Little Eaton Playschool

Little Eaton Playschool Little Eaton Playgroup, 113 Alfreton Road, Little Eaton, Derby, Derbyshire, DE21 5DF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/07/2014 24/06/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 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. Staff complete concise, detailed assessments of children's progress to plan activities that meet their individual learning needs. Consequently, children make good progress in all areas of learning given their starting points and capabilities.  The manager and staff are committed to continually enhancing the service they provide. Through their own self-reflection they are able to identify areas of strength within the playschool and areas for development to enhance the service further.  Staff provide a very warm and welcoming environment where children settle very quickly, feel safe and secure and their emotional well-being is promoted effectively.  The manager and staff have a secure knowledge of the safeguarding procedures and use this to safeguard children and promote the health and safety of the children in their care.  Strong relationships have been formed with parents, which helps to consistently meet

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children's play is interrupted to go outside. As a result, they are not always given sufficient time to pursue their learning or return to their previous activities to complete them to their satisfaction.  Staff sometimes miss opportunities for children to practise their pre-writing skills and develop the use of numbers and print outside.

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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 spoke with staff, parents and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector observed children's activities indoors and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager and conducted a joint observation of staff working with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled paperwork including policies, risk assessments, procedures and children's learning files.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff and managers.

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Information about the setting

Little Eaton Playschool opened in 1969 and is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is committee run and operates from the United Reformed Chapel in the village of Little Eaton, Derbyshire. The playschool is open Monday to Friday during term time only. Sessions run from 9am until 11.30 and 12.30 to 3pm. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the playschool also runs a lunch club between 11.30am and 12.30pm. There is also an option for children to attend 9am until 3pm on those days. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 42 children on roll, all of whom are within the early years age range. The playschool provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children and supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are six members of staff, of whom five hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3.

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Information about the setting

The nursery receives support from a member of staff from the local authority.

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

 review children's story and outdoor play times, to ensure children's play is not sometimes interrupted and enables them to pursue and revisit activities to complete them to their satisfaction

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

 provide more opportunities to encourage children to write for different purposes and develop further the use of numbers and print outside to encourage children's interest in letters, numbers and writing.

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who attend

Children make good progress across all areas of learning. This is because staff have a secure understanding of how young children learn. They constantly take note of children's achievements, taking pride when they say a new word or achieve in a new task. Staff have effective observation, assessment and planning systems to ensure they have a clear picture of each child's individual learning needs. This means they have a good knowledge of children's starting points, the progress they make through the Early Years Foundation Stage, and what children's next steps for learning are. Staff use the information they collect to plan for and provide a wide range of challenging and stimulating activities that encourage children to actively explore and investigate as they play. These successful systems enable key persons to provide parents with a regular written summary of their children's progress through the different areas of learning. Effective communication and

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who attend

partnership working with parents means they also contribute towards their children's learning. They add their own observations and photographs from home to the learning journals records and identify what next steps they would like their children to achieve. Staff have highly effective tracking processes to note down children's achievements. These are used by key persons to identify any gaps in children's learning and complete the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years. This enables staff to identify when early intervention is needed so that children receive the appropriate support to meet their learning needs. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are wholly included in this process and make good progress given their starting points.

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who attend

Children are enthused and well motivated to learn. The room is buzzing with excitement. Children are confident learners who happily talk to staff and their friends about what they are doing. Teaching in the playschool is effective and developmentally appropriate. Children are active and really enjoy their learning. They concentrate and listen to instructions and independently choose their play, gaining useful attitudes and skills for the eventual move to school. They are engaged and show curiosity and staff promote and enhance learning through play with positive attitudes. However, children's play is sometimes interrupted when they have to stop outside play to have story time and must tidy away the toys they have been playing with. As a result, children are sometimes not given sufficient time to pursue their learning without interruption, or to complete or return to their activities to their satisfaction. Staff use open questioning and purposeful dialogue

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who attend

effectively during activities to support children's good communication, language and literacy. Children listen very attentively to a wide range of stories and look at books independently in the cosy book area. Overall, staff promote children's early literacy skills well. However, there are fewer opportunities for children to consistently practise their pre- writing skills by making meaningful marks for different purposes, for example, when playing outside.

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who attend

Children love playing in the mud kitchen outside. Here, they use their imaginative and creative skills and solve problems. Children make pasta and cheesy soup, they stir the mixture, cook it in the oven and pour it into dishes. Children enjoy their time outside, where they hunt for bugs and take them to the bug hotel and thoroughly enjoy splashing in puddles that they have created. Staff support and guide children to extend their learning effectively. For example, while children are playing in the sand, they want to build sand castles. Staff ask them how they are going to do this. Children explain that they need water to make the sand wet. Independently, children solve the problem resulting in children building sand castles successfully. These activities help children to learn about the natural world and to try things for themselves, demonstrating the characteristics of effective learners. Children are developing good physical skills. They ride bicycles and sit-

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who attend

and-ride toys skilfully negotiating the obstacles successfully. They learn to throw and catch using a variety of different size balls. Staff teach young children basic mathematics through fun activities, such as singing simple number songs and rhymes. Children use mathematical language in their play as they count confidently from one to ten and name colours and shapes, such as stars. Children begin to understand about size as they talk about the pieces of the jigsaws and building tall towers. These activities also help children to develop hand eye coordination. Children have opportunities to explore sensory items and use their senses well. For example, children snip tea bags and empty the contents onto a tray. They smear the tea, smell it and let it drop through their fingers giggling and laughing. Staff extend this activity and ask children to write their names and make patterns in the tea.

