Sydenham Road Under Fives

Sydenham Road Under Fives Jarman Hall, Sydenham Road, Knowle, Bristol, BS4 3DF

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/11/2014 19/06/2014

p.1

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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

p.1

This provision requires improvement

 Staff, plan a range of activities from children's interests, helping them make sound progress across all areas of their learning and development.  Children are happy, settled and relate well to the staff, which shows they are building positive relationships.  Partnerships with parents are strong. Effective two-way sharing of information means that parents are well informed about their child's care and learning.  The staff teach effective mathematical skills regularly through children's play and daily activities which introduces them to concepts, such as number.

p.1

It is not yet good because

 The implementation of the behaviour policy is not fully effective. This means that not all staff manage some children's behaviour effectively.  At times, deployment of staff in free play sessions means that children do not always have the full opportunities to meet their individual next stages in learning.  Staff do not consistently engage the most able children in small group activities, which means they are not effectively challenged and lose interest quickly.  The ineffective grouping of children at story time means that some children are unengaged and have limited opportunities to participate and learn.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playrooms and the outside learning environment.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation including a sample of children's records, planning and records to check staff suitability.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of children, staff, and parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection and of the provider's self-evaluation.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager of the pre-school.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager of the pre-school.

p.2

Information about the setting

Sydenham Road Under Fives Pre-School is a registered charity which is managed by a voluntary management committee, made up of parents of children at the pre-school and members of the local community. It opened in 1957 and operates from a hall and a side room at church premises in Totterdown, Bristol. The pre-school is open each weekday from 9.15am to 12.15pm during school term time. The setting is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 23 children in the early years age range on roll. There are six members of staff. Of these, three hold early years qualifications at level 3 and one holds a level 2 qualification and is working towards a level 3 qualification. The pre-school operates in line with aspects of the HighScope educational philosophy and provides funded early education for three- and four-year-olds.

p.3

must:

 develop the behaviour management policy and its use to ensure consistent strategies are used by all staff to support children at all stages of development

p.3

must:

 improve the deployment of staff during free play sessions to ensure all children's individual learning needs are met.

p.3

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

 develop small group activities to make them more engaging for more able children to fully extend children's learning

p.3

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

 improve the way children are grouped so that they are able to engage in story sessions and have time to play and explore so that they become inquisitive and active learners.

p.3

who attend

Overall, the quality of teaching is variable. Staff have suitable understanding of the learning and development requirements and effectively engage some children in their learning. At times, some staff support children's learning effectively. For example, children take part in small group circle activities with staff. Staff use suitable body language to engage the children. For example, they get down to the children's level and using eye contact. Staff use pictures and gestures, which help children to follow the routine. However, staff challenge and engage the most able less effectively at these time and as a result, they lose interest and their attention wanders. This demonstrates that staff do not consistently plan activities that engage more able children. Overall, staff join in with the children's play activities appropriately. They encourage the children to talk about their play, which helps promote conversation and suitably supports children's communication

p.3

who attend

skills. Through the daily activities, staff introduce the concepts of number with some of the children. For example, they encourage children to count how many are lining up to go outside. This develops children's understanding of mathematics appropriately. As children enjoy a game of hopscotch in the playground, staff talk to them about the different numbers introducing them to number recognition. Children use messy play to enable them to experiment and be creative. This offers children sufficient opportunities to express themselves through explorative play. At times, staff group children inappropriately. For example, at story sessions they are grouped based on their skills. On the day of the inspection, all children requiring additional learning support for behaviour were in the same group. This meant that the story was interrupted as staff dealt with disruptive behaviour. As a result, some children become restless and lost interest. These

p.4

who attend

interruptions in children's learning do not help them to become active and inquisitive learners. This does not support children's individual learning preferences or encourage them to be motivated in activities.

p.4

who attend

Nonetheless, children are happy and settled. The staff's ongoing communication with parents means they have a clear understanding of children's individual needs and routines. This helps them to support children from the start, and as a result, they settle quickly. Generally, the staff occupies children with age-appropriate activities and they enjoy their time at pre-school. The pre-school has suitable systems to help staff assess and monitor the children's progress appropriately. Staff observe children's play and use this information to help them reflect on the children's next stages in their learning. However, in practice the staff do not make sure that all children are fully involved in purposeful play activities because staff deployment at free play sessions is not always effective. For example, staff do not interact with some children for significant periods of time which means, at times, those children's individual needs are not being met consistently by all staff to extend their

p.4

who attend

learning. Consequently, these children have fleeting attention and wander around.

p.4

who attend

Children have regular access to a range of toys and equipment that cover all areas of learning. Through the activities, staff introduce the concepts of shape and size with some of the children. For example, they encourage some children to find cutters that can be used to make specific shapes in dough. This develops children's understanding of mathematics appropriately. The staff take children on regular outings to the playground in the local school. This enables children to use larger play equipment to widen their play and learning experiences and promotes their physical development. Most staff interact with the children well and offer praise and encouragement as they play and achieve. However, some staff do not implement the behaviour management policy effectively. For example, when children are being disruptive and interrupting the learning of others, they are not given consistent expectations from staff and therefore they push the boundaries.

