Piglets Playgroup

Piglets Playgroup Cheviot Crescent, The Old Canteen Community Centre, Billingham, Cleveland, TS23 2PR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/01/2015 16/10/2009

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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

 Teaching is rooted in a good knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff know how to support children's learning. As a result, children make good progress in all areas of their learning and development.  Management and staff are fully committed to continuous quality improvements which benefit all who use the playgroup. They regularly reflect on their practice through a detailed and robust self-evaluation process.  Comprehensive safeguarding policies and procedures are fully understood by the staff, who place a high level of importance on ensuring children are safe and secure at all times.  The staff form close bonds and secure attachments with the children. The effective key- person system, good partnerships with parents and strong transition arrangements ensure that children are happy and feel emotionally secure in their care.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children's awareness of numbers within the environment, to further extend their mathematical skills, for example, in everyday activities, is not fully explored.  Resources that promote information and communication technology are not always available for children to further develop their understanding of this area.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector 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 carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Piglets Playgroup was registered in 2003 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in The Old Canteen Community Centre in the central area of Billingham, and is privately managed. The playgroup operates from two rooms and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. It employs seven members of childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The playgroup opens from Monday to Thursday, during term time only. Sessions are from 8.30am until 12.15pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 30 children on roll who are in the early years age group. The playgroup provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds.

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

 enhance the learning environment to include more opportunities for children to access, see and make use of numbers and build on their mathematical skills through everyday activities

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

 develop further the range of resources and activities to support children with their understanding of technology.

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who attend

Children are happy and settled in this homely and welcoming playgroup, where the quality of teaching is good. Staff are fully committed to achieving high standards across every aspect of their work. They support children very well and use a good balance of adult- planned and child-initiated activities to extend children's thinking, interests and learning. As a result, children are fully engaged and challenged by the activities. For example, they enthusiastically involve themselves in the dinosaur activity, which they made the previous week. Children are encouraged to independently look at the castle they made and talk freely about how they made this and their individual contribution. Children's interest is further developed by the imaginative, creative and fun delivery of the staff. Staff provide good levels of challenge appropriate to children's age and stage of development through recall, questions and expressive language. The indoor environment is very well organised

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who attend

into different learning zones to support children in all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage. For example, there is an art area where children freely access a range of paints and resources, and a mark-making area with boards, pens and various magnetic letters to encourage children to recognise letters. There is a well-resourced role-play area that is imaginative, creative and changed regularly to continually provide interest for children. Outdoor physical equipment is available to aid physical development. The area fully supports children's learning across all seven areas. However, opportunities for children to develop their early mathematical skills through everyday activities, and an understanding of information and communication technology, are not always fully maximised.

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who attend

Staff fully understand and implement the effective procedures in place to observe, assess and plan for children's individual progress. They also complete comprehensive and regular progress summaries and reports for parents. As a result, staff make sure children's development is well recognised. Staff are knowledgeable about each child's stage of development. Children's learning is further enhanced as the staff have a good level of understanding of promoting children's interests and ideas. Children's language and communication is fostered well through the daily individual and group phonics activities. Regular one-to-one activities are provided for all children. For example, they are encouraged to talk in the group at story and snack time. Children clearly enjoy these sessions and chatter to the staff. Furthermore, staff are skilled in using open-ended questions with the children, so that they are able to effectively use their thinking skills. For

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who attend

example, they ask, 'Tell me about your dinosaur?' Staff praise the children for their efforts and extend the activity further by discussing colours and size. Consequently, all children are making good progress in the development of their communication and language skills.

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who attend

Staff gain a good understanding of children's interests and starting points through the All about me form that parents complete. They use this information to provide experiences for the individual child. The playgroup has developed good links with the schools the children attend. They share written information about children's development and progress, with the agreement of parents. Children are well prepared for school as the staff actively promote independence and group skills. For example, they learn to sit and listen attentively during group time. Partnerships with parents are highly effective and they have the opportunity to join in with the playgroup events. This helps parents to see their child's progress in action and enables them to use similar approaches at home to promote sustained learning and development. Verbal discussions take place daily and parents are invited into the playgroup to discuss their children's progress during parents' evenings and

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who attend

contribute to their child's profile folder. As a result, parents are kept very well informed.

