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EY Self-evaluation form
Early years self-evaluation form For provision on the Early Years Register
“Hoyland Common Children’s Centre aims to create a safe and welcoming place encouraging happy, independent, confident children and families to be healthy in their daily adventures. A place where everyone can enjoy and achieve their dreams and goals in life”
Age group: Birth to 31 August following a child’s fifth birthday
Published: October 2013
Reference no: 120332
Please leave blank for Ofsted use
The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to
achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of
all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and
Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based
learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and
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after children, safeguarding and child protection.
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No. 120332
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Contents
Introduction 5
Completing this form 6
Part A. Setting details and views of those who use the setting 6
Section 1. Your setting 6
Section 2. Views of those who use your setting and who work with you 9
Part B: The quality and standards of the early years provision 14
Section 3. How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who
attend 14
Section 4. The contribution of the early years provision to children’s well-being 19
Section 5. The leadership and management of the early years provision 22
Section 6. The overall quality and standards of the early years provision 26
Page 4 of 26 EYL409
Setting name Hoyland Common Children’s Centre
Setting unique
reference
number
EY472158
Setting address Hoyland Common Children’s Centre
Sheffield Road
Hoyland Common
Barnsley
Postcode S74 0DJ
Completed by
(name and role)
Rachael McNicholas - Assistant Children’s Centre Manager
Dee Marsh – Children’s Centre Manager
Whole team input on 11th October 2013
Date completed 11th October 2013 updated on 7th January 14 & 26th March
2014
Reviewed Reviewed by Governing Body between 27th March & 10th
April 2014
Page 5 of 26 EYL409
Introduction
This optional self-evaluation form is for providers on the Early Years Register. You may prefer to record your self-evaluation on a different form, for example:
a children’s centre self-evaluation form which covers the registered part of your provision
a local authority form
a quality assurance scheme system.
If you submit this form online or send it to Ofsted as part of your planning cycle, the inspector will use it when planning your inspection. If you choose not to send it to Ofsted, or you complete a different form of self-evaluation, please make this available to the inspector at the start of your inspection.
Whatever way you choose to record an evaluation of your provision, the inspector will expect this to include:
the views of children, parents and any staff or assistants you employ
the views of other professionals who may work with you, such as local authority advisers/development workers; health professionals; children’s centre staff and any other early years provision
your strengths, any areas for improvement and the actions you propose to tackle them.
You may find it helpful to use the following to evaluate your provision:
Early years self-evaluation form guidance1
Evaluation schedule for inspections of registered early years provision2
The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundations Stage3
Early Years Outcomes.4
1 Early years self-evaluation form guidance (120342), Ofsted, 2013;
www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/120342. 2 Evaluation schedule for inspections of registered early years provision (120086), Ofsted,
2013; www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/120086. 3 The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundations Stage, Department for Education,
2012; www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/curriculum/a0068102/early-years-
foundation-stage-eyfs. 4 Early years outcomes, DfE, 2013: a non-statutory guide for practitioners and inspectors to
help inform understanding of child development through the early years https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-outcomes.
Page 6 of 26 EYL409
Completing this form
Please make sure you have completed the setting details at the beginning of the form, including the name of the person who completed it. Please make sure any additional sheets you might use have the name of the setting and unique reference number (URN) at the top.
The form is in two parts. Part A tells us what those who use the setting think of the quality of the provision you offer. Part B gives you an opportunity to evaluate your provision using the same judgements as inspectors.
Part A. Setting details and views of those who use the setting
Section 1. Your setting
In this section describe the main characteristics of your setting and the culture and backgrounds of the children who attend, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, or speak English as an additional language.
Refer to the Early years self-evaluation form guidance, page 5.
The Building
The early years provision is part of a Round 2 Children’s Centre and comprises
a purpose built ground floor building constructed to meet Disability
Discrimination Act requirements. The premises are part of a Private Finance
Initiative building and are located on the site of Hoyland Common Primary
School. The Children’s Centre is all on one level with full disabled access and
consists of the following rooms: a large reception area, main office, family
support and outreach office, large meeting room, small meeting room, health
room, staff room, staff kitchen and early year’s office. The nursery provision
consists of a large room set up to support the 7 areas of learning. There is a
separate nappy changing room, a kitchen and dining room and children’s toilets.
It has a large outdoor garden space which allows the children to access free flow
play independently during each session, this creates opportunities for learning
experiences both in and out doors. The outdoor provision has been developed
through practitioners accessing the Stepped Approach training delivered by
Early Excellence and the Loving Learning When You Are 2 training delivered by
Barnsley Early Childhood Services. The Centre has also had input from an Early
Years Consultant, whose specialism is Forest Schools. The nursery has open
access into the Hoyland Common Primary School’s Foundation Stage unit.
Organisation
The early year’s provision is part of the Children’s Centre. The Centre is
governor led and is managed by Hoyland Common Primary School. The Centre
was designated in April 2008 and started delivering fully operational services in
May 2009. The early year’s provision was inspected by Ofsted in June 2013
(under a previous EY number EY372255) and was judged as ‘good’. The
Page 7 of 26 EYL409
Children’s Centre was also inspected in June 2013 and was judged as ‘good’.
