Harlington Village Pre-School

Harlington Village Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY280224 Inspection date 19/01/2010 Inspector Isobel Randall

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Setting address The Conifers, Harlington Lower School, Westoning Road, Harlington, Bedfordshire, LU5 6PD Telephone number 07963 534038 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 .

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as 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

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

Harlington Village Pre-School is registered on the Early Years Register to provide sessional care for 26 children aged from two to five years. The pre-school is run by a committee of parents, who employ seven staff, six of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. It opened in 2005 in a self-contained building within the grounds of Harlington Lower School and takes its children from the local area. The setting has good access for both adults and children with disabilities. There are 59 children on roll at present. The group are currently in receipt of funding for 45 children. They provide for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, of whom there are none at present. No children for whom English is an additional language are currently attending. The pre-school is open every morning during the school term from 09.15am to 11.45pm, mainly for the younger children, and on Monday to Thursday afternoons during school terms from 12.45pm to

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The provision at Harlington Village Pre-School meets the needs of children in the early years well. Self-evaluation is thorough, leading to good capacity to improve. The setting is inclusive, promoting the welfare, learning and development of all children.

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further?

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

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further?

 implement existing plans to ease transition into school by passing on assessment information in standard format  identify and plan for next steps in children’s development

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the early years provision

Good leadership and management enable the pre-school to provide resources and experiences that benefit all of the children. Well managed child protection procedures are the result of thorough training and recognised procedures, with three nominated leaders. Safe recruitment practice ensures that all staff are suitable to work with children. The pre-school does encourage parents to volunteer to help with the children, and many do so. They are well informed about procedures and always work with qualified staff. Risk assessments are thorough and daily safety checks are carried out. All staff have up-to-date and relevant training in first aid for children. The pre-school enjoys a good relationship with the lower school, so that the children visit the school on special occasions, such as for the Christmas concert. School reception staff organise transition visits that help the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

children to settle down. Pre-school leaders have begun to send records of children’s experiences to the school in addition to giving them to parents, but recognise that these could be more precise in relation to their achievements. Relations with parents are exceptionally strong, as demonstrated by the completely positive response to the annual questionnaire. Parents visiting and helping in the pre-school speak highly of the staff’s communication and collaboration with them to support their children’s development. They particularly enjoy reading the blue books in which their children’s progress is recorded by their key persons, and appreciate seeing their reports on progress and interests at home being used to plan activities for the children. Parents are well informed through induction packs and notices on display about the policies and procedures. The complaints book, available for all to use, is empty. Staff explain that on-going communication

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the early years provision

addresses potential issues before they come to the point where people would complain.

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the early years provision

Parents’ views are used through the questionnaire, through meetings and through parental membership of the committee, to plan for improvements to the provision. All of the committee and staff are involved in thorough evaluation of the pre- school’s effectiveness, in which there is clear evidence of steady improvement. This is informed by on-going training for all staff that has developed their expertise. The pre-school is well equipped both indoors and outside with stimulating resources that hold the children’s interest while helping them to develop across all areas. It is well staffed with knowledgeable adults who all know the children well. Although there are no children with special educational needs and/or disabilities at present, staff all learned signing to enable them to work with such children and the pre-school has a trained co-ordinator of special educational needs. At present all of the children speak English as their first language. There is

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the early years provision

good access to the area for disabled children and adults.

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and outcomes for children

Staff are effective in supporting children’s welfare. They encourage parents to work with them to settle down the newcomers, who quickly feel at home and join in the play with others. Children enjoy the healthy snack that they often help to prepare, and have good opportunities to take exercise in the outdoor area, using equipment such as slides and tricycles. They quickly learn the need to wash their hands after messy play or going to the toilet, and do so as a matter of course before eating.

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and outcomes for children

The building and outdoor play area are both secure and safe with good facilities. Adults maintain a good ratio to children so that they can stimulate their imaginations while allowing them to choose freely from the themed range of activities planned for them daily. They are still developing a more precise means of recording achievement than they use at present, so that they can build more clearly on children’s progress as well as capitalising on their interests. Children are usually engrossed in the wide range of available activities, showing good levels of concentration. They respond well to prompts from adults and are well prepared for the next stage. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Since the last inspection, leaders have developed systems for keeping children involved in whole-group sessions so that they have learned to co-operate in waiting for their turn. Children enjoy the whole-group sharing of a story and

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and outcomes for children

singing together. They are encouraged to be helpful, for example when they put their chairs away after whole group sessions. Adults help them to share books and to recognise their name badges, which will help them when they join the school reception class. They become familiar with number through their enjoyment of counting games and songs. 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 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 2 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 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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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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