Kingswinford Methodist Church Playgroup

Kingswinford Methodist Church Playgroup Kingswinford Methodist Church, Stream Road, KINGSWINFORD, West Midlands, DY6 9NP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/11/2014 25/03/2011

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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

 Staff swiftly identify children's starting points and plan challenging and exciting experiences across the seven areas of learning. As a result, children make outstanding progress in their development.  Staff comprehensively recognise and successfully minimise potential risks. Their expert knowledge of the signs of abuse and awareness of their responsibilities to protect children ensures they are fully safeguarded.  An extremely effective key-person system provides children with stability, helps them to form positive relationships and gain confidence and self-esteem.  Children's behaviour is exemplary as a result of the highly effective behaviour management strategies staff use to help and support children to manage their own behaviour. This effectively promotes children's confidence in preparing them for their future move to school or nursery.  Partnerships with parents are highly effective. Staff ensure parents are continually and

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This provision is outstanding

actively involved in their children's learning and development. Excellent partnerships with other professionals ensure that children's individual needs are recognised and given the utmost priority.  Sharply focused self-evaluation includes the views of all staff, parents and children, which means areas for improvement are identified and acted on.

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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 play and learning activities indoors and spoke to the staff and the children during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager and one of the committee members and reviewed the playgroup's self-evaluation form and the improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's development folders, children's and staff files, a selection of policies and daily records. She also checked evidence of staff qualifications and suitability checks.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to parents on the day of the inspection and also gained parents' and other professionals' views from documentation available.

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Information about the setting

Kingswinford Methodist Playgroup was registered in 1980 and is on the Early Years Register. It is situated in Kingswinford, West Midlands and is run by a management committee. It operates from three rooms in the church hall and there is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The playgroup supports the local community and is accessible to all children. The playgroup employs seven members of childcare staff, five of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The playgroup opens term time only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Sessions are from 9.15am to 11.45am and children attend for all three sessions. There are currently 36 children attending who are in the early years age group. The playgroup receives funding for the provision of early education for two-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. The playgroup

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Information about the setting

receives support from the local authority.

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

 continue to take full advantage of opportunities for children to further develop their independence skills and understanding of mathematics with specific regard to snack times, so that they continue to achieve at the highest level.

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who attend

Staff have an expert knowledge of how children develop and learn. They plan a stimulating and interesting curriculum, which covers all areas of learning and gives children an excellent mix of child-initiated and adult-led play. There are very effective systems in place to share information between parents and staff when children start at the playgroup. Consequently, staff know children extremely well and capably describe children's individual personalities, needs and preferences. All children make a significant amount of progress regardless of their starting points. Staff routinely review their observations to precisely assess children's ongoing progress and to identify the next steps in their learning. Staff complete highly accurate progress checks for children between the ages of two and three years. They use these to build up a very clear and detailed picture of each child's abilities. This highlights if any additional support is needed and enables

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who attend

them to effectively meet children's individual needs. Staff are very keen to help parents guide their children's learning at home and deploy highly effective strategies to engage them. This includes daily discussions with parents so they are aware of individually planned activities that their children take part in at the playgroup. Staff keep parents fully informed through regular meetings to discuss the next steps in their children's learning. Parents also have free access to their child's learning journal and staff encourage them to share information about activities they complete at home. Consequently, children's learning needs are well known to parents, which ensures there is continuity between developing achievements at playgroup and home.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is outstanding because staff have high expectations of themselves and children. Staff create a lively and inventive environment, which fosters children's rapid learning and development. Staff are well deployed, interact warmly and show genuine interest in what children are doing. They support and facilitate activities by gently guiding children's learning and using lots of positive praise. High priority is given by staff to promote children's communication and language skills. All children are highly absorbed in their activities because staff continually engage children in conversation and expand their vocabulary by introducing new words. For example, children are interested and engrossed in making decorations for their end of term concert. Staff talk freely to them about the patterns they have made with glitter and link this to the frost they have seen outside on their way to playgroup. During the session, children participate in an excellent range of

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who attend

activities to enable them to develop the skills they will need for future life and their move to school. For example, children race to find their name cards to self-register when they arrive at playgroup. Children have easy access to a varied range of exciting resources from which they are able to confidently make their own choices in their learning. Children are encouraged to freely explore their environment and initiate their own play. For example, they show high levels of concentration as they negotiate spaces and manoeuvre car and bicycles around the indoor physical play area. Children are happy and confident in their approach to learning and their personal, social and emotional skills develop to an excellent level.

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who attend

Children listen attentively to stories and enthusiastically join in at group times. Staff reinforce and extend activities by asking challenging questions and engaging children in conversations about their play. Children have exceptional opportunities to build their skills in literacy. For instance, children are confident to attempt writing their names on their work and write for a range of other purposes, such as when drawing pictures of their favourite zoo animals. Children also have easy access to a range of information and communication technology, including sorting boxes, activity centres and electronic toys. Children enjoy spending time outdoors in the fresh air where they capably use equipment, such as, bicycles, scooters and a tunnel for climbing through. Children develop a strong sense of the world around them because staff provide excellent opportunities to learn about nature. Staff enable children to take part in activities outdoors, where they dig

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who attend

freely, plant flowers and bulbs, and learn to take care of them. Equality of opportunity is promoted exceptionally well because staff provide an inclusive environment, which supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. All children learn about similarities and differences in ways they can easily understand and relate to, which has a positive impact on all children in their care. Children are supported in developing further understanding of the wider world and the environment as they participate in regular outings in the community. For example, children visit the library and learn about the people who help us through visits from the fire service, police officers and the road safety officer. As a result, children make outstanding progress and gain excellent skills to support their future learning.