Hoyland Common Primary School converted to a stand-alone academy on the
1st October 2013 resulting in the provision re-registering with Ofsted and being
allocated a new EY number.
The Area
The Children’s Centre is situated within Hoyland Common on the outskirts of
Barnsley, the area is largely urban. The communities the Centre works with are
ranked amongst the 50% most deprived areas in the country.
The Centre is located on a busy transport route close to motorway links.
Changes in employment over the last 20 years have resulted in the area once
dominated by mining and steel production see little in the way of locally sourced
work. Most of the population currently in work now commute out of the area.
The Centre’s surrounding locality comprises a mix of private and council housing
accommodation with pockets of deprivation across the area. The housing stock
is mixed, of differing aspects and ages, with no high rise blocks or large estates.
The local population is predominantly White British, with only 2.5% of children
living in the Centre’s reach area in Black and Minority Ethnic groups, compared
to 4.8% across the Barnsley Borough and 22.8% in England (Source SEF
Toolkit 2011). More recent data for Hoyland Common Primary school shows that
3.5% of pupils in 2011 were from an ‘ethnic minority’ compared to 6.7% in
across the local authority and 26.5% nationally (ACORN Barnsley Schools
Profile 2012).
The percentage of lone parents is below both the Barnsley and England
average. In Hoyland Common 3.5% of children have a disability; this is higher
than the Barnsley (3.1%) and England average (2.8%) (Source SEF Toolkit
2011).
The majority of children living in the area attend one of the nine local primary
schools, go on to Kirk Balk secondary school and are likely to have had parents
and grandparents who also attended local schools. There are two other
childcare providers in the reach area (private providers) and there are seventeen
registered child-minders in the Hoyland, Milton and Rockingham Wellbeing
Partnership Area (spanning two Children’s Centre reach areas). Barnsley as a
local authority has a culture of informal child care.
The population is a stable one, people who live in the area tend to stay and
therefore there has been relatively little change in the population and
consequently there is a strong feeling of continuity and identity.
Social Issues
The main social issues effecting the communities the Centre serves are; a high
percentage of families living on benefits, qualifications achieved are lower than
the national average, as are the wages of those in employment, a relatively high
number of young parents as well as children who are disabled or who have
Page 8 of 26 EYL409
special educational needs.
Operations
The Children’s Centre opens Monday to Friday between the hours of 8:30am-
4:30pm. The nursery offers two sessions per day 8:45am-11:45am and
12:30pm-3:30pm, term time only and is registered for 26 children aged 2-5 years
old.
There are currently 2 children accessing the provision receiving 1-1 support and
using walking frames to support their development. Both children are in receipt
of a band 5 statement and are able to access all areas of the Children’s Centre
fully.
One child is from a BME group and his family speak English as a second
language.
The Centre offers places for children in receipt of the Two Year Entitlement
funding. We currently have 20 children accessing in receipt of this funding. The
nursery also delivers NEF funded places, with 5 children currently accessing.
Children Centre Staff Team
Children Centre Manager – BA Hons Social and Women’s Studies. Post
Graduate Diploma in Youth and Community studies, Designated
Safeguarding Lead, NPQICL.
Assistant Centre Manager – CACHE Diploma in Nursery Nursing, NVQ
level 4 in Early Years, Foundation Degree in Early Years, CAF Assessor,
Designated Safeguarding Lead and working towards Degree in Early
Years and Leadership.
Family Support Worker – NNEB, Level 4 in Counselling, Level 4 in
Advice and Guidance, Level 3 in Business Management, CAF Assessor,
Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Outreach Worker – NVQ 3 Play Learning and Development, working
towards degree in Early Years and Development.
Receptionist – RSA Stage 2, Customer Care NVQ Level 3, NVQ Level 3
Early Years.
Senior Early Years Practitioner – SENCO, NVQ Level 4 in Early Years,
CAF Assessor, Advanced Safeguarding, working towards degree in Early
Years.
Early Years Practitioner – NVQ Level 3 in Early Years, ECAT and
ELKLAN level 2
Early Years Assistant – NVQ Level 3 in Early Years, ELKLAN Level 3
Early Years Assistant - NVQ Level 3 in Early Years, working towards
EYT
Early Years Assistant – NVQ Level 3
Early Years Assistant – NVQ Level 3
Early Years Assistant – working towards NVQ level 2
Relief Early Years Assistant – working towards CACHE level 3
Modern Apprentice – working towards NVQ Level 2
Page 9 of 26 EYL409
Early Years Assistants and Practitioners attend a briefing at the start of each day
during which they are allocated an area of the provision to supervise. The
briefing is used to share information regarding vulnerable children, to
disseminate any information and to ensure staff members are aware of and
understand the planning in place for the session.
Historical Issues
In October 2009 the school Head Teacher, Children’s Centre Manager and an
Assistant Early Years Practitioner were suspended from post. The Centre
experienced a challenging period of time with staff members being party to
disciplinary hearings and appeals procedures. The staff team was turbulent with
various long term absences. The lack of a complete senior leadership team had
a considerable impact on the Centre’s strategic focus, reach levels, use of data,
progression and development.
