Playdays Pre-school

Playdays Pre-school Methodist Church Hall, Fore Street, Chard, Somerset, TA20 1QA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/10/2014 04/12/2013

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Staff monitor children's development effectively, in partnership with parents, to plan for children's individual learning and development needs.  Staff support children well in exploring a good range of resources and developing their own ideas.  Staff make good use of all opportunities to promote children's language and communication skills.  Children develop good relationships with their key person, which promotes their emotional well-being and helps them feel secure.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not make full use of children's play experiences to support their awareness of cause and effect, in order to promote their critical thinking further.  Staff sometimes miss opportunities to fully extend the oldest children's literacy development.

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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 indoors and outdoors.  The inspector checked safeguarding information and the premises.  The inspector offered the supervisor opportunities to carry out a joint observation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of parents' verbal feedback and the pre-school's self- evaluation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation, including policies, procedures, children's development records and planning.

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Information about the setting

Playdays Pre-School registered in 1992 and is managed by a committee that includes parents of children attending. It operates from the Methodist church hall in Chard, Somerset. Children have access to an outdoor area. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 15 children on roll in the early years age group. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four years. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The pre-school is open during school term time on Mondays, Tuesday and Fridays from 9am to 12noon and on Wednesdays from 9am to 3pm, including a lunch club. There are four members of staff. Of these, three hold early years qualifications: one at level 5, one at level 3 and one at level 2. There is one member of staff working towards an early years qualification at level 3.

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

 strengthen children's awareness of cause and effect by consistently following through ideas to encourage them to think critically during their play

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

 extend older children's literacy skills further by supporting them in sounding the letters to recognise their own name, for example.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of how to deliver the learning and development requirements. They plan an environment where children can initiate their own learning and take part in purposeful activities. Staff ensure children have good opportunities to make suggestions, taking children's ideas and styles of learning into account when planning their educational programmes. This motivates children to have a positive attitude to learning. Staff engage children in purposeful conversations, which promote their language and communication skills well. For example, children making Diwali lamps talk about why they have parties and what they celebrate. Staff encourage children to describe what they are doing and ask open-ended questions to help children to demonstrate their knowledge. For example, young children say their car must stop because the traffic light is red and cannot go until it is green.

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who attend

Staff plan activities that interest the children and teach them new skills and knowledge. They ensure that children then have time to explore further resources and use them in their own way. For example, children finish painting their lamps and experiment with making hand prints, mixing colours and creating in three dimensions. Staff provide good support, asking children how many pieces they need to cut the card into for them all to have some and asking them how they made a certain colour, for example. Children use good resources, such as pens, sand, water and paint brushes to practise their early writing skills. Staff encourage children to find their name, using photographs to support younger children. However, they do not always support older children in beginning to link sounds to letters to identify the initial letters in their name, in order to challenge their literacy development further.

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who attend

Children enjoy books and staff pause for children to fill in the missing words from familiar stories. Children respond well to noticing details in the pictures and make suggestions as to what will happen next. Staff join in with children's play, introducing new resources. For example, in role play, staff use a book to ask children what vegetables they might put in their stew. Children select from the book, then match the items to play food. Staff add water to wet sand for children to make sand castles and when children suggest adding more, staff say they have enough. This means they sometimes miss the opportunity for children to think critically by noticing cause and effect, and finding out what they can do with wet and dry sand through trial and error. Staff use all opportunities to support children's mathematical development. For example, they work out how many children still need to have snack by counting how many cartons of milk are left. They encourage

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who attend

children to find their age on a computer key board and to enjoy number rhymes.

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who attend

Staff seek helpful information on children's abilities and interests before they start at the setting. For example, they complete a profile form with parents and take account of any information from providers children may have already attended. This enables them to plan effectively as soon as children start at the pre-school. Staff regularly observe children and document their observations to track their progress. They identify children's next stages of learning and share this with parents so that they can support learning at home. In addition, staff provide good support for children's key areas of development, which prepares them well for their next stage of learning and school. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress in their learning and development.

