and nutritious snack time, which promotes their understanding of a healthy lifestyle. They are encouraged to develop their independence by serving themselves to drinks and confidently choose from different fruits. In addition, outdoor play is used effectively to ensure all children get fresh air and exercise each session and develop their physical skills. Children are free to explore the outdoor environment by choice and take pleasure in riding bikes and dressing up as their favourite superhero. Overall, children behave well in the pre-school, showing an understanding for the routines and boundaries set by staff. This helps children to keep themselves and others safe. For example, children know to stop what they are doing when the lights are turned off and are praised for listening to each other when speaking during circle times. This also develops children's

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

self-esteem and helps them to learn respect for adults and each other.

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provision

All staff fully understand and fulfil their responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff demonstrate a strong knowledge and understanding of child protection procedures which includes the action to take if they are concerned about a child's welfare. Safeguarding policies and procedures are written clearly and concisely, displayed in the pre-school and shared with staff and parents. Training, in specific areas, such as, safeguarding, food safety and first aid, is accessed by all staff to strengthen their knowledge and understanding of current guidelines and regulations. Safe recruitment and vetting procedures are followed, to ensure that the suitability of all staff working with children is checked, monitored and clear records are kept. This includes obtaining information about employment history, qualifications and completing Disclosure and Barring Checks. Staff carry out robust risk

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provision

assessments of the pre-school environment and surrounding outdoor areas. This supports them to successfully identify and minimise all hazards, which ensures children are kept safe and secure.

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provision

Most staff within the pre-school are well-qualified and demonstrate a suitable knowledge of the learning and development requirements. They show a commitment to continually improving the quality of the pre-school and the outcomes for children. The manager and staff use self-evaluation appropriately to identify the pre-school's strengths and areas that need to be developed. Sufficient improvement has been made since the last inspection. For example, risk assessments are effective and written documentation is maintained. However, although staff benefit from an effective induction into the pre-school, and obtain support from attending team meetings and annual appraisals, supervision is less focused on the quality of teaching. This impacts on the quality of learning children receive and explains some of the inconsistencies. Nevertheless all staff are enthusiastic and work closely with each other and with parents and other professionals. For example, there are

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provision

plans for committee members to observe the practice within the pre-school to improve monitoring of teaching and learning. In addition, the manager is seeking to improve the planning of children's next steps.

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provision

Partnerships with parents and carers are strong. Parents benefit from daily discussions with friendly staff and are fully informed of planned events and ongoing changes. The views of parents are sought as part of the pre-school's self-evaluation, and they are encouraged to complete written questionnaires. Parents spoken to on the day of inspection demonstrated complete satisfaction in the service provided. For example, some parents were particularly pleased with their children's development of their social skills. They commented on how staff ensure children develop the skills needed for school and all parents felt confident to discuss any problem they may have with the staff and manager. Staff also ensure they are developing positive relationships with other professionals who might also be working with children. For example, the pre-school works closely with speech and language therapists, health visitors and specialist nurses. This ensures

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provision

children's needs are discussed and understood and children receive appropriate interventions.

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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 218132 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 865711

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 68 Name of provider Dosthill Park Pre-School Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 02/12/2008 Telephone number 01827 260527

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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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