There has been a pattern emerging of the specific areas that inspectors have focused on from October 2009 to January 2010, and this article is the second in a series of four that will provide the information you will need to review and evaluate your EYFS provision. Of course, future inspections may have a change of focus, but this series of articles will give you a base from where you can start to reflect on your provision. I suggest that you start a self-evaluation exercise by reading through the inspectors' statements, reflecting on your setting and whether or not such judgements would be an accurate reflection of your provision. The Ofsted reports begin with a brief description of the setting and a small section entitled Overall Effectiveness of the Early Years Provision, which summarises the main findings. The main sections of the report follow: What Steps Need to be Taken to Improve Provision Further? This section lists as bullet points, the recommendations that have been made for the setting to improve. The Effectiveness of Leadership and Management of the Early Years Provision The following topics were usually covered: Safeguarding, including recruitment of suitably checked staff Risk assessments Partnerships with parents Links with other settings or outside agencies Self-evaluation, including management aspirations for quality provision and capacity for improvement Professional development of staff Inclusion and special educational needs Health and safety policies and procedures The Quality and Standards of the Early Years Provision The following topics were usually covered: Children's well-being, behaviour and motivation to learn Settling in procedures and practice Staff knowledge of the EYFS Staff relationships and interactions with the children Descriptions of what the children are engaged in, and how the staff support their learning The learning environment including resources and equipment, indoor and outdoor Healthy lifestyle choices including hygiene practices Inclusion and Diversity We continue by looking at the theme of Positive Relationships. Throughout the reports there was a clear focus on the following: Working with Parents Building Relationships & Developing Quality Interactions with Children Management & Support of Staff All statements from the reports appear here in italics. WHAT STEPS NEED TO BE TAKEN TO IMPROVE PROVISION FURTHER? Working with Parents develop the arrangements for sharing policy information with parents, to ensure they are fully informed about the provision. take steps to engage parents more in the process of planning for children's learning and development and in monitoring their progress towards the early learning goals. review existing arrangements to ensure that parents are provided with more information regarding the Early Years Foundation Stage and their child's progress. ensure new parents receive up-to-date information about the Early Years Foundation Stage and involve all parents more closely in contributing to their children's records. consider increasing the opportunities for parents and carers to contribute to the setting of goals and targets for their children. ensure that parents are well informed about the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework and that they have regular opportunities to view children's learning journeys. increase the opportunities for parents to understand the conflict resolution approach to behaviour management to promote better continuity between home and the nursery. extend the two-way flow of information with new parents to promote a shared understanding of children's starting points in each area of learning. request written permission from parents for seeking emergency medical advice or treatment. Building relationships and developing quality interactions with children There were no recommendations for building relationships and developing quality interactions, in the reports sample. Management and support of staff improve the opportunities for staff to access further training to support their continuing professional development. develop the knowledge and skills of staff in relation to using spontaneous opportunities effectively to challenge and extend children's learning. ensure that all staff are confident in identifying each child's next steps in their learning and development. improve the quality of accessible records of those involved in the running of the setting to more clearly identify each individual's specific role as volunteer, staff member or committee member, in order to more effectively demonstrate that appropriate vetting procedures have been followed in each case. review staff deployment to ensure children are supported at all times with partcular regard to group times and outdoor play. organise the key worker system effectively to oversee the sharing of information with parents and to meet the individual needs of each child. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT OF THE EARLY YEARS PROVISION Working with parents Information is shared openly and parents are encouraged to be involved in their children's learning. They have access to their children's records at any time and are able to make written contributions about their children's learning in the setting and at home. Daily diaries are used to share information about the children's diet, sleep routines, day to day activities and general well-being during the day. Simple planning, photos, observation notes, daily report sheets and accessible up-to-date developmental records are readily available and key workers work hard to engage with parents informatively and sensitively about their child. Individual learning files and children's starting points are established with some written parental contribution, but the initial plan is not made jointly with parents to clearly establish shared aims for the individual child's progress from the outset. There is also a newsletter issued each month to inform parents about future events or what has happened within the calendar month, such as children's birthdays and announcing sibling births. Very effective measures are