St James Playgroup

St James Playgroup Gledholt Methodist Church, Edgerton Grove Road, Gledholt, Huddersfield, HD1 5QX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16 February 2018 7 March 2014

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3

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Outcomes for children Requires improvement

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

 The provider does not ensure that Ofsted is provided with the information it needs to determine the suitability of new committee members.  Children are not always sufficiently challenged in their learning. The activities staff plan do not take account of what individual children need to learn next.  Staff do not find out enough about what children can already do when they start at the playgroup. Ongoing assessment is not always accurate. Staff do not always know children's next steps in learning.  Staff do not provide children with daily access to outdoor play.  Methods of developing staff performance are not always thorough enough to provide staff with high levels of support in their professional development.

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It has the following strengths

 Children develop warm, playful relationships with staff. Staff are deployed well and join in with children's play.  Children who speak English as an additional language make good progress in speaking. Staff support children's acquisition of English while continuing to promote their home language.  Partnerships with parents and outside agencies are effective. Staff seek advice from other professionals, so they can better help children who need extra support. Parents speak highly of the playgroup staff and say how much their children enjoy attending.

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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

 ensure that Ofsted is provided with the necessary information to enable them to determine the suitability of committee members 31/03/2018

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Due Date

 use the information gained from observations and assessment more effectively to plan challenging and purposeful play for each child responding to their individual needs, interests and stage of development 31/03/2018

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Due Date

 ensure assessment of children's starting points and their ongoing progress, is precise 31/03/2018

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Due Date

 provide children with daily access to outdoor play. 31/03/2018

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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

 develop more effective methods of supporting staff in their professional development.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities indoors and assessed the impact on children's learning.  The inspector spoke to children and staff at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector held discussions with the playgroup's deputy manager. She looked at relevant documentation and evidence of the suitability of people working on the premises.  The inspector spoke to parents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

The manager and her staff team do not have a thorough understanding of the requirements they must meet. Ofsted have not been provided with the information they need to determine the suitability of new committee members. However, the risk to children's welfare is minimised. Committee members do hold Disclosure and Barring Service checks and do not have unsupervised access to children. In addition, the staff team are not aware of the requirement to provide children with daily access to the outdoors. While some staff are qualified and experienced, they are not coached to continue to develop their skills and knowledge through fully effective performance management. Opportunities for staff to access further training are limited. The manager is working in partnership with staff from the local authority early years team to evaluate and monitor playgroup practice. She is aware that some aspects of the provision need to

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

improve and is keen to address weaker areas of practice. Safeguarding is effective. Staff know how to recognise and refer any concerns they may have about children's welfare.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Staff regularly observe children's play and check their progress against the early years outcomes. However, they do not regularly use the information gained from observations to plan challenging activities for individual children. In addition, the assessments staff make are not always accurate. Information gathered from parents when children start focuses on their care and home routines with little information about what children can already do. Children do not make good enough progress in their learning. Staff provide opportunities to support children's developing literacy. For example, staff read stories to children, encourage them to write letters from their name and to recognise the sounds that letters represent. During circle times, staff help children to understand numbers when they ask children to give a 'one thumbs up or two thumbs up'.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Children are well behaved, helpful and enjoy playing together. For example, they happily join in with tidy up time, helping to pack resources away at the end of the session. Children enjoy riding on bicycles and playing with balls and hoops. Children excitedly join in a game where they are encouraged to move like an elephant or a lion. However, children only access the new outside garden area once or twice a week. The playgroup has a recent award for promoting healthy eating. Children enjoy helping themselves to noodles at snack time as part of their learning about Chinese New Year. Staff help children to learn about people whose life culture or beliefs are different to their own.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

While overall children's progress is not good enough, children are developing an enthusiasm for learning. They show an ability to listen and participate in small group activities and respond enthusiastically during singing activities and games. Children's social and self-care skills are developing in readiness for starting school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY339305 Local authority Kirklees Inspection number 1088005 Type of provision Sessional 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 19 Name of registered person St James Playgroup Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 7 March 2014 Telephone number 07900853728

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reference number

St James Playgroup opened in 1966 and was registered on the current premises in 2006. The playgroup employs four members of childcare staff, three of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The playgroup is open Monday to Friday, from 9.30am to 12.30pm during term time only. The playgroup provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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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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