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

Staff have a warm, caring approach towards children in their care. They are sensitive to their needs and meet them well. When children are new to playschool, staff gently encourage them to play and use resources they know will help to ease their worries. Once settled, children are happy and confident as they play. Children form attachments with their key person and their emotional well-being is supported well by them. Staff offer plenty of praise and reassurance as they play. For example, when a child becomes unsettled, they tell her gently not to worry. The upset child responds to the reassurance with trust and this is helping to make firm bonds and allow confidence to grow. Children behave well and understand the rules of the playschool. Staff remind children to be kind to each other, not to run inside and to be careful when using scissors. They give reasons as to why children should do or not do these things. Consequently, children are beginning

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

Staff teach children well about safety through planned activities and they participate in emergency evacuation procedures. This means children are building knowledge of how to keep themselves safe and become aware of dangers. Children are encouraged to be independent and are able to easily access the resources for themselves. This promotes independence and a sense of ownership. Children are motivated and are offered challenge in their play. Resources inside and outside are plentiful. However, there are fewer opportunities to draw and 'write' outside. There is a varied selection of posters on the walls, which also promotes children's interest in print and words. However, there are fewer opportunities for children to see numbers or print, for example, outside. Consequently, there are fewer opportunities for children to learn about these when playing outside.

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

Staff teach children about healthy lifestyles through careful explanations. They remind children to wash their hands before eating and after playing outside. Staff ensure children are able to easily access water throughout the day and encourage children to do so, explaining why they need to drink. Children have healthy snacks, such as fruit and vegetables. They also grow their own fruit, such as tomatoes and strawberries, and enjoy the produce at snack time. This helps children to understand about the food they eat. At snack time, staff talk about healthy eating and that fruit will help them grow 'big and strong'. Children bring their lunch from home and staff emphasise with parents about providing a healthy lunch box. They also try new foods and participate in cooking activities to further their understanding of healthy foods. Children have regular access to fresh air and exercise with daily outings to the park and around the local area. This means they are

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

able to experience the world around them. Children are well prepared for their next steps of learning and this is because key persons make links with the local school. Teachers visit the playschool and staff send summaries of children's learning to the schools. This helps continuity of learning and prepares the children emotionally for their move to school.

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provision

Leadership and management is strong and effective. Staff undergo thorough induction processes, particularly as new policies and procedures are implemented, to ensure that everyone is aware of their roles and responsibilities. Staff undertake frequent training in safeguarding to reassure parents of the playschool's duty of care, with regard to the protection of their children. Staff are confident about the action they would take if they had any concerns about a child's welfare, including compliance with the whistle-blowing policies and procedures. All staff and committee members undergo thorough procedures to assess their suitability and detailed staff recruitment follows the committee's processes. These are robust and rigorous in ensuring that staff are skilled, qualified and have the necessary passion and commitment to ensure that children make good progress and achieve to their full potential.

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provision

The committee and management set very high expectations for the quality of practice and have an effective system of quality auditing to monitor the impact on children's care, learning and development. The manager is supported very well in monitoring and appraising staff practice to drive further improvement. Staff receive targeted support where necessary and firm programmes are devised to tackle any weaker practice, significantly minimising any impact on children's care and learning. Consequently, staff are constantly improving their work because of the skilful support of the manager. Staff understand their roles and responsibilities and are diligent in undertaking careful risk assessments both indoors and outside to minimise hazards to children. The staffing ratios overall on the premises reflect a clear awareness of the legal requirements. Children are supervised well and effective communication is evident among the staff as they inform

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provision

each other should their duties require them to leave the room, such as attending to children's toileting needs or fetching coats for outdoor play. Additional bank staff are available from the parent committee to ensure that contingency arrangements are effective in covering any staff absences or emergencies. Management has set ambitious action plans and expectations to ensure that the playschool continues to improve significantly, engaging the voice of the children, parents and staff in a collaborative approach.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are well developed and staff work hard to provide the best possible communication methods. Management give parents detailed newsletters that explain what is planned and how best to support this learning at home. Questionnaires and daily verbal discussions help staff to maintain effective relationships with parents. Parents express their satisfaction with the progress their children are making in the play school. Policies and procedures are explained to parents through newsletters and personal communications. Parents praise staff for the good quality learning experiences that they provide their children. They state that they provide a wide range of activities for children. Connections with outside agencies and local groups are established to help all children's overall care and learning.

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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. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of 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

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Grade Judgement Description

is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. 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 206808 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 864125

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 18 Number of children on roll 42 Name of provider Little Eaton Playschool Committee Date of previous inspection 24/06/2010 Telephone number 07887 990783

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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

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’.

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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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