taken to involve parents fully in their child's learning. For example, a key person is implemented as children start at the setting which helps with the settling in process; this establishes a firm relationship as parents meet with them frequently to discuss their child's needs, interests and ability. Staff meet termly with the parent/carer to review each child's progress and share the contents of the 'Learning Journey' folders. There is a good system in place so that parents can contribute to their children's records when they start at the pre-school. Parents are encouraged to support children's learning at home through the 'Lending library' which children enjoy taking home to read with their parents. They regularly share their extremely informative assessments of children's progress with parents, and actively encourage parents to share their own observations of children's changing interests and abilities. This information is used to identify specific and precise ways for staff and parents to work together to make links between children's experiences and learning within the setting and at home. Parents are provided with excellent information about the operational plan of the setting, about the EYFS and group learning focuses and themes, but overall they are not involved enough in the planning of their child's individual learning programme. Parents attend parent's evenings to be involved in their children's learning and children have 'Home learning bags' to take activities home to share with parents, for example, salt-dough. All children are treated as individuals and the key workers are developing their role so all the child's family members are involved in the care and exchange of information. Parents support their children's learning and development further by writing about their achievements at home and displaying them on the 'WOW' board to share with staff. In addition parents are involved because children receive sheets noting 'what a star you have been today because..' and 'give me a hug today because..' that help them to be fully appreciative of achievements. These are exemplary methods of promoting positive behaviours and sharing with parents the importance of positive reinforcement. Parents are telephoned about any matter which might concern them, for example, if their child has been upset. Staff encourage parents to become involved in their children's learning by asking them to help their children learn specific songs and nursery rhymes or by inviting them to borrow books from the school library. There are daily opportunities for sharing information verbally in order to meet individual needs, and parents are invited to contribute to the 'wow moments' book for their child. Newsletters and notice boards are used to keep the parents fully informed about changes and developments within the nursery, including changes to the structure of the day or new activities being introduced to the children. Parents and carers are provided with an information pack at admission and are aware that they have open access to children's individual learning and development records, although in general they do not look at these on a regular basis. Parents value the flexible care and settling in procedures offered and the information they receive through newsletters and six monthly meetings with their child's key person. There is also a newsletter issued each month to inform parents about future events or what has happened within the calendar month, such as children's birthdays and announcing sibling births. A white board which is placed outside the room contains information about what the children have done during the sessions. Staff share good practice with families, for example, displaying laminated notices and leaflets about how to successfully manage young children's behaviour. Positive changes implemented recently include those suggested by parents through questionnaires, such as de-cluttering the notice board to ensure that messages of high importance are clearly visible. Parents receive detailed information about the nursery's provision for children and are offered excellent opportunities throughout the year to learn more about the ways young children learn. Parents questionnaires are used to seek the views of parents and open evenings are held regularly to build relationships. Parents indicate high levels of satisfaction with the setting and their constructive feedback and ideas given through annual questionnaires are acted upon. The pre-school is very keen to receive feedback from parents to help the staff improve it further. For example, it was as a result of a parent's suggestion that the sweatshirt was introduced. Parents are heavily involved in evaluating the provision offered. A key strength within the setting is the parent forum within which parent representatives meet with management to review aspects of the provision and offer suggestions or review potential proposed changes. Parents have access to a comments book, suggestions box and are regularly asked to complete questionnaires on different elements of the provision. Staff then utilise this information to inform action plans for future development. There is also a Parent Nursery Association, whom organise fundraising events and discuss how they can be more fully involve within the nursery developing a wider knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Parents report that members of staff make time to talk to them on a daily basis and that they are made fully aware of any aspects of the child's learning and development or social interaction that the staff feel the parent/carer should know. Children benefit as staff develop positive and trusting relationships with their parents. Information is shared daily by effective verbal communication, which promotes continuity of care for the children. A buddy system for new parents enables them to learn about the provision from established parents and is highly effective in supporting consistent care. Excellent systems are developed to involve parents and children with English as an additional language such as letters and leaflets