Tunstead Playgroup

Inspection of Tunstead Playgroup Tunstead Community Cente, Haworth Drive, Stacksteads, Bacup, Lancashire OL13 0SA

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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The provision is good

Children feel happy and secure in this cosy setting. Parents say that they and their children feel like 'part of the nursery family'. Children enjoy their time with staff, who read them familiar stories. Children eagerly join in with the sentence they know is coming next. They use their imagination and show their creativity during craft activities. These opportunities help to develop the small muscles in their hands. Children spontaneously create catching games with familiar adults. They demonstrate impressive hand-eye coordination as they catch and throw small balls with accuracy. Children take safe risks as they negotiate climbing frames and see- saw bridges. They enjoy their time playing outside, where they learn how to manoeuvre skilfully on wheeled toys. This supports the development of children's balance and coordination.

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The provision is good

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, staff are providing children with even greater support in relation to developing their communication and language, and social and emotional development. Children can be regularly heard using new terminology they have learned from staff in their general conversations. They speak with confidence and great fluency. Children are kind and considerate of their friends, behave well and play happily alongside each other. They feel safe in this setting and are well cared for by the nurturing staff.

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need to do better?

n The staff pride themselves in the strong partnerships they have with parents and carers. They obtain lots of valuable information from parents before children start. This is used to support children in making the best possible progress from the outset. Parents all know who their child's key person is, and valuable information about how children are progressing is shared frequently. Staff are skilled in sharing information with parents, which helps to extend children's learning to home. n Overall, children's developing independence is supported well. Children learn to use the toilet and know when to wash their hands. They are confident to select the activities they take part in from the well-resourced environment. However, sometimes staff do things for children that they should be learning to do for themselves, in readiness for school. They do not consistently help children develop highly responsible attitudes, such as to look after toys and tidy away

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need to do better?

after play. n Staff work closely with other services to provide highly effective support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This means that those children who need additional specialist support receive highly tailored education and care that best meets their needs. Staff work closely with children with SEND and have expert knowledge of how to help them learn. They act

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need to do better?

3 February 2022 promptly to remove barriers to children's progress so all children make good progress from their starting points. n Overall, the curriculum is appropriately challenging. However, there are occasions when staff do not give children the chance to try and find solutions to problems for themselves. This limits opportunities for children to develop the resilience needed for when future learning may become more challenging. n Since the previous inspection, notable improvements have been made in developing younger children's listening and attention skills. Staff ask children questions to maintain their interest and to check their understanding. Staff also follow children's interests to extend activities and set them challenges. For example, when children have shown an interest in the animals from a story, staff extend this by introducing new and less well known animals. n Staff help children to learn about a range of festivals that teach them about

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need to do better?

other cultures. Additionally, there are toys and resources that represent different ethnicities, and books that help children learn about different families. Staff lead activities where children paint portraits of a person of their choosing in the setting. The staff use this to build on children's knowledge of what makes every person unique by celebrating both differences and similarities. n Leaders ensure that observations of what children know and can do are completed regularly. These inform accurate planning for the next steps in children's learning. These observations, together with effective meetings with staff, help leaders to improve the quality of education provided to children.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The setting's manager ensures that the entire staff team receives the necessary training to give them a secure knowledge and understanding of safeguarding. As a result, staff are alert to any matters which may raise concerns about children. They know precisely how to report these concerns. Additionally, staff are clear about the procedures to follow in the event of an allegation being made against a colleague. Since the previous inspection, the manager has strengthened the recruitment and vetting procedures so that all required evidence is in place regarding staff suitability. The manager demonstrates a secure knowledge of matters which must be notified to Ofsted. They ensure, for example, that they notify Ofsted promptly of changes to members of the playgroup committee.

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should:

n support the staff to improve their understanding of how to help children think for themselves so that they can try to solve problems independently n support children to develop responsible attitudes towards expected behaviour.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 309509 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 10128939 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 Sessional day care

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inspection

Total number of places 27 Number of children on roll 25 Name of registered person Tunstead Playgroup Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 01706 873555 Date of previous inspection 26 September 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Tunstead Playgroup registered in 1992 in Bacup, Lancashire. The playgroup employs five members of childcare staff. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The playgroup opens Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 9am until 3pm. The playgroup provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk together of all areas of the setting and discussed the early years curriculum. n The inspector spoke to several parents during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector carried out a joint observation of a group activity with the manager. n The manager showed the inspector documentation to demonstrate the suitability of staff. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact that this was having on children's learning.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection 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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Inspection activities

3 February 2022 regulates and inspects 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 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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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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