St Paul's Pre-School

St Paul's Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY248608 Inspection date 12/05/2011 Inspector Alison Weaver

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Setting address The Presbytery, St. Pauls RC Church, Hazelgrove Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 3PQ Telephone number 07986 355812 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

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

St Paul's Pre-School opened in 2002. It operates from St Paul's RC Church in Haywards Heath. The group has sole use of a small unit with two play rooms. The group opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 8.45am to 12 noon. Afternoon sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are from 1.00pm to 3.30pm. Children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

The provision is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 26 children aged under eight may attend at any one time; of these no more than 26 may be in the Early Years age group and of these none may be aged under 3 years at any one time. There are currently 58 children on roll in the early years age range who attend various sessions. The provision provides funded early education for three and four-year olds. Children come from a wide catchment area. The setting currently supports a number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and also supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The setting employs six staff. There are four staff, including the manager, who hold appropriate Early Years qualifications. One other member of staff is working towards a recognised qualification. There are two staff with Qualified Teacher Status.

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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 appear extremely happy and settled. They have a wonderful time at the setting, building excellent relationships with adults and other children. They make significant gains in their learning as they thoroughly enjoy an extensive and stimulating range of experiences that suitably challenge them. Children's health, safety and well-being are significantly enhanced by extremely effective procedures that are implemented well by skilled staff. Highly effective partnerships with parents help meet children's individual needs and extend their learning at home. Overall, good partnerships are formed with outside agencies and other child-care providers to share relevant information and help every child achieve. The management is committed to sustaining improvement through rigorous ongoing self-evaluation and the identification of clear and achievable plans.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  further develop two-way links with other providers who share the care and education of individual children in order to promote continuity and coherence in their learning.

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the early years provision

Staff give high priority to safeguarding children at all times. They show an excellent awareness of safeguarding issues and of how to protect children in their care. They have good knowledge of their responsibility to report any concerns regarding possible abuse or neglect of any child within their care. Regular training in safeguarding is actively encouraged so that staff keep their knowledge up to date. There are robust policies and procedures in place that significantly enhance children's safety and welfare. Effective recruitment, vetting and induction procedures also help to safeguard children. Very effective risk assessments are carried out and reviewed efficiently following any incident in order to keep children safe. As a result, children can move independently and safely around the premises.

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the early years provision

The environment, both indoors and outdoors, is very conducive to learning and it is managed extremely well. Staff regularly review the use of the different areas and this helps to ensure that children thrive at the setting. Excellent use of the high quality resources is made to support children's learning and development. Staff use the resources and planned activities to help children learn about the society they live in. Staff are highly effective at ensuring that all children are well integrated and they take positive steps to narrow any gaps in children's achievement. This results in all children making very good progress in relation to their capabilities and starting points. Very good partnerships with interagency teams are in place and these help to ensure that each child gets the ongoing support they need as soon as possible. The setting is in the process of developing links with other providers

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the early years provision

who share the care and education of individual children in order to promote continuity in their learning and development.

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the early years provision

Staff form highly positive relationships with parents. Parents feel extremely involved in the setting and feel well informed about their child's progress and well- being. They expressed how happy they were with the 'nurturing and pastoral care' provided for the children. They have regular opportunities to see and contribute to their child's learning records. Parental views are highly valued by staff and parents are actively encouraged to be involved in the decision-making about the setting. For example, their views are sought in questionnaires and any suggestions are implemented where practical. This has resulted in the improvement of the garden and the introduction of the white board giving information to parents about activities and themes.

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the early years provision

The staff team show a very strong commitment to improving the quality of the provision. Rigorous and extensive monitoring and evaluation of the provision enable the setting to devise exceptionally well targeted and well focused plans for improvement. These have a very significant impact on children's experiences and help them make excellent progress. All staff are involved in this reflective practice and contribute to the action plans. They all take on responsibilities for critically This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 reviewing different areas of the provision and this results in improved outcomes for children, and a sense of ownershiop by staff.

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and outcomes for children

Staff create a highly stimulating and welcoming environment for children and parents. They plan and provide varied and imaginative experiences that meet the needs of all children exceedingly well. High quality observations and ongoing assessments of each child are used extremely effectively to inform future planning. Staff use excellent questioning techniques to encourage children to express their views and develop their communication skills. Children are made to feel good about themselves as they participate in small group activities such as skittles. They take pride in their achievements and talk happily about their paintings. They are involved in making decisions together and show good cooperation with their friends. All children are valued and engage in a wide range of activities that help them learn to respect diversity, ragardless of ability.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit enormously from an extremely well laid out, safe and well- resourced setting. They confidently make their own choices about what to play with and so develop high levels of independence. Children concentrate extremely well on self-chosen tasks such as threading, the puppet theatre and the computer. They enjoy creating collages and access a wide variety of creative materials and tools from the low storage that is clearly labelled. They have fun acting out different scenarios as they use the castle and theatre they have made.

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and outcomes for children

The setting is committed to promoting equality and diversity. Ramps have recently been installed in the garden area to increase access for all children regardless of physical ability. There are a number of children at the setting who speak English as an additional language and the staff show excellent skills in helping both the children and their families to intergrate and feel at home. The staff learn appropriate phrases in the home language and use an online translation service to increase clear communication with parents.

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and outcomes for children

Skills for the future are very well promoted; children's language development is excellent and their understanding of number is also very good. They love to choose favourite stories and become involved in discussing the pictures and predict what might happen next. The print-rich environment helps children see and understand that print carries meaning. Children experience different forms of technology, for example, as they make their own talking books. They happily take turns on the computer and offer each other advice on how to play the computer games. Children problem solve well as they work out how to fix the train-track together.

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and outcomes for children

Children show an extremely strong sense of security and belonging. They readily approach staff members to introduce themselves and ask for help. Children safely use all the different toys and equipment. Their awareness of safety issues is developing exceptionally well as can be seen when they practise crossing 'roads' in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the outdoor area.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop a good understanding of the importance of healthy lifestyles. They adopt good personal hygiene practices and show they understand why they need to wash their hands; they talk about the impact of germs on their own health. They make healthy choices at snack times as they help themselves to food and drinks. They show exceptional levels of independence and coordination as they pour their own drinks and spread their own crackers.

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and outcomes for children

Children love to play outdoors in the beautiful and stimulating garden where there is a range of plants for them to care for. They negotiate obstacles very well as they ride round on wheeled toys. They have a wonderful time pouring, sieving and digging in the sand. Children like to use their senses to explore dough and seashells. They have fun playing at an egg and spoon race together.

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and outcomes for children

Overall, this is a very efficient and well organised setting. Children make excellent progress thanks to the care of committed and skilled staff. 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 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 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 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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