Long Clawson Pre School

Long Clawson Pre School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY352719 Inspection date 04/07/2011 Inspector Alex Brouder

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Setting address Village Hall, Back Lane, Long Clawson, Melton Mowbray, LE14 4NA Telephone number 01664 822073 Email fionaking01@yahoo.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.

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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

Long Clawson Pre School originally opened in the 1970's and moved to the current premises in 2007. It now operates from the new Community Centre in the village of Long Clawson, Leicestershire. A maximum of 40 children may attend the setting at any one time. The pre-school is open during school term-time on a Monday, Thursday and Friday from 9.10am until 12.10pm with the option to stay with packed lunch until 1.10pm or through to closing at 3.10pm. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 31 children aged from two to under five years on roll. Of these, 24 children receive funding for early education. The pre-school serves the local and surrounding rural areas. The pre-school is able to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities as well as those who have English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The setting employs five members of staff, all of whom have at least a National Vocational Qualification to Level 3 in early years with one member of staff working towards Early Years Professional Status. The setting is managed by a parent committee, who delegate day-to-day management responsibility to the person in charge.

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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

Long Clawson pre-school provides a safe and stimulating environment for children, which overall enables them to make very good progress in their learning and development. Children are valued and their individuality and uniqueness is recognised and supported very well. Arrangements to include parents in children's learning and to ensure that they are well informed of the progress children make is excellent. Strong partnerships are established with the local school and others, which support children's smooth transition into school and their continued learning in the pre-school. Overall, a comprehensive range of policies and procedures are in place to support children's health, safety and well-being. Systems to evaluate and improve practice to secure continuous improvement are good and include the opinion of users and staff at the setting.

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further?

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

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further?

 improve the planning to ensure that adult-led activities offer differentiation and challenge to ensure that children are able to practice their skills in all areas of learning  review the system for appraisal to ensure that methods are in place to show This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 that all those that work directly with children remain suitable to do so.

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the early years provision

Children are cared for in a safe and secure setting in which the warm and welcoming staff team are deployed to ensure that children are very well supervised in the spacious play areas, both indoors and out. Robust recruitment and vetting procedures ensure the suitability of staff to work with the children. Good appraisal systems are in place enabling the manager to monitor and support staff in their on-going development. However, as yet, systems to ensure staffs on-going suitability are not yet robust. Children are well safeguarded as staff are clear in the procedures to follow should they have a concern regarding a child's welfare. In addition, regular training is offered to enable staff to keep up-to-date with any changes in legislation. Due to the nature of the setting, toys and resources are set up before children arrive. However, staff offer children a 'choosing book', enabling them to add to or change the resources should they wish to. Staff demonstrate an

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the early years provision

exemplary commitment to improving outcomes for children by developing their own knowledge through on-going training, for example, 'Every Child a Talker', which promotes communication, language and literacy. Self evaluation is good and takes on board the views of staff and parents to ensure that all aspects of the provision are monitored and evaluated to support improvements.

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the early years provision

Partnership working at this setting is very strong and has a positive impact on children's feelings of belonging and well-being. For example, parents are warmly welcomed into the setting and staff take time to speak with them and share any information on their child and the day they have had. In addition, a range of useful information is displayed on the noticeboard in the foyer, along with a synopsis of what children have been doing each day. Parents are involved in their children's learning and development as they are invited to add their own comments in their child's learning journeys and regular meetings are offered with parents to enable them to view their child's achievements. Very good links have been established with the local school that most children will attend, along with schools and nurseries in the wider area. The teachers from the school also visit the setting and meetings with children's key workers from other Early Years settings take place to

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the early years provision

ensure that all children's learning and development is supported. This highly effective partnership culture contributes significantly to a consistent approach and a smooth transition. The setting has a very good understanding of working with outside agencies to support children who have identified needs.

