Little Glendalers Pre-School

Little Glendalers Pre School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY345800 Inspection date 20/07/2010 Inspector Janet Keeling

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Setting address Glendale Infant School, Skye Close, NUNEATON, Warwickshire, CV10 7LW Telephone number 0779491827 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

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

Little Glendalers Pre School registered in 2006. It operates from a modular building within the grounds of Glendale Infant School, situated in a residential area of Nuneaton. There is access to an enclosed area for outdoor play. The group serves children and families from the local and surrounding areas.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 25 children from two to under eight years may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 49 children on roll, all of whom are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The setting receives funding for early years education.

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Description of the setting

The group opens Monday to Friday from 8.45am to 11.45am and from 12.15pm to 3.15pm during school term times only. The group have procedures in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and for children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are four members of staff who work directly with the children, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The group 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 flourish with the exceptional levels of care and support that is provided at this stimulating, lively and forward thinking pre-school group. Children are very happy, confident, independent and relish their time at the setting. Staff work cohesively as a team and offer a fully inclusive service, where the uniqueness of every child is recognised and celebrated. Children make significant progress in their learning and development because staff are dedicated and have an extensive knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. Highly successful relationships with parents and other agencies have been firmly established, ensuring children's individual needs are fully supported. The pre- school is led and managed by an experienced, highly motivated and enthusiastic manager who provides outstanding levels of care and education for all children attending the setting.

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further?

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

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further?

 developing further the systems to engage parents in their child's learning and development. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Excellent priority is given to safeguarding and protecting children. All staff have a comprehensive understanding of safeguarding issues and are fully aware of the procedures to follow should they be concerned about a child in their care. Staff routinely verify the identity of all visitors to the pre-school and have a visitors' book in place. There are robust recruitment and vetting procedures in place and valuable appraisals systems which encourage the continued professional development of all staff. The setting maintains comprehensive policies, procedures and records to support the safe and effective management of the provision. Detailed risk assessments are completed and cover all aspects of the learning environments and outings, consequently, risks to children are fully minimised. The manager and staff are extremely competent, caring and demonstrate an excellent understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The deployment of resources is

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the early years provision

outstanding. The environment both indoors and outdoors is inspiring, exceptionally well organised and provides wonderful learning opportunities for all children. Staff are deployed effectively throughout the sessions to ensure children are supervised safely at all times. Resources and equipment are clearly labelled and allow children easy access, and as a result, there are excellent opportunities for children to make choices and to take shared responsibility for their own learning and play. Outstanding outcomes for children are attributed to the excellent use of time, space and resources.

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the early years provision

The manager has a very clear vision for the setting and demonstrates an inspiring commitment to enhancing the quality of the early years provision even further. Through the effective use of parent questionnaires, parents comments are actively listened to and from the suggestions some excellent improvements for the children have been made. Daily team meetings provide valuable opportunities for staff to discuss children's interests, share good practice and use information gained to inform the next day's planning. Recommendations made at the previous inspection have been fully addressed and have had a very positive impact on outcomes for children in the pre-school group. For example, following the last inspection the outdoor play provision has been developed and now provides an outstanding learning environment for children. Methods to promote equality and diversity thread through the whole setting, this is successfully achieved through planned

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the early years provision

activities, the use of visual displays and posters, role-play equipment and through open discussion between staff and children. Managers demonstrate an excellent commitment to working with external agencies to support the inclusion of children with special needs and/or disabilities. Excellent links have been established with the host school, where transition meetings are held with the reception class teacher to ensure children's smooth transition into the classroom environment. Also, during the summer term children are invited to visit their new class to familiarise themselves with their new teacher and their learning environment.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents are outstanding. Parents are warmly welcomed by staff and clearly feel very comfortable within the setting. Staff dedicate time getting to know children and their families, fostering excellent relationships and helping to ensure that children settle and feel secure. Parents are very well informed This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 regarding their children's care and learning and are aware that they can speak to their child's key worker at any time. Staff routinely involved parents in their child's continuous learning and development, although, they are currently looking at new and innovative ways to further involve parents in their child's early education. The relaxed and friendly way that daily information is exchanged ensures that children's changing needs are consistently met. Parents access a wealth of information regarding the group through the use of a parents' notice board,

