Gemini Preparatory School

Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated. Gemini Pre-School Private Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 314635 Inspection date 16/07/2009 Inspector Diane Lynn Turner

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Setting address Rise Old School, Rise, East Yorkshire, HU11 5BJ

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Telephone number 01964 564194 Email Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10). This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Gemini Pre-School Private Nursery opened in 1993. It is a privately owned provision and operates from the old school house in Rise, a small village in the Holderness district of the East Riding of Yorkshire. It serves the local community and a wide surrounding rural area. Children are cared for in one room which is divided into different areas, and there is an enclosed area for outdoor play.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register to care for 22 children at any one time and there are currently 33 children on roll within the early years age group. The nursery is open Monday to Friday, from 07.30 to 18.00, for 44 weeks of the year. It is closed during all half terms and for two weeks in the summer, two weeks at Christmas and one week at Easter.

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Description of the setting

There are five staff who regularly work with the children. Of these, two have a level 3 qualification in childcare, one has level 4 and two have level 2. The nursery has achieved an Investors in People award and receives support from the local authority development workers.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good. All children are welcome to attend and they are cared for in a warm, bright and stimulating environment by staff who take a genuine interest in their lives and develop very good relationships with them. This ensures their individual needs are fully met. Very good relationships are fostered with the parents, carers and other agencies which ensures continuity in the children's learning and that those who have learning difficulties or disabilities receive any additional support they may need. Children are offered a good range of learning opportunities across the six areas and effective systems are in place to monitor and evaluate the provision to identify areas for future development and ensure continuous improvement.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 ensure children have plenty of opportunities for sustained outdoor play  ensure the lost child policy, medication records and the record of the risk assessment contain all the necessary detail.

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provision

The nursery is well led and managed. The friendly staff team work well together and many members have been at the setting for a number of years. Good systems are in place to ensure the suitability of any new members, with annual appraisals being used very effectively to identify any training needs and ensure the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 continuing professional development of all members. All of the required documentation is in place, however, this sometimes lacks the necessary detail. For example, the lost child policy does not include informing Ofsted of the event, medication records do not include the time this was administered and the risk assessment record does not clearly show when this was carried out or by whom.

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provision

Very good relationships are fostered with the parents and carers. Staff make themselves available for discussion at the beginning of the session and the parents of children who may have additional needs are fully involved in drawing up and agreeing their individual education plans. They receive a well presented prospectus when their child starts at the nursery and are kept well informed on an ongoing basis through newsletters and notices. Staff value the contribution parents make to the children's learning and many provide items that link into the topics. Policies, including the one for complaints, are displayed in the entrance for their information, and parents spoken to at the inspection all expressed very positive opinions of the service.

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provision

Good attention is paid to evaluating the service. The recommendations from the previous inspection have been successfully addressed and this has had a positive impact on the children's welfare and learning, for example, improvements have been made to the hand washing facilities. The outdoor area has been identified as a priority for development, with plans in place to improve the play surface in particular. Very good relationships are developed with the local schools that the children move onto, with the reception class teachers visiting to observe the children in the nursery environment. This ensures continuity in the children's learning and development.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children develop very close relationships with the staff who care for them, for example, they rush to greet them on arrival and show spontaneous affection for them. The children are offered a good range of activities across the six areas of learning and staff have effective systems in place to track their progress towards the early learning goals. They give high priority to supporting the children's personal, social and emotional development. As a result, the children demonstrate very good manners at meal times, spontaneously saying please and thank you when they would like more juice to drink. They readily help at tidy up time, taking care to put the resources back in the correct place, and help themselves to items, such as fruit, fairly at snack time. They know they need to drink plenty of water to keep themselves healthy and they are very proud of their achievement charts, showing delight in the reward stickers they earn.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children have very good opportunities to learn about the wider world. For example, staff offer French language sessions as an additional activity and as a result the children are able to confidently answer their name in the language at registration. They learn about the process of going on holiday and displays show they have made their own passports and have explored different destinations. They learn about sending a postcard and make their own examples which they send to their family and friends, decorating these beautifully and adding the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 recipient's address and a stamp. They learn about keeping themselves safe in the sun by wearing a hat and having sunscreen applied and they enjoy the benefits of fresh air and the thrill of finding insects in the garden. They show very good physical skills as they use the outdoor equipment, skilfully walking along the

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

balance beams and using the slide and wheeled toys safely and with regard for others. For example, they know to wait until the child using the slide in front of them has moved away before they have their turn. The opportunities to use the outdoor area, however, are sometimes limited during the sessions.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children demonstrate that they are making very good progress in communication, language and literacy. They confidently find their name card on arrival and many can write their name independently. They know a good many letter sounds, take an active part in discussions and enjoy singing songs when many confidently sing a solo in front of the group. They enjoy painting and making collage pictures and show delight as they experiment in mixing colours together to produce another. They demonstrate very good numeracy skills as they count how many children and adults are present at snack time and confidently use simple calculation to work out how many cups they need. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

How well does the provision promote inclusive practice? 2 The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement.

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Foundation Stage led and managed?

How effective is the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement? How well does the setting work in partnership with parents and others? How well are children safeguarded? 2

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

How well are children helped to stay safe? 2 How well are children helped to be healthy? 2 How well are children helped to enjoy and achieve? 2 How well are children helped to make a positive contribution? How well are children helped develop skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being?

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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