in a range of languages, key words being learnt, books developed with children showing new words in different languages, and the involvement of parents to help with pronunciation, script and spelling for labelling in the nursery. Policies and procedures have been translated for parents and the use of an interpreter has been very successful not only for the staff, but for parents and children alike. The pre-school works closely with outside agencies to support children who find learning more difficult, and their families. This ensures that these children make good progress. Parents speak highly of how much the manager has helped to support their children and how useful it is to know what help is available for them. Building relationships and developing quality interactions with children The key worker system is working well and babies and young children have made secure attachments so that they feel safe and confident in their environment. This is because staff engage them with words that are familiar to them, such as hello in their home language. The staff spend their time purposefully engaged with the children building warm and trusting relationships, which has a positive impact on progress and learning. Children show care and concern for each other and are forming good relationships with staff and each other. They are well behaved and respond well to staff's management of their behaviour, enjoying receiving praise and encouragement for their achievements. They part easily from their parents and carers and are secure in the nurturing environment provided by staff. Warm and positive relationships have clearly been developed as the children are comfortable and make their needs known as they are assured of a caring response. Children benefit from the warm and supportive relationships with the staff and are provided with plenty of cuddles and positive attention. One to one care and interaction is observed through different times of the day as staff have the confidence in their colleagues and the routines of the day to allow them to focus on one child at a time. Adults support children's learning well. For example, staff engage babies in meaningful interactions as they play or look at photographs of one another or their families. They talk about the different babies who are attending to help them begin to recognise one another. Slightly older children also show warm contact with the key people who care for them. They enjoy snuggling up with their carers to look at a book and offer answers to plenty of meaningful questions. Management and support of staff Clear selection and recruiting procedures for new staff have been introduced, ongoing appraisals are held, and through regular staff meetings all are familiar, and confident, with their roles and responsibilities. All new staff and students undertake an induction programme which includes examination of the policies and procedures. A thorough induction process and ongoing appraisals ensure good practice is identified and valued. Although senior staff have opportunities to maintain their professional development by attending regular training this is not reflected within the staff team. Professional development is given high priority and all staff have a positive attitude towards updating their knowledge and skills through the completion of training. New staff are well supported by allocated mentors and good opportunities for ongoing professional development prevail. Staff are encouraged to undertake ongoing professional training which will most benefit the welfare of children and they meet regularly as a staff team to ensure that ongoing improvements are shared and implemented effectively. Links with the local authority's early years team help train staff in areas upon which they are not so confident. This training is successful in keeping staff up-to-date with the changes that have taken place in the early years provision during the past year or so. The staff have excellent opportunities to develop their careers and this supports their ability to provide a superb environment for children to learn and develop. They regularly update their skills on the basis of their personal appraisals, using regular staff meetings to spread knowledge gained through courses. The manager regularly observes staff performance and peer reviews have recently been introduced as an evaluation tool. The staff group are deployed very well, flexible in their approach and know the children throughout the provision enabling any transition from room-to-room to be beneficial to the children. Staff are skilled at arranging the activities to ensure all children are involved and gain the most from what is on offer. Staff are encouraged to evaluate their practices and consider 'best practice' at all times. The key person system enables staff to identify areas of concerns and work with children on a one to one basis or support them in adult led activities. The manager has a sense of purpose and holds frequent meetings with all staff. There is active involvement of all staff and management in team meetings to discuss and share their ideas. All staff are given key roles in different aspects of the provision, such as safeguarding officer and a health and safety representative. Lead roles and responsibilities are clearly delegated and systems have been introduced to ensure staff routinely monitor the ongoing suitability of the premises, equipment and resources. There is a sound working partnership between the committee and the current team of staff. This is helping to bring together plans for improving the nursery and staff are responding positively to sources of advice from other professionals. THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE EARLY YEARS PROVISION Working with parents There were no statements for this section in the reports sample. Building relationships and developing quality interactions with children Children build strong relationships within the nursery with both adults and their peers. The children's questionnaire asks them do they know who to talk to at pre-school if they need help. Children are