Little Sunshine Pre-School

Little Sunshine Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY389107 Inspection date 24/09/2009 Inspector Melanie Calway

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Setting address Cliffe - En- Howe Road, Pott Row, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, PE32 1BY Telephone number 01485601485 Email Type of setting Childcare - Non-Domestic to 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Little Sunshine Pre-School registered in 2009. It operates from the village hall in Pott Row, near King's Lynn. Children have the use of two open-plan rooms and there is a fully enclosed outside play area. The premises are accessed via a staircase and care is provided on the first floor. This provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 17 children may attend the setting at any one time. There are currently 36 children aged from two to under five on roll. The pre-school supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The setting is in receipt of funding for nursery education. Children attending are from the local area and some attend other early years provision locally. The pre-school is open each weekday between the hours of 09:00 and 15:00, during school term times.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is managed by a voluntary committee who employ four staff, all of whom hold suitable childcare qualifications at Level 2 or 3. The pre-school is supported by the local authority.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children benefit from a warm and relaxed environment which is well organised to promote their choice and independence. Key persons get to know the children in their care and use observations of their play and learning to meet their individual needs. Parents are made to feel welcome in the setting and they are encouraged to contribute and be involved. The management has a clear vision of how to develop the setting and a realistic view of the setting's strengths and weaknesses. A firm commitment to improve and develop the service is shared by managers and staff and good progress has been made in the short time the provision has been open.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 involve parents further as part of the ongoing observation and assessment process, encouraging them to add to the learning records and obtaining information from them about children's starting points  share the children's development and learning records with other providers of the EYFS, to ensure effective continuity and progression when children attend more than one setting  improve the record of risk assessment to include everything a child comes into contact with  analyse observations more consistently to help you plan 'what next?' for children across all the areas of learning. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children are effectively safeguarded from the risk of abuse or neglect as there is a clear safeguarding policy in place and staff are aware of their responsibilities to report any concerns they may have concerning children's welfare. All staff have the appropriate checks and there are good systems in place to check that staff continue to be suitable to care for children. Volunteers are vetted and any adults without the necessary checks are supervised at all times. Staff are deployed to supervise children to ensure their safety. New staff are given an induction and students on placement are advised about the setting's policies and their responsibilities regarding health and safety. A daily check is carried out on the premises both inside and out to ensure that any hazards are removed or minimised. A record of risk assessment is kept although this does not cover all aspects of the setting with which a child may come into contact. Risk assessments

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the early years provision

are carried out before each outing and the manager and deputy visit beforehand to ensure that all venues to be visited are suitable and safe. Regular fire drills are carried out so that children and adults know what to do in the event of a fire or emergency and staff talk to children about the reasons they need to practise so they develop an understanding of how to keep safe.

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the early years provision

Good use is made of equipment and resources. The environment is well planned to provide children with plenty of choice and independence in their play and learning. Children are able to choose whether to play inside or out and measures are in place to ensure that children can do this safely, for example, staff communicate with each other via walkie-talkies so that they are aware of children's movements and can supervise them as they manage the stairs to the outside area. Inside, resources are organised in drawers and baskets which are clearly labelled with pictures and print so that children can access them for themselves, for example, selecting their own paper or envelopes in the mark-making area or pouring and mixing their own paints. This promotes their independence, confidence and self- esteem and means that children are active learners. Staff get to know children well and use observations of their play and learning to provide opportunities to help

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the early years provision

them to progress as individuals so that no groups are disadvantaged. Children with additional needs are given the appropriate support to enable them to be included in all activities and make progress.

