Acorns Community Pre-School

Acorns Community Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 507856 Inspection date 30/04/2010 Inspector Lorraine Sparey

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Setting address Hanover Hall, Jennings Road, Totton, Southampton, Hampshire, SO40 3BA Telephone number 02380 668234 Email Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises 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 other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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).

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Introduction

Children only attend this setting before and/or after the school day and/or during the school holidays. The judgements in this report reflect the quality of early years provision offered to children during those periods.

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Acorns Community Pre-School opened in 1989. It is managed by a voluntary committee of parents and carers and operates from a community hall in the centre of the town. There is a secure outdoor area which the children use. The pre-school serves the local area.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 24 children may attend at any one time and of these all may be in the early years age group. There are currently 54 children on roll, all of whom all are in the early years age group, and of these 41 are in receipt of nursery education. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who have English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school opens five days a week during school term time. Sessions are from 9am until 3pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 12 staff working with the children, of these nine have early years qualifications and two are on training programmes. The joint supervisors are qualified to NVQ Level 4. The pre-school receives support from the local authority.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are extremely confident and highly motivated in their learning and development. The high-quality equipment and the space is used effectively to provide children with excellent play and learning opportunities. As a result, they make rapid progress towards the early learning goals. Staff are skilled at ensuring children's uniqueness is valued and all aspects of the provision are tailored to meet individual children's needs. The setting is very committed to continuous improvement. They have clear action plans to ensure previous recommendations are successfully addressed, improving outcomes for children.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 consistently reinforcing children's understanding of the expectations with regard to behaviour when exploring new resources. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children are effectively safeguarded because all staff and management demonstrate clear knowledge and understanding of safeguarding issues. Staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of possible signs and symptoms of child abuse and highly effective procedures to follow in the event of a concern being raised. Comprehensive and detailed risk assessments ensure that all areas of the setting are safe. Good systems are in place to ensure the premises are secure, enabling children to freely move between the indoor and outdoor environment in safety. Rigorous and robust recruitment and vetting procedures ensure that all adults are suitable to work with children. Comprehensive inductions and appraisals maintain staff's levels of knowledge. All staff are encouraged to attend training both in-house and through external trainers such as the local authority.

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the early years provision

Staff are extremely enthusiastic and highly committed to providing excellent care and education for every child. As a result, the environment is stimulating and children are highly motivated to explore and try new things. Staff are skilled at using different teaching methods to accommodate individual children's needs. For example, a child particularly benefits from messy play. Staff provide a wide range of activities such as digging and exploring the soil with their bare feet, adding water, talking about how it feels and the changing textures. Plans are flexible and adapted to enable children to get the most out of the session. For example, a child spends considerable time in the outdoor area making a pirate ship. Staff provide an excellent range of resources to allow the child to develop their own ideas. The child chooses not to join in circle time because they want to finish the activity to their own satisfaction and this is accommodated by staff. Every child is treated as

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the early years provision

an individual and because staff have embraced the Early Years Foundation Stage framework this is particularly successful. Staff manage children's behaviour in a positive and consistent manner. They give clear information about the setting's golden rules to ensure children know the expectations and boundaries. However, when children experiment with new resources staff do not fully reinforce their understanding of the golden rules when they become excited or boisterous.

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the early years provision

The setting has highly effective monitoring and evaluating systems to ensure that staff, parents, children, management and other professionals are involved in continually assessing the provision. Parents are invited through the open door policy to share their ideas and views with staff. On a more formal basis, regular questionnaires provide opportunities for them to consider the wider aspects of the provision. Staff and management evaluate the sessions and recently noticed that children were not using one of the outside areas. As a result, staff have created a large digging area and use other resources to encourage children to use this space to maximise their learning. Regular visits from the local authority and staff attending cluster meetings provide excellent opportunities to assess their provision and share good practice and ideas with other early years providers.

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the early years provision

Partnership with parents are outstanding. All parents are encouraged to be fully involved in their children's learning and they are invited to take an active part in the running of the setting. Highly effective relationships are forged, which enables This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 parents to feel confident that their children are getting the best start in their care and education. Parents state that their children are extremely happy and making very good progress. They particularly like the welcoming atmosphere and feel that staff genuinely care about their children, nothing is too much trouble. A comprehensive and detailed parents pack provides good quality information about all aspects of the provision. Staff are particularly sensitive when settling new children and work effectively with parents to ensure a smooth transition into the setting. The staff have developed highly effective partnerships with other

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the early years provision

professionals to support children's individual needs and maintain a cohesive approach to their learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children flourish and are purposefully engaged in an extensive range of play and learning opportunities tailored to their individual needs. They are encouraged to develop their independence and promote their own learning opportunities. Staff are highly skilled in knowing when to step in and support a child, standing back allowing the child to try without becoming frustrated. Children develop excellent relationships with their peers and adults. For example, children and staff explore shaving foam during an activity. Children are encouraged to mould the foam and are extremely well supported by staff who give clear instructions about safety issues such as not getting the foam in their eyes. Children spend considerable time experimenting before staff extend the activity using combs and stencils. All children thoroughly enjoy the activity along with the staff.

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and outcomes for children

Staff have enthusiastically embraced the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and as a result effectively plan for each child. Key workers spend quality time supporting and promoting their learning. Each child has their own learning profile with individual observations, photographs and examples of their creative achievements to support staff in planning the next steps in their learning. Staff clearly know individual children extremely well and confidently talk about their home lives enabling children to feel secure and develop their confidence and self- esteem.

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and outcomes for children

Children are making rapid progress in all areas of their learning. They are confident to use all areas of the setting and freely move between indoors and outdoors depending on what they would like to play with. Several children get the various sized tyres to form steps. They show a great sense of achievement as they step and balance on the tyres. Children confidently develop their own ideas as they play in the well resourced role play areas. They agree their individual roles and enjoy acting out mummies and daddies using dolls as their babies. Boys and girls use play resources to 'iron' clothes and 'cook' food for each other, concentrating and becoming totally absorbed in their play and learning. Children have excellent opportunities to use their well developed language skills. For example, they talk about their news during circle time. Children know how to use books correctly, two children sit together in the book corner, one confidently tells the story whilst the

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and outcomes for children

other turns the pages. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children follow very good hygiene practices throughout the day. They know and understand how to support their own health by washing their hands at appropriate times. They enjoy healthy and nutritious lunches and learn about healthy lifestyles through effective projects, for example, a recycling and growing project where children grow herbs, vegetables and flowers. Children understand how to keep themselves safe in every day play. For example, a child explains to a visiting adult that they 'must be careful when using the hammers and nails' during the woodworking activity. Children practise the emergency evacuation procedure on a regular basis to ensure they are familiar with what to do in an emergency.

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and outcomes for children

Children are exceptionally well behaved. They show consideration to their peers and the staff who are very positive role models. Children demonstrate excellent manners saying 'please', 'thank you' and 'excuse me' at appropriate times. They have a strong sense of belonging to the setting because they are valued as individuals and their work is displayed in all areas of the pre-school. Children learn about the wider world through celebrating a wide range of festivals including Eid, Chinese New Year and Easter incorporating children's home and family lives. An excellent range of resources provides positive images of all aspects of diversity to support children's understanding of the importance of valuing differences. 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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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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and managed?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 1 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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Stage

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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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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