Hickling Pre-School

Hickling Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 253426 Inspection date 22/06/2010 Inspector Alison Edwards

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Setting address Hickling Village Hall, Main Street, Hickling, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, LE14 3AQ Telephone number 07788932829 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

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

Hickling Pre-School opened in 1967. It is a committee-run organisation which operates from Hickling Village Hall in the Rushcliffe district of Nottinghamshire, serving the local area. Children use the main hall for play. There is an enclosed outdoor area for outside play. The pre school opens each weekday during school terms from 9.30am to 12.00 noon, with a lunch club continuing until 1.00pm on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Children attend a variety of sessions. The pre- school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register to care for a maximum of 26 children between the ages of two and eight years, all of whom may be in the early years age range. The pre-school receives funding for the nursery education of three-and-four-year-old children. There are currently 32 children on roll, all in the early years age range. Of these, 20 receive nursery education funding. The setting is also registered on the

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Description of the setting

voluntary part of the Childcare Register. There are currently seven regular childcare staff. Of these, three hold relevant early years qualifications at Level 3 and two at Level 2.

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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

Children are confident and enthusiastic within this welcoming pre-school, where staff develop strong partnerships with parents, so helping to ensure that they have a good knowledge of each child's circumstances and individuality. Staff have a generally good overview of how to implement the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. As a result, required procedures and documentation are generally used effectively to underpin children's welfare and learning. Consequently, children make good progress in their learning in relation to their starting points. The nursery has made good practical progress in addressing the recommendations made at its previous inspection, for example by effectively appraising priorities for ongoing staff development.

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further?

To fully meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 request written parental permission, at the time of a child's admission to the provision, to seek any necessary medical advice or treatment in the future (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 21/07/2010

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further?

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

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further?

 update the record of risk assessments to include assessments for outings and trips This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  extend use of observations and assessments to more consistently identify and plan for the next steps in children's learning to fully promote the highest levels of challenge and progression for each child.

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the early years provision

Arrangements to protect children from harm are generally good. Systematic recruitment and induction procedures ensure that staff working with children are fully cleared to ensure their suitability, and that they have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Recent training has also given priority to safeguarding issues. Consequently, staff have a clear overview of what child abuse and neglect are, and of how to implement the updated safeguarding policy effectively in the event of any concerns about a child, or allegation against a staff member. Required documents, such as attendance registers and accident records, are generally accurately and accessibly kept, so effectively underpinning the safe management of children's care. Children are cared for in a suitably maintained community hall. Staff work hard to provide an attractive and stimulating indoor play area, and to encourage children's interest in their environment as they help to

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the early years provision

care for the small garden area. Staff implement careful security procedures in order to promote children's safety. For example, an audible alarm is used to supplement security at the main door, and password systems ensure that children are only collected by authorised adults. Systematic risk assessments are undertaken and recorded at least annually to underpin the good safety precautions taken on the premises. Staff give careful consideration to identifying and managing any potential hazards on local outings. However, they do not yet keep records of these assessments to effectively document the good practical precautions taken to maintain children's safety in these circumstances.

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the early years provision

Parents are very positive about the pre-school's welcoming approach, and about staff's good understanding of each child's circumstances and individuality. There are methodical systems to record most relevant personal details for each child, such as clear parental and emergency contact details, together with information about specific health, dietary and care requirements. This helps to ensure that staff have a good understanding of children's individual needs and how to meet these. Parents enjoy good informal daily opportunities to share information with staff about children's changing interests and abilities. Arrangements for staff and parents to meet regularly to systematically review children's changing abilities are also in now place, so helping to promote a shared understanding of current progress and the next steps in children's learning. The pre-school works effectively with other agencies, such as special needs staff, to ensure that each child gets the

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the early years provision

support that she/he needs, and to ensure that staff are well informed about how to help each child make good progress in relation to their individual starting points.

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the early years provision

Committee members and staff have a clear understanding of their individual roles and responsibilities. They have a shared vision of long term aims to further improve the quality of provision for all children. Parents are encouraged to contribute to the organisation of the pre school through participation in sessions and through committee membership. Following its last inspection, the pre school This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 has introduced the use of staff appraisal systems which have enabled it to prioritise on-going professional development more effectively. For example, use of relevant training courses have enhanced staff awareness of how to promote younger children's learning, and have enabled them to experiment with different ways of tracking children's progress and planning for their future learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children's personal and social skills are developing well. Children are consistently confident and enthusiastic, building good relationships with others and showing good levels of independence and purpose in their play. For example, they show enjoyment and sustained interest in spontaneously developing a cooperative 'follow my leader' game, balancing and jumping on a circle of floor mats. Staff know children well, and encourage them to express their own preferences and ideas, for example when sitting sociably together at lunch times. This helps children to feel recognised and valued as individuals. Children show good levels of care and responsibility for their environment, for example as they purposefully pull out weeds in the garden and help to put them in the composting container. They gain awareness of other lifestyles, for example through use of books relating to traveller culture. Staff are effective in helping children learn how to behave safely,

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and outcomes for children

for example when using small tools such as wooden hammers and tacks to fasten shapes together. Children learn about aspects of safety in the wider world, for example through stories and activities linked to the role of ambulance and fire services, and about the use of 999 calls to get help in an emergency.

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and outcomes for children

Arrangements to promote children's health are generally sound. Children develop a good awareness of healthy habits. For example, they understand why they need to wash their hands and how to do this effectively. They talk knowledgeably with staff about why they wear hats outdoors on sunny days. They confidently help themselves to freely accessible drinks when feeling hot or thirsty. Children enjoy varied activities helping to develop their large movement skills, such as playing simple bat and ball games. They show growing dexterity when filling and emptying water containers, or when independently drawing and painting. Relevant records are generally effectively used to enable staff to meet children's individual health needs effectively. However, the pre-school does not currently fulfil the specific legal requirement to request written parental permission to obtain future medical treatment or advice if needed. This potentially limits its ability to act promptly in

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and outcomes for children

children's best interests in the event of an accident or sudden illness.

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and outcomes for children

Staff have a good overview of the six areas of learning identified within the Early Years Foundation Stage. They understand how to support the progress of children across the age range with worthwhile and interesting practical play activities and first hand experiences. For example, children enjoy exploring a variety of tools and techniques, such as, the use of extruders, to express their own creativity as they shape and form playdough. Staff prioritise spending time talking and listening to children. As a result, they have a good understanding of each child's individual interests and capabilities, and are able to effectively encourage them to extend their thinking and ideas. Consequently, children are confident and eager in their This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 learning, and are establishing a good basis for their future skills. For example, children develop their vocabulary and understanding of print as they refer to

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and outcomes for children

pictures and word cards, such as, 'root', 'stem' and 'leaf' when talking with staff about how their vegetable seedlings are growing and the effects of things such as water and light. They begin to make predictions and talk about the reasons why things happen as they explore whether different items float or sink. Children across the age range gain good practical awareness of capacity and volume as they carefully help to fill watering cans of different sizes from a water butt. They enjoy simple turn-taking games with staff, such as picture lotto helping them to recognise numerals and quantities. Children show good levels of competence and familiarity with aspects of everyday technology. For example, they independently use simple computer games or items such as mobile phones in their role play. Staff have experimented with a variety of methods to track children's abilities and to plan for their future progress before settling on a recently introduced system.

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and outcomes for children

However, as yet they are not fully confident in how to use this to best effect to accurately prioritise the next steps in children's learning in order to consistently provide the highest levels of challenge for each child. 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 3 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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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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