Westcliff Primary Academy

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

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Unique reference number 137359 Inspection date 20/09/2011 Inspector Claire Douglas

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Setting address St. Pauls Church, Crofton Road, Orpington, Kent, BR6 8JE

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Telephone number 01689 862 478 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. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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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 (Crofton) Pre-school was registered in 1993. The group operates from three rooms in premises belonging to the church. The pre-school has use of a large hall, kitchen, cloakroom and toilets. There is a fully enclosed garden with part grass and part all-weather surface and an outside canopy for outdoor play. The main play area is on one level and the foyer and the garden have a slope for pram or wheelchair access. The pre-school is situated in a residential area of Orpington and serves the local community.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is open term time only for four sessions per week, Monday to Thursday between 9.30am and 12.30pm. It is registered to provide care for 32 children aged two years to under eight years. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 33 early years children on roll. The pre-school supports children with special education needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four.

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Description of the setting

There are eight childcare staff who work directly with the children, including the manager, five of whom hold a relevant early years qualification. One volunteer also works in the group on a regular basis. The pre-school receives support from the local authority and the Bromley Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership.

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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 staff excel in promoting all aspects of children's welfare, learning and development, highly successfully overall. They are professional, warm and highly organised in their approach, ensuring that children are extremely safe, happy and well cared for. The environment is welcoming and inclusive. Partnerships with parents, local schools and other agencies are a key strength and are significant in making sure that the needs of all children are met. Capacity to improve and maintain continuous improvement is very strong. Staff continually reflect on their practice and evaluate the service provided, leading to priorities for development. This results in a provision that is fully responsive to the needs of the children cared for and their families.

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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  enhancing the opportunities children have to learn about healthy eating and making healthy food choices

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the early years provision

The staff team all strive for excellence with a clear vision for the future of the pre- school. They form a very well-established team who are appropriately vetted and have relevant qualifications and experience, which safeguards children's welfare. Staff have an excellent understanding of their responsibilities in relation to child protection and a comprehensive awareness of the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child. All required records, policies and procedures that promote children's health, safety and well-being are meticulously maintained, reviewed and updated at least annually. Staff give high priority to safeguarding children and are extremely vigilant in supervising them closely, promoting their safety at all times. Staff work very well together as a team, sharing tasks and responsibilities to ensure that the setting runs smoothly on a day-to-day basis. Resources are very well organised to create a stimulating learning environment for

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the early years provision

children indoors and outdoors and ensure children have appropriate adult support.

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the early years provision

The manager and staff team make excellent use of feedback from staff, parents and children to monitor and evaluate the provision and identify priorities for future improvement. Action taken is well targeted to improve outcomes for children, such as developing the outdoor environment to ensure all areas of learning are covered both inside and out each day. This has significantly increased children's opportunities to reach their next steps in learning. Staff have a comprehensive knowledge of each child's backgrounds and needs. They use effective strategies to ensure all groups of children achieve well and provide appropriate support where required, so that equality and diversity is promoted. Partnerships with parents and others involved in the children's care are highly positive. Parents views show they are extremely happy with the service provided, they feel the staff cater very much for the children's individual needs and that staff work very closely with the parents

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the early years provision

and children to ensure they are all able to reach their full potential. The staff work highly effectively with parents to gain professional support for children, as required; they then engage with the professionals to coordinate their support for the children. They also work highly successfully with the local school to ensure smooth transitions for children leaving the pre-school to go to school. Parents are actively involved in significant decisions relating to the pre-school and their views and opinions valued. They are provided with high quality information about the provision and are kept very well informed about all aspects of their own child's achievements, well-being and development. Excellent two-way communication ensures children experience consistent care and means both parents and children benefit from strong levels of engagement with the pre-school's work. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children show a very strong sense of belonging as they happily take their name badges off the table at the entrance and eagerly enter the setting. They are familiar with the routine and expectations and demonstrate a clear understanding of how to keep themselves safe, for example, as they happily tell the staff how they 'must not run inside, only outside in the garden'. They take part in regular fire practices that ensure they know what to do in an emergency. Children understand well and adopt good hygiene routines when they wash their hands before snack time, using the liquid soap and disposable hand towels that help protect them from the risk of cross-infection. They help themselves to a healthy snack and pour themselves a drink of milk or water. Healthy eating is discussed with the children, however, they are not involved in the preparation of their snacks so as to gain a greater understanding of healthy eating and making healthy food choices. Children

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and outcomes for children

enjoy playing outside every day as part of a healthy lifestyle. They have the benefit of using a covered area and all weather surface if it is wet and a large grass area with trees providing shelter from the sun. The outdoor environment is used fully and provides activities for all areas of learning from practising their physical skills or learning new ones as they attempt to do the hoopla with the hoops and play 'hunt the acorns'. The children squeal with delight as they search amongst the trees to find their matching four coloured acorns announcing 'I've found them. I have got four yellow ones, one, two, three, four'.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop excellent relationships with staff and other children. They work extremely well both independently and in cooperation with their peers. Their behaviour is exceptional and they demonstrate a strong awareness of responsibility within the setting. High levels of independence are developing as they select their own resources and play materials and put them away when they have finished. They take part in a variety of indoor and outdoor activities and experiences that support their development across all areas of learning, and they are interested and motivated to learn. Activities are meticulously matched to children's interests and abilities. The staff make high quality observations of children's achievements. Systems for using these plan future learning experiences and ensure activities consistently build on children's existing knowledge and skills. Children are keen to communicate and younger children benefit from the staff's patience and

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and outcomes for children

encouragement as they learn new words and begin to join in conversations. They enjoy sharing books and naming the pictures on each page. Children take part in a 'words and sounds' session each week which focuses on their 'good listening skills'. They learn about shapes, colours, letters and numbers as these areas are covered within all the activities they take part in for example, as they practice forming letters with their fingers whilst enjoying a shaving foam table activity, discussing the different texture and feel of the foam. They begin to solve simple problems when they count how many children are at the snack table and work out how many cups they will need to add or take away. Children find out about the world around them as they are encouraged to monitor daily the growth of the caterpillars as they happily watch them develop in to butterflies before letting them go. Staff also point out areas of interest when out and about, for example, when walking to

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and outcomes for children

the post box to send a post card home, which causes great excitement. Staff are This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 dedicated to making the most of diversity to help children understand the world they live in. They ensure the range of resources the children play with has positive images of a multi-cultural and multi-ability society. Festivals are celebrated from different religions and planned activities such as food tasting from around the world help the children to learn positively about differences amongst their peers and others. Children use their imaginations as they play together in the home corner; they take turns to heat up the pretend spaghetti in the play microwave and serve out the food to their peers. Clip boards and pencils are popular with the children as they are placed in the role play areas to encourage mark making whilst the children make a shopping list or choose a take away from the menu. The

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and outcomes for children

children help themselves items from the well stocked creative trolley and graphics writing area where they can stick, cut and create independently from a range of materials. Adult-led creative activities such as making cards and cutting out and decorating their home door numbers to take home, keeps the children's interest, as the staff discuss what they are making and praise them for their work. Children benefit from a well-balanced routine; they are very well occupied and stimulated throughout the session and they thoroughly enjoy their time here. 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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