Twinkle Tots Pre School

Twinkle Tots Playgroup Heelands Meeting Place, Glovers Lane, Heelands, Milton Keynes, MK13 7LW

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28 June 2016 6 July 2015

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

Previous inspection: Requires Improvement

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Inadequate 4

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate 4

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate 4

p.1

This provision is inadequate

 Leadership and management are weak. There is no current, active committee to provide a clear sense of direction. The manager does not demonstrate a secure understanding of the learning and development requirements.  Senior roles and responsibilities within the playgroup lack clarity. Not all staff know who the lead practitioner for safeguarding is.  A lack of monitoring and support for staff mean that the quality of teaching remains too variable and is sometimes ineffective.  The manager has not made sure that parents know who their child's key worker is.  Some children do not behave well at the setting and staff do not manage this consistently. This has an impact on children's learning and hinders the progress they make.  Records to monitor children's learning are not always precise and up-to-date. Parents do not routinely contribute to assessments of children's development.  Staffing arrangements are not always adequate to meet the needs of children in the

p.1

This provision is inadequate

playgroup and ensure they are well supervised. Records do not provide reassurance that there are always enough staff to meet the legal requirements.

p.1

It has the following strengths

 Staff are kind and caring. Most children arrive happily and enjoy their time at playgroup. Parents speak warmly of the playgroup which is long-established within the community.  There are good arrangements in place to support children when moving on to the local school.

p.1

What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

p.2

Due Date

 ensure that the roles and responsibilities of the manager are clearly understood and that they have the skills, knowledge and confidence required to fulfil the role 28/09/2016

p.2

Due Date

 ensure staff know who has the role of designated lead practitioner for safeguarding in the playgroup 05/09/2016

p.2

Due Date

 develop effective systems to monitor the quality of the provision to ensure that teaching becomes consistently good 28/09/2016

p.2

Due Date

 ensure staff gather the information that is needed to accurately assess children's skills, knowledge and understanding both when they join the setting and on an ongoing basis 28/09/2016

p.2

Due Date

 ensure an effective key person system is in place that ensures that parents share information about what their children know and can do and engages parents, including those that may be more reluctant, in their children's learning 01/09/2016

p.2

Due Date

 ensure arrangements are made for the provision of effective supervision that allows staff to express their views, discuss any concerns and identify good opportunities for their professional development 28/09/2016

p.2

Due Date

 ensure there is a consistent approach taken to managing children's behaviour in an positive and effective manner 28/09/2016

p.2

Due Date

 ensure that there are always sufficient staff in place to ensure the safety and well-being of the children in the setting and that children are well supervised at all times. 04/07/2016

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to parents and took their views into account.  The inspector spoke to children and staff at suitable times throughout the inspection.  The inspector sampled the playgroup's documentation including staff files, supervision notes, attendance registers and records of children's progress.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager and administrator to discuss the leadership of the playgroup.

p.3

Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

The playgroup's self-evaluation is overly optimistic and not always accurate. The manager, who is office-based, does not have a clear picture of the strengths and weaknesses within the playgroup. This is because she is not monitoring the quality of teaching effectively. The pace of improvement is not fast enough. For example, plans to develop the support for children's speech and language development have not been progressed. Opportunities for staff to develop their teaching practice are limited. Staff have recently attended some core training, such as paediatric first aid and a safeguarding awareness courses. However, there is no training, coaching or mentoring to help them develop their teaching skills. Leaders and managers have failed to create a cohesive staff team. Relations between the manager and most staff are poor, resulting in a lack of effective communication. Staff feel unsupported and morale among the team is low. A negative atmosphere prevents them

p.4

Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

from easily sharing their concerns or views on how to improve the playgroup. Safeguarding is not effective. Staffing arrangements do not ensure that children are well supervised. Although staff are aware of the need to report any concerns they have about children's welfare, some do not know who has the lead role for safeguarding in the playgroup.

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

Too many parents are not aware of who their child's key worker is because they have not been alerted to changes in the arrangements following the departure of staff. This means that they do not know what their children are learning and are not sufficiently engaged in supporting their children's development. New systems to ensure that parents contribute their views on what their children know and can do when they first start at the setting are not always successful. This means the playgroup staff do not have a clear and accurate picture of where the children are in their learning to ensure they are making progress. Precise observations, assessments and the identification of next steps are carried out by some staff in a timely fashion, but not by others. Planning now ensures that children attending all day have access to a different range of activities in the morning and afternoon. It is more strongly focused on children's interests and needs. Children are keen

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

to explore the adequate range of activities available to them, for example, they enjoy rolling dice and copying shapes. Staff are warm and friendly and they talk to the children a lot. However, they miss opportunities to extend children's learning by introducing new words and asking open-ended questions.

p.4

Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

Some children do not behave well. At times, children throw resources, such as pencils, sticks, books and water, and they hit each other. Staff fail to manage some behaviours in an appropriate manner. For example, they do not provide a clear explanation why the behaviour is not acceptable to help the children's understanding. At times staff fail to supervise the children well enough; children are able to climb on stacked chairs, disappear behind the shed, climb up a wooden pallet stacked against the fencing and on top of indoor storage units. Information to support children's needs is not being shared effectively between parents, staff and the management. For example, the staff working with the children on a day-to-day basis are not aware of those children for whom the playgroup receives additional funding.

p.4

Outcomes for children are inadequate

Children do not spend enough time engaged in purposeful play. When they are not involved in small group work or become disinterested in activities, their behaviour deteriorates and this clearly hinders their progress and disrupts the learning of other children. Too many children do not maintain their attention well, which means they are not developing an essential skill in readiness for school. Despite this, most children enjoy their time at playgroup and are confident to explore the resources, especially outside. Some focus on activities and concentrate well, for example when painting. There are good opportunities for children to develop their physical skills, such as throwing balls at hoops and using tongs to select their snack. Children develop some levels of independence, for example, by taking care of their own personal care.

p.5

Setting details

Unique reference number 141880 Local authority Milton Keynes Inspection number 1036750 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 32 Number of children on roll 50 Name of provider Twinkletots Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 6 July 2015 Telephone number 01908 311 911

p.6

Setting details

Twinkle Tots Playgroup registered in 2001. The playgroup is located in the Heelands area of Milton Keynes, in Buckinghamshire. Funding is accepted for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The playgroup opens on weekdays during school term times, with sessions operating from 8.45 am to 11.45 am, and then from 12 noon until 3pm. A lunch club is provided between the morning and afternoon sessions. There are nine members of staff, seven of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications.

p.6

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.

p.6

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.

p.6

Setting details

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 reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Setting details

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our website for news, information and updates at www.ofsted.gov.uk/user.

p.7

Setting details

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

p.7