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

Moves from home to the playgroup are well-managed because children are effectively supported through the outstanding key-person system. Parents share comprehensive and detailed information about their child's care and learning needs with the key person, on joining the playgroup. This ensures there is a collaborative approach to supporting changes in children's routines. Children's emotional well-being is given high priority as they develop a supportive attachment to a named staff member. The child's level of well- being is shared with parents every day. Staff work exceptionally well as a team and have a full understanding of the importance of the key-person system. As a result, this extremely sensitive process results in children being very happy, highly settled, secure and confident to learn and explore their wonderful environment. This prepares them well for the next stages in their learning.

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

Children have the choice of whether they prefer to play indoors or outdoors, supporting their developing physical skills and confidence. For example, they choose to play in the nature garden as they delight in exploring the outdoors and are inspired as they lift logs to find bugs, listen to stories under the trees or use the wide variety of outdoor resources. All of this provides excellent opportunities for children to exercise and have fun with their friends. On occasions, staff do not always take full advantage of opportunities for children to further develop their independence skills and understanding of mathematics during the snack time routine, so they can continue to achieve to the highest level. Nevertheless, staff do actively encourage children to develop their self-help skills. For example, they manage their own hygiene needs by washing their hands at snack time or after messy play. Staff provide children with clear and regular explanations as to why they should

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

wash their hands and sit down to eat their snack. This means that children gain first class information about healthy practices and are developing an excellent awareness of a healthy lifestyle.

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

Children learn about their own safety as staff incorporate gentle reminders of how to use resources safely as they play. They know the rules for play particularly indoors and staff reinforce these before children use the physical area by reminding them to keep the toys behind the barrier. Ongoing in-depth risk assessments ensure that any potential hazards are identified and minimised. Positive behaviour is consistent with children as they happily play games together and socialise with friends during their key groups and at snack time. Children are polite and respectful, and this is due to the extremely positive role modelling of staff, who demonstrate high levels of respect towards one another. Children are secure and confident in everything they do and are curious to find out by asking questions. These personal skills in managing their emotions and developing positive relationships support children extremely well towards the next stage of their learning, such as school.

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provision

The management team provides strong and effective leadership, ensuring that all of the safeguarding and welfare requirements are met implicitly. For example, the nominated person has notified Ofsted of the recent changes to members of the committee to ensure they are meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children are well safeguarded because staff have a very comprehensive and highly effective understanding of their roles and responsibilities, with regard to safeguarding and promoting children's welfare. Staff receive regular training and are fully familiar with the child protection procedures. Recruitment procedures are rigorous and robust. All staff are checked thoroughly before being employed and complete frequent declaration forms for both criminal records and their health. Any concerns relating to staff conduct are immediately acted upon and assessed to ensure that all staff working with children are of

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provision

a high calibre and are totally suitable. Full and thorough induction procedures are in place to help and support new staff. Excellent comprehensive policies are frequently reviewed and updated by the manager and staff to ensure robust practices are followed to further protect children. These include the maintenance of daily records, the implementation of safe collection systems and seeking all necessary information at registration. Risk assessments are conducted to ensure that specific standards of health and safety are maintained. The manager guides and monitors the planning of the educational programme for children to ensure that this provides depth and breadth across all areas of learning. Continual monitoring by the management team and effective and frequent supervision and appraisal systems, ensure that all staff maintain high standards of professionalism and integrity. The manager is very adept at praising effective practice and swiftly identifying

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provision

and addressing any shortfalls in staff performance. As a result, children have the best possible quality of teaching and achieve at the highest level.

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provision

Leadership is outstanding and it is clearly evident that safeguarding children and the quality of teaching are the first priority. The playgroup employs experienced, qualified and skilled staff. The manager and some of the staff have been working in the playgroup for a number of years and use their training and experience, to develop their teaching practice to support children in making the best possible progress. The manager closely monitors the planning and assessments of children's learning ensuring that all children are making rapid progress and that any child identified who needs additional support, receives this swiftly. There is a very strong focus on self-evaluation and reflective practice, and this ensures that parents and children are highly involved in the nursery's continual pursuit of excellence. For example, the playgroup has made further enhancements to the outdoor area to enrich children's learning about the natural world. Parents and staff are

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provision

encouraged to continually contribute their views personally or through a questionnaire, which is sent out regularly. Management and staff analyse these responses as a team and review how these are to be addressed to improve their practice. This demonstrates the playgroup's commitment to continuous improvement and the high value placed upon parental involvement.

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provision

Parents highly value the positive relationships they have with staff and the wonderful welcome they receive. Very informative display boards, parent prospectus and regular newsletters ensure that parents are fully informed about all aspects of the playgroup. Parents are kept informed of children's daily progress through regular feedback from staff. Parents comment extremely positively on the ongoing support and approachability of all staff. They say that their children are happy and really enjoy their time at the setting and often talk about their experiences at home. Members of the committee comment that the playgroup has helped to higher the profile of the host church. The playgroup has well- developed relationships with external professional bodies. For example, staff welcome support from the local authority, advisory teachers and speech therapists. When needed, staff work proactively with parents to engage with external agencies and services to

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provision

secure appropriate interventions for children. This means that children's needs are quickly identified and they receive targeted support appropriate to their individual requirements. All children's records are meticulously maintained to ensure these reflect their learning needs at all times, in order to ensure each child's care and education is fully supported for them to make the best progress. The playgroup staff have established very strong links with local childminders, other nurseries and primary schools that children attend. Teachers come in to the setting to visit the children and detailed transition documents are shared, with parental consent. This ensures that children are successfully supported and well- prepared, so that their future move to school is highly positive.

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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 253911 Local authority Dudley Inspection number 866804

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 36 Name of provider Kingswinford Methodist Church Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 25/03/2011 Telephone number 01384 358397

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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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