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the early years provision

A truly inclusive environment is offered to each and every child, ensuring that all are treated as unique individuals and with respect. Staff take time to get to know each individual child and their families to ensure that, from the very beginning, the environment is able to offer them play and resources suited to their needs and abilities. Children take part in activities that enable them to be part of the community, for example, going on nature walks and having visitors come into the setting, such as police officers. Their awareness of the wider world is very well promoted as they take part in activities, for example, to find out about the pyramids in Egypt and the impact that volcanoes can have on the atmosphere. 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 health and safety is very well supported within this setting. They enjoy snack time in which they are offered foods that support their health and well- being, such as crackers, fruit and cut up vegetables. They begin to learn about the impact that exercise has on their bodies as they run on the spot and staff speak to them about how 'fast' their heartbeats are and how this is good 'exercise'. Some children begin to use tissues to clean their nose and staff remind them to use the hand wipes before snack to 'wipe away the germs'. All children have free-flow access to the outdoors in which they explore their large and small physical skills in a variety of ways, for example, as they expertly use the scooter, pushing one foot along the ground and balance with the other foot, and as they use spades to dig and explore in the mud. Children are beginning to learn about personal safety as they are included in the fire evacuation procedure and are observed to handle and

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and outcomes for children

use small and large equipment appropriately, for example, as they manoeuvre the bikes expertly around the outdoor area.

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and outcomes for children

All children are fully included in the setting because staff ensure that the available activities and resources are set out to enable children to access them easily and freely. They take part in a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated play and all areas of learning are covered within the planning which frequently link to children's interests and ideas. This ensures that all children are engaged in their play and able to work extremely well independently and in working alongside their peers. For example, children were observed to use the large range of role play equipment to support their role as 'vets', using the soft toys and doctors kit to assess the health of the animals and explain to a member of staff that their dog was 'very poorly and needed to have medicine'. Staff have a very good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and of the six areas of learning that underpin this.

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and outcomes for children

They use observation very well to identify children's progress and use this to plan their next steps. However, at times staff do not always incorporate appropriate challenge or differentiation into planned activities which may impact on their ability to extend children's skills.

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and outcomes for children

Children behave well and this is supported through good role modelling by staff and lots of praise and encouragement. They show by their actions that they are beginning to understand the rules for harmonious play, for example, as children ask if they can have one of the cars from another child and as they spontaneously apologise to each other if they upset or hurt one another. Children's social skills are good. This is developed through small and large group activities in which children learn to sit and listen to others and wait their turn to speak, doing so confidently and easily. Children's language skills are very good and they happily converse with known adults and visitors to the setting. They have a great enjoyment of books and are observed to spend time alone or in small groups looking through these and 'reading' to one another. Children have many opportunities to make marks and can choose from a good range of pens, pencils

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and outcomes for children

and chalks, for example, to draw on paper or on the path in the outdoor area. Children's skills in ICT are very good and they are adept at handling and using This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 simple programmes on the computer, the interactive globe and a range of battery- operated equipment.

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and outcomes for children

Children's skills in problem-solving are supported as they use a variety of puzzles, construction equipment and spades and buckets. They recognise and use numbers in their play. For example, a group of children were observed to 'read' a list of numbers that a member of staff had recorded as their 'phone number' and dialled this correctly on the play phone. Their imagination is very good and they enthusiastically engage in a range of play equipment to support this area to extend their ideas. For example, a child got their 'car' stuck in the mud outside. Another child noticed this, got on the 'tractor', reversed this and 'hooked' the car onto the tractor, successfully managing to release them from the mud. Their knowledge and understanding of the world is very good. They explore a variety of festivals throughout the year and look at countries around the world, linking this to events that happen in the news, for example, the earthquake in Japan. In addition, they

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and outcomes for children

learn about the planets in the solar system and older children recall what these are called and know that Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon. Children engage in many creative activities, such as gluing, painting, drawing, digging in the mud and sand and water play. They love to sing and play games and, in particular, like to play 'sleeping lions', squealing with excitement as they try to catch the person that has disturbed their 'sleep'. 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 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 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 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 2 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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