Sparkles Pre-School

Sparkles Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY330155 Inspection date 27/09/2010 Inspector Denys Rasmussen

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Setting address Shirley Parish Halls, Wickham Road, Shirley, Croydon, Surrey, CR0 8TB Telephone number 0208 7774679 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 assesses 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.

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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

Sparkles Pre - School is privately owned and operates from a church hall in Shirley in the London Borough of Croydon. The Pre - School was registered in 2006 and has use of a hall, and group room for activities, a kitchen, toilet facilities and an outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

The Pre - School is registered for 45 children aged from two years to the end of the early years age group and there are currently 35 children on roll. It is open each weekday from 9.30am until - 12 noon during the week and also 12.30pm until 2.30pm on a Monday and Wednesday afternoon. This is during term-time only.

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Description of the setting

There are seven staff who work at the pre-school including the manager, all of whom have relevant childcare qualifications and two of whom are bilingual. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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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

The motivated and ambitious leadership has a clear vision for the pre-school and has successfully created an inclusive, friendly and professional environment. The pre-school works extremely well with parents, other providers and agencies to ensure the children's individual needs are well supported. This leads to all children making excellent progress in their learning and development given their age, abilities and starting points. The pre-school has effective self-evaluation and their capacity to make continuous improvements has led to a very high standard, ensuring that all aspects of children's welfare and learning are very successfully promoted. The experienced staff give high priority to safeguarding children enabling them to play in a safe, secure and stimulating learning environment.

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further?

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

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further?

 reviewing the children's development records to ensure they fully reflect the children's progress and next steps. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Robust policies, vetting systems and procedures are clearly understood by the staff and ensure a strong emphasis is placed on safeguarding children. The environments both indoors, outside and including outings are subject to thorough risk assessments that ensure risks to children are minimised. All the required records are well maintained and the pre-school is very well organised with effectively deployed staff.

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the early years provision

The provider has a clear sense of purpose about what it is she wants to achieve and has built a committed staff team. Staff are valued highly which means morale is good and the atmosphere is one of mutual respect. Staff development is actively encouraged and the provider and another staff member are completing a degree course to enable them to achieve Early Years Professional Status. Staff work very well as a team, are clear about their roles and responsibilities and have a clear commitment to continual professional development. This has facilitated the staff to focus on best practice to improve the lives of young children and their families. Clear priorities for improvement are driven by effective self-evaluation systems which are informed by parents, children and support agencies.

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the early years provision

The pre-school places the promotion of equality at the heart of all they do. There is an abundance of positive imagery within the play resources and parents and children are welcomed in a variety of languages. The staff have a good understanding of how to help children to achieve taking into account barriers to learning. For example, the staff attended a local authority programme to improve the staff's knowledge of how to promote children's communication, language and literacy. This has informed practice in the pre-school by incorporating strategies to support boys' learning and by improving support to children and families who do not have English as their home language.

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the early years provision

Consistent and inclusive systems of communication with all parents and carers, including those with English as an additional language, result in excellent partnership and engagement. The parent forum works well to routinely involve parents in their child's learning and the provider regularly shares information with parents through presentations about different aspects of children's learning. Parents found these presentations very useful, particularly when early phonic development was explained. Parents are extremely happy with the pre-school and commented on their excellent settling in procedures and tailored curriculum which meets their child's individual needs. Parents find the staff approachable, caring and professional and happily make suggestions that the pre-school act on.

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and outcomes for children

The knowledgeable and skilful staff have a secure understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and are highly effective in supporting children to make very This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 good progress. The staff use their sensitive observations of the children and input from parents and support agencies to inform the planning to provide the most effective way to support the children as individuals to achieve their potential. However, the children's development records do not as yet fully reflect this. Careful consideration has been given to including all children and there are excellent systems in place to communicate with all children and families. For example, staff use signs, pictures, photographs and a variety of languages. Children show a strong sense of security when they settle with ease and behave exceptionally well because of the staff's skilful and gentle guidance. Children are

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and outcomes for children

very confident and competent in expressing their thoughts, helped by the innovate communication systems in place, this supports their self-esteem.

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and outcomes for children

High quality and warm adult interaction pre-empts any potential conflict because of vigilant supervision; this along with the good insight into children's individual needs, caring relationships and consistent routines ensure children feel safe and secure. The children follow good personal hygiene routines showing an exceptional understanding; for example, independently washing their hands after they have wiped their nose and put the tissue in the bin. They make healthy choices at snack times because of the variety of healthy and nutritious snacks and snack time is relaxed, giving children choice about what and when to eat. Children learn about what is healthy to eat and are encouraged to eat it when they prepare it themselves. They visit a local dentist to find out how to protect their teeth and enjoy fresh air and exercise as an important part of their daily routine.

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and outcomes for children

The outdoors has been vastly improved to provide innovate opportunities for all the children to engage in a range of physical, challenging and imaginative activities throughout the year. There is a good variety of resources to encourage sorting, counting and matching and to make and recognise shapes and patterns. The children enjoy sitting at the investigation table and feel the texture of the gel balls describing how they feel and explaining that they are small but will get bigger when they sit in the water. Children dig in the dirt and search for bugs, use rainwater to mix up the sand and grow tomatoes and herbs in pots in the garden. The provider increased the children's access to information and communication technology as the result of a parent suggestion and the staff have ensured this aspect of learning is reflected in all areas of the pre-school.

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and outcomes for children

Children take pleasure in looking at books and listening to stories, participating with enthusiasm. The music session they have with a specialist encourages them to sing, dance and experiment with musical instruments, promoting their listening and speaking skills. The children learn to reflect on what they have enjoyed or plan to do at pre-school through songs and discussion at circle time. Children are very imaginative and work extremely well independently making choices in play, using the exceptional range of play props. They show excellent negotiation skills and cooperate harmoniously with their peers. All children are valued and engage in a wide range of activities to help them to value diversity. The attractive displays and books the pre-school has made include photographs of the children engaged in activities and their work, which supports a sense of pride and achievement and is an effective tool for discussion. The children really enjoy their time at the pre-

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and outcomes for children

school playing with their friends. 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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Early Years Foundation Stage

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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