Hexham Community Centre Playgroup

Hexham Community Centre Playgroup Gilesgate, Hexham, Northumberland, NE46 3NP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/11/2014 03/11/2008

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children develop exceptional communication and literacy skills for their age. This is because staff are highly skilled when teaching story telling skills, creatively immersing children in the story and exploring imaginative language.  Children thrive in rich, stimulating, accessible and vibrant indoor and outdoor environments. These unquestionably promote independent learning and result in children learning at the highest level.  Children are supported in their learning at home as superb partnerships are in place to involve parents and carers in their child's learning and development.  Children's needs are quickly identified and exceptionally well met through the robust and effective partnerships between parents and external agencies and services.  Children understand how to keep themselves safe, as all staff consistently give the highest priority to the safety of children.  The manager monitors all aspects of practice and is constantly striving for excellence.

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This provision is outstanding

As a result, the staff team demonstrates exceptional practice.

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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 viewed all areas of the premises and equipment and observed activities in the playroom and the outside play areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working within the setting, the provider's self- evaluation form and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager and spoke with staff and children throughout the inspection.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Hexham Community centre Playgroup was registered in 1991 and is on the Early Years Register. It is situated in Hexham Community Centre in the centre of Hexham. The playgroup serves the local community. It operates from two rooms and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The playgroup employs five members of childcare staff. Three members of staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and two members of staff have Qualified Teacher Status. The playgroup opens Monday to Friday, from 9.15am to 12.15pm, during term time. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 21 children attending who are in the early years age group. The playgroup provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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

 enhance the already excellent opportunities for children to develop their independence, for example, by using opportunities arising through everyday routines.

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who attend

Staff have excellent understanding of how young children develop and learn. They respond exceptionally well to children's emerging needs and interests and support them in ways that are right for each child. As a result, children become deeply involved in their activities and maintain focus for sustained periods of time. For example, after children listen to stories, they are keen to retell the story using props, puppets and the book. Staff join in with this play sensitively, fitting in with children's ideas. They provide help and support, as needed, without taking over or directing the play. Staff provide a wealth of superb resources in the indoor and outdoor areas, which are accessible and open-ended. Staff are highly skilled and ensure each area of learning and development is implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities. Rich, varied and imaginative experiences are offered each day, which

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who attend

significantly enhance children's learning and development. As a result, children achieve very high standards in their learning and development and are exceptionally well prepared for school, when the time comes.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is consistently of a very high quality. Staff are dynamic, enthusiastic and continually improve their already first-class practice through training and embarking on projects. For example, staff have received training on sign language and communication initiatives. They read story books to children over and over again. As a result, children significantly increase their communication and language skills and develop excellent early reading skills. Staff are highly skilled in engaging children in innovative and imaginative activities. Indoors, they take part in an activity with clay, thoroughly enjoying the experience of making animals using various tools and materials with reference to pictures in books, to ensure they have all the details correct. This extends the small physical skills required for early writing. Outdoors, children extend their skills even further by painting on the wall using a variety of brushes. Staff support very young children well

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who attend

in the playgroup. Excellent use is made of both the indoor and outdoor environments, including regular visits to the sensory room, to enhance children's learning. Staff follow children's lead while developing their vocabulary to support their use of single words. For example, when children play with threading beads and name the animals saying 'Zebra, this is a zebra'. Staff ensure they get down to children's eye level when they talk to them and make good eye contact with them. This maximises opportunities for children to listen and respond to spoken language and begin to develop their own vocabulary.

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who attend

Assessment is rigorous and sharply focused. All staff make accurate observations and plan for individual children's learning and development needs. Children have individual learning journey files, containing photographs and observations. All information is linked to the areas of learning, characteristics of effective learning and well-being. Next steps in learning are clearly identified for each child. Progress is tracked and staff are highly confident in identifying individual learning needs to seek intervention, if required. Children's learning at home is highly valued. Parents share information about their child's learning at home. For example, parents engage in regular dialogue with staff and place comments on the whiteboard to share their child's achievements. This builds on what parents know and already do with their child and supports their confidence and knowledge in how to extend and strengthen the early home learning environment. Parents, spoken to

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who attend

during the inspection, describe how they welcome this opportunity and feel their contributions are valued as part of their child's overall development.

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

Children are exceptionally well cared for in this warm, welcoming and friendly group. Their emotional and physical needs are met very well, their feelings are accepted and they enjoy relationships that are close and supportive. As a result, children very quickly develop a sense of belonging to the group and develop strong attachments with their key person working alongside them. Very young children show how happy and settled they are when they climb onto the knee of their key person as they explore objects in the sensory room. Highly effective settling-in procedures are in place and children make a number of visits, based on their individual needs, before staying for the whole session. Parents are encouraged to stay with their child and share a wealth of good quality information with staff. For example, details of children's routines, allergies and other key information are gathered. This ensures that children are very well supported when they move from the

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

home environment to the playgroup and continuity is provided in their emotional and physical well-being. Children are equally well supported when they move to the nursery and to the local schools. Staff share key information about individual children and parents are kept fully informed and are involved in the process. Partnerships with school teachers are well embedded and established and first-class arrangements are in place to familiarise children with their new environments and key personnel. This ensures that children are exceptionally well prepared and make the move to school with ease.

