Playhouse 2

Playhouse 2 Scout Hut, Albert Road, EVESHAM, Worcestershire, WR11 4JX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/10/2014 19/03/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 3 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

 Monitoring and evaluation procedures lack rigour. As a result, several breaches of the learning and development and safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage have not been identified and addressed.  Children's safety and well-being are not adequately promoted. Students whose suitability has not been checked are not effectively supervised and they are unsure about their roles. Safety and security in the outdoor area are not effectively monitored and managed. Not all required information is obtained about parents and staff and other required records are not always available.  Staff's planning and teaching is not always securely focused on children's learning priorities to enable them to ensure every child makes the best possible progress in relation to his or her starting points.

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It has the following strengths

 Effective partnerships with parents, carers, other providers and external agencies make an important contribution to the pre-school's increasingly effective provision for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and for those who speak English as an additional language.  Staff are kind and approachable, successfully helping children to settle and to become familiar with their new surroundings and routines.

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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 main playroom and the outside play area and carried out a joint observation with the owner.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the owner and a manager and spoke to children and staff throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at and discussed children's assessment records and planning documentation and a sample of records and policies relating to their welfare, health and safety.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at and discussed the provider's self-evaluation form and plans for improvement and took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Playhouse 2 was registered in 2009 and is on the Early Years Register. It is situated in a scout hut in a residential area in Evesham. The pre-school is privately owned. It serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The pre-school employs eight members of childcare staff, including the owner. Of these, seven hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The pre-school is open each weekday during term time only. Sessions are normally from 9am to 3pm, Monday to Friday, but there may be variations according to demand. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 22 children on roll. The pre-school 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 and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 ensure no one whose suitability has not been checked, including through a Disclosure and Barring Service check, is allowed to have unsupervised contact with children

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must:

 improve arrangements for induction training and support for students to ensure they are given clear guidance on their roles and responsibilities and have a sufficient understanding of the safeguarding procedures, including the identity and role of the lead practitioner for safeguarding

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must:

 improve arrangements for accurately assessing and promptly addressing risks and hazards and for maintaining all other aspects of safety and security in the outside area

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must:

 ensure all required records are easily accessible and available for inspection, in particular regarding the name, home address and telephone number of the provider and of anyone else in unsupervised contact with the children attending the pre-school

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must:

 ensure the name and address of every parent known to the provider is recorded for each child.

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

 improve the organisation and management of outdoor activities to better support children's safe and purposeful play and to develop their understanding of risks and how to behave safely and sensibly outdoors

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

 improve the quality and rigour of monitoring and self-evaluation to foster a continuous programme of well-targeted improvement.

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who attend

The owner and staff plan and organise an appropriate range of activities which children enjoy and which adequately promote their understanding and skills in the seven areas of learning. The adults have a generally sound understanding of children's interests and progress from their observations and interactions with them. However, while they effectively reflect children's interests in activities and topics, the owner and staff do not consistently focus their planning and teaching on children's next steps for learning. As a result, the quality of teaching is variable and requires improvement. For example, staff do not always consolidate and extend children's understanding, expressive language or thinking because they do not extend their discussions and explanations. At other times children are not sure what to do and lose concentration because an activity is not particularly well managed or staff move away from an activity prematurely. Therefore,

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who attend

some aspects of children's learning are not consistently fully explored, for instance, during outdoor play, problem-solving activities, such as puzzles and simple board games, or during model making, construction and small world play. In addition, while pre-school age children are usually occupied during their freely chosen activities, some of these are repetitive and lack a good level of challenge. As a result, opportunities are missed to extend their ideas and imagination or to help children to make connections between their imaginative play and real life experiences.

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who attend

In other respects, when staff are actively involved in children's activities and adapt their teaching to cater for their differing abilities, they successfully foster children's skills as effective learners in readiness for school. During circle time activities, staff role model and talk to the children about sitting still and listening carefully. The owner and staff are increasingly aware that some three- and four-year-old children as well as younger children find it difficult join in and to pay attention during some adult-led activities. They often group children according to age and/or ability so they can adapt their approaches and resources to better promote their attentive listening and involvement. In the main, staff successfully help children to develop their speech and language. They chat to them during play and routines, encourage them to join in songs and rhymes and often spend time with

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who attend

a child or small group of children reading stories and looking at books. Good use is made of visual prompts, some signing and key words in children's home languages to help those with speech and language delay or who speak English as an additional language, to understand and to be understood. The owner and staff also work sensitively and successfully with parents in order to accurately assess the needs of all children with developmental delay or disabilities. Their effective and well-established links with external agencies and a local specialist school ensure prompt assessments of children's particular needs leading to well-targeted support and consistency for these children and their families.

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who attend

Parents and carers are encouraged to contribute to their children's learning and development. For example, the information they provide about their child's interests and some aspects of their development, help staff to get to know new children and to plan for their starting points. Parents enjoy contributing to children's learning at pre-school, for instance, by donating toys and resources and they and staff regularly discuss their children's activities and achievements. Parents of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are actively involved in decisions about plans for their children's future learning. However, staff do not always consistently discuss other children's next steps for learning with their parents to enable them to work more closely together in planning for their children's learning at home and at pre-school.

