Caterpillar Club & Bumble Bees CIC

Caterpillar Club and Bumble Bees Pre-School Birtley Community Association, Birtley Community Centre, Ravensworth Road, Birtley, CHESTER LE STREET, County Durham, DH3 1EN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/09/2014 16/03/2010

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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

 Children are confident and lead their own learning. As a result, they are gaining a good range of skills and abilities to prepare them for the next stage in their education.  Partnership with parents and other professionals is good and the information shared benefits children and families who attend the provision.  Children benefit from close attachments with key persons who know them well. This helps children to be settled, happy and ready to learn.  The manager and staff understand their responsibilities to promote children's health and well-being and use their skills and knowledge to keep them safe from harm.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The use of the outdoor space does not regularly include open-ended resources to encourage children to create their own play and to explore ideas.  There is room to further assess the impact of training, supervision and appraisals, so that future professional development is even more sharply focused on improving outcomes for children.

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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 activities in the playrooms and outdoors.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector met with the manager and the Director of the Community Association  The inspector took account of parents' views, including written statements.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of adults and a range of policies and procedures including safeguarding.

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Information about the setting

Caterpillar Club and Bumble Bees Pre-School registered in 1995 on the Early Years Register. It is located in Birtley Community Centre in the Birtley area of Gateshead. It offers pre-school care for children aged two to five years. The setting is open from 9.15am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday, during term time only. The group have the use of the hall, a large adjoining room and toilets. There is an outdoor play area to the side of the premises. There are five members of staff who work with children. All staff have appropriate childcare qualifications. There are currently 31 children on roll. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 further develop the use of the outdoor space to provide children with a range of challenging and stimulating, open-ended resources to maximise opportunities for creativity, problem solving and critical thinking

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

 monitor the impact of staff training, supervision and appraisal on outcomes for children, so that all future performance management is sharply focused on improving children's experiences even further.

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who attend

Practitioners have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and child development. They use this to good effect to plan a range of activities and experiences for children, taking into account their individual needs and interests. As a result, teaching is effective and children make good progress from their starting points. Staff use information gathered from parents and other professionals as a baseline from which to assess children's developmental progress. Regular assessments, including the progress check for children aged between two and three years, help them to plan for the next steps in children's learning. This means that each child's development is monitored as they make progress towards the early learning goals. Staff recognise the benefits of working closely with parents and share information daily to ensure that individual needs are met. Practitioners meet with parents at the end of each term to review their child's progress

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who attend

and to plan next steps together. This means that parents are kept informed about their child's learning and development and can contribute to their child's time in the setting.

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who attend

The atmosphere is calm and relaxed, with children coming in happily and quickly settling into their play. Children generally lead their own play, choosing from the range of resources and materials on offer. As a result, they are fully engaged in their learning. Staff know children well and respond to their interests, making a good range of activities available and encouraging them to stay engaged and motivated to learn. Children help themselves to aprons before playing in warm, bubbly water. They quickly recognise that the bubbles have given the water a lovely smell and discuss this with the staff, developing their communication skills effectively. Children are sensitively supported to put on and fasten their own aprons and are encouraged to think about how they might be able to put them on without help, increasing self-esteem and self-help skills. The younger children enjoy clapping their bubbly hands, laughing as they make the bubbles fly about and their

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who attend

friends quickly copy them. Others try to fish for objects hidden in the water using fishing rods with skill and dexterity to hook toys and reel them in, all to the delight of their peers. Consequently, children thoroughly enjoy their play before happily helping to clean up to prevent slips and trips. Another group of children play with grading bears, matching and sorting them into groups depending on their size, colour and position. Children are supported and challenged to think about the different ways in which they can categorise their bears, and they enjoy looking for which ones are lying down, standing tall or sneaking into the wrong coloured dish. Staff skilfully support their play whilst introducing new vocabulary and mathematical concepts such as, 'one more', 'one less' and 'fewer', which helps to maintain their interest and extend their learning. The children then adapt the activity using their own ideas, positioning their bears to make shapes as one child

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who attend

announces that his bears look like a 'rocket' and another lies his bears head to toe around his dish, so that they 'look like they are flying around the world'. Consequently, children develop good mathematical skills while playing creatively and exploring their imaginations. Staff skilfully gauge when to intervene, giving children time to interact with each other and to lead their own learning. Children also have access to a stimulating outdoor learning environment. They have many activities to promote their learning across many skill groups, using ride-on toys, balls and other apparatus. Whilst children enjoy their time outdoors, they are not able to benefit from routine access to a range of open-ended resources, which have no clear purpose or outcome, in order to develop their critical thinking, problem solving and creativity.

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who attend

Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities particularly well and work closely with parents and support staff from the local authority to monitor progress. Staff work sensitively, supporting those who struggle to engage with others by encouraging them to spend increasing periods playing alongside their peers and to tolerate their involvement in their play. Staff have also developed a visual timetable to support children. This helps children to be prepared for change and reduces distress during transition from one part of the day to another. Consequently, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities are making good progress, given their starting points. Staff routinely encourage all children's communication and literacy skills by providing a detailed narrative for what is happening throughout the day and by ensuring that children see and understand that written text can be used in various ways.

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who attend

For example, towards the end of the session, children help to prepare for the arrival of the next group and are challenged to identify which children might be coming by looking at their name card and photograph. Staff skilfully scaffold their learning by sounding out letters and giving clues to ensure success. At home time, children enjoy watching as their own name cards are presented and they are supported to remember the sounds and letters of their own and their friends names. These skills, along with an enthusiasm for learning, mean that children are well prepared for their move to school when the time comes.

