Hindpool Nursery School

Inspection Report Hindpool Nursery School

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112093 Unique Reference Number Cumbria LEA 278847 Inspection number 27 June 2006 to 28 June 2006 Inspection dates Mrs Margaret Shepherd Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Bath Street School address Nursery Type of school Barrow-in-Furness Maintained School category Cumbria, LA14 5TS 3 to 4 Age range of pupils 01229 894660 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01229 431189 Fax number 86 Number on roll Mrs Norma White Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Jackie Mutton Headteacher 1 July 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 278847 27 June 2006 - 3 to 4 28 June 2006 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Hindpool Nursery serves an area with high levels of unemployment that is undergoing regeneration. All the children attend on a part-time basis. The school is also designated as a children’s centre, including the Piggy Lane Playgroup. Children spend between one and five terms in the nursery provision. The school has a small proportion of children with English as an additional language. Twelve percent of children have learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The standards attained by children when they start at the nursery are below those that are typical for their ages. The staffing is a mixture of experienced and less experienced staff.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Hindpool Nursery School, 27 June 2006 to 28 June 2006

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Grade: 2

This is a good school that is fully committed to serving the community. This judgement matches the school’s own evaluation. Parents really appreciate and have a high opinion of the school. Leadership and management are good. The headteacher has a clear vision of how she wants the school to improve. Because governors and staff share that vision there have been good levels of improvement since the previous inspection, and the school has a good capacity to improve in future. Children achieve well whilst they are in the school and standards are at the expected level. Children’s personal development and well-being are good overall with outstanding features in social development and the children’s ability for decision-making. Teaching is good overall. A variety of expertise across the staff results in different qualities of teaching overall. There is some variation in the pace of the teaching in the whole group sessions. Staff

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Grade: 2

work consistently well in the high quality outdoor learning area. The good curriculum skilfully includes children’s own interests. Care and support are outstanding and guidance is good. Provision for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is very good, and provision for children with behavioural disabilities is satisfactory. The school sees its developments in being a children’s centre as strengthening its provision for all children from birth to the age of 5. The school provides good value for money.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve teaching still further by sharing good practice between teaching staff. • Be more consistent in matching the pace of teaching in group sessions to the different needs of the children.

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Grade: 2

Children enter the school with standards that are below expectations. They achieve well overall and by the time they leave the school, standards are at the expected level for their age across the different areas of learning. The school makes good use of individual targets to ensure consistent progress. Children who spend five terms in the school make particularly good progress because they have more time to benefit from the school’s good provision. Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities achieve well. The school analyses their individual needs systematically over time and provides targeted support to meet those needs. Staff challenge more able children effectively so that they achieve above the expected level for their age. Children with English as an additional language make good progress. Staff make very good use of a buddy system during independent learning to support them, and in whole class

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Grade: 2

sessions staff use a range of effective strategies to extend their learning. 2 Inspection Report: Hindpool Nursery School, 27 June 2006 to 28 June 2006

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well-being are good with outstanding features. Children respond extremely well to the many opportunities for developing skills of decision-making and taking responsibility for their own learning. They select their own targets very confidently each day and have an excellent understanding of how to carry out their choices. They are extremely proud to record the completion of their chosen tasks. These skills are excellent preparation for their future economic well-being. Children’s social development is outstanding. The children who have been in the school for five terms are particularly skilled for their age. They develop high quality relationships with each other and have an excellent understanding of their place in the whole school community. Children sustain their work in group activities extremely well, sharing materials and working together to complete a task. For example, three

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Grade: 2

children worked together to produce a magic spell to turn people into frogs. Children maintain their concentration very well during independent activities but some lose concentration during the group sessions. Behaviour is good overall. Most children’s behaviour is very good. However, children with behavioural disabilities do not always manage to control their emotions. Attendance is good when the age group of the children is taken into account. Children have a good understanding of keeping safe and healthy, taking responsibility for eating and drinking their snacks. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good overall. The differences in the quality of teaching – some teaching is satisfactory – are a reflection of the varying levels of experience across the staff. Teaching is consistently good during the independent learning time. Key features include the system for children to choose what they want to do for the session, the sensitive way that staff target children and the strategies they use for extending individual’s learning. The organisation of providing two extended weekly tasks, one chosen by staff and one chosen by the child, also works well. There is a variety in the quality of teaching in the group sessions. In the best, there is very good quality teaching of basic skills, with every child fully involved. In other group sessions the tasks do not provide enough stimulation to sustain every child’s interest. The pace in the group sessions is also variable. In the best sessions the teaching proceeds at a

