Old Rayne Playgroup Day Care of Children
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Old Rayne Playgroup Day Care of Children St.Lawrence Hall Old Rayne Insch AB52 6RY Telephone: 07470 094250 Type of inspection: Unannounced Completed on: 27 February 2020 Service provided by: Service provider number: Old Rayne Playgroup SP2003000524 Service no: CS2003002662 Inspection report About the service Old Rayne Playgroup is registered with the care inspectorate to provide a day care of children service to a maximum of 24 children at any one time aged from 2 years to not yet of an age to attend primary school. Of those 24, no more than 15 should be aged 2 to under 3. The service is provided by a voluntary committee of parents and operates from the St Lawrence Hall in the centre of Old Rayne, a rural village in Aberdeenshire. The service is in partnership with the local authority to provide funded pre-school education. The vision statement for the service was; At Old Rayne Playgroup we aim to provide a welcoming, fun, friendly atmosphere, within the setting. We do this by creating a stimulating, safe, trusting, environment where there is a focus on child led play. The Care Inspectorate is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all children receiving a care service. We want to ensure they have the best start in life, are ready to succeed and live longer, healthier lives. We carried out an unannounced inspection of Old Rayne Playgroup on the 26 and 27 of February 2020. During the inspection we observed and talked to the children as they played. We spoke to parents, committee members, the manager and staff, observed staff practice and checked documentation relevant to the inspection. The Care Inspectorate check services are meeting the principles of Getting it Right for Every Child (also known as GIRFEC); Scotland's national approach to improving outcomes and wellbeing for children by offering the right help at the right time from the right people. It supports them and their parent(s) to work with services that can help them. There are eight wellbeing indicators at the heart of Getting it right for every child: safe; healthy; achieving; nurtured; active; respected; responsible; and included. What people told us There were around 13 children present during the sessions we visited. We observed the children and saw that they were happy and relaxed in the playgroup and very comfortable with staff. We talked to children about their experiences and they told us: 'I liked playing out in the snow, I am going to get a spade to clear the path.' 'I can spell my name; (demonstrates writing) how do you spell your name, (copies letters). Watch this I can draw a circle.' 'This is our plane; we need to get there fast; it's a bad guy and we need to save the day.' 'The river is flooded; cars are in the water. Let's get some more water. I can't lift it. I can, it's heavy, we are making a pool.' Seven out of a sample of eight parents returned completed questionnaires to us before the inspection. We also spoke with two parents dropping off their children and two committee members. All were very happy with the quality of care their child receives. Comments included: Inspection report for Old Rayne Playgroup page 2 of 13 Inspection report 'My child is very happy in the setting. As a parent I am more than happy with the way the playgroup is run.' 'Lovely atmosphere at playgroup, children seem very engaged and more variety is being offered. Always receive great feedback when collecting my child after a morning of fun and play.' 'I have been really pleased with this term. Children have been outside every day. The new extended hours are working very well and the introduction of lunch has been successful; as my children are eating meals they would not normally get at home, which is really good to hear.' The atmosphere in playgroup is welcoming and positive.' 'I am extremely happy with Old rayne Playgroup. My child is developing into a happy, confident, friendly and polite child and is always very eager to go to playgroup every morning. It is a very friendly, family atmosphere. The staff are knowledgeable and approachable. There always appears to be a good variety of toys and learning areas with the staff down on the floor playing with the children. There is nowhere else I would wish my child to attend.' Self assessment The service had not been asked to complete a self assessment in advance of the inspection. We looked at the service's own improvement plan and quality assurance processes. These demonstrated their priorities for development and how they were monitoring the quality of the provision within the service. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support 4 - Good Quality of environment 4 - Good Quality of staffing 4 - Good Quality of management and leadership 4 - Good Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection The quality of care and support provided for children at Old Rayne Playgroup was good. Parents were very pleased with the care and support provided by the manager and staff and felt good communication was established. Parents valued the daily feedback and the update on children's progress at recent parent evening. Parents were welcomed to stay and play and events, for example a literacy day had helped parents to understand how children learn. Good progress had been made in developing children's personal plans. Information was now much more robust. Clear medical protocols contributed to keeping children safe and well. Staff were clear how they met children's needs and could describe positive outcomes. The manager and staff need to develop record-keeping to clearly set out agreed strategies and record evaluations of the positive progress children are making as a result. The requirement was not yet fully met and is carried forward in this report. Inspection report for Old Rayne Playgroup page 3 of 13 Inspection report The quality of observations in children's learning journals was improving. Children's progress was now being monitored using recognised benchmarks and pathways. As a result planned experiences were developmentally appropriate and interesting to the children. Staff were alert and responsive to children needing support. We saw that children were listened to. Staff were engaged in play with children at their level. Children were encouraged to think for themselves and express their views. As a result, we saw that most children were more engaged in their play and concentrating well. Parents told us children were now talking at home about new things they had been learning at playgroup, for example the Queen and Scotland, where Siberian tigers live on a map, dinosaurs and volcanoes and thermal fuses in cars. The manager and staff should now sustain and build on these positive developments. Children were learning about being healthy. They were involved in choosing and preparing snacks and talked about healthy options. Snack and lunchtime were positive sociable experiences. Parents told us that children were trying a wider variety of foods as a result. Children could choose to play outdoors for part of the session on a daily basis, experiencing fresh air and physical activity which supported their health and wellbeing. They were able to influence their own learning and play choices. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 4 - good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection The quality of environment provided for children at Old Rayne Playgroup was good. The hall and annex provided plenty of space for children to play. Previously we recommended that the manager and staff review and improve the provision and presentation of resources and activities. As a result of sound improvement planning and evaluation this recommendation was met. The play areas were better set out. There were increased open-ended play opportunities, a greater choice of equipment, more natural materials, real life objects and loose parts play indoors. Children could freely access a wide range of suitable experiences and resources. As a result, children were more engaged in their play and learning. The story corner had again been moved and further developed; it was a cosy space with drapes, a small sofa, lamp and plant; making it homely and comfortable. Children used it well to read books alone and staff were observed to read lots of stories to individuals and small groups of children. Children also enjoyed imaginative play, reading and story-telling in a den they made under a table. Children were absorbed in the home corner which was well set out and equipped with real life objects made from natural materials. Real vegetables to handle would enhance this further. A loose parts station stimulated younger children's natural curiosity, engaing them in sorting, matching, size comparison, naturally in play. Inspection report for Old Rayne Playgroup page 4 of 13 Inspection report Children could independently choose to play outdoors for part of the session. Access to either the car park or the garden was offered in turn on daily basis. The car park provided space for children to be energetic, play games and ride bikes. Children had enjoyed playing in the recent snow. The garden offered richer play and learning opportunities and children experienced an outdoor session weekly led by a practitioner who had a passionate interest in outdoor play. We urged the manager to make greater use of the garden area. We suggested a more challenging block play area would enhance the setting providing children with richer opportunities for design, engineering and mathematical problem solving. Further information can be found here.