In 2011 both a new Children’s Centre Manager and a new Head teacher of
Hoyland Common Primary School came into post. The Centre has since moved
forward with a clear vision and development plan which has secured significant
improvements and a stable staff structure. Both Ofsted Inspections in June 2013
highlighted the progression the Centre had made and the current development
plan details how the Centre’s leaders aspire to ensure this progression
continues.
Section 2. Views of those who use your setting and who work with you
This section should record:
the views of the children who attend your setting and those of their parents or carers
the views of any professionals who work with you, especially the local authority, your local children’s centre or any health professionals
details of any quality assurance scheme you participate in Include examples of the ways in which you seek views and any action you have taken to improve as a result of those views.
Refer to the Early years self-evaluation form guidance, page 6.
How we obtain the views of others;
Service users
The Children’s Centre values feedback of its service users. Their thoughts and
opinions are collected in the following ways;
Parental questionnaires are issued after a child has initially settled in the
provision, on a quarterly basis, following Parent Celebration Evenings
Page 10 of 26 EYL409
and following transition out of the setting.
Regular meetings with parents take place – informally during at arrivals
and departures and more formally at Parent Celebration Evenings.
The Centre has an interactive blog on the website
(http://hoylandcommonprimary.co.uk/category/childrens-centre-blog/)
which allows parents and children to comment along with our Facebook
page which promotes the Centre’s services and shares with parents what
has been and is planned to happen.
The Centre has an established Parents Forum. This group of
parent/carers meets every half term to discuss and represent the views
of other parent/carers. They routinely review all Centre’s policies &
procedures.
A Parent Governor sits on the Children’s Centre Governing Committee.
The Committee is responsible for the strategic management of the
provision. This allows parent/carers voices to be heard and valued when
strategic decisions are being made. They also routinely review all
Centre’s policies and procedures.
Parent/carers and children are involved in the recruitment procedure for
new staff members. Parent Forum members ‘meet and greet’ the
candidates whilst children have the opportunity to take part in an activity
planned by candidates as part of their interview process. Parent/carer
feedback and observations of children’s interactions with the candidates
are considered by the panel when making their decision.
Children’s interests, likes and dislikes are gathered through an ‘All About
Me’ documents completed by the parent/carer, through ongoing
conversations with parent/carers and through observations of and
conversations with the children. Children’s interests are used to inform
planning.
A few examples of the impact of collecting parent/carer/children’s views as listed
above are;
Celebration Evenings were introduced to ensure parent/carers have the
opportunity to discuss their child/ren’s progress with their key person.
Parents are now able to look at Learning Journey’s prior to meeting with
child’s key person during Celebration Evenings.
Potties are now available in the Centre’s public toilets.
Parent/carers views have been used to shape policies.
Family Support & Outreach Services are represented at Celebration
Evenings to increase awareness of the services they offer.
The results from our latest Parent/Carer feedback demonstrated that 100% of
respondents felt their child was safe when attending Hoyland Common
Children’s Centre and 100% of respondents felt their child was happy to attend.
Parent/carers made comments such as;
“Any worries I had about leaving my child have been alleviated”
Page 11 of 26 EYL409
“3rd nursery attended and the quickest she has settled in”
“Yes I like to see what he has done whilst here and find parents evening
reassuring”
“We have been happy with all services provided and would recommend this
children’s centre to others”
Staff
The Children’s Centre encourages staff members to be reflective practitioners
and regularly listens to their views and ideas through the following means;
Informal daily conversations
Fortnightly staff meetings
6 weekly KIT meetings
Training evaluation sheets
INSET days
Annual Professional Development Review’s
Annual Staff Questionnaire
The results of the latest Staff Questionnaire show that;
100% of respondents were committed to bringing about long lasting
improvements in the Centre
100% of respondents had confidence in the Centre’s leader and
managersto provide effective leadership.
91% of respondents feel there are opportunities for them to evaluate the
Centre’s strengths and weaknesses.
91% of respondents feel there opportunities for them to contribute
towards developing actions plans to improve the Centre.
100% of respondents feel their impact on the work of the setting is
recognised and valued.
Staff members made comments such as;
“Always feel that my work is valued and appreciated by centre manager and acting manager” “Very happy that managers have given me the opportunity to carry out my EYTS degree to help me progress through my career. Thank you” “Good place to work, supportive team” “All staff are very supportive of each other and of my degree work.”
“I really enjoy working in the Children’s Centre”
A few examples of how the views of staff members have been used to shape
services are;
Early Years environment was reshaped following attendance on Loving
Learning When You Are Two training course.
Page 12 of 26 EYL409
Introduction of visual staff registration board to ensure children are aware
which staff members are working during each session.
Information sharing between the early years provision and the outreach
workers has increased with the ‘morning briefing sheet’ being displayed
in the main office.
Team meeting agenda re-written to meet the needs of the staff team.
Partners
The Children’s Centre has effective partnerships with local schools, childcare
providers, health visitors, community nursery nurse, social care and inclusion
services.
The provision meets with local schools and childcare providers on a regular
basis to share information and best practice ideas, to moderate observations
and assessments and to prepare for children to transition into school.
