Loreto College

The Manor Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 130503 Inspection date 10/05/2011 Inspector Maura Pigram

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Setting address Bhaktivedanta Manor, Dharam Marg, Hilfield Lane,, Aldenham, Hertfordshire, WD25 8EZ Telephone number 01923851000 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

The Manor Pre-School registered in 1990 and operates from a purpose built building within the Hare Krishna Temple site in Watford, Hertfordshire. The pre- school serves the local area and families attend from further distances. The pre- school is accessible to all children and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play. The site also offers extensive grounds for children to explore, this includes a lake with ducks and geese, cows and many different gardens.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school opens Monday to Friday during school term times. Sessions are from 9.30am until 12.30pm. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. A maximum of 12 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 15 children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The pre-school provides funded early education for two, three and four-year-olds. The group supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school employs four members of childcare staff. Of these, three hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. One member of staff is working towards a level 3 qualification. The pre-school receives support from the local authority and an early years qualified teacher who is based on-site in the Manor School.

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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

The manager is extremely experienced and is an excellent role model. She and her staff are totally committed to creating the best possible outcomes for the children. Each child is fully included and they know individual children extremely well. There are extremely effective procedures in place to ensure children's physical and emotional security. A strong partnership with parents and other settings ensures consistency of care and so that children achieve their full potential. Her self- evaluation is thorough and enables her to continually improve the provision, such as the development of the outdoor area, parents views are included. Although, children's views are welcome and known, these are yet to be included in the self- evaluation process.

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further?

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

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further?

 lead a culture of reflective practice, self-evaluation and informed discussion to identify the setting's strengths and priorities for development that will This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 improve the quality of provision for all children.

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the early years provision

All staff have a comprehensive awareness of safeguarding issues, regular training ensures all knowledge is up-to-date and everyone is very familiar with procedures to follow which help safeguard children's welfare. Secure recruitment and vetting procedures including the successful induction of new staff or students ensures adults working with children are suitable to do so. Children display a high awareness of safety issues and recognise and understand how to keep themselves safe. For example, they know to check children are clear of their intended runway when playing with cars and carts on the ramp outside. Detailed risk assessments ensure all areas used by children are extremely safe. In addition, a daily checklist helps the manager to easily identify any potential dangers. This, together with the detailed risk assessments for outings and the good use of publications, such as safe visits to farms, means children are as safe as possible at all times.

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the early years provision

The manager is passionate about her work with children and is committed to ensuring each individual child is highly valued. Positive steps are taken to ensure all children are well integrated, value others and understand the society in which they live. For example, all cultures and backgrounds are purposefully celebrated, such as through drama, dancing and trying different food items used during various celebrations. Staff have an exceptional knowledge of children's backgrounds and needs so that children can be helped to achieve as much as they can given their starting points. There is a high ratio of staff who are clear about their roles and responsibilities including key person duties. They extremely well deployed and interact exceptionally well with children at all times. Continual opportunities for training ensure staffs knowledge and skills are updated and enhanced. In addition, the excellent use of teaching resources means that all

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the early years provision

children flourish in this vibrant nursery. Most parties are involved in the rigorous monitoring and continually evaluate what is done well and what needs to be improved. This means that actions taken are well targeted and an excellent impact on children's outcomes. The environment is inviting, child friendly and conducive to learning and safe. The broad range of resources are of high quality and are continually reviewed and added to suit the needs of all children attending.

