Ellergreen Out of School and Community Creche

Ellergreen Out Of School & Community Creche Ellergreen Road, Liverpool, Merseyside, L11 2RY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/10/2014 27/08/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Staff are secure in their knowledge and understanding of safeguarding. This means that children are well protected and kept free from harm.  Staff develop positive relationships with parents and children when they first start, which helps children feel safe, confident and settled.  The premises indoors and outdoors are bright, clean, welcoming and secure. Staff check the equipment on a regular basis to ensure that it is suitable for purpose and of interest to the children.

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It is not yet good because

 The performance of staff and the quality of teaching is not consistently monitored or supported to deliver high quality learning. As a consequence, although children are happily occupied they are not always learning at the highest level.  The quality and consistency of assessment and observation are not checked regularly to ensure that they are reliable and form a basis for children's individual learning plans.  Self-evaluation and action plans are not always used rigorously to highlight areas for further development and drive the provision forward.

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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 the outside learning environment.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector held meetings with the manger and the deputy manager.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children, the provider's self-evaluation form and action plan.  The inspector took account the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Ellergreen Out of School & Community Creche has been registered since 2000 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is managed by a voluntary committee and operates from the Ellergreen Community Centre, Liverpool. Children attend from the local community and surrounding areas for a variety of sessions. The creche is open all year round from 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, except for two weeks at Christmas. The out of school club is open from 3pm to 5.50pm, Monday to Friday, in term time and 8am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, during school holidays. The children are cared for in two large play rooms and have access to the main hall and areas within the community centre for specific play activities. There is an enclosed playground for outdoor play. There are currently 81 children on roll. Of these, 23 children are within the early years age range. The setting supports children with special

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Information about the setting

educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The setting employs seven members of childcare staff and a driver for the minibus. Of these, one holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 4, three at level 3, one at level 2 and one staff member holds a degree in childcare. The setting receives support from the local authority and is a member of the day nursery and out of school clubs associations.

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must:

 improve monitoring arrangements by placing a greater focus on achieving consistency in the quality of teaching and overall practice so that all children benefit from high standards

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must:

 develop procedures for monitoring the quality and use of assessment and observation to ensure that these are used as a reliable basis for the development of children's individual learning plans

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

 build on self-evaluation and action plans to further assist in identifying areas for further improvement.

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who attend

Children easily choose toys which interest them because a wide range are set out in inviting play areas. Staff deliberately label displays, storage boxes and play areas, such as the home corner, with words. They add a range of written materials in all areas of the room. This effectively raises children's awareness of how print carries meaning and their interest in reading. Indoors and outdoors, children are keen to draw, make marks with crayons and paint on paper, and write on the interactive whiteboard. Staff organise an appropriate balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities and work flexibly to follow children's interests and to change focus when children tire of activities. The creche cares for children who attend on a regular basis for set sessions and days, as well as for children who attend for six week blocks while their parents attend training courses and as a result, staff plan weekly. They identify what they want children to learn by using their knowledge

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who attend

of the children and the assessment records they have for the children who they know will be attending. Due to the transient nature of some of the children who attend the setting, assessment records are often incomplete and not up to date. A new system for recording assessments and observations and for planning and evaluating activities has been recently introduced. However, procedures for monitoring the quality and use of assessment information and observation records are not yet fully developed to ensure that all children make good progress.

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who attend

Before children start in the creche, staff find out from their parents what each child already knows and can do. Staff use this information to start to purposefully plan suitable activities for each child, which build on their previous learning. Each child has a member of staff, who works with a buddy and uses their understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage to observe, assess and track their progress. However, the quality of teaching varies throughout the day, which means that high quality learning is not consistent. Staff play alongside children, offer guidance and help them to solve problems and acquire new skills. For instance, children playing in the sensory room experimented with different sized fluorescent bands, placing them on an assortment of surfaces around the room to investigate the light changing properties. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported through individualised programmes. For example, children with

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who attend

speech and language difficulties have participated in the Little Listeners programme. Children who speak English as an additional language are well supported and displays and resources reflect other cultures and languages. Overall, children's progress is generally good in communication and language and in physical, personal, social and emotional development. This ensures that they have the key skills needed for the next steps in their learning, such as moving on to school.

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who attend

Each child has a learning journal, which is beginning to evidence their progress. These journals are available to parents who ask to see them. Staff exchange information with parents on a daily basis both verbally and through written daily diaries. They provide parents with written monthly summaries of their children's progress and development, as well as a written summary of their child's progress between the ages of two and three years. Parents are encouraged to add their own comments and observations to the monthly reports which are included in learning journals. Staff understand the benefits of working in partnership with others, for instance, when children attend other settings. A large number of children attend the out of school club from several different primary schools. The out of school club has introduced a partnership with schools diary to ensure that information is recorded and shared between the different settings and parents. Staff

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who attend

demonstrate a good understanding of individual children's needs and are starting to effectively use systems to track children's progress, which enables any gaps in learning for individual or groups of children to be identified and ensures early action can be taken to secure support, where appropriate.

