Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales
Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010
Child Minding and Day Care (Inspection and Information for Local
Authorities) (Wales) Regulations 2010
The Child Minding and Day Care (Wales) Regulations 2010
Inspection Report
Irfon Valley Rainbow Tots Playgroup Irfon Valley CP School
Garth
Llangammarch Wells LD4 4AT
Type of Inspection – Focused
Date(s) of inspection – Monday, 7 December 2015 Date of publication – Monday, 18 January 2016
Welsh Government © Crown copyright 2015.
Summary
About the service
Irfon Valley Rainbow Tots Playgroup registered as a playgroup in November 2005. It is registered to provide care for fourteen children aged two to five years old. The playgroup is held in the hall of Irfon Valley County Primary School, Powys and operates term time only from 8:50am to 12:10pm, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The playgroup has funded placements for 3 year old children, beginning the term following their third birthday. The registered people are Mr Gareth David Cornelius, the head teacher of the school and Ms Claire Michelle Anthony. The person in charge of the day to day running of the
playgroup is Lisa Ann Gardner who is assisted by Angela Lloyd.
What type of inspection was carried out?
This was a scheduled unannounced focused inspection which looked only at the quality of life theme for children attending the setting. The inspection was undertaken on December 7, 2015. There were nine children and two members of staff present during the inspection. The following inspection methodologies were used:-
Talking to the children who attend the playgroup
Talking to the person in charge and the assistant
Looking at a sample of documents including the Statement of Purpose
Observing the environment and the interaction between staff and children.
What does the service do well?
The playgroup has excellent links with the main feeder school.
The playgroup has been awarded a 5 star food hygiene rating.
The staff members undertake professional development and attend numerous training courses.
What has improved since the last inspection?
A walkway has been established around the perimeter of the hall.
Fire exits are kept clear at all times
A separate visitors’ book is kept for the playgroup
A separate record of fire drills is kept by the playgroup.
What needs to be done to improve the service?
We recommended that practice could be improved if the following was implemented
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Quality Of Life
Overall, we (CSSIW) found Irfon Valley Rainbow Tots Playgroup to be a stimulating and safe environment, where children have access to a range of activities that keep them engaged and entertained.
Children are encouraged to gain independence and self- help skills as the environment is one that encourages children to be confident, independent and develop their self
-esteem. The playgroup implements a system of “helpwr y dydd”. The child nominated, “helpwr y dydd”, was observed setting the table for snack time. This was observed to be a very sociable event with children and staff sat around a table having cereal and
engaging in conversations about Christmas trees. Children were observed pouring their own milk to drink and over their cereal. After finishing their cereal children were observed clearing up, placing left over cereal in one bowl, washing up into a bucket, milk bottles into a recycling bin and placing placemats in a neat pile. In addition, before going out to play children were observed being encouraged to put on their own wellies and coats as well as to zip up their coats independently.
Parents can be assured that children are encouraged to manage their behaviour in a positive manner as there are strategies in place to support this. The playgroup
implements the same “Golden Rules” as the school community endorse e.g. You look after things, You listen well, You are kind and helpful and You are gentle. Staff were observed praising children at all opportunities such as “Well done, good sitting”, and “Good tidying up, lovely”, “That’s lovely playing together, good teamwork” and “You are all ready, well done”. The children were observed to interact well with one another as children playing in the playdough were observed sharing utensils as well as one child going to a nearby box to find utensils to give to another child. At snack time a child was observed asking were to sit only to be assisted to find their placemat by one of the other children.
Children have opportunities to develop skills by participating in physical activities indoors and outdoors as the playgroup has direct access to an outside area which is timetabled by the school for their use. Children were observed playing scooters, cars, bikes, pushing prams, jumping on a trampoline, playing garage in a shed and climbing on various
equipment. We were informed that the setting have a vegetable plot which the children use for growing potatoes which they then cook and eat.
Quality Of Leadership and Management
This inspection focused on the experience of the children who use the service and the Quality of Life at the setting. It was not considered necessary to look at the Quality of of Leadership and Management on this occasion because no issues were highlighted prior to the inspection. However, we did note that a walkway had been established around the perimeter of the hall so that the children’s activities are not interrupted , fire exits are kept clear at all times in order to exit the building safely, a separate visitors book and record of fire drills are kept for the playgroup. It was also noted that The Person in Charge had attended the following courses:
Supervision and Appraisal training
Special Educational Needs policy
The role of the adult
Working in Partnerships.
It was recommended that toys not in use be stored away so that children are more able to access the toys to be played with during the session.
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Quality Of Staffing
This inspection focused on the experience of the children who use the service and the Quality of Life at the setting. It was not considered necessary to look at the quality of staffing on this occasion. However, all staff members have a current First Aid
qualification as well as training on the following areas:
Elklan
Literacy and Numeracy framework
Challenging Behaviour
Autistic Spectrum Disorder training
Child Protection
Food hygiene
Circle time
Object handling
Following the children’s interest.
We saw that the staff who were present during the inspection interacted positively and warmly with the children.
Quality Of The Environment
This inspection focused on the experience of the children who use the service and the Quality of Life at the setting. It was not considered necessary to look at the quality of the Environment on this occasion. However, we noted that the site was well-maintained and all fire exits were unobstructed. The setting was warm and comfortable and the displays and examples of craft work added to the colourful environment. There were plenty of toys and equipment available to the children.
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How we inspect and report on services
We conduct two types of inspection; baseline and focused. Both consider the experience of people using services.
Baseline inspections assess whether the registration of a service is justified and whether the conditions of registration are appropriate. For most services, we carry out these inspections every three years. Exceptions are registered child minders, out of school care, sessional care, crèches and open access provision, which are every four years.
At these inspections we check whether the service has a clear, effective Statement of Purpose and whether the service delivers on the commitments set out in its Statement of Purpose. In assessing whether registration is justified inspectors check that the service can demonstrate a history of compliance with regulations.
Focused inspections consider the experience of people using services and we will look at compliance with regulations when poor outcomes for people using services are identified. We carry out these inspections in between baseline inspections. Focused inspections will always consider the quality of life of people using services and may look at other areas.
Baseline and focused inspections may be scheduled or carried out in response to concerns. Inspectors use a variety of methods to gather information during inspections. These may include;
Talking with people who use services and their representatives
Talking to staff and the manager
Looking at documentation
Observation of staff interactions with people and of the environment
Comments made within questionnaires returned from people who use services, staff and health and social care professionals
We inspect and report our findings under ‘Quality Themes’. Those relevant to each type of service are referred to within our inspection reports.