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

Children develop secure emotional attachments because of the effective key person system. Staff develop strong bonds with their key children and their family as soon as they start at the pre-school. They are responsible for monitoring children's progress and being their special adult for children's personal hygiene, such as nappy changing. This helps children to feel secure. Staff have introduced Golden Rules so that children understand the adults' expectations. As a result, children help to tidy up as soon as staff start singing a particular song and sit on the mat when they sing another. Parents comment on how much their children enjoy going to the pre-school and how they have made a wide circle of friends. Staff have regular team meetings to enable them to discuss children's individual needs and how they will work together with parents to support children. Staff support children and their parents really well in preparation for their moving on to another setting

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

Staff provide a good range of resources both indoors and outdoors. They use low-level trolleys so children can make independent choices. This enables children to be creative, follow their own ideas and learn how to use a range of tools. Staff provide positive images of people's differences as well as ensuring they represent the backgrounds of all children attending. This helps children feel valued and supports them well in gaining a positive awareness that they all have similarities. Children develop a good awareness of their own community and take part in local celebrations, which promotes their sense of belonging.

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

Children develop a good understanding of a safe and healthy lifestyle. They enjoy outdoor play and know it is important to be active. Children can help themselves to fresh drinking water and put their hand over their mouth when coughing. Snack and lunch time are social occasions, with staff sitting with the children. Children choose when to have their snack from the caf, knowing to go and wash their hands first. This helps with their independence in making decisions and their personal, social and emotional development. Children demonstrate their understanding of safe practices through their games. They use an oven glove in their role play while cooking, for example. Children regularly practise the emergency evacuation procedures and understand about fire safety. They know not to touch the candles lit for their birthday before they blow them out, for example. Children wear high visibility vests and learn about road safety, with staff providing a ratio of one

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

adult to two children to keep them safe on outings. All staff attend child protection training. As a result, they know how to identify if a child is at risk and the procedures to follow to protect their welfare.

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provision

The management team has a good understanding of their responsibilities and meets all the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff carry out good risk assessments, such as checking the garden for potential hazards before children go outdoors. They have effective recruitment procedures and mentor new staff, so staff know their roles and responsibilities. The management committee regularly updates the policies and procedures to ensure they remain relevant and up to date, according to changes in legislation. The committee has all required documentation in place to ensure it safeguards children. The supervisor uses a good system to have an overview of each child's learning. This enables her to work with staff to identify any gaps and ensure they take appropriate action to close them quickly. This includes the required progress check for two-year-old children.

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provision

Staff have made good progress since their last inspection. They now work together well to ensure consistency in managing children's behaviour. A senior member of staff is booked onto training to extend their knowledge further and provide greater support for staff. Children now have greater opportunities for speaking and listening, which is a key area of their development. Staff support children well in understanding that they must listen to others but will get their turn to speak. They have also introduced the use of sign language to ensure they include children of all abilities. All staff receive supervision from their line manager. This helps the committee and management team to monitor staff performance and set actions for continuous development. They use good systems of self-evaluation to monitor the quality of the provision and identify ways to ensure good outcomes for children. Most parents attend the committee annual general meeting and comment that

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provision

they can have a say in the running of the pre-school.

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provision

Staff have strong partnerships with parents, which benefits children's learning and development. Parents receive regular newsletters informing them of how they can support learning at home. Staff invite parents to stay and play sessions, where they get to see how their children learn through play. This also provides opportunities for parents to see their children's development records, speak to their child's key person and give feedback on the provision. Parents comment very positively on the information they receive, stating that they feel fully involved in their children's learning. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) works closely with parents and the area SENCO to ensure all children can reach their full potential. The key person shares verbal and written information with other providers children may attend, which helps ensure a consistent approach. Staff attend cluster meetings to get to know other early years professionals and reception class

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provision

teachers. This helps with preparing children for moving onto another provider. In addition, they provide parents with a Guide to School Readiness. This enables them to work in partnership with parents to ensure children have all the skills they need to succeed at school.

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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 142945 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 962630 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 15 Name of provider Chard Methodist Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 04/12/2013 Telephone number 07836672729 or 01460 67855

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Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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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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