St Mary's Playgroup

St Mary's Playgroup St Mary's R/C School, Bessemer Road East,Rodbourne, Swindon, Wilts, SN2 1PE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12 July 2017 2 February 2015

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This inspection: Good 2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2

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This provision is good

 There are strong links with parents, who are pleased with the way staff help children settle at playgroup. Children are confident. They leave their parents with ease and form strong bonds with staff. This makes a positive contribution to children’s adaptability and social skills.  There are effective links with the host school. Staff work well with them to ease children’s move to the next stage of their education.  Staff cater well for children who need extra help. There are good links with other agencies that enable them to support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities well.  Children engage in a good range of activities that encourages them to explore and be creative.  The manager works well to ensure that staff welcome all families and value their different home lives and languages. They encourage parents to share their unique skills and lifestyles with the children during planned activities, which helps all children to

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This provision is good

learn well about their similarities and differences, and respect for others.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 The new manager does not yet use self-evaluation and the monitoring of staff practice as well as she could, to focus more sharply on extending the quality of teaching even further.  Staff do not always give children opportunities to manage tasks for themselves and develop independence at mealtimes.

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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

 use monitoring and self-evaluation more effectively, to focus sharply on extending the quality of teaching even further  review mealtimes and give children more opportunity to develop independence, to enable them to participate more actively and do things for themselves.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff interacting with children during indoor and outdoor play, and looked at the range of resources available to children.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager, and discussed with staff how they were assessing and supporting children's learning and development.  The inspector discussed with the manager the systems for assessing and monitoring the quality of the provision, including the quality of teaching and learning.  The inspector looked at documentation, including children's developmental records, evidence of working with external professionals, and a sample of policies and procedures, including the safeguarding procedures.  The inspector spoke with several parents on the day and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The manager and staff understand their responsibilities to protect children from harm and know what to do if there are concerns about a child's welfare. Safeguarding is effective. There have been recent changes to the management structure. Although the committee understands its responsibility to inform Ofsted of changes to its members, and is in the process of informing Ofsted, it has not done this promptly. However, there is no impact on children, as members do not have any unsupervised contact with children. The new manager understands her role and responsibilities well and is in the early stages of identifying some areas of weaknesses, including how she can identify and organise appropriate training experiences to enhance staff practice. The manager monitors children's progress well to ensure gaps in children's learning close swiftly. This has enabled staff to support those children who are learning English as an additional language

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

well in their communication and language skills.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff have a good understanding of the age group with which they work. They choose relevant stories to help older children who are transferring to the next stage in their learning. They encourage them well to express their thoughts and feelings about going to 'big school'. This prepares them well for the coming changes. Staff provide engaging activities, such as making coloured play dough, excavating toy dinosaurs from shaving foam and experimenting with cornflour 'gloop'. Children of all ages enjoy tactile experiences and learn new vocabulary when staff encourage them to use their imagination. Parents are pleased with the progress their children make in literacy and numeracy.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Staff provide children with plenty of opportunity to get regular exercise and fresh air. Children play energetic games and particularly enjoy riding wheeled toys. Children develop good physical skills. Children enjoy football and take turns kicking the ball into the goal. They make good friends and play together happily, sharing toys and the climbing frame. They behave well and develop good social skills. Staff support children well at mealtimes to show good manners when at the table and remind them to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Children respond well to good routines and say, 'Oh dear, I have forgotten to wash my hands'.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children work well within the stage of development expected for their age. They learn to count, identify colours and shapes, and recognise the sound of the letter that starts their names. They enjoy artwork and experiment by smearing their hands in paint. Children particularly enjoy outside play and the good variety of activities that staff prepares for them. For example, they have fun 'shooting' model cars down a ramp. They are happy and settled, and learn the necessary skills for moving on to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 511580 Local authority Swindon Inspection number 1091197 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 3 - 4 Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 42 Name of registered person St Mary's Bessemer Road Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 2 February 2015 Telephone number 01793 523371 and 07951646873

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reference number

St Mary's Playgroup registered in 1982. It is situated in the grounds of St Mary's Roman Catholic School in Rodbourne, Swindon. The playgroup opens five days a week during term time only, from 9am until 11.30am and from 12pm until 3pm. The playgroup receives funding for the provision of free early education for three- and four-year-old children. It employs six members of staff to work directly with the children. Of these, two hold early years degrees and two hold relevant early years qualifications at level 3.

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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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