Warren Playgroup

Warren Playgroup St. Peters Church Hall, Church Lane, Henfield, West Sussex, BN5 9NY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13/01/2015 14/10/2009

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Staff have a secure knowledge of how children learn and develop. They provide children with a wide range of activities, which are interesting and therefore motivate them to learn.  Staff closely monitor children's development and plan for their next steps in learning. Consequently, all children are making good progress in their learning and development.  Children are happy and confident and have very good relationships with their key persons and all other members of staff. This successfully supports their emotional well- being.  The partnership with parents is good. Staff involve parents in their children's learning and share information to help them support children's learning at home.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not consistently develop children's knowledge of how to keep themselves safe in the indoor environment.  Staff do not always help children when they use the computer, which means staff do not maximise learning opportunities.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the indoor and outdoor environment.  The inspector spoke to children and staff at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled the settings policies and procedures and tracked children's development.  The inspector took part in a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector spoke with parents to gain their feedback on the setting and the staff.

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Information about the setting

Warren Playgroup registered in 2000. It operates from the church hall in Henfield, West Sussex. It is managed by a parent committee. Children have access to a spacious hall and an enclosed outdoor play area. The setting opens from 9.15am to 3.00pm Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and from 9.15am to 1.00pm on Thursday and Friday. The setting is open during term-time only. The group is registered on the Early Years Register. The setting receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. There are currently 38 children on roll. The staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. There are seven members of staff; of these, four hold an appropriate early years qualification.

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

 enhance children's understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe within the environment

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

 maximise children's learning opportunities to fully promote their knowledge and understanding when using the computer.

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who attend

Staff continuously observe and monitor children's development to ensure they are making good progress. Initially, they use information that the parents provide during settling-in sessions to help plan for each child's individual stage of development. During activities, staff take photographs of the children and write short a narrative to explain the learning that is taking place. Staff review children's development and evaluate the activities. They use this as an opportunity to discuss adjustments to provide further challenge or support for individual children. Staff write a brief overview of children's progress each term, which they share with parents. This ensures that staff provide parents with a secure knowledge and understanding of their children's progress and encourages further learning at home. Staff regularly separate older and younger children for short group times. This allows the staff to focus on specific learning to prepare older children for their move to school.

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who attend

Children make good progress in their learning and development.

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who attend

Staff have a secure understanding of how children learn and develop. Staff resource the environment with a good variety of activities. Staff label resources with pictures and words, which support children's independence and early literacy skills. The staff organise the hall into different areas to encourage children to explore. Children are motivated to learn and to select activities independently. For example, children enjoyed the role-play activities; they filled shopping trolleys and suitcases with various resources. Staff asked children where they were going on their holidays and what they had packed in their cases. Children spoke confidently about their journey, which enhanced their imaginations and language development.

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who attend

Staff provide children with a good range of materials to explore, such as recycled boxes for junk modelling. Children enjoyed exploring a range of different sized boxes, fabrics and art resources to combine and create their desired objects. Children were eager to tell staff what they were making. Staff asked the children questions to extend their thinking and children explained their ideas. Staff regularly praised children's ideas and creations, which boosted their confidence and self-esteem. Children have access to technological equipment, including a computer, which is loaded with age appropriate games to support their development. Some of the children demonstrated good skills when using the computer independently. However, staff did not always help the younger children to promote their understanding.

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who attend

Staff organise a well-equipped outdoor area. Children develop physical skills when they climb and slide on equipment and use ride-on-toys. Children enjoyed balancing large tubes on supports and shouting through them to their friends. They used them as telescopes and told staff, they were looking for their house because they lived in the sky. Staff encouraged children to expand their ideas and to talk about their lives in the sky. Other children talked about the sounds they could hear, 'I can hear a bird' and then used their telescopes to explore the trees to see if they could find them.

