Gants Hill Playgroup

Gants Hill Playgroup Gants Hill Methodist Church, Gantshill Crescent, ILFORD, Essex, IG2 6TU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/11/2014 23/11/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 3 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Children are happy and settled. They have developed positive relationships with the staff and are occupied in activities that staff provide for them.  There are appropriate partnerships developed with parents to maintain a level of communication on a regular basis.  Staff work well as a team and follow their identified roles and responsibilities.  Staff engagement in children's activities enhance children's learning experiences.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff do not explore children's initial stage of development with the engagement of parents to clearly inform them of planning for the child's individual needs.  The key-person role is not fully effective to ensure all children receive quality time and interaction.  The planning and provision of activities is not robust enough to ensure children of all ages and abilities are taken into account or that children are stimulated in all the areas of learning.  The organisation of some activities and snack time does not always enable children's concentration or challenge their interests and choices effectively.

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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 compulsory part 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 spoke to staff, a sample of parents and children during the inspection period.  The inspector observed children engaged in activities indoors and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of documents and records relating to children and staff, parental questionnaires, and feedback from the local authority advisory team.  The inspector carried out shared observation with the deputy manager.

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Information about the setting

Gants Hill Playgroup registered in 2010 and is operated by a private individual. The setting is situated within the Gants Hill Methodist Church within the London Borough of Redbridge. The playgroup has the sole use of two halls and associated areas during the hours of operation. There is an outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The setting operates Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 9am to 12 noon, term- time only. On Tuesdays, the setting operates for both part-time and full-time sessions, between 9am to 3pm. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. There are currently 34 children in the early years age range on roll. The setting provides free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The setting currently supports children with English as an additional language. Children who attend the setting come from within the borough.

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Information about the setting

The setting employs eight members of staff including the manager. Of these, seven staff members hold appropriate early years qualifications. Two of the eight members of staff work full-time and there are arrangements for part-time staff to be available as bank staff.

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must:

 gather baseline information for each child's development from parents/carers at the time of a child commencing at the setting to clearly inform planning for children's ongoing individual progress.

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

 review the organisation of snack time, so that children's engagement in focused activities can continue without interruption to promote development of their concentration skills

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

 review how the premises are used when setting out play activities, to ensure all children have access to a range of challenging activities that reflect their interests across each of the areas of learning

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

 review how outdoor play is offered to children and how children are grouped for this, to allow children to have longer periods of outdoor play

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

 build on current key-person roles to ensure key children are given quality time and attention with their key person.

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who attend

Staff have a suitable knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and plan activities based on the seven areas of learning. Educational programmes cover the seven areas of learning and as a result, children gain the necessary skills in readiness for school. However, children's learning experiences at times lack consistent challenge and are not always precisely matched to children's individual learning needs. As a result, children make suitable rather than good progress. Staff regularly observe children as they play, which allows staff to become aware of children's likes and dislikes. Parents complete an 'All about me' record when children first attend, although this only requests basic information. This means staff do not gain enough information from parents prior to their children being settled. Therefore, the key persons are not informed of children's initial stage of development when they first start to attend. As a result, the key staff do not plan a unique

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who attend

programme to complement what the children already know and promote further development as they settle in. Nonetheless, staff do carry out brief settling-in observations, a six week initial review and have three monthly meetings with parents. This allows for staff to engage the parents, discuss their children's progress and share forward planning. Staff have a sound knowledge of working in partnership with parents. For example, the staff guide the parents on settling their child into the setting gradually, share relevant information at handovers and allow parents to view their child's developmental record books.

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who attend

Children settle on arrival and are greeted warmly by staff. Children are occupied and choose play independently. Staff deployment is adequate to keep children supervised. It is evident that when staff fully engage in activities, the children show a greater interest and therefore, they also engage in the activity. There are a number of areas of learning that are not explored by children, such as those arranged on the stage area, which is very underused by children. For example, children attending one session may not explore any books or problem solving as these resources are either displayed out of reach of children or set up on the stage area, which they do not really access. The organisation of routines sometimes stops children from partaking in popular and enjoyable activities where they are deep in concentration and ideas. For example, when children were enjoying exploring the play dough and the range of tools they learn to use to create shapes, staff brought the

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who attend

activity to an abrupt halt. This is because staff also use the same activity table for snacks. This demonstrates staff do not always give priority to children's ongoing learning experiences as they do not understand how to make the best use of the premises for routines. In addition, staff do not always observe how children use the play areas, which activities are underused or explore why this is occurring to enable them to enhance outcomes for children more effectively.

