Lilypad Preschool

Lilypad Preschool Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY338740 Inspection date 08/07/2011 Inspector Julie Sackett

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Setting address Bishops Waltham County Infant School, Oak Road, SOUTHAMPTON, SO32 1EP Telephone number 01489892375 Email adminoffice@bishopswaltham.hants.sch.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

Lily Pad Pre-school was registered in 2006 and is situated in Bishops Waltham in Hampshire. The pre-school is managed by a voluntary management committee made up of parents of children at the pre-school and members of the community. It operates from a classroom within Bishops Waltham Infant School. It also has the use of an enclosed outdoor area and sometimes uses other rooms in the school. The pre-school is open during term time from 8.45am to 3.15pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and from 8.45am to 11.45am on Fridays. A maximum of 24 children aged from two to under five years of age may attend the pre-school at any one time. There are currently 51 children on roll, all of whom are within the early years age range. This includes 32 children who receive early years funding for three and four year olds. At the time of the inspection 18 children were present. The group supports children with special

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Description of the setting

educational needs and/or disabilities and children for whom English is a second language. The pre-school employs eight members of staff. The supervisor and deputy manager have both attained National Vocational Qualification at level 3 (NVQ L3). In addition, two members of staff have attained NVQ at level 3 and four have attained NVQ at level 2. The club is on the Early Years register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare register.

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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 overall quality of the provision is good. Relationships between adults and children are strong so that children feel very safe and secure and quickly grow in confidence. Adults are well qualified and guide children appropriately, although sometimes they miss opportunities to use questioning to extend children's thinking. Adults' knowledge of individual children's interests and needs, combined with good partnerships with parents and carers and other professionals, ensures that the learning needs of individual children are supported very well. Effective self- evaluation procedures mean that the setting has an accurate picture of its strengths and development needs and demonstrates a good capacity to make further improvements.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure that adults' questions have a consistently clear focus on learning to stimulate and extend children's thinking and accelerate their progress both indoors and in the outdoor area  use snack time as an opportunity for adults to sit and interact with the children to support the development of social and CLL skills. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Robust steps are taken to safeguard children. Systematic safeguarding checks mean that all risks have been assessed so that the premises are safe and staff vetting and suitability checks are fully in place. The setting is well supervised and well managed. Staff training and induction arrangements ensure that adults have a good knowledge of safeguarding requirements. For example, adults welcome children individually as they arrive and ensure that the external door is secured as parents and carers leave. Any day-to-day changes in collection arrangements are noted and medication is properly recorded and stored. Policies and records meet requirements and are used very effectively to ensure that children are safe and to promote their welfare. The pre-school offers a wide range of good quality and stimulating activities and resources which are used well to support children's progress, including the use of a secure and well organised outdoor area. Resources

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the early years provision

reflect the diversity of the society in which we live so that children are encouraged to value and respect different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs. Adults are well qualified and work successfully as a team to ensure that all children enjoy their time in the pre-school and make good progress in their learning and development. Adults know the children very well. Regular observations are used to monitor children's progress, identify the next steps in their learning and inform planned activities. Self-evaluation procedures are good and effective in securing improvement. Leaders are committed to ongoing improvement and have been working very positively with the staff and the local authority to accurately identify the strengths and development needs of the pre-school. The views of parents and carers are valued and tools such as questionnaires are used to seek their ideas and opinions. The key issues identified at the time of the last inspection have been addressed in

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the early years provision

full. For example, required policies and procedures are in place and activities are planned well to reflect all six areas of the early years framework. Adults in the pre-school have established very positive and caring relationships with the children and treat all children with respect, regardless of their background or ability. This means that all children are fully involved and included very well. Good partnerships have been established with the school and a range of agencies. These partnerships, combined with very positive relationships with parents and carers, are used effectively to support the pre-school in successfully meeting the needs of the children, including those with special educational needs and/disabilities. Parents and carers are regularly informed about their child's achievements and well-being through individual children's 'Records of Progress' as well as more informal meetings. As a result they know how well the children are

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the early years provision

doing and how they can help at home. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

The pre-school provides a stimulating, inviting and welcoming environment so that children feel comfortable and secure and develop a good sense of belonging. Adults have created colourful themed displays around the room and children's work is widely displayed, so that the pre-school provides an attractive environment in which children's achievements are celebrated so that they quickly grow in self- esteem. Adults actively listen to the children's ideas and views so that they feel valued and quickly grow in confidence. Children work well independently as well as cooperating with their peers. They clearly value the company of their friends and socialise with a variety of children whilst in the pre-school, confidently moving between groups and activities. Children make good progress in the development of independence and confidence because they have regular opportunities to make choices about their activities, in

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and outcomes for children

addition to adult-led activities. They play an active part in their learning and make choices responsibly and sensibly. For example, one child decided to make a card for his mummy and happily selected a foam butterfly from the trolley to stick onto his card. Adults demonstrate a good knowledge of the learning, development and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Their enthusiasm is infectious so that children are fully engaged and very much enjoy their time in pre-school. Most adults make good use of questioning to explore and extend children's understanding. For example, one adult skilfully questioned a child about how many toy snakes he had in a pile each time he added another snake. This successfully reinforced and extended the child's thinking so that he made good progress in the development of mathematical skills whilst he was playing. However, occasionally adults' questions are not sufficiently focused on learning to stimulate and extend

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and outcomes for children

children's thinking. This means that opportunities to maximize learning and accelerate children's progress are sometimes missed. Regular assessments of the children's understanding are completed and used to plan activities which interest the children and meet their learning and development needs so that they make consistently good progress, including those children whose circumstances make them vulnerable and children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Good relationships and clear expectations mean that children behave well. They enjoy playing an active role in the pre-school and make a positive contribution. For example, several children enthusiastically helped during snack time by using tongs to give out pieces of fruit, vegetable and toast. Children eat their snacks with relish and this makes a good contribution to the development of healthy lifestyles. They sit at tables to eat and demonstrate good table manners. However, opportunities

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and outcomes for children

are missed to use this time to develop children's social and communication skills further by ensuring that an adult sits with them to initiate and support conversation. Children show a good awareness of how to keep safe because adults regularly remind them about the importance of effective hygiene habits, such as washing their hands before eating their snack and the safe use of scissors. Children's good progress and self confidence ensures that they are well-equipped for the next step in 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 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 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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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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