St Mary's Under 5's Preschool

St Mary's Under 5's Preschool Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY420241 Inspection date 03/05/2011 Inspector Christine Hodge

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Setting address St. Marys under 5's Pre-School, Recreation Ground, London Road, GREENHITHE, Kent, DA9 9DQ Telephone number 07961886771 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

St Mary's Under Fives Pre- School is run by a parent committee and has been operating since1980. The pre-school moved into a brand new purpose build building on the other side of Stone recreation ground, near Dartford in November 2010. The group has sole use of the building which consists of two large play rooms divided by a sliding partition, a quiet / sensory room, toilet facilities, kitchen, office and staff room . There is a fully enclosed outside play area.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is open each weekday for morning sessions from 8.30am to11.30pm and afternoon sessions from 12.15pm to 3.15pm, term time only. The group is registered on the Early Years Register to care for a maximum of 40 children in the early years age group, of these 12 maybe under three years and none under two years. There are currently 60 children on roll. The pre-school receives funding to provide nursery education for three and four year olds and supports children who have additional needs and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

A team of 11 staff are employed to work with the children, 10 of whom hold a Level 3 qualification. The manager has been in post since 2007 and holds a NVQ Level 3 in Childcare and an Open University Level 4 in Advanced Practice Occupational Standards. Both she and her deputy are currently studying for a Foundation Degree in Early Years. The pre-school receives support and advice from Kent County Council.

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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 make excellent progress towards the early learning goals in this inclusive and stimulating setting. Careful monitoring of individual children enables staff to plan learning experiences to suit the needs of each child. The pre- school effectively supports children with additional needs and English as a second language. Strong and established partnerships with parents and other professionals contribute to ensuring that children's learning and welfare needs are consistently met. Children' s health and safety is given high priority and is underpinned by comprehensive policies and procedures that are shared with parents. The management and staff are committed to providing a high standard of care and to continuous improvement. This is achieved through comprehensive systems for reflective practice and evaluation of the setting's practice and through attending on going training.

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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?

 continuing to implement areas for future improvement as identified through self- evaluation and reflective practice

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the early years provision

Leadership and management of the pre-school is strong, ensuring that children's welfare and developmental needs are extremely well met. Children are kept safe because the pre-school has comprehensive safeguarding policies and systems in place to ensure that staff are fully aware of their role and responsibility for protecting children in line with Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures. A high priority is given to risk assessments both inside the setting and in the garden. Effective security systems prevent unwanted visitors from gaining access and children from leaving the premises. Rigorous recruitment procedures ensure that all staff working with children are suitable to do so. Staff are well deployed at all times and the pre-school has good systems in place to ensure that ratios are continually met. All required documentation and records are in place and are well maintained.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents is given high priority and parents collecting children offer very positive feedback on the care and information received about the setting and their children's progress. The pre-school is run by a parents committee so they have direct input into their children's education. For those not on the committee the pre-school has parent meetings, the unique story and surveys. When a child first starts, staff ask a lot of questions as to child's likes, needs and starting points and encourage parents to stay with the child to share their first days experience. Staff actively encourage key person/ parent interaction at drop off and pick up times through ensuring key persons are on the floor to welcome children and to greet parents. Parents are given daily updates on their child via key person as they collect them. Parents are offered parents meetings and a unique child story for a more formal contribution. The pre-school has strong working relationships with

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the early years provision

other childcare professionals and local schools.

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the early years provision

The pre- school has an inclusive approach and promotes diversity and equal opportunities at all times. Children with English as an additional language and children with additional learning needs are very well supported within the setting. The stimulating environment is rich in visual displays, pictures, posters, photographs and displays of topics and children's art work. The premises are attractively set out with an extensive range of good quality play resources and activities that cover all areas of children' s learning and encourage them to be active and independent learners, both indoors and outdoors. The enthusiastic and committed staff team work very effectively together and are supported well in their continuous professional development. They demonstrate a high level of ambition to provide good quality care and to continually improve outcomes for children. All staff are fully involved in the self-evaluation process and a parent suggestion box

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the early years provision

and parent questionnaires ensure that parents are involved in the process of identifying further improvements. The group currently has plans in place to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 transform part of the outside area into a growing and natural area for children and has sought help from parents and funding from local businesses. The deputy is looking into the possibility of taking children to a local Forest School initiative.

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and outcomes for children

Children make excellent progress in the learning because staff have good information about their starting points, observe them closely and plan carefully to meet their individual needs. Staff carry out regular observations of their key children to support their knowledge of children's needs, interests and skills. The information is used to plan activities to ensure children are moved on to the next steps in their learning. The pre-school has very good systems in place to support children with additional needs and children with English as a second language Children's progress is currently recorded in tracker books and each child has a unique child story book which is completed by both parents and key workers.

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and outcomes for children

Children relish their time spent at the pre-school and demonstrate a strong sense of belonging. They forge good friendships and develop warm and close relationships with the staff. Children move confidently and freely around the indoor and outdoor play areas and eagerly take part in an extensive balance of child initiated and adult led activities that cover the six areas of learning. Children are happy and confident as they learn new skills and develop their independence. For example, making choices about their play, self selecting resources, choosing when to have a snack and taking themselves to the toilet. Adults support children well by joining in their play and constantly talking to them and listening to their responses, in order to encourage their communication and thinking skills. Children confidently use language to talk about past and present experiences and to organise their play. They develop an enjoyment of books in the well resourced book area and by

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and outcomes for children

selecting books to take home with them. They enjoy sitting and looking at books on their own, listening to stories read to them by adults and telling stories themselves. For example, a four year boy sits with a member of staff and another child and confidently tells them a story while they act out the story using puppets. Children are confident at recognising their own names at self- registration and enjoy practising their emergent writing. They have many opportunities to develop their problem solving and numeracy skills and enjoy taking part in various matching and sorting games. As a result older children confidently recognise numbers and colours and count to ten and beyond Children have excellent opportunities to develop their creativity and imaginations in the extensively resourced art and craft, small world and role play areas. They enjoy developing their technology skills using cameras, electronic toys and the computer. They have

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and outcomes for children

great fun learning about nature and the wider world through various themes and topics, planting activities, nature walks, the celebration of different festivals and positive image play resources.

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and outcomes for children

Comprehensive policies and procedures underpin the pre-school's excellent practice and are used effectively to ensure that all aspects of children's health and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 welfare are fully promoted. The premises are clean and maintained to a high standard. Children learn about staying safe and to adopt healthy lifestyles. They enjoy free flow between the indoor and outdoor play areas and take part in a wide range of physical activities. Children learn the importance of good hygiene practices and healthy eating. Visual pictures and posters in different languages help to remind children about the importance of hand washing and to make healthy choices about what they eat. Children can decide when they want a drink and something to eat as the snack bar is open for most of the session. During this time they can help themselves to cereal and fresh fruit with a choice of water,

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and outcomes for children

juice or milk to drink. Staff and children have devised golden rules for the expectations for behaviour in the setting. This has resulted in the children taking responsibility for keeping themselves and others safe. Staff constantly praise and encourage children's achievements and fully promote their social and independent skills. Consequently children are happy, confident and well behaved. The excellent range of carefully planned activities and learning experiences provided give children a very good basis for their future 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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