St Paul's Playgroup

St Paul's Playgroup

Unique reference number (URN): 220081 Address: Semilong Community Centre, Norfolk Terrace, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN2 6HS Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 08/04/1999 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: St Paul's Playgroup (Semilong) Committee

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children achieve well from their starting points. Staff are skilled at recognising when children need additional support, and focused interventions are put into place. They have ongoing conversations with parents and also seek support from outside agencies. This supports children to make progress in their learning.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children who speak English as an additional language at home develop their English language skills well at the playgroup. For example, children use English words such as 'watermelon', 'yoghurt' and 'milk' and translate these into their home language with ease. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make progress in their development. Staff have introduced visual prompts for children to help them with their communication.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children's independence skills develop well. For example, staff show children how to turn their gloves the right way round and put them into their coat pockets. Staff are aware of what children need to know and do before they go to school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff are aware of the importance of monitoring children's attendance. They regularly talk to parents about the importance of attending as this helps children with routines and to be prepared for their eventual move to school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders and staff are positive role models to children. They show children how to share and make sure everyone has a turn. Leaders and staff have consistent expectations for children's behaviour. When children need reminding of the expectations, staff support them by showing them a visual poster. On occasions, during transition times, such as tidy-up time, staff do not always make it clear to children what they want them to do. This means some children are not sure what to do and, consequently, begin to run around the room.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders and staff are calm and patient with children. When children become upset, they know what is effective for each individual child in helping them to regulate their feelings and emotions. Staff offer cuddles to children and read stories or engage with musical instruments to help distract and calm children.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff support children effectively to take managed risks in their play. For example, children develop their large-muscle movement as they create a bridge using foam bricks. Staff extend their learning by seeing if they can place the bricks further apart and encourage children to hold their arms out to help them balance.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders and staff support children to develop a healthy lifestyle. They work alongside parents to support them to make nutritional choices for their lunch boxes. Staff provide healthy fruit and vegetable options for snack to encourage children to try as many different foods as possible. During mealtimes, children sit at appropriately sized chairs and tables, and staff vigilantly supervise them. Children understand not to get up from table when they have food in their mouth. Staff promote consistent hygiene practices to encourage children to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Throughout the day, staff support children to recognise and manage their emotions. Staff know children very well as individuals and know what helps children to calm down when they become upset. For example, staff offer cuddles to children and read them their favourite stories. Staff sensitively talk to children about how they are feeling and if they are upset, suggest ideas of what they could do to feel better. This helps children to feel safe and secure.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders and staff plan an ambitious curriculum that meets the individual learning needs of children across all seven areas of learning. They find out from parents all about what children already know and can do and plan to build on this. Staff adjust activities to meet the needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For example, they provide focused support for children to develop their physical skills by climbing on a range of equipment. Staff observe children and interact with them to find out about their prior knowledge. Leaders and staff regularly meet together to discuss children's development and plan activities to support the next stages in their learning. Staff skilfully extend children's learning, for example, by making activities more challenging or simplifying them. Leaders recognise that some staff are less confident in planning mathematical

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

activities. On occasion, some staff do not adapt mathematical activities quickly enough when children find them too difficult. For some children, this means they become disengaged in their learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff place a high focus on developing children's communication and language skills. They sing songs to children throughout the day. Children develop a love of reading. They rush over to the reading area and quickly snuggle up to staff and show high levels of concentration when listening to stories. Staff ask thoughtful questions to check children understand what is happening. Later, children take books over to staff and ask them to read stories. Children share books with their friends and point to the pictures and talk about what they can see is happening. They develop their personal, social and emotional skills throughout the day as staff model positive behaviour, turn-taking and sharing.

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Inclusion Expected standard

When children start at the playgroup, staff find out all about their likes, interests and how they are getting on with their development at home. They use this information carefully to plan activities that excite and motivate children to want to learn. Staff's high-quality interactions continually build on what children already know and can do to help them to make progress. Staff consistently work with parents to help them understand how they can support their children's learning and development at home.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Staff continually observe children and swiftly intervene in they have concerns about children's progress. They talk to parents about how they can support children at home as well as contacting outside agencies for additional support. Staff seek out additional training courses to help them to meet individual children's needs in relation to any special educational needs and/or disabilities children may have.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders use additional funding that children receive effectively. They carefully consider any gaps in children's experiences and use funding to provide added sessions or resources to support children's learning. Leaders continually review the impact of additional funding and make adjustments as needed to ensure that this supports children to make progress.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have worked tirelessly to meet the actions set at the last inspection. They show considerable dedication and commitment to the staff, children and families that they work with. Leaders can accurately identify what the strengths of the playgroup are and how they would like to make improvements to the service they provide.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders complete regular appraisals with staff, so they know what they are doing well and what they would like to do to improve further. They regularly check in with staff about their wellbeing and provide extra support if needed. Staff, all of whom have worked at the playgroup for an established period of time, say they can access a wide range of training to support their development. They have recently accessed training around supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff now use more visual prompts with children to support them with their understanding of what they are being asked to do.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children rush inside when they arrive at playgroup. They eagerly invite their parents and carers in for the playgroups' regular stay-and-play sessions. Children excitedly engage with different creative activities that staff skilfully plan. Staff give children plenty of time to have a go themselves and express their own ideas. They step in to sensitively provide support when needed, showing children how some of the glitter shakers have holes in the top to make the glitter come out slowly. Children are kind and caring towards their friends. They share toys without being prompted. When staff recognise that some children find this more challenging, they provide focused support and model to children what to do. When children

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Inspector:

Emily Lofts succeed, staff show genuine delight that children are making progress with their personal, social and emotional skills.

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Inspector:

Children benefit from a thoughtfully planned curriculum that builds on what they already know and can do. Staff know every child's stage of development well. They carefully consider activities together to support children to make continued progress. Children develop their small-muscle movements as they wrap different-shaped presents up in preparation for Christmas. Staff show children how to use scissors to cut sticky tape. Children are keen to take home the present to show their parents and carers at home.

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Inspector:

Children are cared for by nurturing and patient staff who know them very well. Staff routinely adapt activities to consider how all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, can take part. For children who speak English as an additional language, staff find out all about their home language from parents and use visual prompts to help build children's understanding.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that staff are confident in adapting mathematical activities quickly to suit the development needs of individual children. Leaders should strengthen the organisation of transition times to make sure all children know what is expected of them.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, practitioners, special educational needs coordinator, parents and children during the inspection.

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About this inspection

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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Address:

Semilong Community Centre Norfolk Terrace Northampton Northamptonshire NN2 6HS

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: St Paul's Playgroup (Semilong) Committee

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday : 09:00 - 15:00,Wednesday,Friday : 09:00 - 12:00,Thursday : 12:00 - 15:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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