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

Children demonstrate superb independence skills for their age when they access the resources they need to suit the purposes of their play. Equipment is freely available in the highly stimulating outdoor area and children demonstrate excellent awareness of safety as they move confidently around the area. Staff place great emphasis on promoting children's good hygiene routines. They ensure children wash their own hands before eating and after messy activities, such as playing with clay. Staff give consistently clear messages to children to ensure they are developing an excellent understanding of why it is important to have a healthy diet. A range of fresh, healthy foods are offered to children at snack times and staff describe how they develop their awareness of living a healthy lifestyle. Children are involved in the preparation of fruit for snack. However, opportunities to further extend these excellent independence skills are not always fully maximised, for example by

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

encouraging children to pour their own drinks. Children's health and well-being are exceptionally well promoted in the outdoor area, where daily opportunities are provided for children to explore, use their senses and be physically active and exuberant. They learn about living things, especially when they interact and care for the vegetables they grow outside. They are keen to eat these at snack time.

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

Children's safety is central to everything staff do within the nursery. Staff make sure children are aware of potential hazards, such as ensuring children take care on the wet grass outdoors. As a result, children demonstrate excellent safety practices for their age. Children's behaviour is exemplary. This is because staff provide very good role models for children by giving gentle reminders of expectations within the nursery. They ensure that children have excellent opportunities to identify and discuss boundaries, so that they understand why they are there and what they are intended to achieve.

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provision

The manager has an excellent understanding of her responsibility in safeguarding children. Robust recruitment procedures ensure all staff have suitability checks carried out and fully understand the requirements of their role in keeping children safe from harm. The manager monitors staff practice exceptionally well and ensures that all safeguarding concerns are reported to her. Also, she has clear systems in place so that staff know who to contact within the local authority if she is not available. The manager provides support, advice and guidance to all staff on an ongoing basis. She ensures that safeguarding practices are reviewed regularly and are well documented in improvement plans. This is further reinforced through training and regular staff meetings. As a result, children's welfare and well-being are exceptionally well promoted. Staff make highly effective use of risk assessments to support them in ensuring that all areas are safe. This information is

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provision

reviewed on a regular basis and amendments are made, if required. Self-evaluation is excellent and is extremely well focussed on achieving and sustaining high quality outcomes for children. The staff team, parents and children are involved in the process. Actions taken by the nursery are implemented with precision and managed thoroughly.

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provision

The manager demonstrates a first-class commitment to improving all children's learning and development and welfare. She leads a team of well-qualified, experienced and highly motivated staff, who demonstrate an enthusiasm for their work with a clear commitment to enhancing the lives of all children. As a result, morale is very high and staff clearly enjoy working in the playgroup. Staff have an excellent understanding of the learning and development requirements. The manager monitors the quality of the educational programmes exceptionally well through regular observation of practice and ongoing discussions with staff and other professionals working closely with children. Observation, assessment and planning documentation is monitored to make sure it is consistent, precise and displays an accurate understanding of all children's skills, abilities and progress. A highly comprehensive overview of progress tracking documentation is

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provision

maintained by the manager. This ensures that children's needs are quickly identified and exceptionally well met through excellent partnerships between the playgroup, parents and external agencies. High quality professional supervision is provided, based on consistent and sharply focussed evaluations of the impact of staff's practice. This ensures that staff are well supported and benefit from an effective programme of professional development arising from their individual needs. As a result, staff understand their practice and are constantly improving. Comprehensive recruitment and induction arrangements are in place. Consequently, all staff hold appropriate qualifications and have a very clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are exceptional. They take an active part in their child's learning and their knowledge and expertise of their child is actively sought and acted upon. Parents and carers make comments, such as 'Staff cannot do enough for children and their families' to describe the quality of service that is provided. Partnerships with local schools are equally well established and significantly enhance children's all-round development. The manager has been proactive in her approach in sharing information with schools and informally gathers feedback when children leave to ascertain if they have settled in their new surroundings. Partnerships with external agencies and other professionals are very strong. The manager and staff work exceptionally well with other agencies and effectively use advice to provide targeted interventions to meet the specific needs of individual children.

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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 301798 Local authority Northumberland Inspection number 864707

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 21 Name of provider Hexham and Tynedale Community Committee Date of previous inspection 03/11/2008 Telephone number 07799 105667

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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

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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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