The Centre has permission from parents to share their Two Year Progress
Check with the child’s Health Visitor. The Centre is working with the Health
Visitors to be able to complete one joint assessment. Recently the Community
Nursery Nurse has started complete her assessments (2 ½ and 3 ½ year
assessments) on site. This has enabled the Centre to be aware of which children
are having their assessments, the aim now is to pre plan with the Nursery Nurse
which children are due their assessments so that their Key Person can be made
available to attend and share information about the child’s on entry and progress
data. This will result in a more detailed, holistic assessment of the child, and will
where necessary, ensure that support and services are coordinated in
partnership with health practitioners.
“I have worked with the Centre since its opening and it is my belief that is has
gone from strength to strength. Staff are friendly, welcoming and receptive to the
needs of the health visiting team to enable needs of the community to be met.
The setting is of a good standard and when possible changes have been made
to accommodate the health visiting requests. Staff engage well with the health
visitors, are punctual in regard to communication with the health visiting team
and work with a partnership ethos. It is a pleasure to work with the centre and
my job would be significantly more difficult in its absence.” Alison Glover (April
2014) Health Visitor
The Centre works in partnership with other Children’s Centres and a variety of
other agencies across the Barnsley Borough to produce and annually review a
set of comprehensive generic policies. Policy Review Groups include
representatives from Social Care, Healthy Settings Team, Health and Safety,
Early Years Consultants, Development Officers along with Centre staff
members. The views and suggestions of parent/carers, Advisory Board
members, Governors and staff members are fed into the Policy Review Groups.
Local Authority
The Centre has an allocated Development Officer and an allocated Early Years
Page 13 of 26 EYL409
Consultant from the Local Authority to support progress of the setting. Their
views have been included below;
“I have worked closely with Hoyland Common Children Centre over the past two
years and have found the Management Team and staff to be very open to
change, advice and support. They are continually reflecting on their practice and
how they can improve and move forward. The Centre goes from strength to
strength in their vision for providing high quality childcare. They are passionate
about building genuine partnerships with parents, other professionals and
settings in and outside their locality. Recently I visited the Centre with two
different providers to look at the provision for two year olds. The Centre gave
them a very warm welcome and were open and honest when asked questions.
They were also happy to share their good practice and ideas with these
providers. On a personal note it is a pleasure to see a Centre strive to become
outstanding whilst remaining focused and grounded to the ethos and beliefs of
their Centre.” Ann Marie Whitley (March 2014) Development Officer BMBC Early
Childhood Service
Quality Assurance
The Children’s Centre has achieved BMBC’s Healthy Early Years Award,
following on from the successful principles of the Healthy Schools Programme,
the award is based around a comprehensive set of criteria focusing on food and
nutrition, physical activity and emotional health and well-being. Working towards
the award had a direct impact on practice in the early year’s provision. For
example a seasonal snack menu was produced to ensure children have the
opportunity to taste fruit and vegetables that are in season. The morning snack
was brought forward to the beginning of the session and included warm slow
releasing foods such as porridge as practitioners found that children were often
cold and hungry following their walk to nursery. Busy Feet sessions were
incorporated into the daily routine to ensure children have the opportunity to be
active and to promote exercise from a young age.
The Centre has been awarded ‘Bronze’ in the Barnardos Voice and Influence
Standards, which details how parent/carers and children’s’ voices shapes and
impacts on services. As a result of working towards this award parent/carers and
children are now involved in the recruitment of new staff members.
The setting has undergone Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale
(ECERS) audits in previous years showing good progress, most recently an
Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS) audit was carried out to
support the development of the younger children now attending the setting. The
provision achieved a positive overall score of 5.9/7 (the national average score is
4.2/7). The use of ECERS and ITERS has led to practitioners being more aware
of how the environment impacts of children’s emotional well-being and learning
opportunities. Areas of exploration and communication friendly spaces have
been introduced as a result of the audits, increasing opportunities for children to
develop communication and language skills.
The Early Year’s provision has signed a commitment towards BMBC’s ongoing
Page 14 of 26 EYL409
Quality Improved Programme which is delivered and supported by the local
authority. The QIP has supported the Centre to have a clear vision and has
secured significant improvements in practice. The Ofsted Inspection in June
2013 highlighted the progression the Centre had made.
The Children’s Centre was awarded 5 stars in its most recent Food Hygiene
Inspection.
Part B: The quality and standards of the early years provision
This part of the form covers the judgements the inspector will make when evaluating your provision. It is important to have your own judgement about how well you are doing in these areas.
Section 3. How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend
This section is about the impact of your provision on children’s learning and development. You should refer to:
Early years self-evaluation form guidance, page 7
Evaluation schedule for inspections of registered early years provision, pages 6–11.
The provision is good because assessments of children are closely tracked to
ensure they are making progress from their starting points. Data demonstrates
that 80% or more of children (who entered the setting in September 2013) have
made typical or rapid progress from their starting points in all but one of the
prime areas.
C&L P PSE
1la 2u 3s 4mh 5hsc 6scra 7mfb 8mr
Total
Percentage
87% 74% 81.25% 81% 87% 90% 93% 84%
A comprehensive action plan is in place to support all children to make typical or
rapid progress in all areas of learning and development.
The provision as an effective key person system which is well embedded.
