Menston Infant School

Twyford Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 127736 Inspection date 08/04/2011 Inspector Susan Scott

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Setting address Lyngs Close, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6JT

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Telephone number 07970981794 Email stevesandys@tiscali.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

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

Twyford Pre School opened in 1960. It operates from the village hall in Yalding and under a separate registration as Twyford Pre School Advanced on a Wednesday from a school room at Yalding Primary School. The Pre School serves the local area.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 31 children from two years to five years on roll. This includes 18 funded three and four year olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Systems are in place to support children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The group opens four days a week at the village hall venue, during school term times. Sessions are from 9:15am until 12:15pm, on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and from 12:15pm until 3:30pm on a Thursday afternoon as needed.

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Description of the setting

There are seven members of staff working with the children, six of whom have early years qualifications. The group receives support from the Local Authority.

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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 uniqueness of each child is recognised by staff who provides good support for individuals and their families. Children's individual interests and skills are observed and assessed although these are not consistently used efficiently to plan for their progress in all areas of learning and development. Children feel safe because there are good systems in place to safeguard their welfare and promote their health. They benefit from the welcoming environment and the close relationships between the staff and other agencies involved in their care. Staff use self-evaluation to identify improvements they can make and they attend training in order to continuously improve the service offered.

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further?

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

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further?

 enable children's next steps to be being clearly identified and used in leading future planning  develop the use of the Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage so that all practitioners are familiar with the content of the areas of learning and development in order to support children's learning and development  maintain all records for the safe and efficient management of the setting, for This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 example, number the pages of the accident and medication records

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the early years provision

The staff form a stable and welcoming team who are keen to build upon the positive experiences children have here. They are vigilant and have a clear understanding of their duty to safeguard children from harm. The pre-school has the required policies and procedures in place to safeguard children and to ensure their welfare. However, the accident and administration of medication records are recorded on loose leaf pages but there is no system to make certain these sheets are retained or preserved sequentially, for example, by numbering the pages. The staff protect children's welfare by ensuring all adults who come into the building do not have unsupervised access to children. There are risk assessments to enable children to be kept safe both inside the building, when they go outside and on local trips. The certificates of registration and insurance are displayed and the policies and procedures, including one for complaints, are available to visitors and

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the early years provision

The supervisor and staff evaluate practice to ensure children have good experiences here. They have taken positive action to address all previous recommendations and to keep improving the provision. The staff have completed a self-evaluation although this is not online and use feedback from parents to identify improvements they can make. Staff attend training and share what they have learned to bring about improvements. Children now benefit from playing in a spacious and attractive environment that offers good opportunities for challenging outdoor play. They can access a selection of toys and resources that are supplemented by staff who respond to requests they make; this mostly supports children's interest in their play and learning. Children celebrate various festivals which support their understanding of different cultures and staff use a variety of resources reflecting diversity to ensure they develop a balanced view of society.

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the early years provision

The staff are happy to work with other organisations that are involved with children who attend in order to provide effective support. They support parents in seeking advice from specialists so that children's needs can be identified and supported effectively. Staff note children's development from the time they start here and there are procedures in place to support the individual needs of all children and families who attend the setting. Children have unique story books which go home on a regular basis which record their experiences and progress. Parents support this process by record information about of children's development and how their children are progressing which develops good communication with parents. Parental contributions are valued and information is gathered when questionnaires are used, so that any individual ideas and concerns are addressed. Parents express their positive feelings about the service their children receive and

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the early years provision

have confidence in the staff who deliver an enjoyable experience for their children. This enables staff to support and include all children successfully. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy a varied range of play activities to support their progress towards the early learning goals. Adults work closely with them, listening to what they say and enabling them to express their own ideas and interests. Children are able to choose activities from some resources in low units but staff also fetch toys and items they particularly like or may request from store cupboards. The staff do not consistently use observational assessments to enable them to identify the children's next steps across every area of learning and development. Staff are currently using plans covering all areas of learning but these only reflect the learning priorities for a small number of children at present. However, staff generally support children well, developing their skills through activities and routines although the new planning system is not sufficiently robust yet.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from good procedures to protect their safety as they are cared for in very clean, attractive and spacious premises where there are good safety measures in place. They are confident enough to ask staff for help whenever needed and there are well practised procedures to evacuate the premises if needed. There are good security measures in place and effective safety measures taken when they go out in the local community. Children enjoy facilities for outdoor play every session, using a range of equipment that encourages an active lifestyle. For example, they use the play house and confidently access the balcony by using a ladder or climbing up the special climbing wall. Staff encourage children to extend their physical skills by using the fireman's pole to descend safely. Children are accustomed to independently washing their hands, helping themselves to soap and they are able to describe they need to wash their hands is

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and outcomes for children

to make sure there are no germs present which protects their good health. Snack routines provide staff with opportunities to promote discussions about healthy eating and children have grown their own vegetables to increase their understanding of food and how it is produced.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn desirable behaviour through the routines, for instance, by passing cups and plates to others when they have their snack and they enjoy pouring themselves drinks. Children's understanding of right and wrong is successfully promoted through consistent boundaries which enable them to take turns and share. They have positive relationships with adults who praise them and offer recognition for helpful behaviour or achievements: this develops their self esteem and confidence.

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and outcomes for children

Children experience activities which offer choices and are supplemented by the choices they request from staff. For example, they engage in art and craft activities and participate in imaginative role play. They like to dress up wearing costumes, such as Spiderman which encourages their role play. They enjoy playing with dolls and enjoy the opportunities to communicate with each other and adults about their play. Children benefit from regular sessions of music and movement in the large and spacious hall which are delivered by a visiting specialist. They experience some visits from the local policeman and firemen and enjoy using various community areas, such as their secret garden which is nearby. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children access construction blocks and a wooden car on the floor where they enjoy playing games using these toys in small, fluid groups. This reveals their

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and outcomes for children

ability to play harmoniously together and make positive relationships with each other. They like to draw and older children are proud of their ability to write their names and some numerals. There are good opportunities for all children to independently access name labels to help them learn to recognise their names during registration, snack time and show and tell routines. Children explore using various materials such as cornflour gloop and are able to use computers for a variety of activities.

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and outcomes for children

Children participate in confidently engage in play which they initiate and play experiences planned and organised by adults. For example, they are encouraged to play with various bats and balls and show good physical skills. When staff are able to guide and prompt them, children's play is sustained and extended, but there are occasions when their play is not effectively supported and they do not fully explore or investigate the resources. This occasionally happens when adults are unsure of the intended aims of different types of play and how to extend their thinking. 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 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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