developing skills for the future through careful guidance from staff. They are encouraged to share, take turns, use 'please' and 'thank you' and show respect for others. Children are positive about joining in with others and demonstrate a very tolerant attitude to sharing equipment and toys with others, reflecting a caring attitude demonstrated by the staff. They show a confident approach to new experiences and those who were initially tentative were well supported by adults to help them participate. Children are confident to choose for themselves, voice their preferences and they respect the other children and the adults. This reflects the good example set by the staff and the encouragement the children receive. They are well prepared for the next steps in life. Staff effectively interact and support children in their learning and development through discussion, explanation and questioning. For example, encouraging a two year old to develop numeracy skills by counting one, two, three before sliding down the slide. Children thrive as staff spend the majority of time at their level, developing good language skills as staff continually talk to them about what they are doing and expertly extending their play and enjoyment of each activity. Staff effectively encourage children to have a positive attitude to learning by actively listening to children and positively interacting with them at activities. Babies and younger children demonstrate close relationships with the staff who care for them. For example, babies getting up from a sleep gravitate towards a member of staff and put their arms out for a cuddle. Warm interactions help children to feel secure and promotes their well-being at all times. Staff use some lovely facial expressions, tone and intonation when interacting with the babies, which encourages their communication skills. The staff are always nearby to offer support, without being intrusive. Staff are motivated, show an interest in the children, treat them all with care and kindness and value their views and achievements. Children approach staff readily to express their needs, and are encouraged to help tidy-up and to take turns and share. This, along with the effective key person system, helps ensure each child feels safe and develops a sense of belonging. Management and support of staff The staff's attentive, patient and calm approach helps children feel valued and secure. Staff have a positive ethos and work cooperatively together to address challenging behaviour and children are offered more attention for positive behaviour. Staff have excellent understanding of children's needs and development and the importance of children learning through play and first hand experiences. Staff successfully create a caring, positive, environment that values children's positive behaviour and children's individual characteristics and learning styles. The staff instinctively understand that some children may need extra support, staff make time to listen to children and respond to them affectionately, in a reassuring manner. The children are supported very well by enthusiastic staff, who encourage their curiosity, provide a variety of interesting and challenging experiences and tasks and allow them the opportunity to make exceptional progress in all six areas of learning. Good staff interaction and effective organisation of routines helps all children to gain a strong sense of security. Staff are skilled and sensitive in their management of children and their behaviour. They encourage children to become aware of the impact of their behaviour on others. Consequently, children's behaviour is good and they display high levels of self-control. All staff demonstrate their commitment by creating a high quality, stimulating and welcoming learning environment. Practitioners are enthusiastic and committed to improving their already sound knowledge of childcare and how children learn. For example, most recently two have attended training in using letters and sounds; skills learnt have already been shared with other practitioners and children are benefiting from the activities provided to help develop their speech and language. Staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, undertaking tasks independently. Staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and therefore children's progress towards the early learning goals is well supported. Staff have a very good grasp of the EYFS and have received training and support from the qualified teacher at the setting. Staff are imaginative and innovative to provide a broad range of play and learning experiences to promote children's all round development. Staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and are highly committed to continuous development through ongoing training. Staff understand the 'Every Child Matters' outcomes for children, and they provide many opportunities for children to learn through play within the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff are very aware that one activity can embrace a number of areas of learning. Staff meet regularly to discuss children's progress and their next steps. More experienced staff lead these sessions and the setting is aiming to ensure that all staff are equally confident in this regard. Regular staff meetings are undertaken and used as opportunities to share information from training and to contribute to the self evaluation process. Leaders and managers are efficient, extremely well organised, and communicate their vision for implementing the EYFS with great enthusiasm and commitment. Creative and effective procedures are in place for building staff moral and enthusiasm, such as staff and room of the month. This has an overall impact on staff focusing on the quality of care provided and ensuring children thrive within the environment. The good deployment of staff allow for children to feel safe and secure. The deployment of staff within free play and adult led activities is strong, enabling them to support children well in their individual learning and development.
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