Practitioners have good relationships with their key children and their
parent/carers as a result they are knowledgeable about the individual child, their
needs and personal preferences. The system also enables parent/carers to
develop strong support networks through their child’s key person.
Each child has an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) developed from the on entry
assessment which includes contributions from their parent/carers. This ensures
Page 15 of 26 EYL409
that practitioners have an accurate assessment of each child’s prior skills,
knowledge and understanding on entry to the provision. The Individual Learning
Plans (ILP’s) identify children’s next steps resulting in challenging activities being
planned. These are updated after each point of assessment and highlight any
areas where children might have made slower progress. This ensures that all
practitioners are aware of which age band children are working in and also areas
where they may be making slower progress.
A summary report is produced covering on entry assessments for each cohort of
new starters. The reports identify next steps for the cohort as a whole and details
actions to be taken which are then fed into the planning. Planning, as a result,
has clear links to the needs of the children.
Detailed progress reports are completed 6 months after entering the provision.
They highlight where children may require additional support, areas of learning
that may need focused planning and gaps in practitioner’s observations. There is
a robust process and action plan in place to monitor the progress of individual
children, across all areas of learning breaking down and analysing differences
between boys/girls and fee paying/funded children.
A matrix is used to ensure there is depth and breadth across the all seven areas
of learning, with a particular focus on the prime areas and areas identified
through assessments of the children.
Planning is regularly evaluated and scrutinised to ensure it is of a high standard.
ILP’s, Focused Learning Plans and medium term planning is evaluated by
practitioners, reflecting on whether children have achieved the learning
outcomes and reviewing the success of the practicalities of delivering the
planning. This supports the staff team to become reflective practitioners,
considering how an activity could have been ‘even better if’.
A termly planning scrutiny is under taken by leader and managers to audit the
quality and breadth, ensuring planning is challenging children to learn through
first-hand practical experiences, recommendations from the scrutiny are used to
improve future planning.
Leader and managers undertake termly observations of practitioners to ensure
that strategies, support and intervention are of a high quality and match
individual children’s needs. Observations support practitioners to enthuse,
engage and motivate children. Recommendations for the development of future
practice is fed back to individual practitioners during their ‘Keeping in Touch
Meetings’. The Centre is now beginning to build on this current process by
producing termly overview summaries of the outcomes of all practitioners’
observations. This will allow leaders and managers to identify any common
themes, strengths or areas for development across practice as a whole. The
summaries will be used to inform the Centre’s Development Plan and will allow
Continual Professional Development opportunities to be planned based on the
needs of the team.
The setting’s environment reflects all areas of learning. Leaders and managers
complete regular audits of the whole Centre’s environment to ensure it is safe,
welcoming and meets the needs of the children and families it is serving. In 2011
an audit of the Early Year’s provision’s environment was completed by the Local
Page 16 of 26 EYL409
Authority Development Officer using the Early Childhood Environmental Scale
as a self-evaluation tool. The overall score was 4.6/7 Recommendations for
improvement were embedded and the environment was reviewed again in 2012,
the overall score had increased to 5.3/7.
With the increase in the number of children accessing TYE funded places
practitioners attended ‘Loving Learning when you are Two’ and Movement
training. As a consequence the learning environment was reflected upon and
reviewed to enable effective support for two year olds with an emphasis on the
prime areas. Furniture was rearranged to allow greater spaces for two years old
to negotiate their way between fixed pieces. Tables, chairs, easels and
cupboards were lowered to ensure they were at the appropriate height. A new
movement area was developed to provide safe spaces where children can move
spontaneously throughout the day. This encourages floor play on the tummy
and/or back to support the development of eye tracking and pre-reading and
writing as the child gets older. Tummy opportunities supports with bladder and
bowel control to assist in toilet training preparing for school readiness.
Initially the movement area was positioned in a small space on the outskirts of
continuous provision. Once practitioners realised how successful it was it was
extended and brought into the continuous provision of the setting. More recently
some sensory resources have been added to the area to provide a quieter more
reflective space to encourage language development. This includes a dark den
with lights to promote mark making and the settings mark making area has been
moved to flow from the movement area as research shows that physical
movement promotes making marks in young children.
Practitioners regularly use music to encourage both movements and mark
making; training has been accessed for both Busy Feet and Write Dance.
To further the development of the movement and sensory area the setting has
recently introduced the concept of being a Barefoot Setting. Shoes can diminish
the flexibility of foot and toes, reduce the gripping and push off functions of the
toes, reduce the sensory feedback between the sensitive sole of the foot and the
brain, and reduce the spring action and shock absorption in the arch of the foot.
The setting is now giving children the opportunity to benefit from being barefoot
both indoors and outdoors. This is not only supporting children’s physical
development but also their communication and language development. Being
barefoot is also helping create a more relaxing and homely environment where
children feel emotionally secure.
As a result of the change in the learning environment a recent ITTERS audit
(changed from ECER’s to ITER’s due to the change in age of the children)
achieved a positive overall score of 5.9/7 (the national average score is 4.2/7).
