Milford Playgroup

Milford Playgroup Milford Park, Milford Road, Yeovil, Somerset, BA21 4QD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 5 May 2017 21 November 2016

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3

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2

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3

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Outcomes for children Good 2

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

 Leaders do not use effective processes to monitor staff's ongoing suitability, as required.  On occasion, staff respond too quickly after asking children questions. They do not give them enough time to think and answer for themselves before asking the next question.  Staff are not consistently helped to develop some areas of their expertise, to improve children's outcomes even further.  Staff supervise children well, but, on occasions, they do not make the best use of opportunities to help develop children's awareness of managing their own safety.  Leaders do not evaluate the provision well enough to help identify and address all areas for improvement.

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It has the following strengths

 Leaders and staff monitor data of children's achievements consistently. They make good use of information about children's progress to make changes to the curriculum where they identify weaker areas in learning.  Staff use their observation and assessment information to plan engaging activities to build on children's knowledge. Children make good progress from their starting points.  Partnerships with parents are good. Staff keep parents well informed of their children's progress, such as through regular meetings.  Staff support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities well. They work closely with other professionals to meet children's individual needs.

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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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Due Date

 make sure that staff are clear about their responsibility to disclose any information that may affect their ongoing suitability to work with children. 31/05/2017

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Due Date

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

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Due Date

 give children more time to respond to questions and process their thoughts  support staff to develop their expertise in helping improve children's play experiences, to aid their learning even further  make the most of opportunities that arise to raise children's awareness of safety and how to assess risks for themselves  develop the self-evaluation process to identify and target all areas for improvement.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff and their interactions with children during play and learning activities and viewed the play areas and resources.  The inspector held discussions with the leadership team and spoke with children and staff at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including staff suitability checks, self- evaluation, children's assessment and planning records and documentation linked to monitoring children's progress.  The inspector conducted a joint observation of staff practice and discussed this with the acting manager.  The inspector took into account the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

Safeguarding is effective. Leaders and staff have a good understanding of what to do if they have a concern about a child's welfare. Leaders follow effective recruitment methods to ensure staff are suitable at appointment. However, there are no systems in place to monitor staff's ongoing suitability. Leaders and staff have taken steps to meet the actions set from the previous inspection. They have made improvements to raise the quality of care and education. For example, leaders have implemented training for staff about how to effectively support children's learning through their interactions. However, leaders do not focus precisely on helping staff to develop some skills, to improve children's outcomes further. Self-evaluation is not effective in identifying all areas for improvement.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff engage positively in children's play to extend their learning well. Staff plan engaging story-telling sessions. For example, children are enthralled as they listen to a well-known story that includes the use of puppets. Staff support children to develop a good understanding of growth and change in the natural world. For example, children very carefully examine the plants they have grown from seeds. They look keenly at the root and stem systems. Staff skilfully extend children's learning further by encouraging them to measure the growth of their seedlings. However, at times, staff do not give children sufficient time to respond to questions.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

The weaknesses in leadership and management put children's welfare at risk. Nevertheless, children have good opportunities to be outdoors on a daily basis and practise their physical skills. Staff are vigilant in reminding children about their expectations of behaviour. However, they do not support children as well as possible to assess their own levels of risk. Overall, children behave well. They demonstrate thoughtful behaviour towards their friends. Staff support children well to understand about turn taking. For example, they use sand timers to help children understand about fairness and to know when it is time to let others have turns with more popular toys.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children develop effective skills to prepare them well for the next stage in their learning and their eventual move to school. All children develop good independence skills and try to do things themselves. For example, at snack time children clear away and wash their used cups and plates. Children concentrate and listen attentively to staff during adult-led activities. Children are confident communicators. For example, they discuss things they understand in the world, such as meteorites. Children use money language in their play and recognise large numbers, such as 100.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 143115 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 1079201 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 52 Name of registered person Milford Playgroup Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 21 November 2016 Telephone number 01935 411325

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reference number

Milford Playgroup registered in 1970. It is a committee run playgroup which operates from a community building on the outskirts of Yeovil, Somerset. The playgroup is open weekdays during term time only from 8.30am to 4pm. The playgroup is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. A team of 10 staff work with the children. One member of staff holds a qualification at level 5, six hold qualifications at level 2, one has a qualification at level 2 and one is unqualified.

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reference number

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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reference number

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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reference number

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reference number

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

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