St. Annes Pre-School

St Annes Pre School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY415295 Inspection date 19/10/2010 Inspector Jane Davenport

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Setting address St Annes Pre School, St Annes Church Centre, 200A Larkshall Road, Chingford, London, E4 6NP Telephone number 07941517751 Email st-annes.preschool@ntlworld.com 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.

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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.

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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

St Anne's Pre-School is a long established provision which re-registered in 2010. It is a voluntary, committee-led provision and operates from church premises situated in the Chingford Hatch area within the London borough of Waltham Forest. All children share access to a fully enclosed outdoor play area. Access to the premises is via a buzzer at the front door.

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Description of the setting

The Pre-School is open each weekday from 9.15am to 12.15pm during school term time. A lunch club operates until 1.25pm from Monday to Thursday. The Pre- School is registered to provide care for 24 children under the age of eight, of whom none may be under two years of age at any one time. The Pre-School is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 26 children in the early years age range on roll. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are seven members of staff, including the manager, six of whom hold an appropriate childcare qualification. The setting is registered with the QUILT quality assurance scheme and receives support from the local authority development worker.

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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 pre-school offers a welcoming and inclusive environment for children in which they develop a sense of belonging and enjoy their play. Staff effectively promote children's learning through play and prioritise their well-being. There is a strong and positive partnership with parents, and established systems are in place to ensure that parents, carers and others work effectively in partnership to meet the needs of all children. The staff are firmly committed to continually improving the setting and demonstrate a clear understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement, working together to identify the way forward.

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further?

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

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further?

 improve the procedure for conducting risk assessments by promptly assessing any changes to the premises that may represent a potential hazard develop the current system of recording observations to improve frequency; ensure links are consistently made to the areas of learning and next steps for individual children's learning are clearly identified 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 well protected from harm and neglect. The manager and staff are clear about the signs and symptoms of possible abuse and know the correct procedures to follow should they have a concern about any of the children in their care. This is supported by well written policies that are shared with parents from the outset. There is a stable staff team at the setting and management follow effective recruitment and vetting procedures to ensure that adults who work with the children are suitable to do so. Several staff members hold a current paediatric first aid certificate, the administration of medication and accident procedures are appropriate and written consent for emergency medical treatment is in place. Although generally secure risk assessments are in place to ensure children's safety indoors, outdoors and on outings, assessments of potential risks posed by changes that occur to the premises are not always conducted promptly.

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the early years provision

The playgroup offers a bright and secure environment. Indoors and outdoors, it is well resourced with a good range of age appropriate toys and activities. Children are able to freely choose what they want to play with and can request for additional resources to be set out if they so wish. Resources and displays feature positive images of cultural diversity and disability and this encourages children to learn to respect and celebrate differences. For example, a prominently displayed 'World Religions' poster features festivals celebrated in Sikhism, Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism and Islam, amongst others. The poster is bordered by cut out shapes of the children's hands that they decorated to mark the festival of Eid, and a picture of how they cut up apples and dipped them in honey as a traditional way of celebrating Rosh Hashana. There is a welcoming atmosphere within the setting and relationships with parents are friendly and supportive. Key workers use

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the early years provision

their initiative and work effectively to help new children to settle. They exchange information with parents on a regular basis about their child's participation and involvement and parents comment on the productive atmosphere and the progress their children are making.

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the early years provision

The manager is a clear and committed role model who leads the team effectively. Consequently, all staff are motivated, enthusiastic and driven to maintain continuous improvement, which benefits the children. There are regular staff meetings, and practitioners feel confident in openly offering their ideas and suggestions. The whole of the staff team is involved in the self-evaluation process and the manager has also welcomed the input from the local authority quality assurance scheme. These methods of evaluating the provision have helped in identifying areas of the provision that would benefit from improvement or development, for example, developing further the partnerships with other settings attended by the children. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children are happy, settled and secure as they play and learn in a friendly and welcoming environment where they are valued as individuals. They quickly find their names to self-register, and then demonstrate a sense of belonging to the group as they settle down for circle time. Children's personal, social and emotional development is fostered well as they are all introduced by name and encouraged to participate in discussion. They are happy to talk about their home lives and their ambitions. For example, one child states that they would like to be a fire fighter or a police officer when they grow up and another says that they would like to be bigger! Children's behaviour is very good because they know the rules that apply when they are in the pre-school and abide by them. They comment that sharing, taking turns and using good manners helps them all to be friends. Children receive regular praise and encouragement for effort and achievement, which helps boost

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and outcomes for children

Children are making good progress in their learning and development. Staff implement the Early Years Foundation Stage framework effectively, providing appropriate activities and making observations and assessment of children's progress. They know their key children well and are able to explain the stage in their learning that they have reached. There is a system of tracking observations in place and an initial 'All about me' assessment is completed with parents. Nevertheless, the current system for recording observations and assessments does have some weaknesses. Recorded observations are not frequent enough at present and links to the areas of learning and next steps are not always specific enough to inform future planning.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy being creative as they mix up a corn flour and water paste, make collage self portraits or take part in role play in the hairdressing salon. They are becoming independent and often initiate their own play. For example, children in the salon spend a long time combing and putting rollers in one another's hair and providing mirrors for their customers to see the end result. Children's language development is supported well. The system of self-registering encourages children to recognise their names and letters associated with their names, and to learn that print carries meaning. Those who enjoy mark making are provided with exercise books and pencils in which they can practise their writing. Children who have English as an additional language are encouraged to demonstrate their growing skills in English and their home language. For example, at circle time a child says that they would like to count how many children are present in their home

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and outcomes for children

language and receives warm praise for achieving this. They count, assisted by the staff, up to 16. Staff then challenge children's problem solving skills when another child arrives and they are asked to calculate how many children that makes.

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and outcomes for children

Children have many opportunities to learn about the world around them as they explore simple technology through using keyboards, cameras, torches and a cassette player with headphones. At circle time they discuss the weather and the changing seasons, noting that the leaves are changing colour and falling from the trees now that it is autumn. Children's healthy lifestyles are well promoted. All This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children enjoy fresh air and exercise; they learn to negotiate the differing levels in the garden and develop further physical skills as they ride on wheeled toys. Nutritious meals and snacks are helping the children to recognise healthy food as being a positive lifestyle choice. They understand the need to wash their hands before eating, pour their own milk and choose from bread sticks and a selection of fresh fruits such as pears, tangerines, raspberries, bananas and apples. This,

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and outcomes for children

together with their enthusiasm for tidying up, helps them to develop good skills for the future. 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 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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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