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the early years provision

newsletters, parents evenings and through the 'white board', which informs parents of the day's activities and news. In addition to this there are many beautiful photographs of their children enjoying an array of activities whilst at the setting, which adds to the extremely welcoming environment. All required documentation such as contracts and consent forms are completed and very well maintained. Parents also receive a prospectus before their child starts at the group and have access to all policies and procedures. Parents expressed very positive views during the inspection. Comments included, ''we are delighted with the excellent care provided for our children'', "the pre-school is fantastic'' and, ''staff are friendly and very welcoming''. One parent commented that their child has had ''an excellent start'' whilst another said ''activities and resources are brilliant''.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit enormously from an inspiring and enchanting environment and from the staff's excellent knowledge and understanding of how to develop the children's learning through play. There is a lively, energetic and vibrant atmosphere where children blossom and respond to challenges with enormous enthusiasm. Children are eager to learn, they are extremely confident and very happy. They have excellent opportunities to lead their own learning as they freely access a wide range of activities and resources, both indoors and outdoors. There is an outstanding balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities that result in children being active learners, creative and able to think critically. Children show outstanding levels of independence, curiosity and imagination. Staff interaction is commendable, staff know the children very well, ask open- ended questions and competently support children as they play. Children work independently and in

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and outcomes for children

groups and share their ideas with staff and their peers. All children are valued and treated with equal concern with any specific requirements being sensitively met through discussion with parents and other professionals. Staff have an excellent understanding of children's individual needs as they observe, discuss and record information on a daily basis. Information is evaluated and used positively to inform future planning which clearly differentiates for individuals and groups of children. On admission to the setting an 'all about me' form is completed with parents, this clearly demonstrates children's individual care and learning needs. Consequently, children are cared for according to their individual needs and parents' wishes. Children's learning is meticulously documented in their individual 'learning journal' which contains both written and photographic information of children's learning, achievements and records of children's own work. These folders are regularly

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and outcomes for children

shared with parents and are available for parents to see at any time.

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and outcomes for children

Children make outstanding progress towards the early learning goals because staff This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 demonstrate an excellent knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. Staff wholeheartedly recognise that children learn best when they are having fun and are interested and excited by what they are doing. Children's personal, social and emotional development is inspiring, they have developed a true sense of identity, have formed wonderful relationships with their peers and adults, respond to the feelings and wishes of others as they play in harmony together and take pride in their own achievements. Children relish an excellent range of first hand learning experiences. For example, they use magnifying glasses to look for mini-beasts in the garden, chuckle with delight as they run their fingers through the 'gloop' and visit 'Ensor's Pool' where they go

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and outcomes for children

pond-dipping and feed the ducks. Children plant fruit and vegetables, such as carrots and tomatoes, and tend the crops each day. They watch with delight as they grow and eat their produce at snack-time. Children are developing a love for books as they sit attentively at story-time, freely access a wide range of books in the quiet corner and are encouraged to use the 'Book Ahead' service, which is provided by the local library service. Children are beginning to learn that print carries meaning as they self-register on arrival, use their name card to register themselves at snack-time and are encouraged to write their name on their own work. Children enjoy music and movement and engage in physical activities everyday. There was great excitement as the children engaged in a 'Write Dance' session, where they sang to the rhythm of the music and used chalk to write on the flag stones to express their movements, such as, 'up and down', 'zig zag zig'

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and outcomes for children

and 'round and round'. Children express their ideas creatively through their drawings, art and craft work and adore imaginary play where they use an extensive range of props to extend their experiences. In addition, staff make excellent use of incidental opportunities to enrich children's natural curiosity, for example, as one child found a frog in the garden a member of staff caught the frog and placed it in a bowl of water. The children excitedly talked about the 'slimy' and 'lively' frog and eagerly took photographs and a video of the frog jumping in and out of the water. The frog prompted children to recall past events from one of their visits to 'Ensor's Pool', they chatted enthusiastically about how they had been pond dipping and had caught some tiny frogs.

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and outcomes for children

Children's behaviour is outstanding, they develop confidence and self-esteem and are developing an understanding of other people's needs. For example, as children played together outside, they shared resources in the 'Pirate Ship' and took turns taking photographs with a camera. Consequently, children learn to share, take turns and respect each other. Children are beginning to develop an understanding of the wider world as they access a wide range of resources that are representative of diversity and also celebrate cultural festivals throughout the year. Children learn about how to stay safe, they regularly engage in emergency evacuation procedures and learn about road safety as they engage in role-play activities and talk to staff whilst on outings. Children demonstrate a growing awareness of their own health and hygiene needs. Many are independent with toileting skills and are very aware of washing their hands after using the toilet and

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and outcomes for children

before snacks. Children's understanding of the importance of hand washing is further supported through the excellent use of pictorial prompts above the sinks. Children develop a significant understanding of healthy eating through topic work and ongoing discussion with staff. At snack-time children independently collect their plates and cups, choose from a selection of healthy snacks such as cucumber, This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 bananas and apples. They competently pour their own drinks and sit at the designated table and enjoy a very sociable time sharing the day's news with their friends. Children develop a sense of responsibility as they use tools such as scissors in a safe manner, help to tidy away their toys and independently place their completed work in the designated areas. Children successfully demonstrate that they are acquiring excellent skills that will help them in the future and prepare

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and outcomes for children

them for their transition from pre-school into school. 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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