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

Children are happy and confident because they have secure relationships with their key persons and other staff at the setting. Children arrived excitedly, put their coats on their pegs and find their name cards. They separate from their parents with ease and rush off to find their friends. This demonstrates that children are confident within their surroundings, understand the routine, and feel safe and secure. Children have their own 'pockets' to store their pictures and creations that they want to take home. Children are also able to display their own work and peg it along string for everyone to see. This develops children's self-esteem and sense of belonging. Staff tailor settling-in sessions to meet the needs of individual children. They can and have as many or as few taster sessions as their parents think they need. Parents complete All About Me forms before their children start, which informs the staff of the children's routines, likes, dislikes, family

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

background and stage of development. This supports staff plan to plan for their sessions while they settle-in.

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

Children behave well, respond to staff appropriately, and have very good relationships with each other. In the outdoor area, children took it in turns to push their cars through large tubes. They shrieked with excitement as they raced them to the end and waited patiently for their next turn. Children worked well together during activities and discussed the best ways of carrying out their task. For example, children enjoyed filling buckets with sand and used spades and their hands to flatten the mixture. They made sandcastles and worked together to fill the containers and then emptied them out. They discussed with each other how to make 'good' sandcastles and that they had to tap the bottom 'like this' for it to come out. However, at times, children became over excited and ran around in large groups chasing each other in the indoor area. Consequently, children began to fall over toys and bump into other children. Staff do not always help children understand how

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

Children have a good knowledge and understanding of hygiene practices and independently wash their hands before snack and lunchtime. Staff encourage children to help prepare snack, they confidently use knives to cut up different fruits and vegetables. They use this time well to help children to develop their mathematical skills. For example, they ask children to count their pieces of fruit. Staff develop children's self-help skills, they pour their own drinks independently and with good levels of confidence. Children enjoy running around in the fresh air daily, which helps contribute to a healthy lifestyle.

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provision

The management and staff have a secure understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff have received child protection training. They are extremely confident in the procedures to follow should they have any concerns and how to report these. A member of staff is the designated health and safety representative who implements daily checks to ensure the safety of the environment and equipment. Recruitment procedures are robust to ensure the suitability of all staff. The in depth induction process begins before staff commence their employment. This helps staff become familiar with the settings policies and procedures, their roles and responsibilities and the children's routines. Gradually the manager introduces staff to additional responsibilities, such as leading activities on their own, taking on key children, planning activities and holding parent meetings. This ensures that staff are confident within their

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provision

role and carry it out to the best of their ability.

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provision

The manager effectively supports her staff in developing their practice and encourages them to enrol onto childcare courses. The manager discusses these during staff meetings and annual appraisals. Staff choose courses to enhance their practice and ultimately the outcomes for children. They feedback to their colleagues so that everyone benefits from the acquired knowledge. In addition, the manager has specific meetings to monitor children's overall progress. This means staff plan effectively for individual and groups of children and provide additional support to ensure any gaps in children's learning are narrowing.

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provision

The manager and staff are committed to continuously improving their practice and use their self-evaluation form as a tool to monitor their practice. They successfully highlight areas they wish to improve as well as their strengths. For example, the staff have introduced a trolley to the outdoor area with different equipment so that children can develop in all areas of learning. They have also developed the amount of mathematic opportunities in the outdoor area by introducing shapes and numbers. The manager welcomes feedback from parents and distributes questionnaires on specific areas. Staff consider parents' comments during the on-going process of self-evaluation.

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provision

The manager and staff work closely with other settings children attend. Key persons discuss children's progress and next steps so they can work in partnership to extend children's learning. The staff have very strong relationships with external agencies. They work together to fully support children who require additional help. The staff also have very good relationships with the local schools. Staff liaise with the reception teacher so they can help children prepare well for their move to school. Partnership with parents is good. Staff share information with parents and involve them in their children's learning. Parents are highly complementary of the setting and the staff. They commented on how friendly the staff are and how they always make time to talk to them about their children. They explained how their children enjoy coming and talk fondly of the staff and their friends.

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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 113813 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 839911 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 25 Number of children on roll 38 Name of provider The Warren Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 14/10/2009 Telephone number 01273 495076

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Setting details

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

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

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

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