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Grade: 2

brisk pace with no moment wasted. In other sessions the tasks are too long or there is not enough variety to sustain children’s concentration. All staff provide a good balance of time between group sessions and independent learning. Assessment is good. Staff have a good understanding of individual children’s progress because they have direct responsibility for a small group of children. 3 Inspection Report: Hindpool Nursery School, 27 June 2006 to 28 June 2006

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Grade: 2

The school provides a good quality curriculum with an emphasis on matching it to the needs and interests of the children. The annual and half-termly planning works well. It is carefully matched to the different aspects of the curriculum and includes a level of flexibility that allows the inclusion of children’s own ideas of what they want to learn. A high emphasis on the personal and social curriculum extends children’s skills in these areas very effectively. There are interesting whole week initiatives such as pet week or music week as well as stimulating visits out-of-school that enrich the curriculum well. The curriculum for outdoor learning is excellent. There is a multitude of opportunities for learning within a wide variety of different settings, such as a willow igloo and a wildlife area. Staff then add a rich range of resources for children to use within these different settings.

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Grade: 2

Care, support and guidance are good overall. Care and support are outstanding, with staff taking every opportunity to support children’s learning and personal development and well-being. The high quality care and support begins with the sensitive and welcoming organisation for children and parents when they first join the school. Staff get to know every child very well and during shared sessions any child can go to any member of staff for support. Systems for child protection, health and safety and risk assessments are firmly in place. Provision for children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is very good. However, the provision for children with behavioural disabilities is not as effective and is satisfactory. The partnership with parents is outstanding. The organisation at the beginning of sessions where parents share in selecting the tasks for their own child’s learning works extremely well.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher has a clear vision of how she wants the nursery and the children’s centre to develop in partnership. She is determined to ensure that the quality of the nursery is sustained during the transition to the new arrangements. The school is in the early stages of this new provision and has a clear view of how the two different aspects can benefit each other. Governors and staff share the headteacher’s vision of the importance of serving the community. A high value is placed on working with parents and their views are regularly sought and acted upon. The school is equally concerned with taking children’s views into account and responding to their suggestions. Teachers take their responsibility areas seriously and are keen to take the lead. There are good opportunities for staff development during the outdoor learning because staff can observe each other directly. However, the

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Grade: 2

school does not organise carefully enough for teachers to observe and share each others’ expertise during group work. The governing body has a very good understanding 4 Inspection Report: Hindpool Nursery School, 27 June 2006 to 28 June 2006 of the work of the school. They have a very effective range of strategies for monitoring its work. The school’s self-evaluation systems work well. They are carried out regularly across a range of different contexts, such as the Cumbrian Kitemark quality standard. The school has worked effectively to address the improvements raised in the previous inspection. This success, together with the clear shared vision that all members of the school community share gives the school a good capacity to improve in future. 5 Inspection Report: Hindpool Nursery School, 27 June 2006 to 28 June 2006 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 6 Inspection Report: Hindpool Nursery School, 27 June 2006 to 28 June 2006

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Inspection judgements

16-19 School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Inspection judgements

NA 2 How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? NA 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA 2 The quality and standards in foundation stage NA 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation NA Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements NA Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Inspection judgements

Achievement and standards NA 2 How well do learners achieve? NA 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Inspection judgements

NA 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners NA 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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Inspection judgements

Personal development and well-being NA 2 How good is the overall personal development and well-being of the learners? NA 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development NA 2 The behaviour of learners NA 2 The attendance of learners NA 1 How well learners enjoy their education NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices NA 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles NA 1 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community NA 1 How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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Inspection judgements

The quality of provision NA 2 How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of the learners' needs? NA 2 How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? NA 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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Inspection judgements

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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Annex A

Leadership and management NA 2 How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement and supporting all learners? NA 2 How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education NA 2 How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review NA 2 How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can NA 2 How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money NA 2 The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities NA Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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Annex A

The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them The extent to which learners make a positive contribution Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the

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Annex A

wider community The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams NA Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form NA Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0207 421 6800 F 0207 421 6707 Ofsted helpline 08456 404045 The Children Hindpool Nursery School Bath Street Barrow-in-Furness Cumbria LA14 5TS 29 June 2006 Dear Children Thank you very much for welcoming me into your school. I really enjoyed my visit. The best things that I saw in your school were how well you decide what you want to learn every day and how well you work together. All the adults in your school look after you very well indeed. Teachers plan very interesting things for you to do and they really like to find out what you would like to learn about. They work hard with your parents to help you to learn better. Your outdoor area is a very exciting place to be and you all work very well out there. I have also asked all your teachers to work together to help you to learn more at small group time. Yours sincerely Margaret Shepherd Additional Inspector Piggy Lane Playgroup at Hindpool Nursery School

