Christ Church Pre-School

Christchurch Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 127105 Inspection date 21/01/2011 Inspector Linda Coccia

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Setting address The Vicarage, 48 Old Road East, Gravesend, Kent, DA12 1NR Telephone number 01474 352643 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

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

Christchurch Pre-School opened in 1975 and is situated in the town of Gravesend, Kent. It operates from one room in a church hall with separate kitchen and toilet facilities. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. Disabled access is available throughout the premises.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 26 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. The pre-school is open each weekday from 9.15am to 12.15pm, 38 weeks of the year. There are currently 36 children aged from two to under five years on roll. Children aged three and four years receive funding for nursery education. Children come from a wide catchment area. There are procedures in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school employs seven staff; of whom six, including the manager, hold appropriate early years qualifications to National Vocation Qualification level 3 or above. One member of staff is working towards a qualification.

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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

This provision provides outstanding quality of care for children due to the extensive range of activities available and the high levels of monitoring given to them. The manager has addressed a number of recommendations made at the last inspection and has made further additional changes to improve the environment for children. Overall, the provision is outstanding in effectively meeting the needs of children and is able to maintain effective continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 strengthen the current use of reflective practice and self-evaluation to continuously improve the quality of the provision for all children.

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the early years provision

The provider employs an extremely competent manager to oversee the day-to-day running of the provision. She and her professional and caring staff provide an extremely warm and welcoming provision, which helps children to flourish. The manager efficiently ensures that all staff are suitable to be with the children, as This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 she implements rigorous and robust recruitment and vetting procedures. Criminal Record Bureau checks are held by all staff and details of these are held within each member of staffs' employment and training record. The daily risk assessments are very thorough with any hazards quickly reported and acted upon. Extensive assessments are carried out for outings, particularly when children visit The Forest School. All regulatory paperwork is exceptionally maintained; for example, parents receive a copy of any accident report containing very full details of the incident. All

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the early years provision

children show a great awareness of safety procedures indicating that they use them very regularly. Children's well being is exceptionally promoted.

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the early years provision

The manager has high expectations of staff and children. Her extensive plans for future improvement include ensuring that all policies are operating and are implemented effectively in line with the ever changing needs of individual children. Plans also include ensuring staff receive support in order to confidently implement the procedures, particularly concerning children's learning and development. Improvement planning is a result of the exemplary self-evaluation the manager carries out. Policies and procedures are fully discussed with staff at meetings, with parents at coffee mornings and the views of children are listened to. However, the pertinent points of discussions with parents may be lost as these are not recorded for inclusion in the provision's self-evaluation.

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the early years provision

The play area is used very well in line with children's needs. The range of resources available to the children and the use they make of them is exemplary. Real equipment is used in the home area, large areas are available for construction play with a wide variety of different construction mediums and the craft area is extensive. Children select what they use and where they want to use them. The manager has thoughtfully considered the different language needs of the children and as a result much of the labelling of equipment is displayed in two or three languages. She has made extensive enquiries in to accessing translation documents from Kent County Council and her local authority. In some instances parents have been approached to translate information for other parents. Parents and children receive excellent support from the provision's Special Educational Needs Co-coordinator, if the need arises. There are currently no children with

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the early years provision

special needs and/or learning difficulties or children who speak English as an additional language attending. The manager has considered the particular learning needs of boys at her provision. The improvements made to the environment to cater for them has resulted in a marked change in their attitude in how they play; for example, boys still love their cars but are more likely to take the cars with them to other activities instead of just playing on the car mat. Children's individual needs are being met.

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the early years provision

The manager has forged excellent links with a range of different agencies in order to benefit children. She co-chairs the local Gravesham Forum alongside the head of a local primary school. She and different members of staff have visited local schools to look at their activities. The provision is 'ICAN' (talk) accredited and buddies up with other local provision in order to ensure all children's individual communication skills are developing well. The latter is supported by the local speech and language therapist. Parents report that they receive excellent service from the provision. Some have had older children who attend the group. Others have moved children from different provisions to attend five days a week because This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 they have noticed how well their children settle and are impressed with the range of activities and progress made. They all report that staff are 'wonderful' and

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the early years provision

'fantastic'. Many comment on how approachable staff are. Parents feel that staff always make time for them and they never feel rushed. Parents are given the long observation sheets carried out by staff on their children to read and comment on every two weeks. They are very involved in their children's learning with children bringing in items from home for group participation. Children receive excellent consistent care.

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and outcomes for children

Children are extremely eager to play; so much so that they often need to be reminded to find their name for the registration board. They rush into the provision, animatedly talking to their key-worker and their friends. They are very keen to inform staff of events at home and proudly display any items they bring with them for group activities; for example, children bring in their teddy bears for a bear hunt. The children know the routines of the provision extremely well, which gives them a strong sense of security and helps them feel safe in the setting. They display extremely high levels of confidence and self-esteem; for example, they are able to hold extensive conversations with visitors both alone and in small groups. They defer to each other allowing each other the chance to speak. Children are instrumental in choosing the activities they engage in. They indicate to staff the toys they want out and help the manager plan activities for the following week by

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and outcomes for children

selecting the desired photographs of toys from the box. Children initiate many activities themselves; for example, they regularly visit The Forest School which is a provision that allows children to experience the outdoors for the whole session. They learn to appreciate mini-beasts, different types of woodland, how to stay safe outdoors and what berries and fungi may be dangerous. These visits also play a big part in helping children adopt healthy lifestyles. During one visit a ranger made a see-saw out of logs and the children decided they wanted to make a similar see- saw in the provision's garden. Together they considered the different shapes of a variety of items for the base, testing them out with different lengths of wood. They worked exceptionally well together to achieve their aim and their attempts were photographed and made into a wonderful display. This activity not only tested their problem solving and reasoning skills but also helped them to communicate

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and outcomes for children

effectively with each other, tested their creative abilities and allowed them to engage in physical play. Children are interested learners and are developing a wide range of future skills. In directing their own play and initiating activities children are also making excellent contributions to the provision.

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and outcomes for children

Children's initial assessments are carried out by keyworkers during the first two weeks of the child starting. Keyworkers use information from parents and simple observations in order to assess a child's starting points. Long observations, photographs and examples of children's work are used to plot their progress each term on their unique journey sheets. The unique journey paperwork clearly identifies children's next steps, which are used by keyworkers to plan for each child's interests and abilities. The Early Years Foundation Stage practice guidance This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 is used by staff to challenge children and help them progress. This is only possible because keyworkers know their key children so well and are able to identify who can cope with challenges and when. Staff monitor and record the progression of each child in each area of learning. The manager also monitors all children on a

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and outcomes for children

master sheet to ensure that one area of learning is not being addressed to the detriment of others. This excellent system also ensures that staff receive the support they need from the manager to effectively deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage to the children. It is clear from the exemplary progress records available that children are making excellent progress towards the Early Learning Goals; indeed, the records show that some children have reached the Early Learning Goals in some areas of their learning. 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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