Berengaria Primary School

Bishop Sutton Pre School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 133009 Inspection date 21/09/2011 Inspector Helen Guerrini

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Setting address The School Room, Methodist Hall, The Street, Bishop Sutton, Bristol, Avon, BS39 5UU Telephone number 07971 330577 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

Bishop Sutton Pre-school opened in 1969. It operates from the Methodist Church Hall in the village of Bishop Sutton. The pre-school has access to the main hall, kitchen, toilets and two enclosed outdoor areas. The pre-school serves the local area. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The pre-school provides care for 24 children between two and five years old. No more than eight children may be under three years old, at any one time. It is open four days a week during school term times. Opening times are Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9.30am until 3.30pm. Children can attend half day or full day sessions. The pre-school runs a 'Forest Club' on Thursday mornings. This is held at the local primary school. There are currently 35 children on roll. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and is in receipt of funding for children aged

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Description of the setting

three and four years . The pre-school is run by a committee who employ eight members of staff to work with the children. There is one member of staff who works full time and seven are part-time. One member of staff holds qualified teacher status; of the other seven, six hold relevant early years qualifications.

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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

Excellent systems are in place to identify the individual needs of the children. These systems, coupled with a highly skilled and established staff team, mean that the children attending the pre-school make exceptional progress in their learning and development. One of the many significant strengths is the partnership with parents who, along with the staff, contribute to the highly effective self-evaluation. This well-embedded process enables the pre-school to make effective and continuous improvement extremely well. The programme offered is generally extremely creative, both indoors and out.

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further?

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

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further?

 allowing children to take manageable risks in their play, with adult support, in order to further build their confidence, and discussing with them the benefits of being outside as part of healthy living. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Safeguarding children is the pre-school's first concern. Extensive training for all staff, who implement robust policies and procedures, mean that effective measures are in place to safeguard the welfare of the children. There are three designated people responsible for safeguarding and all staff are confident in the procedures to be followed should they have a concern. There are rigorous procedures put in place by the committee to ensure that all staff recruited are suitable and a system for on-going checks is in place.. The environment is checked thoroughly daily, both inside and out. All required documentation is in place, up-to- date and regularly reviewed to enable the children to be cared for in a safe environment. The management team is committed to consistently driving up standards. The organisation of the resources and the highly effective use of staff leads to a learning environment of extremely high quality both inside and out.

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the early years provision

The nursery has particularly strong partnerships with parents. One of its strengths is that the nursery is staffed in such a way as to enable key persons to talk to parents at length at the beginning and end of the sessions. The children's learning diaries are available for parents to take home and they are encouraged to add their comments through the use of sticky notes provided. As a result of these excellent links, parents feel involved in their children's learning and can see that all children are making significant progress, including those children with additional needs. The environment reflects children's families and the wider community. There are many images of people from a variety of backgrounds; words are displayed in a variety of languages. The nursery celebrates religious and cultural festivals to reflect those of the families who attend; it has strong links with the local church. A recent visit from a wheelchair user gave the opportunity to promote the children's

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the early years provision

awareness and understanding of disability. The staff team is dedicated to ensuring that all children, including those with additional needs, access all areas of learning easily. There are excellent links with external agencies and the whole team has learned Makaton signing. Partnerships with speech therapists support language and speech development. This is also helped by the exemplary links with other settings attended by the nursery children, including child-minders. There is a valuable two-way flow of information to ensure a consistent approach to the children's development. The team is highly self-reflective and effectively identify, document and take action on areas that can be improved. They have developed a system to allow children choice of when to play outside by purchasing a curtain to prevent heat from escaping from inside. They have also recently reviewed the planning to make it more effective. The staff team is highly motivated and skilled. They constantly

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the early years provision

update their training, taking courses provided by the local authority. The managers of the nursery design and deliver training sessions for other provisions to attend. The team is involved in action research projects and as a result have made significant and exciting changes to the way boys at the nursery can access early writing. This has involved taking writing outside with the use of clip-boards and white-boards and creating more open ended activities. Such projects help the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 nursery meet the needs of all children exceptionally well.

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and outcomes for children

Children are warmly welcomed. They form excellent relationships with adults. The high staffing levels provide first class support to new children, who settle quickly. Routines are well established and expectations for behaviour are clear; this contributes to the children feeling safe in the environment. Children enjoy some self-challenge during their physical play, but sometimes staff do not support them in taking suitable risks to help them test their own abilities further. The staff team are highly skilled and knowledgeable. They make high quality observations about the children's learning and identify and provide for the next stage in their development. Children follow their own interests and staff fully involve the them in the planning of activities. The innovative approach of 'active story making' enriches and brings children's play to life A book is used as the focus for activities, such as 'The Three Billy Goats

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and outcomes for children

Gruff'. Children and staff learn the story which is used across all areas of learning most imaginatively. For example, the children develop their early writing and creativity through making their own story maps, problem solve and work cooperatively to build bridges and discuss and explore running water outside in early science. The provision of high quality resources complements this creative approach to learning. The skilful execution of this very child-led system means that children are extremely confident and self-motivated. They are active learners, enjoying choice. Skills for the future are clearly developing as even the youngest children work extremely well independently. Children spend extended at activities of their own choosing, developing concentration. For example, a child selects a bottle, a spade and a funnel and carefully pours sand into the bottle through the funnel. Two children fill a baby bath with water, discussing temperature and how to cool water

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and outcomes for children

Children are skilfully supported by excellent staff interaction to extend and develop learning. Early literacy develops as all children are encouraged to write their names on their work. Staff model writing, sounding out letters with the children; the sense is that they are all learning together, adult and children. All these factors have a significantly positive effect on the children's developing attitudes towards learning and the excellent progress they make. Members of staff take opportunities to ask questions to promote thinking, rather than give direct instruction. This helps children develop, for example, their understanding of healthy lifestyles, 'What do we need to do to our hands before we eat snack?' It presents opportunities to develop their independence. This is also helped because as a team, the staff have high expectations of the children to which the children respond well; they choose to be indoors or outdoors and can

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and outcomes for children

put on their own coats. A good range of opportunities are presented for physical development, inside and out, although opportunities to discuss the benefits of physical exercise are sometimes missed. Strong friendships are formed. Children cooperate well, helping each other whilst waiting for their turn on the computer This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and pulling each other along on bikes roped together. They learn to make a positive contribution to nursery life by performing tasks readily, such as cleaning the table for snack. Behaviour is exceptionally good. Routines are unobtrusive and staff listen to the children, respond to their needs and interests and support their choices. In recognition of the nursery's work it has been awarded a Gold Standard in the 'Children and young people's rights charter award'. 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 2 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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