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

Children thrive in this warm, friendly and fun environment. They are very well supported emotionally in the transition from home to playgroup. Children form excellent relationships with their key person, as they have good settling-in sessions with children and parents. Attendance is slowly increased to meet the needs of the child, and to help them become familiar with the environment. Staff are calm and caring in all their interactions with the children. They gain a very good understanding of children's individual routines and preferences through the 'All about me' form completed by parents. Staff use this to provide tailor-made experiences that allow children to flourish in the playgroup. Relationships between the children and staff are strong and this is echoed by parents, as they talk about children's fondness of the staff.

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

The playgroup is well organised and resources are clearly labelled and completely accessible to children. Staff display children's work with care and attention, which shows how much they value their efforts. Staff offer gentle reminders to children about safety, such as how to use the scissors safely, which helps children to understand how to keep themselves safe when learning to take increased risks. Staff are positive role models and they manage children's behaviour well. For instance, asking the children to take care of visitors as it is nice to be kind. Staff recognise and offer praise for children's kindness and their very positive behaviour by saying, 'What beautiful manners'. As a result, children learn to be polite and well behaved. Staff encourage children to share and take turns. They praise children for specific behaviours, which motivates them to behave in positive ways.

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

Staff encourage high levels of independence at snack times. Children learn about good hygiene procedures as staff explain why they should wash their hands before eating and after toileting. Consequently, children's independence skills are promoted very well during snack times. Staff use this social time, through discussion and teaching, to reinforce children's understanding of healthy eating. Staff talk about the food on offer and use the attractive notice board to reinforce how many fruit and vegetables children need a day. This raises children's understanding of the importance of healthy lifestyles. Children's physical development is supported well. Exercise is well promoted and children have access to a range of outdoor equipment. This makes a positive contribution to children's physical health and well-being. Children learn excellent self-care skills as they learn to be independent by putting on their own painting aprons and making independent choices

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

about where to play. As a result, children are confident and emotionally prepared for their future move to school.

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provision

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements, which ensures that children are kept safe and protected from harm. The designated safeguarding officer provides good leadership in this field. Staff request visitors' identification and record this in the playgroup's visitors' book. Recruitment processes are robust and effective induction and mentoring procedures prioritise the safeguarding requirements. This promotes staff's understanding of how the playgroup operates and their responsibilities. Regular supervision and appraisals ensure that all staff are well supported with their training and continuing professional development needs. Opportunities for training are identified and implemented to support staff in improving their knowledge and practice. For example, staff have access to online training. Comprehensive policies, procedures and risk assessments are reviewed regularly and

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provision

amended when necessary. All staff and volunteers are vetted to ensure they are suitable to work with children. Furthermore, the premises are kept safe and secure as staff undertake daily checks of the premises and garden. These procedures contribute to keeping children safe and successfully underpin the playgroup's daily practice. There is a clear policy on the use of mobile telephones and technology, which safeguards children during their time at playgroup. Records of complaints are accurately recorded and effectively managed. Legally required documents relating to children's welfare, such as attendance and medical records, are accurately maintained. The management team has a secure understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Through effective monitoring of the quality of practice and evaluating its impact on children, the management team ensures all children make good progress.

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provision

Teaching is consistently good and ensures that children's learning and development is given high priority. Staff consistently plan for and monitor children's learning and the experiences they provide. As a result, children's learning and development is very well supported in the playgroup. Furthermore, the manager discusses strengths and weaknesses in one-to-one supervision meetings. All recommendations made at the last inspection have been successfully completed and changes required by the revised Early Years Foundation Stage have been implemented.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are a strength in this playgroup. Parents are delighted with the service provided by the playgroup and find the staff approachable and friendly. Parents have access to a wealth of information through notice boards. Individual records of children's activities and learning are discussed with parents during regular parents' evenings. Staff also liaise with parents on a daily basis to inform them of activities and observations noted. There is a self-evaluation system in place that identifies the playgroup's strengths and weaknesses. Staff seek the views of parents and children and use these to inform any changes. Parents speak very highly of the playgroup and feel that staff take excellent care of their children.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement action. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or

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Grade Judgement Description

is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY260057 Local authority Stockton on Tees Inspection number 855993

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 30 Name of provider Piglets Playgroup Partnership Date of previous inspection 16/10/2009 Telephone number 07757328380

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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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