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Inspection report for early years provision Unique Reference Number

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Inspection date 28/06/2006 Inspector Lesley Ormrod Setting address

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Annex B

Bath Street, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, LA14 5TS Telephone number 01229 894660 E-mail admin@hindpool.cumbria.sch.uk Registered person Piggy Lane Playgroup at Hindpool Nursery School Type of inspection Care Type of care Full day care

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Annex B

Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be freely reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided the source and date of publication are stated. ABOUT THIS INSPECTION The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the

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Annex B

foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later. The provider must give a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must give a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Day Care and Childminding (inspection) (England) Regulations 2005 No 2300 Regulations 5 and 6). The key inspection judgements and what they mean Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for

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Annex B

your inspection? which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

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Annex B

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection: The quality and standards of the care are good . The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding. WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT? Piggy Lane Playgroup at Hindpool Nursery School is run by a committee of the governing body. It opened in 2001 and operates from two classrooms and a childcare unit in Hindpool Nursery School. The playgroup is situated in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. A maximum of 78 children may attend the playgroup at any one time. The playgroup is open each weekday from 07.30 to 18.30 for 50 weeks of the year. All children share access to a secure, enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 79 children aged from two to under eight years on roll. Children come from the town of Barrow-in-Furness and the surrounding area. The playgroup employs seven childcare staff and two support staff. Of these, six staff hold appropriate early years

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Annex B

qualifications. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROVISION Helping children to be healthy The provision is good. Children's healthcare needs are known and met competently in discussion with their parents. Their individual medical care needs are provided for through good healthcare plans and additional support from the health visitor. Sick children receive appropriate attention as there are good procedures in place for emergency care as needed. The arrangements for children's healthcare do not include full information given to parents about the health policies. Children with specific allergies explain confidently why some foods or drinks may cause harm to their health. Children understand why they need to have sun protection cream applied before they go out to play on a hot day. There are good arrangements to protect children's health through the staff's scrupulous attention to cleaning and hygiene procedures. Children have good hand washing

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Annex B

routines, know when they need to wash their hands and go independently to do so. Their understanding of how this protects their health is promoted as the staff consistently remind them that it prevents germs. Older children confidently attend to their personal care needs. Younger children are given good support to achieve continence before they transfer to school. Children have a good selection of healthy foods as the snacks provided are nutritious with drink choices of water and milk. They thoroughly enjoy eating their choices of fruit from the attractively presented pieces of strawberries, melon, tangerines and grapes. Children are encouraged to discuss their likes and dislikes, and try new tastes. Their understanding of making healthy choices is extended as they learn that water is good for their health. Children have the choice of a hot meal each day through the good arrangements set up with a nearby school.

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Annex B

They tuck into roast chicken, baby new potatoes, fruit puree and yoghurts. Their social skills are encouraged as they learn to share and pass each other the snack plate to choose from. They do not have easy access to fresh drinking water at all times as the jug and cups are placed up on the sink unit. Children attending the breakfast club are offered toast or cereal. Children's food is prepared observing good food hygiene procedures as staff have received training. Their dietary needs are known in discussion with their parents. Children have good opportunities to be healthily active through the daily planned physical activities and the very good enhanced provision for outside play. They are competent in the use of sit and ride toys as they scoot around the track laid out. Children use their good large movement skills to run freely and climb on the large apparatus constructed from tree trunks. Younger children are confident to try to climb up a few rungs with good staff support and

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Annex B

encouragement. Older children confidently hold onto the rungs to swing freely. Children enjoy

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Annex B

being out in the fresh air as they readily explore the excellent external resourced areas. They dig in the large sand area, explore the wild area and play in the bark area. Children enthusiastically join in the 'Sticky Kid' exercises and concentrate hard to wriggle their hips. They enjoy the fun of the energetic active play in the soft play area. Children attending the after school facility choose readily to be active outside. Their favourite physical activities are playing games and using the football nets. Children's understanding of how being active supports their good health and what happens to their bodies is extended by staff. Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe The provision is good. Children play safely in the areas for childcare as good thought has been given to their safety and security on the premises. The arrangements to keep children safe include good risk