p.4

who attend

As a result, some children's learning is affected. The staff have established positive relationships with parents. The informal discussion at handover times makes sure there is a regular two-way exchange of information. They have a flexible approach and work closely with parents to accommodate their requirements.

p.4

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

Children relate well to adults and other children. They have trusting relationships with the staff and benefit from their friendly approach. The key-person system works well. Consequently, children make secure attachments with the staff and they have a suitable understanding of their individual needs. In the main, staff recognise when children are in need of some one-to-one attention so they settle down and read books with them. However, inconsistencies in behaviour management mean that there are not clear behaviour expectations for all children.

p.5

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

Staff invite children to visit the pre-school before they start and visit children at home and use this time to collect initial information about their learning and development. The regular two-way exchange of information between parents and staff helps the staff to meet children's needs and helps them settle in the pre-school. The children have learning diaries in which staff and parents record information about the children's interests and achievements. Parents regularly look at the learning diaries. This helps them become involved in their children's learning. Children have suitable access to the range of toys and play equipment. Some are stored in low-level units and the staff position a selection of other resources around the hall. This enables children to make some choices about what they want to play with indoors.

p.5

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

The staff provide children with a safe and secure environment. They take turns to carry out daily checks of the premises to make sure there are no hazards to children. This means that children can move around the play space safely. When taking children outside they do headcounts and walk as a group holding a long rope to enable children stay together and do not get lost. The staff follow appropriate routines for taking children outside, such as wearing high visibility jackets and teaching children about road safety. The staff talk to children during the play activities to help them learn about potential hazards. For example, as they wait to go back inside they sit on the steps leaving the top step free so that when the door opens they do not get bumped and hurt themselves. This helps to raise children's understanding of how to keep themselves safe.

p.5

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

Children enjoy nutritious snacks and staff encourage them to make healthy food choices. Staff invite children to eat together at the table and they are observed to be sociable with one another. This arrangement helps children develop not only their social skills but their self-care and physical skills too. Staff teach children good hygiene skills as they provide them with a bowl to wash their hands. Staff ensure children have opportunities at these times to develop their independence and physical skills as they pour their milk from a jug. This benefits children's development as they build an understanding of being healthy and doing things for themselves. The staff gain details from parents of children's individual dietary requirements. Children have daily access to outdoor physical play activities. This provides children with fresh air and exercise.

p.5

provision

The leadership and management of the pre-school is satisfactory. The provider has fully addressed all the actions set at the last inspection to improve outcomes for children. The arrangements for safeguarding at the pre-school meet the requirements. All staff and committee members have Disclosure and Barring Service checks in place. There are appropriate recruitment procedures in place to ensure staff are suitable to work with children. Staff attend some training to keep their skills up to date. For example, they regularly update their child protection training and knowledge. Consequently, staff know the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk and are clear about how to report any concerns. Staff who are qualified in first aid are deployed effectively so they are on hand to provide first-aid treatment in the event of an accident or incident.

p.6

provision

Management and staff have a sound understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Monitoring of the educational programme is developing. Management and staff have a clear understanding of how children learn and develop. Consequently, management is able to provide effective staff supervision to address weaknesses in staff teaching and practice. However, there are still inconsistencies in staff deployment and some activities are not organised well to improve learning opportunities. Staff carry out observations and suitable assessments consistently so they are able to identify and plan for meaningful next stage in children's learning. In addition, staff now use the outdoor learning environments more effectively to support learning. Overall, the resources and routines on offer to the children are sufficiently varied, stimulating and challenging to motivate and enthuse the children to learn. This

p.6

provision

means that children are making sufficient progress from their starting points and for some children gaps are closing.

p.6

provision

Procedures to monitor the effectiveness of the provision and to drive forward further improvements are developing but; are not yet fully effective. Since the last inspection the self-evaluation process has addressed weaknesses and made improvements to the provision, which have had a positive impact on children's welfare, learning and development. Staff induction and appraisals are carried out regularly, which ensures that all staff are fully aware of the contents of the pre-school's policies and procedures. However, although staff are able to demonstrate they understand the policies that the pre-school have put in place, they do not always implement these effectively. For example, staff discuss the strategies and policy for behaviour management, but some fail to put these into practice when the situation arises. This means that some children disrupt the learning of others and staff do not effectively manage this behaviour.

p.6

provision

Partnerships with parents are friendly and staff welcome them into the nursery to share information from home. Parents comment that their children enjoy coming to the nursery and like the staff. Staff provide parents with information, such as policies and procedures, and activities that take place in the nursery. Parents are able to view written assessments of their children's progress, these records also identify the areas that children most need additional support in. Therefore, parents receive a true picture of their child's progress and are able to build on children's next stage in learning at home.

p.6

The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

p.7

actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

p.7

To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 develop the behaviour management policy and its use to ensure consistent strategies are used by all staff to support children at all stages of development (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  develop the behaviour management policy and its use to ensure consistent strategies are used by all staff to support children at all stages of development (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

p.7

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

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

Setting details

Unique reference number 107078 Local authority Bristol City Inspection number 982977 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 3 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 23 Name of provider Sydenham Road Under Fives Committee Date of previous inspection 19/06/2014 Telephone number 05603 429 473

p.9

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.

p.9

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.9

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.

p.9

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.

p.9

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.

p.10

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,

p.10

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’.

p.11

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.11