Woodlands Playgroup

Woodlands Playgroup Yarm Primary School, Spitalfields,Yarm, Stockton-on-Tees, TS15 9HF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27 April 2015 13 December 2011

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Previous inspection: Good 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Requires improvement The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Requires improvement The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Requires improvement The setting does not meet legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision requires improvement. It is not yet good because:

 Staff have a variable understanding of how to support learning effectively. Consequently, not all children make good progress.  Management do not track individual or groups of children and monitor the progress that they make. As a result, opportunities to identify a need for further support are not effectively implemented.  Children's opportunities for playing and exploring are limited through the rigid structure of the daily routine, which requires children to sit for longer periods of time. Children are not actively encouraged to choose their own resources or serve themselves during mealtimes. This offers limited opportunities for children to develop their independence.

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It has the following strengths

 Management effectively implement good recruitment and safeguarding procedures. Staff have attended recent safeguarding training. Consequently, staff display a clear understanding of recognising signs and symptoms of abuse and who to contact should they be concerned about a child's welfare. This enables staff to ensure children's safety at all times.  Staff develop effective relationships with parents. Information is gathered on entry, regarding children's starting points. This promotes opportunities for effective learning and development.  Children follow good hygiene routines. They enjoy healthy snacks and meals, which promotes their good health.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage the provider must:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 improve the consistency and quality of teaching by developing staff knowledge and understanding of how children learn best, so that activities provide appropriate support and challenge.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 improve monitoring systems to effectively track progress of individuals and groups of children to prepare them well for school  review the current routine to allow for further opportunities for children to extend their independence skills, such as preparing own snack and collecting their own resources during free-flow play.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities within the playgroup, both inside of the room and in the outdoor area.  The inspector spoke to staff, children and the leadership team at appropriate times during 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 of the inspection.  The inspector looked at a range of documentation throughout the session, including staff and children's files.

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who attend. This requires improvement

The quality of teaching is variable. Staff arrange a reasonable selection of toys and equipment so that the children have some choice in what they want to play with. Despite this, children do not always benefit from enough free access to a wide range of resources to sustain their motivation to learn. For example, staff prepare pre-cut shapes and direct children's activities to complete an end product. Consequently, staff miss opportune moments to extend children's curiosity, creativity and thinking skills. Parents are invited to contribute to children's starting points on entry, through completing information on what their child can do. This provides opportunity for staff to form initial assessments on children's learning. However, staff have a variable understanding of how children learn. Their observations and children's development books do not always capture accurate assessments of children's learning, therefore, play opportunities do not always offer

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who attend. This requires improvement

sufficient support and challenge for individual children. As a result, not all children make good progress.

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requires improvement

Staff offer support and guidance to parents, who in turn, speak highly of the staff within the playgroup. For example, parents highlight the effectiveness of staff working with external agencies to provide support for their child. As a result, parents feel confident in seeking advice from staff regarding their child's development. Children are provided with a healthy balance of food and drinks during the session, promoting healthy living and hygiene practices. However, children are not actively encouraged to develop independence skills through opportunities to serve themselves and they sit for too long at snack time, limiting their time to play and learn. A key-person system is in place and staff provide a warm, caring nature towards the children. For example, some children display confidence when seeking out members of staff to share their experiences. Effective communication is in place during transitional periods, when children are moving from

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requires improvement

playgroup to school. For example, staff gain information about children's current learning and interests in school to enable the playgroup to replicate this and complement children's learning.

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provision requires improvement

Leaders complete detailed self-evaluation documents to set targets to improve the playgroup. Nevertheless, the quality of teaching and learning is not readily monitored to enable under-performance to be tackled swiftly, and to enable them to drive improvement forward. Staff have relevant qualifications, but their knowledge is not used well enough to promote good progress for all children. Children's individual progress is recorded in development books. However, managers do not consistently review this or accurately assess progress made by groups of children, including those most disadvantaged. This does not enable them to support staff to reflect on practice or identify any areas of improvement needed in children's learning in a timely manner.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 306012 Local authority Stockton on Tees Inspection number 864845 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 60 Name of provider Woodlands Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 13 December 2011 Telephone number 01642 788066

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Setting details

Woodlands Playgroup is a committee run group and has been registered since 1992. It is located within the grounds of Yarm Primary school in the Yarm area of Stockton on Tees. The playgroup is opens five day a week, school term time only, from 9am to 3.30pm. There are seven members of staff working with the children, five of whom have relevant early years qualifications at level 3. One member of staff has an early years leadership and management degree. One member of staff has a teaching degree.

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Setting details

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

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

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Setting details

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Setting details

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

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