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

Each child has a member of staff identified as a key person. The key person's role is steadily developing to become more effective and each key person works with a buddy to cover their responsibilities when they are not in the setting. Staff gather and use information from parents about each child's personal preferences and routines to help them settle in. Children play happily and confidently interact with each other, staff and visitors, which shows they feel safe and emotionally secure. They develop good self-help skills because they move freely around the play areas and help themselves to a broad range of toys. They receive praise from staff for achievements and positive behaviour, which promotes their self-esteem and confidence.

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

Children's nutritional needs are suitably met as the children in the creche and the holiday club bring a packed lunch from home. Healthy snacks consisting of fruit, raw vegetables, toast, cereal, milk and water are provided by the setting. Children learn first hand about nutritious fresh foods and where they come from. They plant, grow and harvest vegetables in the garden, which they wash and taste. Children routinely follow appropriate hygiene and safety practices, which give them a basic understanding of how to keep themselves healthy and safe. For example, they wash their hands before eating and are shown how to brush their teeth after lunch. Children's physical development is well promoted and they begin to develop positive attitudes to exercise. Indoors, children develop dexterity and good hand-eye coordination through handling a range of toys. Outdoors, children safely use climbing equipment, slides, tunnels, bikes and ride-on toys.

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

They gain an understanding of the need for physical exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. They regularly go for walks in the local area and are walked to local schools when staff are engaged in collecting children for the out of school club. Regular outings in the local area significantly increase children's awareness of their community and develop their understanding of the world. Staff make increasing use of outdoor activities to teach children about safety, including safe pavement skills. As a result, children learn to identify dangers and how to assess and manage risks.

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

The building is kept secure at all times and access is carefully monitored to keep children safe. Risk assessments are also regularly reviewed and opening and closing checks are completed as required at the start and end of the day. Fire drills are practised regularly and are well documented. All staff have relevant first-aid qualifications. The provider ensures that all first-aid training is up to date and that staff are aware of emergency procedures.

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

Special days and topical events are built into the planning, which increase children's awareness of the wider world. For example, children in the holiday club talked about treasure hunts and planned a treasure island building boats and shelters in the outdoor play area. Displays of books and posters reflect positive images of culture and disability, which are beginning to promote the children's awareness of similarities and differences. Children in the out of school club have discussed a set of rules for behaviour, which is prominently displayed alongside posters about anti-bullying behaviour. Children are generally well-prepared emotionally and socially for the next stage in their learning, such as nursery or school. The setting has established partnerships with local schools that children move on to, and with other professionals and services that support children and families.

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provision

The leadership and management team understand their responsibility to meet the learning and development, and safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The newly formed voluntary committee have informed Ofsted of the required changes to committee membership. All staff have completed up-to-date safeguarding training and the policy now reflects all the legal requirements and is displayed throughout the setting. Staff now demonstrate sufficient understanding of the procedures to follow and have access to appropriate telephone numbers to ring if concerned about a child. Suitable arrangements are in place to maintain children's safety and well-being. The recruitment and vetting of staff is now robust enough to ensure all staff have the skills and experience required to work with children. All documentation in relation to the suitability of staff is available and up to date. Evidence of their suitability

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provision

checks, including from the Disclosure and Barring Service, are available for inspection. Induction of staff is well-organised and ensures that staff understand all the policies and procedures. On a daily basis, the clear policies and procedures are implemented consistently by staff, which suitably protects the children. All the required details about each child are obtained before a child starts, which ensures they are accessible in an emergency. Arrangements for safeguarding children within the creche and out of school club and through work with outside agencies are secure.

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provision

The manager and staff have appropriate skills and knowledge to deliver good quality teaching and learning. However, monitoring of general practice and the quality of teaching and staff deployment is not focused enough to ensure consistency is maintained. The manager has introduced systems to monitor practice through regular supervision meetings and observation of activities to enable staff to reflect on their practice and identify future training needs. Peer observations are in the process of being introduced to further help staff to learn from each other's best practice. Children freely choose from the good range of accessible toys and books. Key staff display an accurate understanding of children's skills, abilities and progress. They are beginning to effectively track children's progress and the manager is starting to monitor this information to identify the progress of individual children or groups of children, in order to take appropriate action to close any gaps in

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provision

The voluntary committee, together with the very committed manager and staff team, are working hard to effectively address all the areas raised at the last inspection. They demonstrate a suitable ability to improve. Although they are committed to developing their strengths and addressing their weakness, and have up to date self-evaluation is in place, this is not precisely focused enough on the areas for further improvement to drive forward the provision. Staff generally work well with parents and have devised ways to seek their views, for instance, through regular feedback sheets and questionnaires. For example, the setting changed its opening hours in response to feedback from parents. Parents and carers spoken to at inspection express satisfaction with the care their children receive.

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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 322450 Local authority Liverpool Inspection number 868786

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 56 Number of children on roll 81 Name of provider Norris Green Community Health Forum Committee Date of previous inspection 27/08/2013 Telephone number 0151 233 4597

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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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