Trelowan Preschool

Trelowan Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY249233 Inspection date 23/03/2010 Inspector Denise Franklin

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Setting address Treverbyn Rise, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 8RA

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Telephone number 01326 378377 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

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

Trelowan Pre-School is a well-established group that has operated from a variety of settings. It currently operates from its own dedicated building in the grounds of Penryn Infants School and Nursery, in the town of Penryn, in Cornwall. The pre- school serves the local area and surrounding villages. A maximum of 24 children may attend at any one time. The group opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 9.00am until 11.30am and 12.30pm until 3.00pm. It also has a lunch club running 11.30am-12.15pm. All children share access to a secure, enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 46 children from two to five years on roll. Of these, 19 children receive funding for early education. The setting does not currently support children with special educational needs and/or difficulties, or who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school employs four full- time and two part-time staff to work with the children. Four of the staff have early

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Description of the setting

years qualifications to National Vocational Qualification at level 2 or 3. Two are working towards a qualification. The setting receives support from a qualified teacher from Family Services and from the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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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

Trelowen Pre-school is highly effective. The setting has maintained the outstanding judgements from the last inspection and successfully improved on those previously judged as good. The manager is extremely well supported by a stable and highly committed team who work extremely well together to ensure very high quality provision for all the children. Relationships at all levels are extremely strong and as a result children’s achievement is outstanding. The setting has excellent capacity to maintain its outstanding provision and to continue to improve.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure that the next steps in learning and development for each child are recorded on their half term assessment sheets so that these can be discussed and reviewed with parents.

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the early years provision

The manager and her team have very high aspirations for providing very high quality provision for all the children, including those with special educational needs and/ or disabilities through ongoing improvement and a strong commitment to equality. The committee of parents provide excellent support. Safeguarding procedures are outstanding and children’s well being is very effectively enhanced This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 by excellent organisation, detailed risk assessments and the rigorous implementation of all policies and procedures relating to the care of the children. These include procedures to ensure staff are suitable to work with children. The recommendation from the last report was dealt with immediately.

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the early years provision

Monitoring and evaluation are very effective and all staff are fully involved in the processes. Children and parents are regularly consulted to ensure that the provision meets all their needs. For example, the opening times have been adapted to meet the needs of the parents and children now help with planning. Staff appraisals identify training needs, which are a key priority to support continual improvements. Staff meet regularly to discuss issues, share ideas and to cascade information from courses attended. The manager rightly feels that these meetings have improved the quality of provision and ensured that all staff are fully involved in all aspects of the organisation of the setting. Staff are very well deployed to support individual and groups of children, to ensure all children achieve extremely well.

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the early years provision

The setting works very closely with all the schools on the site. It makes excellent use of the facilities and other resources at the college and transition arrangements, when children move to their next school, are comprehensive. The setting shares good practice with other local pre-schools and have very close links with external services. This very effectively ensures that children and their families have all the support to which they are entitled.

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the early years provision

Partnership with parents is outstanding and has been maintained since the last inspection. Parents receive regular, detailed information about activities and their child’s progress. They have access to their child’s Learning Journeys and half-term assessments, which they discuss with their child’s key person. They receive verbal information about their child’s next steps in learning and development but this information is not recorded, for parents to refer to, on the half term assessment sheets. Parents have the opportunity to share their child’s achievements at home with the setting by writing in the Learning Journeys and recording what happens when their child has ‘Bobby the Bear’ at home for the weekend. They also enjoy attending coffee mornings, open days, sports and fund raising events. Parents are extremely pleased with the care and provision their children receive at Trelowan.

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and outcomes for children

There is a constant buzz of enjoyment and excitement from the children whilst they are at pre-school. They thoroughly enjoy learning in an attractive and stimulating environment. Children have excellent opportunities to move freely inside and outdoors and are fully involved in making decisions about their learning. Planning is comprehensive and evaluated weekly. Observations are used extremely well to plan activities to meet the needs of individuals and children are empowered to follow their interests. Staff have excellent knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and the needs of young children. The manager rightly feels that by being more flexible in planning this has significantly improved the quality of provision offered. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 At the start of the session children select their own activities and adults are

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and outcomes for children

extremely skilled at moving around the room to support and develop the individual child. For example, in the small world area children play with dinosaurs. An adult questions well to develop children’s knowledge and understanding of the past. Another child eagerly tries to see how many small dinosaurs he can put in the cave and, with adult support, counts how many he has put inside. Other children sit quietly reading books and are joined by an adult who, on request, reads a number of stories to the children. Children are delighted to select an item from a ‘magic box’ and sing a rhyme relating to items such as a star, spider and dinosaur. Outside, children enjoy riding bikes, tricycles and wheeled cars. They develop their ball skills extremely well by throwing a ball through a hoop and playing football. At all times behaviour is excellent and children confidently shared equipment and asked adults for help. Children enjoy having their names on the Tree of Kindness

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and outcomes for children

when they do something helpful at home or in school.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy healthy snacks and understand the importance of washing hands before having food. They sit quietly at the table with their key person and enjoy chatting to their friends. They are extremely polite and individuals have responsibility for giving out the mugs for milk or water and handing around the food. Children understand the importance of being healthy because adults regularly talk to them about healthy diets and exercise. They know about being safe from role play activities, stories and displays. Systems to ensure children are safe are robust and rigorously implemented. Relationships are outstanding and adults are excellent role models for the children. It is obvious that both staff and children really enjoy their time at the setting and an excellent rapport has been established. This has a very positive impact on the children’s achievement. Children are making excellent progress towards acquiring good basic skills and are

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and outcomes for children

extremely well-prepared for their next stage in learning and development. 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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