Ofsted Report
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 report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration whichever is the later, which require Ofsted or the provider to take action in Annex C.
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).
The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.
Description of the setting
Bristol Childrens Playhouse Pre-School Nursery opened in 1979. It is part of Bristol Childrens Playhouse Project. It operates from the nursery building and children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area.
The nursery opens Monday to Friday, during school term times. Sessions are from 9.00 to 14.30. The nursery is registered to care for a maximum of 20 children at any one time. There are currently 18 children in the early years range on roll. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities as well as those who speak English as an additional language. The nursery provides funded early education for three and four year olds. A drop in group is available for parents on several afternoons and a Peer Early Effective Partnership support group also operates from the premises which is accessible at ground floor level.
The nursery employs three members of staff. All hold Level 3 qualifications. Staff work in partnership with The Limes Children's Centre. The setting receives support from a teacher from the local authority and have achieved validation for the Bristol Standard in Daycare quality assurance scheme.
Overall effectiveness of the early years provision
Overall the quality of the provision is good. Children are happy and purposefully engaged in play as they explore and learn in a rich learning environment. Each child is valued and treated as an individual and this promotes confidence. Staff have established very good links with parents and other childcare professionals in order to meet the needs of the varied range of families in the community and have extended support to younger children through drop-in and PEEPs (Peers Effective Early Partnership) groups. The setting ensures the high quality of the service is continually monitored and evaluated by complying with inspection recommendations and involvement in quality assurance schemes.
What steps need to be taken to improve provision further?
| To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:
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The leadership and management of the early years provision
The nursery staff are experienced and work well together to provide good support to children during play. The adults are alert to the various activities children are involved in and talk to children to praise their effort and ask appropriate questions to extend learning. Children's safety is promoted through thorough safeguarding and recruitment policies. Staff are knowledgeable about the effects of abuse and work closely with multi-disciplinary colleagues to ensure safeguarding procedures effectively promote children's welfare.
Parents are confident that their children are receiving good care and are very knowledgeable about nursery's procedures and routines. On arrival, they are relaxed as they share information with staff and look at written information, including plans for daily activities, on the large notice board positioned close to the entrance. Staff ensure that parents who have English as an additional language are included and also kept up to date as, when necessary, they use a system for translating documents into parents' first languages. Parents feel staff are approachable and freely discuss questions they have about the provision. They are aware of the complaint procedure as this is prominently displayed on the notice board. Parents say their children are making good progress as staff allow a balance between exploratory free play and more structured learning activities.
The nursery has completed and submitted the self evaluation form available on the regulator's web site. They have good capacity to improve as staff have identified areas of strengths and some areas for further improvements. For example, staff have identified the need to include different levels of challenge in group activities to enable children with different abilities to develop at a pace which is comfortable for each child. Another system for monitoring the quality of the provision is the nursery's ongoing involvement in the city wide Bristol Standard for Daycare quality assurance scheme.
The quality and standards of the early years provision
Children are happy, confident and make good progress in their learning as they are supported by staff that have a thorough understanding of the early learning goals of The Early Years Foundation Stage. Children are aware of their individual needs and are developing confidence in making choices. For example, staff encourage children to choose when they feel hungry and need to have a snack. Children also carry out other self care procedures such as asking for tissues to wipe their nose and they visit the toilet without adult assistance when necessary.
Children can independently select toys and equipment they use during play as these are located at child height on table tops, in storage units or set out at floor level. Children are familiar with the routine and enjoy completing their planning books with parents and carers. They know that print carries meaning and some write clearly formed letters whilst others make marks in their books to show the activity they have chosen. Staff offer good support to develop these skills by providing pictorial stickers with symbols representing the different activities. Children show enjoyment and interest in books and visit the comfortable reading area to use an excellent range of colourful, bilingual or large print books. Parents are encouraged to be involved in their children's learning by borrowing books for use at home. However, opportunities for children's home language to be acknowledged and used to enhance learning are missed as some parents are not made sufficiently aware of the benefits.
Staff ensure children have a wide range of learning experiences. There are clearly set out areas for activities such as: problem solving, numeracy and reasoning; mark making; small world imaginary play and operating larger Information Technology (IT) equipment including the computer. Some older children are showing a clear preference for organising specific types of play with models of small world figures. Staff have noted the patterns in play choices and ensure children have access to sufficient quantity and types of play material to be creative and explore their imaginary ideas. However, the current system used by staff for planning, observation and assessment does not sufficiently build on what children can do when they start at the nursery or identify how large group activities can be extended for more able children.
Staff have organised the outdoor area well so children can play outdoors and access a range of resources in most types of weather. Children have enthusiasm for physical play and realistic ride on toys are available to promote the development of strong limbs and coordination and spatial awareness. Some children enjoy quieter activities such as listening to stories in the playhouse. Staff use changes in the weather advantageously to provide children with spontaneous learning opportunities such as, children are able to consider how ice is formed from water in the playground and they show strong curiosity, asking staff questions about the melting process as ice turns into water.
Children behave well and play well together with others. They share and take turns when necessary and they know they should observe safety rules such as sitting down when using scissors. Staff acknowledge children's good behaviour with praise and enthusiastically affirm children's efforts when they bring work to show what they have done. Children's welfare is promoted and their safety needs in the nursery are met through risk assessment of several areas on the premises. Where risk and hazards are identified, staff are aware of their responsibility for ongoing monitoring of areas where control measures are in place to ensure they remain safe for children to use.
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 |
Overall effectiveness
| How effective is the provision in meeting the needs of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage? | 2 |
| How well does the provision promote inclusive practice? | 2 |
| The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement. | 2 |
Leadership and management
| How effectively is provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage led and managed? | 2 |
| How effective is the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement? | 2 |
| How well does the setting work in partnership with parents and others? | 2 |
| How well are children safeguarded? | 2 |
Quality and standards
| How effectively are children in the Early Years Foundation Stage helped to learn and develop? | 2 |
| How effectively is the welfare of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage promoted? | 2 |
| How well are children helped to stay safe? | 2 |
| How well are children helped to be healthy? | 2 |
| How well are children helped to enjoy and achieve? | 2 |
| How well are children helped to make a positive contribution? | 2 |
| How well are children helped develop skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being? | 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 |
Annex B: the Childcare Register
| The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: | Met |
| The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: | Met |
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Annex C: complaint/s made to Ofsted
This section of the report includes details of any complaint/s made to Ofsted when:
- we took action for the provider to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register; or
- we asked the provider to take action in order to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register; or
- the provider had already taken any necessary action to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register.
We will not report on any complaint where the provider met the requirements of the Early Years Register or did not require any action by Ofsted or the registered provider.
Detail of the complaint/s
There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since the last inspection.
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.