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the early years provision

Parents are exceptionally pleased with the service provided. They feel overwhelmed by the wealth of knowledge their children learn and the high standard of care shown to their children throughout their time at the nursery. Parents and carers are heavily involved in the pre-school and activities in which their children participate in. For example, parents regularly take part in a broad range of activities at the nursery, such as, story telling, drama sessions, magic and puppet shows. In addition, they are well informed about their children's achievements and how their learning can be successfully supported. For example, informative newsletters are tailored to provide guidance on precise ways parents and carers can support their children's learning, such as the imaginative adaptation of well-known nursery rhymes to reinforce an effective knowledge and understanding of numercy. The manager recognises the value of continuous

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the early years provision

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 quality improvement and how it impacts on children's achievement. For example, they engage with local authority early years consultants and have developed a strong partnership with early years teachers. She is highly committed to working in partnership with others and takes a lead role in developing strong links with other childcare professionals, such as other professionals from the children's centre. In addition, visits to other provisions which are felt to be of value to the children's welfare and learning are regularly arranged. This means that good practice can be shared. Children are included in these events if these are considered to be beneficial for them. This means that there are well established channels of communication between all partners involved with individual children which successfully promotes their learning, development and welfare.

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and outcomes for children

Children have access to a wonderful range of resources that are stimulating and provide valuable learning opportunities. Since the last inspection, recommendations have been successfully addressed and a vibrant and exciting outdoor area has been created. The design of the outdoor area means that children can enjoy free-flow play between the indoor and outdoor environment all year round. Children enjoy their play together and have plenty of free choice and many opportunities to develop new skills. They safely use the wide range of resources, such as, carts, wheeled toys, climbing equipment, sand areas and gardening areas. They understand safety issues when using the outdoor ramp with their wheeled toys. Excited children are calmly reminded of this so that they can develop an excellent understanding of ensuring others as well as themselves are safe.

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and outcomes for children

The long term staff have an excellent knowledge of child development and the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements. Teaching is rooted in expert knowledge of how children learn and progress. Continual training and discussions with other early years practitioners means that information gained is used very effectively to guide planning. Planning covers all areas of learning and is flexible to successfully allow for individual preferences. In addition, parents contribute to planning by completing documents, such as children's ongoing interests, these are provided to parents on a regular basis. Staff make purposeful observations and confidently access where children are in their learning which helps them plan for their next steps in their learning. Using all of the information gathered allows staff to plan for individual and their preferred learning styles so they make excellent progress in all areas of learning.

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and outcomes for children

Consistent positive interaction and encouragement promote children's high levels of self-esteem and ensure they develop a positive and enthusiastic attitude to learning. Children are relaxed with the staff who are attentive and affectionate. For example, children's voices are listened to and staff respond with interest and open questions to help children process their thoughts and ideas. Children develop excellent skills for the future, they work extremely well independently using their own initiative and develop excellent skills in working alongside their peers. For example, they initiate an activity of printing using stamps containing letters. They This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 willingly help each other to search for letters requested, they helpfully respond saying 'here it is for you or is this what you need'? Older children confidently print their name and that of their friends. Extremely good use is made of resources to

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and outcomes for children

support children who have English as an additional language. For example, interactive books using technology to be able to choose the child's home language contributes to children feeling highly valued and enables them to use their home language during their play. This contributes effectively to them gaining a secure understanding of new languages.

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and outcomes for children

Children confidently climb on crates and assist their peers as necessary. They use their imagination extremely well. For example, they pretend the crates are a train and take turns driving as drivers and passengers as they take a journey to 'London' and to 'camping'. Extremely good questioning from the manager enables children to extend their language and understanding. Children confidently re-call events of recent holidays including the Royal Wedding. Staff made excellent use of this interest to support children's development in mark making, literacy and creativity For example, following on from the adult-led intended activity children decided to design wedding dresses, wedding cakes and flags. Children use a wide variety of tools for mark making and developing their awareness of numercy both indoors and outdoors. They recognise their own names through the self-registration system which also uses photographs to enable all children to recognise

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and outcomes for children

themselves. All children show an exceptional understanding of good personal hygiene routines and regularly assist with the preparation of the healthy and nutritious snacks provided. Adult-led activities of making smoothies, chopping vegetables and making fruit kebabs ensure children develop an excellent understanding of healthy eating. Every opportunity is used to develop children's leaning. For example, the fruit kebab activity is used to help children understand sequencing. Overall, children are provided with rich, varied and imaginative experiences that meet the needs of all children exceedingly well. 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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