Blakesley Playgroup Inspection report for early years provision Unique reference number 219954 Inspection date 09/11/2010 Inspector Sarah Measures Setting address Telephone number 07530433515 Email Type of setting Village Hall, Old School Lane, Blakesley, Towcester, Northamptonshire, NN12 8RS sarah@farwell.fsworld.co.uk Childcare on non-domestic premises
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) 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 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk Crown copyright 2010 2
Introduction This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. Early years provision refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage. The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10). Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. 3
Description of the setting Blakesley Playgroup opened in 1965. It operates from the village hall in the centre of the village of Blakesley in the south of Northamptonshire. The playgroup is registered on the Early Years Register and provide for a maximum of 21 children at any one time. The playgroup is open Monday and Tuesday between 9am and 12.55pm, and Wednesday and Thursday between 9am and 2.55pm with an optional lunch club. Children can attend all day or just morning or afternoon sessions. All children have access to an enclosed area for outdoor activities. There are currently 13 children aged from two to under five years on roll. Children attend from Blakesley and surrounding villages. The playgroup supports children with special educational needs. The playgroup has links with the local school and other providers in the area, and has support from the Local Authority. The playgroup employs four members of staff, two of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The setting receives support from the Local Authority and is a member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance (PSLA). The playgroup has successfully completed the PSLA 'Aiming for Quality' accreditation scheme. The overall effectiveness of the early years provision Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory. Suitable policies and procedures underpin the efficient running of the provision. Children very much enjoy their time at the pre-school and they achieve because staff plan and provide a purposeful and stimulating environment for their learning. Methods of self-evaluation vary across the setting and there are systems in place to drive forward improvement. However, there is no consistent system of identifying strengths and weaknesses across all areas of children's welfare and their learning and development within the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. This impacts upon the leadership and management of the provision because not all of the requirements are closely monitored. What steps need to be taken to improve provision further? To further improve the early years provision the registered person should: improve the way in which you identify children's individual needs by developing an effective system of self-evaluation develop further the systems of observing the children by improving information obtained from parents regarding their starting points, and by making sure observations are carried out to effectively support and demonstrate the progress of all children update documentation to ensure that specific written consent for staff to seek any necessary emergency medical treatment or advice is in place improve the risk assessments for the outdoor area and make sure that regular fire evacuation drills are carried out. 4
The effectiveness of leadership and management of the early years provision Overall, children are safeguarded by policies and procedures, several of which are good. For example, staff have a secure understanding of the possible indicators of child abuse and they know how to refer concerns in line with Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures. Secure systems make sure children are collected by appropriately identified persons. Staff are well deployed to supervise and support the children. Most documentation is effective in promoting children's health and safety. However, the written consent for staff to seek any necessary emergency medical treatment or advice is not clearly worded in order to ensure children's protection in the event of an emergency. Staff have carried out fire drills with the children. However, the regularity of these is not closely monitored and no fire drills have been carried out with the new group of children that started this academic year in order to make sure they are familiar with safe evacuation procedures. Staff conduct daily safety checks and risk assessments across the provision in order to ensure children's safety. However, there are brambles with sharp thorns at the rear of the outdoor play area that present a potential hazard to children that has not been addressed. Staff organise the provision well to enable children to feel welcome and to make the most of their learning opportunities. Good systems are in place to make sure any difficulties with children's progress are identified and the appropriate professional support is obtained. However, the systems of monitoring the provision for children identified that observations have not been kept up-to-date for a child who has difficulties in a particular area. This does not enable staff to share observations with other professionals who are supporting the child. Staff obtain general information regarding children's levels of independence and their likes and dislikes to help them to support children at they start at the setting. However, no information is obtained as to their starting points to enable staff to plan for children's progress towards the early learning goals from the onset. Staff communicate well with parents, who actively support the provision and value the care and educational opportunities their children receive. Parents feel they are kept well informed of their children's progress. Staff communicate children's achievements and their well-being effectively through the use of a daily communication book. This helps parents to support their children and to celebrate their children's successes and further encourage their learning and development at home. Staff have just started to implement a system to communicate children's progress with other settings that also deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. This system is not yet fully established in order for all those involved to plan cohesively to meet the needs of the children. 5
The quality and standards of the early years provision and outcomes for children Children arrive and are eager to choose from the range of fun and interesting activities planned for them. They choose freely from a range of purposeful learning opportunities that cover all aspects of their development indoors and out of doors. Some activities are expertly planned in order to make the most of children's learning and to involve them in the setting. For example, children are closely monitoring the progress of the building of new premises for the pre-school. They visit the building site and are recording progress as a group. Their interest in the building work is brought into activity planning and children build themselves using a variety of tools and porridge to cement the bricks together. This covers a full range of fun learning opportunities for the children. It also helps children to develop a secure sense of belonging as they are involved in the planning and development of their provision. Children count and problem solve during everyday routines and activities. For example, they work out how many children can sit at the snack table. They show a keen interest in books and stories and readily select books to look at themselves or to share with staff in small groups. Staff involve the children in purposeful discussions that help to encourage their language for communication and thinking. For example, staff encourage children to question and think for themselves. Children behave well because they are well-occupied and supported by staff. Children learn responsible and considerate behaviours because of the positive rolemodelling by staff and because of the way in which they encourage children to consider the needs of others. Children benefit from different activity sessions delivered from professionals outside of the setting. For example, they enjoy music and yoga sessions and learn different ways to exercise and to keep themselves healthy. They learn to communicate and express themselves confidently and in different ways. Children play and learn in an environment that reflects a diverse society. They learn to value and appreciate difference because many different celebrations and ways of life are carefully included in planning. Children make healthy choices at snack time and develop healthy habits as they benefit from lengthy periods of outdoor play during sessions. Outdoor play is a key part of each session and waterproofs are provided so children can play outside safely in wet weather. Children have good opportunities to develop their physical skills and strength because they use the full range of challenging equipment available to them. 6
Annex A: record of inspection judgements The key inspection judgements and what they mean Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough The overall effectiveness of the early years provision How well does the setting meet the needs of the children in the Early Years Foundation Stage? The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement 3 3 The effectiveness of leadership and management of the early years provision The effectiveness of leadership and management of the 3 Early Years Foundation Stage The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding 3 ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and 3 diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting s self-evaluation, including the 3 steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 The effectiveness of the setting s engagement with parents and 2 carers The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 3 Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation 2 Stage The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2 Any complaints about the inspection or report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk 7
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