Poperinghe Pre-School

Poperinghe Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY221396 Inspection date 08/03/2011 Inspector Melissa Cox

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Setting address Community Complex, Princess Marina Drive, Arborfield, Reading, Berkshire, RG2 9NN Telephone number 0118 9763215 Email poperinghepre-school@tesco.net 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

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

Poperinghe Pre-school opened in 1979 and is managed by a parents committee. It is based in the Arborfield Garrison Community Centre as part of the Army Welfare Service facilities. The pre-school has sole use of its building which is set over 4 classrooms with direct access to 4 outdoor areas. There is access to the large community hall which the pre-school uses for music and movement sessions, rough and tumble play and community projects and gatherings. The pre-school has sole use of the premises, which includes four large playrooms for the children. The pre-school caters for children of service personnel and children from the local community.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered with Ofsted on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 75 children may attend at any one time. There are 110 children on roll, all are within in the early years age range. The setting is in receipt of funding for the provision of early education for three- and four-year-olds. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who have English as an additional language. The pre-school opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 08:45 until 14:45. Children attend for a variety of sessions or for full day care until 14:45.

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Description of the setting

Staff are suitably qualified with the manager and curriculum and training manager have Early Years Professional Status. The assistant manager has a NVQ level 4, 18 other practitioners have level 2-5 qualifications, 5 practitioners working towards qualification. The pre-school receives support from a teacher from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership. Provision is assessed using the Wokingham Early Years Evaluation System and ECERS-E.

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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 in this inclusive, exciting and stimulating setting. Children are valued as unique individuals and a strong inclusive ethos threads through all aspects of the setting. The children's care, learning and welfare are significantly enhanced by the highly ambitious way the setting is led and managed. Effective partnership with parents, professionals and other early years facilities provide consistency for the children. Excellent systems are in place to monitor and evaluate the provision and this demonstrates a true commitment to continuous improvement and development, which has a positive impact on children's well- being, care and safety.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 should consider:

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further?

 reviewing the presentation of ICT resources

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the early years provision

Children's welfare is at the heart of the setting's work. Safeguarding procedures are excellent and all adults are clear about their roles and responsibilities and confident in carrying them out, including working with other agencies to safeguard children. Staff have very rigorous systems to ensure children are safe at all times, whether on the premises, in the garden or on visits. This includes teaching the children to play safely and be aware of possible hazards as staff support them to climb trees or balance on wooden beams, all the while allowing them to manage their own risk. Security within the setting is excellent and parents are fully conversant with the robust collection procedures. Recruitment and vetting systems for staff are fully in place and the induction and development procedures are highly effective. Robust welfare policies and procedures link to rigorous systems of monitoring, evaluation and record keeping.

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the early years provision

The leadership team provides a powerful sense of purpose and direction that, coupled with the highly motivated staff team, provide an environment rich with exciting activities and spaces in which children are able to explore, discover and take risks. The promotion of equality and diversity is outstanding. Staff are well trained and efficient in quickly identifying any barriers to children's success and drawing on their own skills and those of specialist support agencies to overcome them.The senior management team play a strong role in the development of the early year's provision throughout the local area and there are outstanding links with other providers. There is a strong culture of reflective practice within the setting, and all staff are actively involved in monitoring the effectiveness of the provision. Self-evaluation procedures are excellent and lead to very precise and appropriate priorities for further improvement. Recommendations from the

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the early years provision

previous inspection have been addressed fully and the self-reflective, enthusiastic attitudes from staff in the setting indicate their willingness to continually develop their practice. As a result, areas for improvement to enhance children's learning and overall welfare have been correctly identified and appropriately targeted.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents and carers are outstanding. Parent's comment that staff are very welcoming, professional and friendly and consider their children have flourished in the interesting, exciting and stimulating environment. The nursery staff have excellent relationships with the parents and carers of their children and consult them extensively through meetings, the comments board, newsletters, questionnaires and in day to day encounters. The setting gathers the views of parents, carers and children and act effectively upon them. The setting's exceptionally professional and dedicated staff work together very effectively as a united team and they provide highly effective learning and development opportunities for all children. This is reinforced by effective key person systems and children benefit from the very high levels of interaction and care from familiar This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children's welfare, learning and development are supported extremely well. All children make consistently excellent progress towards the early learning goals, relative to their starting points, because staff make very effective use of their observations of children in planning activities that support their individual development. Information is used exceptionally well to inform future planning and leads to clear identification of each child's next steps of development. Children's preferred learning styles are identified and staff ensure that resources are organised very well to support these. The free flow provision of a wide range of very interesting and challenging activities are designed to stimulate individual young minds and the well qualified staff team all have an excellent knowledge of how young children learn through play. The setting helps children make an outstanding positive contribution. The enjoyable review sessions at the beginning