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the early years provision

Parents are made to feel welcome and chat to staff as they collect or drop off children. They are encouraged to contribute any skills to the group and some come in to help as volunteers to provide cookery and gardening sessions. Information about the service is available via a notice board, brochure and regular newsletters. Links with home are promoted through the use of 'Barnaby Bear', who goes home with the children in turn and provides parents with an opportunity to share aspects of children's home life. Children's learning records are available for parents to see and the setting is beginning to put systems in place to encourage parents to make their own contributions to the learning records, for example, by inviting them to provide their own observations of children's learning on 'sunshine bubbles'. However, parents are not yet fully involved in the assessment process, adding to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

the records consistently and sharing their own knowledge of children's developmental starting points or on-going learning. Systems have not yet been developed to share information about children's learning and development with other providers of the EYFS when children attend more than one setting. The management of the group has worked very hard since re-opening to bring about improvement. They reflect on their practice and have developed an action plan which includes targets to continue the development of the service for the benefit of the families and children attending. Staff are meaningfully involved in taking responsibility for the completion of the action plan and systems for self-evaluation are beginning to be put in place.

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and outcomes for children

Children make sound progress given their starting points. The learning environment is well organised with different areas set out to provide suitable opportunities across all the areas of learning. Children's choice and independence are promoted well as they can choose activities and access resources for themselves. Staff are generally well deployed throughout the setting and support children as they play, listening to them sensitively and asking open-ended questions to promote their thinking skills. Key persons get to know the children well and make regular observations of their play and learning. These are recorded in children's special books along with photographs to form an attractive record. Staff are beginning to use their observations of individual children to plan opportunities to help children progress. However, observations and next steps are not always consistently recorded and used to plan for children's progress across all

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and outcomes for children

the areas of learning. Planning is flexible and is adapted to children's needs and interests, for example, the role play area is developed on a wedding theme after children's involvement in a family wedding.

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and outcomes for children

Children practise their mark-making skills in the writing area where they can access resources independently. They select paper and writing materials to make their own drawings and cards. Some boys, in particular, persevere and concentrate well on this task, selecting envelopes and working out how to fit their cards into the envelopes. Children listen to stories with staff in small groups and as individuals, in the book corner and outside where books are also available. Children operate the tape recorder in the listening corner and use the computer confidently with and without adult support. They are learning to recognise shapes as they look for the symbols on their name cards and use some mathematical language. They can tell you how many cards they have made. Adults' open-ended questioning encourages children to problem-solve, saying for example, 'what do you need to do to fit the card into the envelope?'. Children are creative, using different media

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and outcomes for children

to make their own pictures and choosing their own paints to mix. They use their imaginations as they play with the small world play or make imaginary ice creams from the play house outside, using cups of stones. Children learn about the world around them as they grow tomatoes or look for bugs in the garden area. There are opportunities to explore and investigate different materials in the sand and water trays. Children can choose to play outside when they want to and so get plenty of fresh air and exercise. They develop physical skills of co-ordination and control as This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 they play on ride-on toys or with hoops and balls. Parachute games provide opportunities to develop their large muscle movements. Children's independence is promoted well as they make choices about what they do and select resources. They take it in turns helping to prepare the fruit for snack and put their plates

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and outcomes for children

Children are learning about how to keep themselves healthy as staff give them explanations about the effect of exercise on their bodies, for example, saying 'you are hungry after all that running about'. Children are encouraged to make healthy choices as they are provided with a healthy snack of fresh fruit and cheese. Sandwiches from packed lunches are put out on plates to encourage children to eat them first and some guidance is given to parents to encourage healthy eating. Fresh drinking water is available at all times. Children are learning very good hygiene practices as staff encourage them to follow a pictorial guide, which is displayed at child level near the wash basins. Staff consistently remind children to follow these guidelines so that they know how to wash their hands properly and the reasons for doing so. As a result children are learning the rules and are able to tell each other how to do it. Children learn to keep safe as staff give regular

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and outcomes for children

explanations, as they play, about walking inside or holding scissors properly. After the fire drill, children take part in a circle time when they discuss why they need to practise this procedure so they learn how to keep themselves safe. Children are forming good relationships with the adults and with each other and often play together in small groups, co-operating well. They respond to simple instructions and take responsibility for the environment, for example, helping to tidy up. Children are listened to with respect and their ideas taken on board, for example the planning of the outside is changed in response to suggestions from children. They develop respect for other people as staff give sensitive explanations about peoples differences and resources reflect diversity. Children are learning useful skills for the future as they learn to be independent, use technology and develop their literacy and numeracy skills.

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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Early Years Foundation Stage

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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Stage

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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