Brookside Pre-School

Brookside Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 307121 Inspection date 14/04/2010 Inspector Barbara Christine Wearing

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Setting address Brookside Pre School, Scout H Q, Church Road, Gatley, Cheadle, Cheshire, SK8 4EY Telephone number 01614915531 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

Brookside Pre-School has been established for approximately 35 years. It operates from scout headquarters in the Gatley area of Stockport. The group have access to a large hall, a kitchen and toilet facilities. There is a secure outdoor play area for children.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 24 children may attend at any one time. There are currently 32 children aged from two years six months to under five years on roll. Children attend various sessions. The group opens Monday to Friday during school term time. Sessions are from 9am until 12noon. Extended care is provided for children from 12noon until 1pm, when they are escorted to Gatley Primary School.

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Description of the setting

There are seven staff working with the children, of whom five hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least National Vocational Qualification level 2. The pre-school provides funded early education for three and four-year-olds.

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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 well established staff team at Brookside Pre-School observe children closely and build strong links with parents and other professionals. This ensures that staff have a thorough knowledge of the needs, interests and abilities of the children. They use this, together with their clear understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how children learn to develop a provision that is responsive to individual children's needs and abilities. Therefore, children are secure, happy and make good progress towards all the early learning goals. Children are highly occupied throughout the majority of the play session and take delight in accessing the range of activities available to them, enjoying the skilled interaction of staff.

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further?

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

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further?

 provide a wider range of consistently available materials within the various play areas to enable children to extend the activities and further enhance their learning  review the organisation of the day in relation to snack time and group time to ensure that children are highly involved throughout the whole play session  develop further systems to maintain the outdoor grounds, limiting hazards to children. 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 safeguarded well as staff have a good knowledge of the local authority's Safeguarding Children Board's child protection procedures. They fully understand that the welfare of the child is paramount and of the action they must take, if they feel a child is at risk of harm. Children develop skills to keep themselves safe as staff sensitively teach them about 'stranger danger' and empower them by treating them with respect, and allowing them to voice their opinions and make choices. Regular risk assessments of the indoor and outdoor areas of the pre-school are carried out to minimise the risk of accidental injuries to children. However, there are a number of potential hazards, such as, brambles, nettles and discarded bricks accessible to children in the outdoor play area.

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the early years provision

Children have free access to a suitable range of toys and activities. These are set out by staff and cover all areas of learning, reflect the interests of the children, and provide appropriate challenges to them. The range of consistently accessible resources in some areas, such as, the writing table and maths area are limited. Thereby, reducing children's opportunities to practise and consolidate their skills and set themselves further challenges. A cosy and stimulating book area has been created in which children enjoy looking at books together or with a member of staff. Children also take books home to share with their parents or carers. During the free play sessions, children are highly engaged in their chosen activity and spend time playing on their own, with friends and with the support of staff. However, during other parts of the daily routine, such as, circle time and snack times children are not as engaged and become restless. Nevertheless, children

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the early years provision

thoroughly enjoy a well planned and resourced singing session as a large group.

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the early years provision

The manager values the hard work and commitment of the staff team. They all work closely together, have clear roles and responsibilities, and are fully involved in the developments within the pre-school. They have a strong desire to continually develop and improve the provision they offer to children and their families. This is demonstrated in their positive response to recommendations made at their last inspection and in developments they have implemented in response to their thorough and continuous self-evaluation processes. These include input from parents, staff at other settings that children attend, and the local authority's development workers.

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the early years provision

The setting has strong relationships with parents and carers, and has developed various ways to establish and maintain effective systems for the two-way sharing of information. Parents share information regarding their child's needs, likes, interests and abilities, and receive good quality information regarding the pre- school as their children settle. They are fully involved in any changes, activities or events through newsletters, displays, notices and discussions. They are encouraged to be involved in the pre-school through attending committee meetings, joining in fundraising events and spending time talking to children about their jobs and their cultural or religious backgrounds. Recently children greatly enjoyed learning about the customs, foods and celebrations of Spain, and also watched a performance by a drama group. Information regarding children's This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

development and achievements observed at home, pre-school and other early years settings that children attend, are shared. Thereby, enhancing children's learning and ensuring consistency in care.

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and outcomes for children

Staff have developed clear and meaningful systems for recording observations and assessments of children. These are up-dated regularly and are used to track children's progress and to plan how staff will enable children to reach their next steps. The positive outcomes of this system are demonstrated by staff's skilled interactions with children, during which they take many opportunities to ask children questions and adapt activities to enhance their individual learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children eagerly gather round a member of staff, who is leading an activity on the pre-school's lap top. She skilfully supports the child whose turn it is to operate the computer, while involving other children, asking questions that reflect their individual skills and abilities and incorporating many different areas of learning. Children extend their vocabularies and understanding of keeping themselves healthy as they talk about 'hygiene' and decide if they would wash their hands before or after certain activities. They are encouraged to listen to and/or read initial letter sounds, name and count parts of the face and body and learn about similarities and differences, such as why some people wear glasses. They learn to take turns, how to operate simple computer programmes and develop control of the mouse.

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and outcomes for children

Children are confident, have fun and develop a sense of right and wrong. They build secure relationships with staff who give them sensitive support during the play sessions, rewarding positive behaviour and gently reminding children of the rules when appropriate. Throughout the play session children chat to each other and staff. Staff show an interest in, and respect for children's experiences outside the pre-school. They give good levels of support to children who are bi-lingual, and who speak English as an additional language, sometimes asking children to tell them words in a language spoken at home. Innovative ways are used to encourage all children to engage in activities that will develop their learning in all areas. For example, a member of staff describes how children were asked to act out the movements of an animal in relation to Chinese New Year and then scribed their movements, and drew animals they were depicting on large piece of paper

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and outcomes for children

laid out on the floor. She explains that children who rarely chose to use writing materials at the writing table, had great fun and enthusiastically entered into this activity. Children therefore feel valued as individuals and develop confidence and a high self-esteem.

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and outcomes for children

Skills in problem solving, reasoning and numeracy are developed throughout the play sessions. Children discover they need a longer piece of sticky tape to reach around the paper mug they are using to construct a model in the creative area. They count how many children are present during group time, complete puzzles set out on the maths table and identify shapes and colours of objects. Children's skills are further developed during outdoor play. They follow a bike track and stop This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and go at the appropriately coloured circles drawn out by staff. They develop large muscle skills as they play football and balance on large tree roots. A group of children are fascinated by a spider they find on the tree root, but resources to study it further where not available at that time. Children do have opportunities to study nature with the use of a discovery box, particularly when they go on local

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and outcomes for children

walks and collect things to bring back to pre-school.

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and outcomes for children

Children are hydrated and nourished during their time at pre-school as they enjoy choosing from a selection of healthy snacks and pour themselves a drink of water or milk. They develop an understanding of hygiene through discussion and activities, and practise good personal hygiene skills as they are given appropriate support to wash their hands before eating and after going to the toilet. 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 3 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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