Inspection report for early years provision

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 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 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 your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

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.

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Marham Village Pre-school opened in 1973. It is run by a committee and operates from one main room in the village hall in the village of Marham, which is near to the towns of Swaffham and Downham Market. The pre-school is open five days a week, during school term-times, from 09.30 until 12.30. There are currently eight children from two to five years on roll, of these six children receive funding for nursery education. The majority of children attend for four or five sessions a week. The pre-school supports children with learning disabilities and/or difficulties. The pre-school employs three staff. The supervisor is qualified to degree level in early years. Two staff members are currently working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from the local authority.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PROVISION

Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good.

Children have good opportunities to learn about appropriate personal hygiene as staff give them gentle explanations and encouragement. They always wash their hands well after toileting and before they eat their snack using liquid soap and individual towels to dry them on. Children’s good health is appropriately promoted as staff implement thorough hygiene routines, the hall, kitchen and toilets are kept clean and tables are wiped before snack. Staff ask for permission to seek emergency medical advice or treatment and have training in first aid which enables them to meet children’s medical needs. They also keep clear accident and medicine records which are shared with parents. Children are protected from risk of illness as it is the pre-school policy that they do not attend if they are sick. Parents are given information about what illnesses will exclude their children from attending. Children’s dietary needs are met as staff ask for clear information about any allergies and everyone helping at the group is made aware of these so they can act appropriately if needed. Children enjoy a social snack time and choose from a variety of different fruits and other healthy options for their snack. Good manners and politeness are encouraged and children learn to take turns and share the fruit. Children have free access to their drinking bottles; they recognise when they need a drink and help themselves. Children enjoy a wide range of physical activities. The outdoor area is well used and children have space to ride the pedal and push along toys and do this confidently. They use the climbing equipment and are active as they move around to use the variety of resources. They learn that it is good for them to be active and drinks are available for when they feel thirsty after running around.

Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is satisfactory. Children and their parents are welcomed into the hall which is well prepared and made attractive and inviting. Staff take time to prepare the activities and display information for parents. There is sufficient space which enables children to move around freely to play with the different activities. Equipment is safe, suitable and there is sufficient for the children attending. Tables and chairs are child height so children can easily use table top activities. Children access a good range of activities that cover all areas of learning. Staff make regular checks of equipment to ensure it remains safe and that it conforms to relevant safety standards. Children are well supervised at all times which enables them to play safely. Staff make visual checks and take appropriate steps to minimise any hazards and keep children safe. The premises are kept secure during sessions as external doors are locked. Callers are vetted and asked for identification if they are not known to staff. Children learn how to get out of the building safely in an emergency as they have regular practises of the evacuation procedures. Children’s safety and welfare is further protected as staff have appropriate knowledge and understanding of child protection issues. They can identify things that would cause them concern and are clear about the procedures to follow. The policy is clear and readily available, however this does not have the up to date contact number for referrals, therefore children's welfare is potentially compromised as there may be a delay in reporting any concerns.

Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good.

Children enjoy a good range and variety of activities and play opportunities every day. These are well planned by staff to ensure they cover all areas of learning. Most children are settling in well and respond well to the staff. Staff are very caring and sensitive to children’s needs while they are in the process of settling in. Children are helped to feel secure because staff are kind and gentle and give them lots of comfort, cuddles and reassurance. Children learn right from wrong as staff give them appropriate clear explanations to help them understand how to behave and what is acceptable. Staff work well with children and their parents so that children can enjoy their time at pre-school. Children really enjoy playing with the shaving foam and laugh excitedly as they spread the foam around the table. They use their senses to describe how it feels and say it ‘feels warm’ and ‘is smelly’. Staff support children to encourage them to become involved in the activities, for example, outside children have fun as they take off their shoes to play in the sand pit and they enjoy feeling the sand beneath their feet. Staff use the ‘Birth to three matters’ framework well to chart the progress of the younger children in their care, for example, by linking photographs of children involved in activities to the relevant section of the framework.

Nursery Education

The quality of teaching and learning is good.

Most staff have very good knowledge and understanding of the Foundation Stage. Other staff are beginning to develop their knowledge, however the lack of short term plans means they are not always appropriately questioning children or giving them sufficient challenge. Staff have a sound system in place for planning and they all make contributions towards this at their regular meetings. Most staff skilfully take advantage of opportunities that arise during play to ask questions of children to promote thought and develop their learning. Staff appropriately support and include all children in the available activities. They manage children’s behaviour well always remaining calm and giving children good role models to follow. They make the learning environment attractive and make sure it is well set out before children arrive. Regular observations and assessments of children enable staff to chart their progress towards the early learning goals. Children’s learning is effective because they are well settled and confidently involve themselves in activities. They confidently talk about their home life and share with others, showing care and consideration. Children access a good range of books, both fiction and non-fiction. They enjoy listening to stories, sometimes as whole group or in smaller groups. Children use the mark making resources well and enjoy a variety of different ways of making marks, for example, ‘writing’ their names on the white board at register time, making patterns in the shaving foam and chalking on the outdoor boards. Children can see print in their environment as everyday items are labelled, such as the table, chair and mirror which helps to associate words with objects ad recognise print has meaning. Children have good opportunities to count and use number especially at registration time when all children are involved, for example, they all help to count how many children and adults are present and find the numbers for the calendar. Children patiently complete puzzles persevering until all the pieces are in the right place. Children learn that they need to put coats on as staff discusses what clothes they need to keep them warm when they go outdoors, as result children are becoming aware of their physical needs. Children learn about diversity in our society as they look at some different festivals, such as Chinese New Year. They learn about their local environment, for example, they enjoyed a recent nature walk in the woods where they looked at the trees and collected items, such as cut sections of tree and different leaves. They have looked at these under the magnifiers back at pre-school and had discussions about them. Children learn about and use information and communication technology as they have computerised toys, a computer keyboard and phones to play with. They enjoy a variety of creative play opportunities and use their senses well, for example, to feel the items collected on their woodland walk or to smell the glue as they use it. The role play area is well used by children and they particularly enjoy pretending the dolls are patients in the doctor’s surgery.

Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good.

Children have a good range of posters, resources and activities to help them learn about our diverse society. Staff ask for detailed information and have children come for settling in visits so they can get to know them and find out about their individual needs. Children’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is fostered. Children with learning difficulties and disabilities are well supported and have appropriate specialist equipment available if needed. Clear records enable staff to chart individual progress and identify areas for development. Staff work closely with parents and others to ensure they can meet children’s needs.
Children behave very well, they have clear boundaries and staff talk kindly to them to help them learn what is appropriate. Children are given praise and encouragement throughout the session. Staff have good relationships with parents and take time to exchange information daily. There are copies of policies and procedures and a suggestions box so parents can make their views known. An information board tells parents what is happening during the week and the snack menu is also displayed. Parents make positive comments about the pre-school saying it is ‘a lovely nursery’, ‘staff are warm and friendly’ and they like the fact that ‘children learn through play’. Parents know how they can make any concerns known as a complaints procedure is available and a contact for Ofsted is displayed. The partnership with parents and carers of funded children is good. They are given an informative brochure about the pre school and what they offer. In addition a lot of information is displayed for parents to look at. Parents share a lot of what they know about there children by completing various forms and having discussions with staff, However they is no system in place for obtaining  information about children's starting points if they are recieving funding when they join the group.Therefore this may slow down the assesment process and in turn children's progress. Parents are encouraged to be involved in children's learning as they can contribute to the variuos topics by bringing items in.  for example the current theme is orange and parents help children to find orange items to put on the table.The organisation is satisfactory.

Organisation

Children’s welfare is appropriately safeguarded as all staff have current checks in place and they ensure children are in their care at all times. The manager is appropriately qualified and experienced. She manages the staff and session effectively providing a good range and balance of activities for all the children. Other staff are well deployed; they all have clear roles and are aware of their responsibilities throughout the session. The pre-school has clear processes in place for assessing the suitability of their staff as their employment procedures are sound. New staff have an induction in health and safety and the pre-school procedures as soon as they start. The pre-school staff are attending relevant training to up date their knowledge. However the systems for monitoring the performance and on-going training needs of staff are not completed frequently enough to be effective. All the required records are in place and these are readily available during sessions. Children’s records are neatly filed in a separate file, readily available if needed. The register is marked as children arrive and again when they leave and staff and visitors are appropriately recorded too. Overall children’s needs are met. Leadership and management is good. The pre-school has a strong management committee and clear aims in place. Staff work well together as a team and new staff are made very welcome. All staff have clear roles and responsibilities throughout the session and work together to meet children’s needs and help them learn. There is a very good system in place for identifying areas for improvement in the nursery education and showing what action has been taken. The pre-school are committed to making improvements in the service they provide.

Improvements since the last inspection

At the last care inspection the pre-school were asked to request written permission from parents for seeking emergency medical advice or treatment. Records have all been updated and the pre-school now have this in place for all children so they can act appropriate in the event of a more serious medical emergency. They were also asked to ensure that parents are made aware of the pre-school's responsibility to report child protection concerns and to have the current contact number available. Parents all have access to the pre-school policies as these are readily available. However the contact number for referrals has not been updated, as a result children's welfare is potentially compromised as there may be a delay in reporting any concerns. This part of the recommendation will remain at this inspection. At the last nursery education inspection the pre-school were asked to provide children with sufficient opportunities to compare groups of objects and look at simple number problems. Children now have many opportunities to compare different groups of objects and solve simple numbers problems through the everyday activities. They were also asked to provide children with opportunities to freely express themselves and use their own ideas and imaginations in art and design and to provide a variety of examples of print within the environment. The pre-school have a variety of opportunities for children to freely express themselves and this is balanced with some planned, adult led activities. There are also a variety of examples of print in the environment, some everyday items are labelled helping children to relate written words to objects.

Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards. 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 AND NURSERY EDUCATION

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.

The quality and standards of the nursery education are good.

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):

devise and implement a system for monitoring staff performance and identifying their continuing training needs

ensure the child protection policy includes relevant contact details to enable a referral to be made if necessary.

The quality and standards of the nursery education

To improve the quality and standards of nursery education further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s):

develop short term activity plans to further support staff and the children's learning

implement a system for identifying children's starting points if they are in receipt of funding for nursery education.

Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures 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