South Hill Park Pre-School

South Hill Park Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 119301 Inspection date 08/02/2011 Inspector Carol Willett

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Setting address Leppington, Birch Hill, BRACKNELL, Berkshire, RG12 7WW

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Telephone number 01344 860555 Email Enquiries@shp-preschool.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 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

South Hill Park Pre-school was established in 1974 and moved to its current premises at Leppington in Bracknell, Berkshire in 2000. The pre-school occupies a purpose-built building within fully enclosed grounds. Children have access to three areas within the building and an outside play area that is equipped with large fixed play equipment. There are also suitable kitchen and toilet facilities provided. Children attend from the immediate community and surrounding areas of Bracknell. The pre-school is registered as an educational charity and is run by a volunteer management committee. The committee is usually made up of parents, ex-parents or interested individuals.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the early years register. It operates from Monday to Friday term-time only and offers both morning and afternoon sessions. Morning sessions operate from 09.05am to 11.35am and afternoon sessions from 12.30pm to 03.00pm. A maximum of 30 children from two years to under five years of age may attend at any one time. Generally, morning sessions are attended by children aged two and half years to three years and afternoon sessions by children aged three to four-years. A lunch club operates Monday, Thursday and Friday. Children bring packed lunches but are not able to stay for a full day. There are currently 80 children on roll in the early years age group from two to four years of age. Of these, 55 children receive funding for free early education including some two- year-olds. 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

The pre-school employs eight members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. There is also a pre-school manager who assists during sessions as part of her early years training. Two members of staff have a level 4 qualification and are working toward a foundation degree. The pre-school is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance and receives support from the local authority early years team.

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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

Children thrive and make excellent progress in their development and learning in a highly stimulating friendly pre-school environment where they have access to an excellent range of activities and resources. Staff are enthusiastic, knowledgeable and caring and they form very positive partnerships with parents and other agencies so they competently meet children's individual needs. The comprehensive policies and procedures actively promote inclusive practice and fully ensure children's health and safety. A detailed self-evaluation of practice highlights the pre-school's commitment to continuous improvement. Documentation is generally very effective in promoting childrens welfare and development. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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further?

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

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further?

 enhancing children's assessment records by clearly tracking their progress towards the early learning goals

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the early years provision

Children are extremely well safeguarded as staff have an excellent awareness of their roles and responsibilities in protecting children. The pre-school has a clear safeguarding policy which is shared with parents so they are aware of the procedures that will be followed if there are any concerns. Efficient vetting procedures ensure all staff and committee members are suitable for their roles. The leadership team and staff are all extremely enthusiastic in their commitment to providing a high quality service for the children attending the pre-school. Staff are very safety conscious, they keep thorough risk assessment records and complete daily checking procedures so children's safety is actively promoted. Security within the setting is excellent and visitor's identity is checked and a record is kept of who is on the premises. Staff and children have full knowledge of the fire evacuation procedure which includes an identified place of safety if the building is out of use.

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the early years provision

They all calmly leave the building when the alarm goes as regular practices ensure they are confident and aware in an emergency.

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the early years provision

The pre-school provides an extremely inclusive environment and staff and are very supportive and welcoming. Children's individual needs are fully discussed with parents at initial visits. The wide range of good quality resources are easily accessible to all children both inside and outdoors. Staff offer excellent support to children with English as an additional language seeking important words from parents and inviting them to share their cultures. Important documentation is translated and a support worker is employed to help children and families who have limited English. Partnerships with parents are extremely positive and they actively support the work of staff through the committee. Parents are very happy with the care their children receive at the pre-school and they feel staff are caring, friendly and approachable. They like the structure and routines as they feel this helps children feel secure. They feel well-informed through topic letters,

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the early years provision

newsletters and notices on the parents' board. Staff develop very efficient partnerships with other agencies and carers involved in the children's care so they meet the children's needs and provide consistency in their care and learning. They establish effective partnerships with the early years services and attend local support meetings which help to ensure they take an active part in the community.