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

Children's safety and well-being are not adequately protected. Adults whose suitability has not been checked are not consistently supervised to ensure they do not have unsupervised access to children. Omissions in record keeping relating to some children and staff also potentially compromise those individuals' well-being as information is not available regarding whom to contact in an emergency. Although, the owner and staff maintain a safe and secure environment indoors, there are weaknesses in assessing and managing risks in the outdoor area. The five bar gates at the entrance to the outdoor area are not sufficiently secure because children climb up them and there is a wide gap under one gate. Other hazards, such as a small concrete block were not removed before children used the area. During the inspection, the block was removed and the gap under the gate temporarily repaired. However, the owner's and staff's risk assessment procedures are not

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

sufficiently robust to ensure they identify and promptly address hazards such as these. They also do not always consider how the layout and management of outdoor play activities and equipment can inhibit children's safe, purposeful play. For instance, children's role play is disrupted by other children using wheeled toys. Staff do coach children in the safe use of climbing equipment but they are not encouraging their spatial awareness while using wheeled toys or talking to them about possible risks and agreeing boundaries with them regarding other aspects of outdoor safety.

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

Other aspects of children's care and well-being are effectively met. The owner and staff are conscientious about finding out about and meeting children's individual care, health and dietary needs. Children are also supported in developing their understanding of how to promote their own good health. For example, the adults sensitively encourage their growing independence in seeing to their toileting and hand washing. Children are encouraged to be physically active and show increasing control when using climbing and balancing equipment and during parachute games. During snack and meal times staff and children talk about foods they enjoy and which of these are good for them.

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

The owner and staff effectively foster children's growing confidence and independence so they settle quickly and continue to develop socially and emotionally in readiness for school. The owner and staff are kind and approachable, calmly reassuring children and working well with parents and carers to get to know their children's backgrounds, characters and interests. They reflect these in activities and resources so that children develop a sense of belonging. The owner and staff are particularly successful in ensuring children get to know each other and become familiar with their new surroundings and routines. For example, they and the children regularly look at and talk about the photographs depicting the daily timetable. As a result, children know what is happening next. In addition, the staff encourage children's positive behaviour when they talk about the importance of sitting still and paying attention during group activities. They provide

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

opportunities for children to help, for instance, when they eagerly assist with tidying away toys. During well-managed snack and meal times, staff encourage children's socialising and their independent skills when they choose what they want to eat and drink. Therefore, children generally behave well. The owner and staff work effectively with parents and other agencies to ensure they use consistent and appropriate strategies to help those children who find it more difficult to relate to others.

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provision

The leadership and management of the pre-school are inadequate. The owner has not embedded sufficiently effective monitoring and evaluation of all aspects of the provision. As a result, weaknesses in staff's and students' knowledge and practice and in implementing various procedures, have not been promptly identified and addressed. This has led to several breaches to requirements which, in particular, adversely impact on children's safety and well-being. In addition, the quality of planning and teaching is not yet effective enough to promote children's good progress.

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provision

Children are not adequately safeguarded. Arrangements for supervising students are not consistently applied to ensure they are not left in sole charge of children. While the owner has devised an induction programme for students, this is not tailored to cater for their level of knowledge and experience. As a result, when they first start, some students do not always have enough guidance and support to enable them to understand their roles and responsibilities. This includes not having enough information about the pre-school's child protection procedures to ensure they know what to do and who to inform if they have concerns about a child's welfare. Children are not kept safe during outdoor play as a result of weaknesses in assessing and managing risks and hazards in the outdoor area. In addition, staff do not always promote children's awareness of risks and their understanding of how to behave safely and sensibly. There are gaps in required

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provision

documentation as some personal information has not been obtained for some parents and staff. This prevents prompt contact with them or their next of kin, for instance, in an emergency. The owner has also not ensured that other required information is easily accessible and available regarding staff's completed Disclosure and Barring Service checks and their qualifications. During the inspection she made this information available to the inspector and made arrangements for these records to be kept on the premises in future.

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provision

Other aspects of leadership and management meet requirements. For example, the owner is confident about her role as lead practitioner for safeguarding. She and a manager, who also has lead responsibility for safeguarding, ensure they are up to date with relevant training. The owner and her colleague work closely with other agencies involved with vulnerable children and their families. As part of their information sharing with all families, they make sure they know and can identify who can have access to children or can collect them. Although teaching and learning is not yet good, the owner and staff have implemented appropriate systems for monitoring children's progress. As a result, they usually recognise where the gaps are in their learning or in the range of activities. Staff's planning and teaching does not always focus sufficiently on children's identified next steps but the owner is taking steps to consolidate their skills. This includes organising training

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provision

for some staff on observation, assessment and planning and providing opportunities for other staff to visit other settings attended by their key children. The owner and staff have also effectively reviewed and reorganised activities and resources indoors. Learning areas are more clearly defined and children can help themselves to more resources. This has enhanced their imagination, exploration and other self-directed play.

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provision

There are effective and well-established relationships between the pre-school, parents and other agencies. Parents and carers feel well informed about their children's activities, routines and achievements. They highlight the owner's and staff's sensitive support and guidance given to them and the way they promote their children's enjoyment and development. The owner and staff have established good links with local schools to support children's smooth transitions into full-time education. Reception class teachers are invited to visit children at the pre-school. Children also enjoy attending a local school for special events, such as their nativity play. The owner initiates contact and information sharing with other providers in order to promote consistency and continuity for those children who attend more than one setting. In particular, there are close and positive working relationships between the pre-school and a local specialist school. They effectively

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provision

work together and with families to accurately assess and plan for children's needs and to successfully implement strategies and support, which complements children's learning at both settings and at home.

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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 EY399648 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 875148

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 22 Name of provider Juliet Emma Cowell Date of previous inspection 19/03/2010 Telephone number 07811723033

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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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