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Annex B

assessments, a security camera system and key code entry doors. They safely enjoy the freedom of the extensive outdoor play area as staff carry out thorough daily checks. Children access a safe range of resources that are set out for them in the adult supported activities and planned areas of play of the continuous provision. They enthusiastically tidy up before their next activities. Their understanding of how this promotes their safety is not consistently extended. Children are not encouraged to extend their play ideas through the provision of easily accessible named resources in the available storage units. Children's safe care is competently managed as the staff work to detailed health and safety procedures. They are consistently encouraged to play safely. Children learn not to throw sand as it might cause harm to others. They explain confidently that they need to get a mop to wipe up spilt milk. Their care in an emergency is

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Annex B

given good thought as they participate in regular planned emergency evacuations. Children can explain what to do to stay safe if the alarm sounds. They know that they line up, stay quiet and go with the grown ups. Their understanding of how others help to keep them safe is extended as they visit the fire station. Children access outings safely as there are good procedures to manage their safety when out and about. Their understanding of road safety is consistently encouraged. Younger children confidently explain that they hold a staff member's hand and watch for cars. Children are protected as the staff are trained, have a good practical knowledge of child protection procedures and know how to make a referral if necessary. Their welfare is closely monitored. The arrangements to protect children are detailed in the policy, although the system to share this with parents is not in place. Children are collected safely at

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Annex B

the end of sessions as there are good procedures used by staff to personally meet any other persons nominated by parents. Their understanding of protecting themselves and staying safe is fostered. Children meet with the community police through a whole school shared approach to developing their safety awareness. They learn about 'stranger-danger' in carefully managed discussion times. They know that they stay with staff when out and about, and do not approach strangers. Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do The provision is good. Children are confident and happily enjoy their play and learning at the playgroup. They eagerly go to see what is set out for play. Children make good progress in achieving developmental skills from their starting points as staff competently extend their learning in the supported activities. They are encouraged to write their letters to post, and explain what their marks mean.

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Annex B

Children decide to draw zig-zag lines to represent their writing. More able children write recognisable letters. They listen intently to the story of 'The Gruffalo' and delightedly make facial expressions to imitate his appearance. Children are consistently encouraged to use their recall skills and describe what they see on the pages of the story book. They enjoy reading and frequently cuddle up in the cosy book corner with their chosen book. Children show good care

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Annex B

and interest for their pet guinea pig and eagerly go to fetch food for the pet. They explore a range of textures as they participate in a pasta painting activity. Children describe whether oats, rice, lentils and pasta feel hard or soft. Their numeracy skills are good as staff consistently extend their use of mathematical skills as they play and learn. They develop their creative ideas as they discuss with staff how to make pretend cakes with the glittery sand and create an oven to bake these. Children aged under three years have good planned play and learning opportunities based on the Birth to three matters framework. Their achievements are regularly observed and assessed to inform the planning to meet their developmental needs. They develop their physical skills as they build towers with wooden blocks. Younger children become playfully engaged as they have fun finding out how to blow bubbles. They have planned activities to

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Annex B

develop their sensory skills through exploring the contents of treasure baskets. Children attending the before and after school sessions have a good selection of planned activities to choose from. They describe one of their favourite activities as playing board games. Older children chat happily to staff about their ideas as they find out how to paint with string. They use their design ideas as they choose from a variety of cardboard boxes, tubes, stones and pebbles to make up present boxes. Children competently use the numeral and number dot stamps to create patterns. Their understanding of the relationship of the number dots to the numerals is skilfully extended by staff as they create patterns. They enjoy the shared laughter of a spontaneous game of 'I spy'. Older children have time to complete their homework through good planning for the sessions. All children's play and learning is regularly observed and assessed

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Annex B

with the information collated in their individual files. Summary reports of their progress are provided to their parents at the end of their time in the provision. Children have very good opportunities to develop their free play ideas in the exceptionally well-resourced, outside play areas that support the areas of learning. They decide to wear the police safety jackets and ride their tricycles. Their learning is extended as the staff introduce collecting a numeral card and riding off to match to a number painted on the patio area. They develop good spontaneous play on the external decking area as they decide to take their sand diggers to a pretend garage to fix. Their ideas are extended as the staff help them to design a road by chalking on the decking. Children have insufficient opportunities to fully develop their free play ideas inside the unit as most activities set up are staff planned and led. Their independent free play skills

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Annex B

are not extended through the existing organisation of the resourced areas to support the balance of free play with focused activities. The existing play and learning provision for children aged three and four years old is based on extending the aspects of the Birth to three matters framework. Their developmental needs are not fully met through this planning strategy. Helping children make a positive contribution The provision is satisfactory. Children have good self-esteem and are confident as they arrive at the playgroup. They go eagerly to play with their friends. Children new to the setting are sensitively supported by the staff working closely with their parents. All children make choices readily about which of the activities set out they will go to. They are secure in their relationships with staff and proudly show what they are doing. Children play equally without bias as they share resources. Boys and

