A report on Sychdyn Playgroup Memorial Hall Sychdyn Flintshire CH7 6EA Date of inspection: May 2015 by Anne Elizabeth Manning Reporting Inspector for Estyn, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales During each inspection, inspectors aim to answer three key questions: Key Question 1: How good are the outcomes? Key Question 2: How good is provision? Key Question 3: How good are leadership and management? Inspectors also provide an overall judgement on the setting’s current performance and on its prospects for improvement. In these evaluations, inspectors use a four-point scale: Judgement What the judgement means Excellent Many strengths, including significant examples of sector-leading practice Good Many strengths and no important areas requiring significant improvement Adequate Strengths outweigh areas for improvement Unsatisfactory Important areas for improvement outweigh strengths Every possible care has been taken to ensure that the information in this document is accurate at the time of going to press. Any enquiries or comments regarding this document/publication should be addressed to: Publication Section Estyn Anchor Court, Keen Road Cardiff CF24 5JW..or by email to [email protected] This and other Estyn publications are available on our website: www.estyn.gov.uk © Queen’s Printer and Controller of HMSO 2015: This report may be re-used free of charge in any format or medium provided that it is re-used accurately and not used in a misleading context. The copyright in the material must be acknowledged as aforementioned and the title of the report specified. Publication date: 12/06/2015 A report on Sychdyn Playgroup May 2015 Context Sychdyn Playgroup is based in the village of Sychdyn in Flintshire and was established in 1970. The playgroup operates from Sychdyn Memorial Hall which serves a wide variety of groups in the community hence the playgroup is a pack away setting. This English-medium playgroup is over seen by a qualified supervisor who is also the registered person and a qualified teacher. There are two practitioners who together with the supervisor carry out the day-to-day running of the group. Parents also undertake regular duties in the setting. The playgroup is open daily during term time and is registered with the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales to provide care for up to 26 children from the age of two and a quarter. All the children who attend the playgroup are British and all use English as their first language. A small percentage of children have an additional learning need. About half the children live in Sychdyn and the other half live in the nearby villages of Northop, Buckley and Mynydd Isa. The playgroup receives support from Flintshire Early Entitlement and is a member of Wales Pre-school Providers Association. There were nine funded three-year-old children on the first inspection morning and eight present on the second. The last CSSIW inspection was in January 2014 and the last inspection by Estyn was in 2009. 1 A report on Sychdyn Playgroup May 2015 Summary The Setting’s current performance Good The Setting’s prospects for improvement Good Current performance The current performance of the setting is good because: children make good progress from their starting points; teaching is good; all children show positive attitudes to learning; care, support and guidance are good; learning experiences are varied and interesting; and the playgroup makes good use of the community and local environment to extend the learning of the children. Prospects for improvement Prospects for improvement are good because: there is effective leadership; there is a good range of quality resources to support learning; the playgroup works effectively with partners for the benefit of the children; practitioners work well as a team; and the setting has made good progress since the last inspection. 2 A report on Sychdyn Playgroup May 2015 Recommendations R1. Continue to develop outdoor learning to reflect forest school experiences. R2. Maximise informal opportunities to further develop children’s literacy skills. R3 For practitioners to visit other settings to share best practice. What happens next? The setting will draw up an action plan which shows how it is going to address the recommendations. 3 A report on Sychdyn Playgroup May 2015 Main findings Key Question 1: How good are outcomes? Good Standards: Good Nearly all children achieve good standards and make good progress from their starting points towards the Foundation Phase outcomes in all areas of learning. They work effectively at full capacity and are constantly busy with tasks. They concentrate and persevere well. Most children are confident to make choices about their play and are developing effective skills in literacy, numeracy and Information Communication Technology in order to access the wider curriculum. Nearly all children are confident when speaking to adults in the setting. They share their ideas and talk about what they are doing. Nearly all listen to instructions well and use appropriate language during play. All follow stories and show interest in books and experiment with mark making. Nearly all can handle books as a reader. The majority of children select and use mathematical ideas and most children develop appropriate ICT skills through play, for example in the role play area where they operate buttons and switches. All join in enthusiastically with songs and counting that effectively develop their Welsh vocabulary. Most children understand basic instructions in Welsh and can repeat familiar words and phrases. They show a good interest in Welsh books and the Welsh bear who joins in with their learning and encourages the use of the Welsh language. Wellbeing: Good All children settle well and quickly to the activities when they arrive in playgroup and all are developing positive attitudes to learning. Nearly all children are engaged and sustain concentration well, for example when digging for worms and other creatures. These children show a good interest in their work both indoors and out. They show good levels of self-esteem and take part enthusiastically in different learning experiences particularly during outdoor play. All children are happy and feel safe in the setting. Children are confident learners and are involved in making simple choices in the playgroup about their play. Nearly all children demonstrate good behaviour, they are kind and considerate towards each other and most readily share and take turns with equipment and resources. They do this exceptionally well with minimum adult input. They have successful relationships with each other and relate well to adults around them. They are starting to help their friends, for example when tidying away the equipment or passing resources that are out of reach. 4 A report on Sychdyn Playgroup May 2015 Key Question 2: How good is provision? Good Learning experiences: Good Planning includes a good range of interesting learning experiences such as visits to the local theatre that successfully engages all children and as a result they make good progress towards meeting the Foundation Phase outcomes. They are busy and purposefully occupied. Although indoors and outdoors are used to develop skills successfully, opportunities to experience those similar to forest school are in the early stages. Good organisation ensures children settle quickly to activities and learn successfully. Experiences effectively encourage children work together and co-operate. They successfully form relationships with each other and with adults around them and show respect for all cultural backgrounds. The curriculum builds appropriately on children’s existing knowledge and understanding and provides opportunities to develop thinking skills across all areas of learning such as deciding how to adjust pipes to ensure toys can move successfully. Although skills in literacy and numeracy are embedded successfully into the planned experiences for the children, informal opportunities to develop, for example literacy skills are missed including occasions for children to recognise their own names. Although there is a range of technology such as battery operated toys a greater variety would ensure that the children fully develop effective skills. Practitioners develop children’s literacy skills by sharing books including those written in Welsh and by story telling. There are good opportunities to develop early mark making through a range of different medium including sand and cocoa powder. Most practitioners use a good level of Welsh and they encourage the children effectively both during registration when the children count their friends and story time when they join in with the adventures of the Welsh bear. As a result children respond well. They share traditions and festivals with their friends such as St David’s Day and Chinese New Year. Children have opportunities to learn effectively about caring for living things by finding and observing mini beasts in the field and woodland. Teaching: Good All practitioners including volunteers are well briefed before the session and deployed effectively. They have up to date knowledge of child development and the requirements of the Foundation Phase and as a result move all the children’s learning forward. All practitioners are good language models and use language effectively to develop learning. Practitioners all employ positive strategies such as encouragement and negotiation to encourage the children to learn, join in and to share equipment.