St Simon's Catholic Primary School

Highampton Area Pre-school Group Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 106127 Inspection date 20/10/2010 Inspector Judith Harris

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Setting address Highampton Village Hall, Church Road, Highampton, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5LE Telephone number 07801 581054 (Wendy Rose Admin) 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.

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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

Highhampton pre-school registered in 1996 and is managed by a voluntary committee of parents. It operates from the village hall in Highhampton. Children have access to the large main hall and the toilets which are adjacent. There is a small outdoor play area that is fully enclosed and directly accessed form the play space. The pre-school is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9.15am to 3.15pm during term time. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 26 children aged two to five years may attend the setting at any one time. There are currently 19 children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The pre-school provides free early education for three and four-year-olds. There are four members of staff, of these three hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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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 play in a well planned and clearly enabling environment. Through observation and assessment systems that are mostly well developed the pre-school staff build a secure and in-depth knowledge of each child's unique learning and welfare needs. Safety and security are consistently supported through well organised procedures and appropriate levels of supervision. The positive relationships that the pre-school has with parents and other providers ensure children are able to feel settled in the pre-school and secure when moving onto school. The staff are a highly motivated and committed team who work with the committee to make positive use of self-evaluation and reflective practice that ensures ongoing improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the two-way flow of information with parents and other providers to support children's needs and provide continuity in their learning.

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the early years provision

The pre-school leadership is shared by two play-leaders who clearly work successfully with the staff team and parent committee to provide a clear vision for the pre-school. Secure systems are in place to ensure all staff and volunteers are appropriately checked and vetted and good security is maintained. The pre-school has comprehensive safeguarding children procedures that are in line with Local Safeguarding Children Board guidelines. Comprehensive risk assessments are This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 carried out for all areas, in the setting and for all outings. The emergency evacuation plans are in place and regularly practised with the children. The staff team use good systems to ensure that arrival and collection of all children is closely monitored and recorded.

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the early years provision

The ongoing use of reflective practice ensures the staff team are effectively evaluating the activities and experiences they have provided each week. This enables the play-leaders to plan to appropriately extend children's learning and development through their own interests. Working with the chair of the committee the play-leaders use a self-evaluation form to accurately identify all their strengths and weaknesses. The information gained through these monitoring systems is used to support and drive the continuous improvement of the pre-school. Both play-leaders are qualified and experienced professionals who successfully lead a small staff team. The play-leaders and all members of staff are exceptionally self- motivated individuals with high levels of commitment. The effective and efficient deployment of all resources including the staff and volunteers allows the team to successfully and effectively meet children's individual needs. The well planned and

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the early years provision

flexible daily routines provide children with high levels of independence in their play and personal care.

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the early years provision

The pre-school successfully engages with parents and other provisions to support them in meeting children's needs. The effective settling-in procedure clearly supports children to feel secure in the comfortable environment of the pre-school. The pre-school management team recognise the need to gather information about children's learning at home and in other settings to further develop continuity in their care and learning, and are developing systems to support this. Parents are given regular opportunities to review and comment on children's learning journey records. The pre-school's development of good policies and procedures, children's records and use of observations and assessments clearly enable the staff to support children's diverse learning and welfare needs effectively.

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and outcomes for children

Children are clearly happy, confident and secure in the pre-school's calm and relaxed environment. The warm, caring relationships children have with staff ensure they are carefully nurtured and supported to feel secure. The flexible daily routine provides children with an abundance of free play which allows them time and space to explore, experiment and discover through their own interests. Children are enthusiastically supported by the staff through animated interaction that makes best use of all planned and naturally occurring situations to extend children's learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children play in a large hall which is divided up to provide areas for different types of play. At one end there is a large physical play area where children play on a variety of ride-on toys. Children are using extensive imaginative skills to develop complex role play games in this area which is actively supported by access to the dressing up box. Children come to choose a costume and go back to their ride-on This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 toys to continue and develop the game. At the other end of the room are tables with dough, pegs and board, printing with brushes and sponge rollers and the themed focused activity which is to make witches hats. On the floor children play with construction and small world toys. The space is well set up to provide children with good access to a particularly enabling environment where they clearly feel secure and confident to move freely and access all the activities. Children's main

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and outcomes for children

focus at the beginning of the session is the dressing up and ride-on toys where they delight in complex games. Staff are flexible and move skilfully around the room ensuring that children have appropriate levels of support and supervision balanced with good levels of independence. This ensures that children are provided with time and space to explore, experiment and discover through their own interests. At snack time the paint from the printing activity is put on the table with the focused activity. Children come to the table and begin sticking tissue paper together with the paint, they continue to experiment with the other materials including the sequin shapes and glitter. A member of staff comes to join them, she talks quietly, describing what the children are doing and praising their achievements. The adult skilfully extends the activity by offering children large sheets of paper to stick their creations to. The children enthusiastically take up the

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and outcomes for children

offer and develop beautiful creations. The staff's support of children's inventive activities is strong; their skill and confidence is evidenced by their ability to abandon the focused activity for the activity developed by the child. The effectiveness of the planning, including the exceptionally well planned environment, ensures that children are making good progress in all areas of learning and clearly developing good skills for the future.

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and outcomes for children

The pre-school staff use a versatile range of observations and assessments to accurately record and support each child's unique learning journey. Parents are asked to complete a sheet to provide information about their child's personality, interests and likes and dislikes at admission. The staff effectively use this information to build on children's starting points. At the end of each half term parents are given their child's learning journey to read and comment on. Children's learning journey books contain photographs of children at a wide range of activities with observation sheets of specific activities and experiences. The observations detail the focus with clear and accurate links to the early learning goals and details of planning for children's individual next steps. Children's progress is further charted using the age-appropriate sections of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This allows key-workers to accurately identify children's

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and outcomes for children

achievements and any areas in which they need support. The whole staff team has enthusiastically embraced the Early Years Foundation Stage and developed systems that ensure children feel secure to travel along their unique learning journeys. Children in this setting are clearly well supported to develop their skills to become purposeful learners.

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and outcomes for children

Children are carefully supported to learn good hygiene skills through the use of clear hygiene routines. They have a café style snack with healthy choices including fruit. Detailed information about any special dietary restriction is collected at admission to ensure children's individual dietary needs are met. Pre-school staff have a clear understanding of the importance of the use of positive strategies to support children's behaviour. They are well supported by adults who clearly know them well and are able to step in instantly to prevent them from becoming upset This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 or frustrated. The positive behaviour management system supports children to develop good skills for self-control. 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 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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