Croxteth County Junior School

Invicta Park Playgroup 36 Engineer Regiment, Invicta Park, Sandling Road, MAIDSTONE, Kent ME14 2NA

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Inspection date 15 January 2019 Previous inspection date 9 June 2015

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Good 2 Effectiveness of leadership and management Good 2 Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2 Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1 Outcomes for children Good 2

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This provision is good

n Children develop extremely strong emotional attachments with staff from the start. Staff are especially sensitive to the children's needs and personal situations. The attentive staff offer endless support and reassurance to children and families, when required. Parents refer to the staff team as being 'wonderful' and 'amazing', and they comment that the playgroup has a 'close community feel'. n Staff monitor and track children's progress effectively and they recognise children's achievements well. They use this information to swiftly target any emerging gaps in children's development. Children make good progress from their starting points. n Children's independence is supported exceptionally well. For example, staff organise the environment to enable children to make choices and lead their own play. n The manager is very passionate about and committed to her role. She leads by example and effectively supports a strong staff team. The manager works closely with

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This provision is good

the playgroup committee and staff to establish and reinforce her high expectations for the setting. They work well as a team to develop and maintain the high quality of care. n On occasions, staff do not give older children sufficient time to share experiences and show their understanding of things that interest them. n At times, some staff are not always highly effective in providing children with opportunities to further encourage them to practise and extend their early writing skills.

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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

n enhance staff skills when interacting with children, to enable them to give children even greater opportunities to share their developing knowledge of the world around them n extend opportunities for children to use and practise their early writing skills.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

Inspection activities n The inspector observed interactions between the staff and children in the inside space and the outside environment. n The inspector looked at a range of documentation, including the playgroup policies and staff records. n The inspector spoke to key people and looked at developmental records for individual children. n The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager. n The inspector spoke to parents about aspects of the playgroup and considered their views.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The manager works hard to ensure all staff are knowledgeable about current safeguarding issues and requirements. They have a good understanding of the procedures to follow to record and report any concerns to help keep children safe. The manager monitors staff practice well. She ensures staff are supported to improve their practice, including attending courses. This helps staff to implement positive changes to their practice. For example, staff use knowledge gained from training to help them implement simple techniques, such as using sign language to further support children's early speaking and communication skills. The manager welcomes feedback from parents, children and other professionals. She uses this information to help her review practice and make relevant changes.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Overall, staff are good teachers, they know how children learn and they offer children experiences that they enjoy. Children are enthusiastic learners who effectively use their developing skills in their play. For example, children patiently wait for their turn while playing a board game. They show their strong mathematical skills as they count dots and name the colours and find the matching cards. Children show a good understanding as they look at their board and comment that they have 'one space left to win'. Younger children show excitement as they enjoy using their hands to feel and explore foam. Staff play alongside the children, talking to them about what they are doing and demonstrating different ways to play, such as clapping their hands. Children start to use their emerging skills to copy staff's actions.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Staff provide an exceptionally welcoming environment where all children are listened to and valued. They maintain excellent partnerships with parents and other professionals. Highly effective communication and sharing of information helps to support an exceedingly positive shared approach to children's care and learning. For example, staff actively seek guidance and training from specialists, which helps them to provide highly impressive support for individual children and their families. Children behave exceptionally well. They are learning to be extremely skilled in understanding how to manage their own behaviour and different situations. For example, staff ask children to consider how they could ensure that everyone gets a turn with a broom in the garden. Children talk about using a sand timer, which they independently bring outside. They work together exceptionally well to recognise that when the sand goes through the

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

timer, they need to pass the broom to another child.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children progress well and meet their individual learning targets. They are keen learners who practise and develop lifelong skills, such as aspects of self-care. For example, young children use spoons with developing coordination to select from the healthy snacks available. They start to scoop their choices onto their plates. Older children show developing independence as they open packets from their lunch boxes and confidently ask for help, when required.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 127276 Local authority Kent Inspection number 10060689 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Day care type Full day care Age range of children 0 - 4 Total number of places 50 Number of children on roll 22 Name of registered person Invicta Park Pre-School Playgroup Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 9 June 2015 Telephone number 01622 767341 or 767240

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reference number

Invicta Park Playgroup registered in 1996 and operates from a building on an army barracks site in Maidstone, Kent. The playgroup only serves the Armed Forces community. The playgroup opens during term time only. Sessions are from 9.30am until 3.30pm, Monday to Thursday, and from 9.30am until 12.30pm on Friday. The playgroup employs nine members of staff. The manager holds an appropriate level 4 early years qualification, and six other staff hold early years qualifications at level 2 or above.

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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.ofsted.gov.uk . 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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