Practitioners work hard and in partnership with parents to help children to settle
into the setting. Children are invited to visit the provision before they start and a
thorough induction with their parent/carer is undertaken. Extended visits and
shorter sessions are offered based on the needs of individual children. A secure
routine along with effective relationships with parent/carers supports children to
Page 17 of 26 EYL409
settle quickly. Children happily enter the setting and separate from their
parent/carer with ease and are eager to participate in the learning experience
available to them (Please refer to Section 4. The contribution of the early years
provision to children’s well-being for further details).
Practitioners work hard to engage parent/carers in their children’s development
and learning in the setting, the key person systems supports this. Parent/carers
are asked to contribute towards their child’s assessments and Individual
Learning Plans and parental comments are included in the Two Year Progress
Check. Learning journeys are available for parent/carers and children to look
through at their convenience. Practitioners engage parent/carers in accessing
their child’s learning journeys at Parent Celebration Evenings, during which
practitioners discuss children’s development, learning and next steps. This
informs and encourages parent/carers to comment on their child’s journey so far,
and contribute to keeping their child’s ILP up to date and accurate.
Story sacks have recently been developed to support parents to continue their
child’s learning and development in the family home. Parent/carers completed
‘wow moments’ detailing their child’s achievement outside the setting. These are
shared and displayed in the provision to celebrate the child’s progress. The
Children’s Centre offers a wide variety of services to engage parent/carers in
their child’s development.
The Children’s Centre uses an interactive blog to keep parents/carers informed
about what activities and learning their child/ren have taken part in.
Parent/carers comment on the blog allowing a two way dialogue.
The Centre also uses its Facebook page to keep parent/carers informed of
services on it has on offer which they may benefit from.
Your priorities for improvement
To embed a system to demonstrate the progress made by children
attending the Centre's nursery provision (Links to Development Plans
CDP ref 2.d FIP ref EA1).
To create opportunities for parents to be more involved in their
child/ren’s learning, for them to share what they know & to discuss their
child/ren’s progress (Links to Development Plans CDP ref 3.d)
To develop sustained shared thinking between practitioners and children,
practitioners to increase the number of two way conversations with
children to extend their use of language (Links to Development Plans FIP
EA10)
To embed the system of practitioner observations to quality assure
interactions with children and families, including providing summaries to
identify any CDP needs of the team (Links to Development Plans CDP ref
2.f).
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To ensure newly recruited staff know and understand our vision and
ethos and positively support it.
My practice (is):
Outstanding: my practice is exemplary
Good: my practice is strong
Requires improvement: my practice is not good enough and I know it needs to improve
Inadequate: my practice requires significant improvement
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Section 4. The contribution of the early years provision to children’s well-being
This section is about the effectiveness of your care practices in helping children feel emotionally secure and ensuring children are physically, mentally and emotionally healthy. You should refer to:
Early years self-evaluation form guidance, page 8
Evaluation schedule for inspections of registered early years provision, 11–14.
The provision is good because the behaviour of children and feedback from their
parents/carers demonstrates that children attending the setting feel emotionally
secure.
The Centre has a well-established key person system and as a result children
form secure emotional attachments with practitioners. Each child is assigned a
key person, their role is to ensure each child’s care is tailored to meet their
individual needs and to help the child become familiar within the setting. This
enables each child and their family to develop trusting relationships in turn
making children to feel emotionally safe.
Induction into the setting has a flexible approach to it, with the offer of visits into
the setting, the opportunity for parents to stay and home school learning
opportunities. Feedback from our latest ‘new starter questionnaire’ demonstrates
that 100% of parent/carers were happy with the induction process.
Practitioners use various methods to get to know their key children and build
appropriate bonds. ‘All about Me’ forms are completed prior to attending, these
include information about the child’s home life and their likes, dislikes and
interests. Parent/carers are asked to bring in photographs of the child’s family
and significant others for the settings ‘Our Family’ display and folder. These
photos enable the practitioners to get to know the children’s family and
environment, it supports the children to feel secure in the setting with pictures of
familiar significant others on display and it sparks conversations between
children and practitioners regarding the context and content of the photographs.
The setting has a visual self-registration board so children can see which other
children and which staff members are in the setting during each session. This
supports children to recognise each other and staff members.
Children follow a daily routine which allows consistency and helps develop a
sense of security and belonging to the centre. This is of particular importance for
children with identified specific needs.
The results from our latest Parent/Carer feedback demonstrated that 100% of
respondents felt their child was safe when attending Hoyland Common
Children’s Centre and 100% of respondents felt their child was happy to attend.
Staff members are tuned into children’s need, feelings and behaviours. They are
reflective and responsive, adapting practice to ensure children are happy and
enjoying what they are doing, for example the routine of the afternoon session
differs to that of the morning session to incorporate the different needs of the
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children on roll. The effective key person system ensures that care practices
such as nappy changing are completed primarily by the key person, this
provides consistency for the child and these opportunities are used to talk to
children developing the key person bond further and ensuring the child is happy
in the setting.