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who attend

The props for imaginative play offer children different experiences, such as the hairdressing area. Children enjoy the messy activities very much indoors and outdoors, with sand and water being very popular in both areas. Young children learn to use glue spreaders as they engage in adult-led creative activities. Children play well with large equipment indoors, they adhere to instructions to play safely, such as when steering large cars in the hall area. Children become familiar with their peers and develop a sense of belonging. For example, skilled staff create a warm welcoming circle time experience on children's arrival to the setting. This helps children to learn the names of their friends and develop confidence to contribute to the group activity. There are opportunities for children to make marks, but there is not always enough encouragement or engagement from staff to promote this further.

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

Staff use a key-person system to help children build secure attachments, which supports their well-being. New children are supported well into the setting, and staff take the opportunity to speak to parents at the beginning and the end of the session to discuss their child's day. However, the key staff do not always ensure all children receive quality time and interaction. Children who are learning English as an additional language are supported generally well by staff, as many speak a range of community languages. Staff generally support children to play and learn together in harmony. Staff use picture cards to support children to learn about the feelings of others and use a sand timer to teach children about turn taking. The setting's routines generally help staff to support children's emotional well-being. For example, although there are weakness in the organisation of snack time, children enjoy this time as they are in small groups, which helps to support

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

their independence and social skills. Children are supported in preparing for their move on to school or other settings. Staff complete reports to inform the school of the children's developmental progress to help provide consistency in their future learning.

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

Children learn about healthy lifestyles through daily access to the outdoor area, as they use the appropriate range of resources to support their physical development. Opportunities are provided for children to use one of the halls to continue to develop physical skills through a range of appropriate equipment. However, children have limited time for outdoor play and go out as a large group. This means children do not always have the opportunity to explore all the activities on offer. Staff provide children with healthy snacks of fresh and dried fruit and dry cereals. They give children opportunities to develop their independence, such as by serving themselves and pouring their own milk or water. Younger children benefit from the guidance and support from staff to develop confidence in handling the tools to serve themselves.

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

Staff show an understanding of the importance of risk management. Daily safety checks of all areas to be used by children contribute to staff recognising any potential risks. The children are included in regular evacuation drills and staff provide children with general reminders at the start of the session to raise their awareness of safety. For example, staff explain not to run indoors and to pick up toys that fall off the tables to prevent others tripping up. Children are also eager to hold onto the walking rein as they go outdoors in a large group, which allows them to stay together. Staff manage this well as they are deployed effectively along the line to help keep the children safe.

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provision

Staff have a sound knowledge of safeguarding procedures. They are aware of the safeguarding policy and the procedures to follow should they have a concern about a child's welfare, or if an allegation is made against them or a member of staff. Staff supervise children well; consequently, children are suitably protected. There are effective processes for selection and safe recruitment of new staff. The manager ensures that suitability checks are undertaken, and references are gained prior to any new staff starting at the group. Staff are further supported through regular supervisions. There are a number of staff working with the children who are trained in current first aid and in food hygiene to promote children's safety and welfare. This contributes to children's well-being.

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provision

Staff have a suitable knowledge of how to support children in their learning and development. For example, they understand that when they role model how to use the resources and play with children at their level, children gather with interest and join in. The setting works closely with the local authority to develop their practice and this contributes to self-evaluation as part of their action plan to improve. The teaching practice of staff is adequate and children make suitable progress in their learning and development. Overall, this shows that the staff are committed to improving practice. The setting has links with local authority advisors, professionals in the local children's centre and a link with the local school to pass on relevant information when a child starts to attend.

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provision

Staff regularly seek the views of the parents, verbally and through questionnaires. However, the questionnaire used does not fully reflect the services of this setting. Parents are complimentary about the setting. For example, they comment that, 'language development is supported, staff settle the children well, staff give information when time for collection, staff are very approachable and children gain confidence in socialising'. Management has taken steps to meet the previous recommendations raised at the last inspection adequately. These improvements have enabled children to have access to physical play indoors and outdoors, enhanced their safety, and improved systems for monitoring children's development and supporting the home languages used in the setting.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY410036 Local authority Redbridge Inspection number 845052 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 29 Number of children on roll 34 Name of provider Sukriye Nihan Icel Date of previous inspection 23/11/2010 Telephone number 02085501518

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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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