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and outcomes for children

and end of each day encourages children to reflect on what they have learned and be involved in planning what they will do next. Photographs and displays of children's work encourage their self-awareness and pride in their achievement as they take part in dressing up and performing a dragon dance for Chinese New Year or learning about the complex lifecycles of insects.

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and outcomes for children

Children throughout the setting are discovering that print carries meaning as they play in an environment that is rich with a variety of print. They mark make for a purpose as they help plan the activities for the day, noting down their ideas with the help of staff in large books. They are very enthusiastic learners and explorers, showing a high level of curiosity when exploring the outdoor areas, for bugs and creepy-crawlies or making flower potions from the daffodils in the garden. Children use their critical reasoning and problem solving skills very well as they decide how best to climb into the tree in the garden, working out which resource to stand on and how to engage help from others. Children are very independent and quickly develop self-confidence because they are successfully taught to make decisions for themselves and guide much of their own learning. Many of the activities are skilfully planned to promote high levels of inquisitiveness and observation.

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and outcomes for children

Staff are extremely skilful and highly effective in a manner which supports and challenges children in all areas of learning. Because staff have an intimate knowledge of the character and development of each individual they are able to subtly introduce increasingly challenging tasks and ideas. These interventions are so well timed that the children rarely become bored or distracted. Equally, staff know when to stand back and just observe so that children often become engrossed in a single activity for up to half an hour or more. They blend daily routines and activities expertly together so that children acquire competency, confidence and independence in all areas. For example, children are taught how to be safe through themes, discussions and taking part in evacuations of the building. Staff interaction is excellent and staff act as very strong role models for the children. Each child's individual achievements and talents are recognised and

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and outcomes for children

supported very effectively. The setting successfully promotes the 'Every Child a This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Talker programme' and a large majority of children reach higher than expected levels of language and communication skills. This is because the setting provides excellent opportunities and encouragement not only to talk and listen with a clear purpose but by encouraging children to think and evaluate the work they do, in the plan-do-review process. The 'talking tubs' allows for the children to plan their own play which is very much informed by their own interests. For example, children initiate a 'sweet shop' topic, making playdough chocolates in chocolate boxes and re-creating their favourite colourful wrapped chocolates making use of newspaper and colourful paper. Children are forming an excellent understanding of problem solving and numeracy,

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and outcomes for children

they recognise shapes very well and are able to complete challenging puzzles. Children's mathematical thinking is actively promoted as an integral part of all activities as they play board games or serve customers in their shop, working out how much to charge for the chocolates whilst exploring money and turn taking.

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and outcomes for children

Positive learning environments are generated as the indoor and outdoor play areas are creatively organised. The areas of continuous play are extensively resourced and children select toys, resources and books easily, making informed and independent choices in their play and learning. The children themselves play a big part in the smooth running of the session. They are keen to help and develop high levels of confidence and self-sufficiency. Children's welfare is promoted by the staff to a consistently high level. Clear sickness procedures that are shared with parents, combined with extremely good health and hygiene practice from staff, protect children from the risk of illness and cross infection. Staff support children's personal, social and emotional development very well. There is an emphasis on self-esteem; they teach children to participate and adopt safe and hygienic routines. The setting promotes healthy eating as they provide children with an

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and outcomes for children

excellent understanding of what is good for them through offering a choice of healthy snacks which have often been grown by the children themselves in the sensory garden. Meal times are social occasions during which children sit together and chat as they independently serve themselves. Children take pride in themselves and have consideration for all others. Staff make great use of praise and confidence building techniques to successfully teach children to respond enthusiastically, play cooperatively and as a result their behaviour is exemplary. Children develop skills for the future as they are confident communicators who competently the use computers and interactive white board to support them in their learning. The use of ICT is fully embedded throughout all the rooms in the pre-school, although on some occasions the presentation of these resources limit children's personal choice on how best to access them. The settings commitment

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and outcomes for children

to sustainability is excellent as staff encouraged children to recycle items or to make compost which is then used to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables in the pre-school garden. 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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