Little Stars Pre-school

Little Stars Pre-school Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY337877 Inspection date 07/07/2010 Inspector Lilyanne Taylor

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Setting address Scoutlands, 20 Evelegh Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO6 1DL Telephone number 07956162575 Email jos-littlestars@hotmail.co.uk 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

Little Stars Pre-school registered in 2006. It is a privately owned group and operates from a Scout hall that is situated in a residential area of Farlington. They have sole use of the main hall, side room and kitchen during their operational hours. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. They are able to provide care for a maximum of 30 children aged from two years to under eight years at any one time; of these all may be in the early years age range. Currently there is 50 early years age group children on roll.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school operates from 9am to 3pm Monday to Friday during term time, and, Tuesday to Thursday during five weeks of the schools summer holidays. The owner works alongside the six members of staff she employs, all hold a National Vocational Qualification Level 3. The owner is currently studying for an early years Foundation Degree to enhance her existing qualification.

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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 engage in a wide range of activities which in the main are well organised and resourced. All individual care and learning needs are met because staff are well aware of the children in their care. Ongoing development of the pre-school is assured through the effective systems in place for self-evaluation and the training all staff are involved in. The pre-school is continuously making improvements which benefit the children. For example, they have increased the range of resources and equipment children have the opportunity to play with outdoors. Most documentation is maintained in sufficient detail and most procedures effectively promote children's safety.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure all fire exits are free from obstructions and fire drills carried out cover all possible exits  ensure children are supported to gain the most learning and enjoyment from activities they engage in by reviewing the area of the premises they are set up in. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Robust recruitment, vetting and induction procedures ensure children are only cared for by adults who have had their suitability to work with children confirmed. All staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities where safeguarding issues of a child is suspected. Should any allegations be made against a member of staff, procedures are in place to ensure children are fully safeguarded. Risk assessments are effective overall in identifying potential hazards and ensure children are cared for in a safe environment. Staff are aware of risks children may be exposed to while they are away from the premises, however, they do not maintain records of these. The premises are kept secure; staff monitor people accessing the building and a record of all visitors is maintained.

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the early years provision

Children benefit from being cared for by a consistent staff team. Each child has a key person who is experienced and regularly attends training to ensure their knowledge of childcare and child development is kept up to date. Morale of staff is high; they work together well as a team and are involved in all aspects of the decision making of the provision. All recommendations raised at the last inspection have been fully addressed. All required documentation is in place and most procedures for ensuring children's safety are effectively carried out in practice.

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the early years provision

The pre-school is run in a scout hall and staff make every effort to ensure the premises are welcoming to all children and their parents. All children gain a sense of belonging because staff greet them at the door by name. The main hall area is set out ready with a selection of activities for children when they arrive each session. Overall activities children engage in are organised well. Children's individual needs and wishes are respected; they are allowed to eat when they wish, and, able to make choices about what they would like to play with. They also have a separate area where they can sleep and relax if they choose to. Staff are effectively deployed in all areas to ensure the needs of all children are met.

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the early years provision

Management and staff have a clear vision of how they wish to enhance the pre- school and plans for the future are well targeted. Funding the pre-school has been secured, this will be used to lay a soft play surface and to erect a fence around a designated play area. This will improve the quality of the outdoor area children have to play in and increase their safety.

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the early years provision

Parents receive good quality information about the setting. The last inspection report is available for parents to read so they are aware of the type of care and education they can expect their children to receive. Parents are invited to express their views and information obtained this way is fed into the setting's monitoring and evaluation processes. Staff discuss with parents daily some aspects of the progress their children are making and encourage them to share information of any noticeable achievements they may have noticed their children have made at home. Parents are invited to attend consultation meetings to discuss their children's individual learning journey records and to contribute to the planning for their children's future learning. Parents for whom English is an additional language are valued; they are invited into the pre-school to share their home language with This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

children and some resources are labelled with dual print. Parents express they are happy with the pre-school overall and feel they have a good relationship with staff.

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the early years provision

Staff are committed to working in partnership with others involved with the children in their care. The Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator liaises with external agencies to ensure each child gets the support they need. The transition for children moving into full time education is smooth; staff provide schools with a profile of each child. This ensures the individual needs of children are known and their care and learning can be continuously progressed.

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and outcomes for children

Staff carry out home visits to children wishing to enrol in the pre-school. This along with the information they find out from parents ensures all children are appropriately supported to settle into their new environment quickly. Staff observe children while they play; information gained is used to plan future activities to progress their learning or to evaluate the organisation of the setting to ensure it is meeting all children's needs.

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and outcomes for children

Children's awareness of the world in which they live is raised through activities such as fund raising events for children less fortunate than them, food tasting, discussion and posters displayed. In addition they have the opportunity to learn how some simple words are spoken in languages other than English. Visual aids, makaton signing and the very good verbal interaction of staff supports all children to develop their communication skills. Children enjoy role play and relate it to their past experiences. For example, they line chairs up and pretend they are travelling on the coach that took them on a visit to a farm. However, they are not always able to gain the most learning and enjoyment from some of the activities they engage in. For example, they pretend to be at the beach but because this activity is set up indoors they are provided with building blocks instead of real sand to make sandcastles.

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and outcomes for children

Children are confident with the procedures they have practised should there be a fire. However, because drills have not been carried out to cover all possible exits and at times not all exits are kept clear children's safety is compromised. Children's behaviour is good; they are shown how to respect and take care of the resources by packing them away carefully.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy being out in the fresh air each day. Their physical skills are developed through a wide range of activities. They ride wheeled toys, crawl through tunnels and take part in running and egg and spoon races. Drinking water is available at all times and children make healthy choices at snack time from the range of fresh fruit and crackers available. Under close supervision children help with the preparation of snacks and they use knifes to place spread on their crackers and to cut pieces of fruit. Children are becoming aware of how they can contribute to ensuring the environment is protected; they place food waste such as fruit peelings in a composter, the contents of which when decomposed is used to grow plants. 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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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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