The setting now has licenced Thrive practitioner who is supporting staff
members to embed Thrive within the Centre. The Thrive approach encourages
children to recognise and talk about their feelings. The Thrive approach has
supported staff members to build stronger bonds with their key children by using
activities to help them feel safe within the setting. Thrive has also helped bring
children into group activities to support their social development. This practice is
new to the setting and is already starting to show a positive effect on children's
emotional wellbeing. The setting aims in the long term future to use Thrive as a
screening tool to assess the emotional wellbeing of all the children accessing
Two Year Old Entitlement funded places. The screening will produce an
individual action plan to support children to settle within the setting and will
encourage progress in the prime area of personal, social and emotional
development. The impact of this will be measured through the progress reports
produced by the setting.
The Centre has a strong safeguarding ethos and this is evident in everything it
does (please refer to Section 5. The leadership and management of the early
years provision for further information). 22
Planning is evaluated to ensure children have enjoyed the activity and have met
the identified learning outcomes. Group experiences whether formal, informal,
planned or spontaneous give children the opportunity to problem solve, have
discussions, share opportunities and experiences and give value to the
experience and contribution of others. Children are able to select the resources
independently and engage in the activity for short periods of time.
Children’s achievements are celebrated through a ‘wow’ display, displays of
children’s work and photographs. Records of children’s learning are evident in
their individual learning journey, which are regularly shared with the child and
their parents.
The voice of the child is a crucial part of everything the Centre does, children’s
interests, likes and dislikes are in cooperated into all areas of practice including
planning, future learning opportunities, snack choices and the routine.
The Centre adheres to a Positive Behaviour policy which ensures that children
learn to behave well and play cooperatively. This is supported by the recording
of behaviour logs and by having strong relationships with parents/carers to share
interventions that are being used in setting and at home if a concern arises
regarding behaviour.
Children are, where ever possible, encouraged to be independent. Practitioners
place a high value on independent self-care skills and are well aware that
developing these skills are necessary to ensure children are ready to transition
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through into statutory schooling. Encouraging independence is monitored by
Leaders and Managers through termly practitioner observations and through the
tracking of children’s development and progress (Please refer to Section 5. The
leadership and management of the early years provision).
Practitioners display themselves as positive role models, encouraging sharing,
praise and encouragement and the use of appropriate language. They
encourage children to develop a ‘have a go’ attitude and support them in their
decision making. Children are allowed to make mistakes and express
themselves within an environment where everyone is included, supported and
respected. Children are encouraged to take part in risk taking activities while in
the safety of the settings environment. While taking risks staff commentate on
safe options and how to keep themselves safe while carrying out the activities.
The environment audits, planning matrix and planning scrutiny’s (please refer to
Section3. How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of
children who attend for more information) all ensure that the provision provides
opportunities for children to explore, investigate and use their imagination.
Practitioner and child observations identify that children play, talk and interact
with adults and each other. Data as a result demonstrates that children are
making good progress from their starting points.
Children are actively encouraged to participate in physical activities provided
both indoors and outdoors, this includes providing free flow play. Large
equipment and exercise programmes for Busy Feet, Write Dance and movement
activities. The importance of physical exercise and a healthy diet is discussed
with children throughout various activities.
Displays, books, leaflets and posters are around the setting encouraging ‘5 a
Day’ and the ‘Change 4 Life’ agenda. In the summer months sun cream is
provided and applied to all children when necessary and with parents’
permission. In the winter months parents are encouraged to bring suitable
outdoor clothing e.g. wellies, hats and gloves to enable the children to play and
learn in the outdoor environment effectively. The setting has achieved the HEYA
award (Please refer to Section 2. Views of those who use your setting and who
work with you for more information).
Staff ensure a high level of personal hygiene is maintained throughout the
session encouraging and role modelling good hand washing at regular intervals
throughout the session. A set nappy changing procedure is in place to ensure
good hygiene is maintained throughout the procedure to avoid cross
contamination. The implementation of good hygiene practices monitored by
Leaders and Managers through the ECER’s/ITER’s audits, practitioner
observations and the monitoring of policies and procedures.
The almost all children who attend the Centre move on to attend Hoyland
Common Primary school. The Centre and school have a joint transition policy.
Transition starts weeks before the time for transition, with small walks through
school, meeting teachers and the teachers entering into setting to meet the
children in their own environment where they feel comfortable.
For all children transitioning out of the setting (not just to Hoyland Common
Primary School) practitioners prepare a transition report to pass on to the school
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teacher which includes a brief overview of the child’s interests, likes and dislikes,
whether they accessed a fee paying or funded place and a summary of their
attainment. The SENCO meets with the class teacher and school SENCO to
handover any information regarding support and interventions for children with
special educational needs. Any information regarding vulnerable children and/or
children where a Cause for Concern has been logged is handed over to the
School with a copy of the handover sheet signed by both parties.
Due to the one year intake to school the majority of children leave the Centre in
July to start school in September. Hoyland Common Primary school have a
‘transition week’ towards the end of the summer term to enable children to meet
their new teacher and experience being in their new classroom. The Centre
supports this process by freeing practitioners up to support the children with their
visit to school so they have a familiar adult with them. This practical and
emotional support continues in September as once again practitioners from the
Centre work out alongside the new class teacher in school to help settle the
children into the new environment and routine.
This process has helped children to prepare for and settle into school.
Your priorities for improvement
To ensure all staff members (particularly new staff members) have a consistent approach to boundaries (Links to Development Plans FIP ref EA10).