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Annex B

girls play with the tractors and diggers in the sand. Boys enthusiastically get out the brush and pan to sweep up the piles of sand that the girls have swept up. They are consistently encouraged to share and care for each other. Children have regular opportunities to be involved in their local community and support others. They participate in the Barnardos Big Toddle at the South Lakes Wild Animal Park and support the activities for Comic Relief. Children have planned topics and activities to encourage their understanding of diversity. They meet a local Chinese restaurant owner and enjoy the tastes of Chinese food. Children share in the special events held in the nursery school and attend the Christingle service at the local church. They have insufficient

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Annex B

access to visual and physical resources to support their awareness of diversity and disability. Children confidently transfer into the nursery school through the good induction systems planned by school and childcare staff. Children with learning difficulties are given good support as the staff closely monitor all children's development. Their identified needs are discussed with their parents and additional professional support sought as agreed. They are supported by staff who have accessed additional training and work very closely with the school's coordinator to meet each child's particular needs. Children's behaviour is generally good. Their understanding of desired behaviours is consistently encouraged by the staff. They know that they do not run inside the rooms as they discuss the setting's rules. Any squabbles between children over the sharing of resources are quickly resolved by staff using appropriate strategies. Children are

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Annex B

given many opportunities to settle quietly with staff if they want to talk about any matter. They are readily praised for their achievements and their work displayed. Children proudly show their sheep pictures that they created after they enjoyed the visit of the Sure Start group with the sheep puppet. The strategies to manage children's behaviour are outlined in the policy, although the coordinator is not named, and the statement about bullying is omitted. The arrangements for children's care are praised by parents as they explain that their children are settled and keen to come to the playgroup. Parents of new children emphasise the good support they receive from the supportive staff. Information about children's care is shared with their parents through the regular newsletters and an individual copy of the setting's handbook. The provision made for children is verbally discussed with parents but they do not have easy access

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Annex B

to the policies and procedures. Information about children's day at the setting is discussed to some extent with their parents at handovers but there are no systems to share written information about daily routines, achievements and experiences. The arrangements for children's care do not include sufficient detail into the complaints policy about the procedures to be followed. The provision for children does not include establishing a system to record complaints with access to this by parents. Organisation The organisation is good. Children receive good quality care as they are cared for by staff who are employed through robust recruitment and employment procedures. They are cared for safely through the good systems to record the checks made for the suitability of staff members to work with children. The good arrangements for their care include a detailed operational plan that is collated to indicate how the outcomes for children are met. The strengths and weaknesses of the childcare

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Annex B

provision are discussed in staff and governing body meetings, with clear development planning in place. The quality of the care for children is regularly monitored by the headteacher and overseen by the governing body. The provision for children is being extended and developed as the governors, headteacher and staff are committed to supporting the needs of their local community through the changeover to a children's centre. The development of the provision for childcare is informed by seeking parental views about the types of care that they need. Children are cared for by staff who are well qualified and experienced, although there are no written staff induction procedures. They are confident in the setting through the support offered by staff who enjoy helping children to have fun as they play and learn. Children are supported by an effective key worker system. They receive a good level of adult attention and

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Annex B

support as the staff-to-child ratios are favourable. Children attending other schools are escorted appropriately, although there are no written procedures. The organisation of children's care, play and learning is generally effective as most documentation is in place to meet their individual needs. Overall, the provision meets the needs of the range of the children for whom it provides. Improvements since the last inspection

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Annex B

The last care inspection made recommendations for the provider to have regard to extending the content of the child protection policy and the procedures for the safe collection of children. The provider was also asked to have regard to minimising the risks to children from the internal doors.The arrangements for children's safe care have been improved as the content of the child protection and collection of children policies has been extended. Children move through sliding doors safely as finger guards have been fitted. Complaints about the childcare provision There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since 1 April 2004.The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted. THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection: The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National

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Annex B

Standards for under 8s day care and childminding. WHAT MUST BE DONE TO SECURE FUTURE IMPROVEMENT? The quality and standards of the care To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): extend the opportunities for children to freely choose resources and develop their imaginative play ideas by reviewing the balance of free play and planned focused activities extend the complaints policy to provide sufficient detail about the procedures to be followed in the event of a concern or complaint, and consider how the system to record complaints will be established including how this will be shared with parents.

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Annex B

set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted’s role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk Annex B Annex B

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