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

Children are supported to settle when they first start attending with regular visits and shorter sessions for those who need them. This means that children quickly relax into the environment and parents are confident that their child is happy and ready to learn. Those who are quiet and a little apprehensive are offered additional support, as staff skilfully guide them towards quieter activities, such as enjoying a story with their key person. Children enjoy close attachments to their key person, which helps them to relax and gain confidence to try new things. Staff know children well as they take the time to find out about children's individual care needs and any special requirements, working closely with parents and other professionals to ensure that information is shared and individual needs are fully met. As a result, children and their families benefit from a close, supportive relationship with staff, which promotes children's care, learning and development and

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

supports parents in their parenting role. Children's transitions between settings are also well supported. Staff take children for visits to their new school or nursery and arrange for teaching staff to visit the children in their current setting. This means that receiving staff can plan effectively for each child and they are emotionally prepared for change, as they already know their teacher.

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

Children behave well in the setting because of the clear boundaries that practitioners set. Staff are positive role models for children, speaking with kindness and sensitivity and children respond positively in turn, considering each other's needs and making sure that no one is left out. When a dispute occurs, such as over a popular piece of equipment, staff ask children what they might do to resolve the issue. Children suggest the use of a large egg timer as the best means of ensuring that they each have a turn. This means that the problem is quickly resolved and children take responsibility for solving their own problems. This skilful and routine use of mediation and negotiation allows children to take ownership for decisions, which affect them, and shows that staff have high expectations of children's abilities. This results in children quickly learning how to resolve their own differences and raises their self-esteem, as they know that their opinion is valued. Staff recognise the

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

importance of helping young children to learn what to do in an emergency and they regularly practise how to leave the setting quickly in response to an alarm. They also enjoy visits from members of the fire and police service who talk to them about how to keep themselves safe whilst learning about their community and the wider world.

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

Children's health is well promoted. The children enjoy healthy meals and snacks each day. They follow regular hand washing routines to support their health and to reduce cross- infection. At snack time, older children help younger ones to settle in their chairs before skilfully pouring their own milk from small, graded jugs. Younger children are then supported to serve themselves and they all take great pleasure in their achievements. Consequently, all children are developing a good level of independence in preparation for starting school. Healthy lifestyles are further promoted as staff have thoughtfully provided an indoor area for physical play and younger children in particular benefit from the opportunity to move freely and explore what their bodies can do. A group of children spend time using balancing platforms, laughing as they tip and tumble before moving off to play with hoops, throwing them high and watching them bounce. Children also spend

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

time outdoors every day and enjoy riding bikes and scooters, playing with footballs and drawing on the walls and paving with chubby chalks. They balance on large, textured stepping stones, holding their arms out to help them balance, laughing as they bump into one another when pile-ups occur. When they come to a gap that is too big to step across, staff skilfully questions children about how they might get across and they quickly respond by calling out ideas before working together to move the stones, testing the distance by striding across before resuming their game. Consequently, physical skills are well developed for all ages.

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provision

Staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities under safeguarding and there is a comprehensive safeguarding policy in place, which is implemented consistently. Staff regularly attend training to update their knowledge and skills in this area. This means that they are confident in their ability to keep the children safe from harm and are clear about what they should do if they are concerned about a child. Additional monitoring of the safeguarding policy and practice is provided by the Directors of the Community Association who run the provision. This acts as another means in which to ensure appropriate action is taken should any concerns arise. The provision is clean and safe for young children and risks are minimised. The premises are safe and secure and staff place high importance on ensuring the children's well-being. There are robust recruitment procedures in place, including suitability checks for all staff, which help ensure that only those suitable to work

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provision

with children are able to do so. A register of attendance is kept and all visitors are required to sign in and are not left alone with children. As a result, their well-being is assured and parents can be confident that their children are safe.

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provision

The manager and staff are aspirational in their approach to their work and are committed to continuous improvement, having worked together to complete a self-assessment, which outlines the strengths of the setting and areas for further development. There are systems in place to establish training needs and to monitor staff performance, and these are used to establish expectations and to move practitioners forward in their practice. However, the manager has not scrutinised the impact of such performance management on outcomes for children. Consequently, there is room to look more in-depth, so that future training is sharply focused on areas that bring about the most positive outcomes. The manager and staff also meet regularly to monitor the quality of the educational programmes and to discuss the needs of individual children. This ensures that the activities and experiences provided for children are appropriate and that all children are making the best possible

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provision

Parents speak highly of the setting and staff team, and say that they feel their children are happy and are making good progress. Such comments, along with many written statements from parents, indicate that parents are pleased with the quality of the care and learning that their children receive. The manager and her team have a good understanding of their role in promoting learning and development for young children and work hard to secure good outcomes for children and families who attend. Staff regularly liaise with other professionals to support children and families. They make meaningful contributions to meetings, in order to support parents in their parenting role. They make learning journals available for all parents to regularly access and there is a comments book and regular questionnaires, so that parents can provide their views on the setting. Links with other provisions, such as schools, contribute to a shared approach in supporting

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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 311821 Local authority Gateshead Inspection number 865000

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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 31 Name of provider Caterpillar Club and Bumble Bees C.I.C Date of previous inspection 16/03/2010 Telephone number 01914 102343

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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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