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the early years provision

The manager, supervisor and deputy form a strong effective partnership and they are knowledgeable and committed to developing their skills through higher level training. All staff actively undertake training to update their knowledge and skills This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and they are enthusiastic and committed to try new ideas to continuously improve the service they offer. For example, the outdoor play area has been upgraded and assessment record and planning are continually evaluated. Self-evaluation is thorough and effective and forms an integral part of the pre-school. It is effectively informed through staff meetings, annual questionnaires to parents and discussions with the children. Managers monitor and observe the staff and have regular support meetings with them where they identify training needs and issues for improvement. The pre-school have a highly positive attitude to feedback from

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the early years provision

inspections and local authority audits and this is used together with their self- evaluation to inform an action plan for continual improvement. There is a comprehensive well-organised range of documentation in place which meets all the requirements of registration.

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and outcomes for children

Children make excellent progress in their learning and development as the organisation of the pre-school is very good. Staff are extremely friendly and enthusiastic; they work very effectively together so the pre-school sessions run smoothly. They provide a welcoming and stimulating environment for children with an extensive range of displays, including educational posters, children's artwork and photographs. This promotes children's sense of belonging and self- esteem. Staff provide an excellent range of activities and toys to which all children have easy access as they make choices and develop independence and make progress across all areas of learning. Children are extremely settled and confident and thrive as a consequence of the high levels of caring support they receive from staff. They confidently approach adults to chat showing that they feel safe in their care and that secure trusting relationships have been formed. Children are self-motivated

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and outcomes for children

and actively occupy themselves, showing high levels of sustained concentration, such as when mark making or pouring water. They enthusiastically initiate their own play developing role-play scenarios with cars or dolls in the home corner. Children are confident and self-assured and enjoy taking part in activities such as golf ball painting and mixing gloop. They make excellent progress with their learning as staff are skilful in extending and developing learning through play and are very knowledgeable of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff make excellent ongoing observations of children's progress along with photographs and examples of children's work. These are used to identify each child's next steps and inform weekly planning. However, tracking systems do not fully identify gaps in children's development across all early learning goals

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and outcomes for children

Staff help children develop independent skills as they constantly encourage them and allow them to explore freely. For example, they carefully observe and limit intervention as a young child pours water from the milk jug to the water jug, calmly replenishing this when she had finished. They then set up a pouring activity in the outside play area. Children learn about healthy lifestyles as staff encourage them to freely access the extremely well resourced outdoor play areas in all weathers. They competently use a range of wheeled toys and larger equipment for climbing and sliding. They have planned outdoor activities, for example they This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 investigate how water and objects move down plastic tubes. Children have excellent opportunities to learn about good hygiene practices. They independently wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet. They confidently tell staff

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and outcomes for children

more paper towels are needed. Children make healthy choices at snack time as they make toast and select fruit and pour their own drinks.

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and outcomes for children

Children's safety is promoted very effectively. They learn safe behaviour as staff carefully instruct them in using tools, including the toaster to make toast. Children show they feel safe as they busily play and learn, selecting freely from the well- organised resources and toys. Children learn to take responsibility for their behaviour and environment as they sweep up sand and help pack away toys. Staff provide an extremely positive learning environment and act as good role models for the children, treating all with care and respect. Children generally behave well, they share and take turns with gentle encouragement from the staff. Staff are innovative in the provision of resources to develop children awareness of diversity. They take photographs of the diverse range of families attending the pre-school and the local community which are laminated to form books or made into posters. Planned craft activities are linked to family festival and cultural days and there is a

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and outcomes for children

good selection of books and other resources. A named member of staff has responsibility for inclusion so the pre-school have an up to date knowledge of issues and changes in law. This has led to the pre-school actively encouraging dads to take a more active part in the committee and to come in to play with the children. Children are very happy in their play and thoroughly enjoy their time learning skills to support their future learning. The staff have a secure knowledge of each child and those who require additional support are extremely well catered for and their progress is monitored effectively. 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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