To enhance communication with parents to ensure information about the services offered in nursery is conveyed to them through their preferred method (Links to Development Plans CDP ref 3.e).
My practice (is):
Outstanding: my practice is exemplary
Good: my practice is strong
Requires improvement: my practice is not good enough and I know it needs to improve
Inadequate: my practice requires significant improvement
Section 5. The leadership and management of the early years provision
This section is about the effectiveness of your leadership and management; or if you are a childminder how well you organise your service. It covers:
meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage
self-evaluation and improvement planning
performance management and professional development
safeguarding
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partnership working.
You should refer to:
Early years self-evaluation form guidance, page 9.
Evaluation schedule for inspections of registered early years provision, pages 14–18.
The effectiveness of leadership and management is good because leaders and
managers have a good understanding of their responsibility to ensure the
provision meets the safeguarding, welfare and learning and development
requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.
They use a variety of methods to ensure that children are supported to acquire
the skills and capacity to develop and learn effectively. Leaders and managers
complete a termly planning scrutiny, undertake termly practitioner observations,
use ECERS and ITERS to audit the learning environment, analysis both the on
entry and progress data through the completion of detailed reports and regularly
audit SEN files (please refer to ‘Section 3. How well the early years provision
meets the needs of the range of children who attend’ for further detail regarding
these processes). These systems are effective in ensuring strategies, support
and intervention meet the needs of the children. Data demonstrates that children
attending the provision are making good progress from their starting points.
Safeguarding is at the heart of the centre’s work. All staff undertake regular
safeguarding training and 100% of staff members stated in their annual staff
questionnaire that safeguarding is prioritised across the centre. The Centre has
regular meetings with the vulnerable pupil team and the Learning Mentor from
Hoyland Common Primary School to share information which strengthens
integrated working and helps target planned interventions for those families in
most need of support. Safeguarding is a standard point on all KIT and team
meeting agenda’s.
The Centre works in partnership with other Children’s Centres and a variety of
other agencies across the Barnsley Borough to produce and annually review a
set of comprehensive generic policies. Staff members adhere to these policies to
ensure that the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years
Foundation Stage are at all times (please refer to Section 2. Views of those who
use your setting and who work with you). Leaders and managers have
successful systems to monitor the implementation of these policies.
The Centre has effective systems to evaluate its work. The feedback from
service users, staff and families is incorporated into the Centres self-evaluation.
The self-evaluation is reviewed by the Children’s Centre Committee of the
Governing Body and is available for parents and partners to read both in the
Centre’s reception and on the Centre’s website. Several self-evaluation tools
(QIP, Early Childhood Environmental Scale, Voice & Influence) are used to
ensure the Centre is aware of its strengths and areas for improvement. The
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success of the effective use of self-evaluation can measured by the significant
improvements the Centre had made over the last three years. The current
development plan details how the Centre’s leaders aspire to ensure this
progression continues.
The Centre has the support of the School Business Manager to ensure the
budget is managed effectively, this enables resources to optimize outcomes for
children. Resources have been used efficiently resulting in the Centre meeting
its performance targets set by the local authority.
The Centre’s staff team are from a range of professional backgrounds, their
suitability and qualifications are checked as part of a robust recruitment
procedure. Performance management is used successfully with all professional
development review targets being directly linked to the Centre’s Development
Plan. All staff members have regular ‘keeping In touch’ meetings with their line
manager where appropriate supervision is provided and their training needs
evaluated. Leaders and managers undertake termly observations of practitioners
to ensure that strategies, support and intervention relating to children’s learning
and development are of a high quality and match individual children’s needs
(please refer to Section 3. How well the early years provision meets the needs of
the range of children who attend). 14
The Children’s Centre has effective partnerships with parents, local schools,
childcare providers, health visitors, community nursery nurses, social care and
inclusion services (please refer to ‘Section 2. Views of those who use your
setting and who work with you’). These strong partnerships are utilised to secure
appropriate interventions for children to receive the support they need. The work
of the SENCO was highlighted as a strength in both the Early Years and
Children’s Centre Ofsted inspections in June 2013.
The Centre works in partnership with local schools and early year’s settings to
moderate observations and assessments, support effective transitions both in
and out of the childcare setting and to track children accessing funded places.
This, along with the work promoted through group sessions, family support and
targeted parenting courses has supported children to be ready for school.
Your priorities for improvement
To create opportunities for patents to become involved at a formal level to contribute towards decisions taken by senior managers & governors (Links to Development Plans CDP ref 3.c).
My practice (is):
Outstanding: my practice is exemplary
Good: my practice is strong
Requires improvement: my practice is not good enough and I know it
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needs to improve
Inadequate: my practice requires significant improvement
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Section 6. The overall quality and standards of the early years provision
This section brings together the evaluation of all aspects of your practice, your identified priorities for improvement and the grades you have awarded yourself.
You should refer to:
Early years self-evaluation form guidance, page 9
Evaluation schedule for inspections of registered early years provision, pages 18–19.
The overall quality and standards of my early years provision (is):
Outstanding: my practice is exemplary
Good: my practice is strong
Requires improvement: my practice is not good enough and I know it needs to improve
Inadequate: my practice requires significant improvement
Any further comments you wish to include
