Trentham Pre-School

Trentham Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 224730 Inspection date 10/10/2011 Inspector Parm Sansoyer

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Setting address 40 New Inn Lane, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST4 8EX

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Telephone number 01782 642352 Email Type of setting Childcare - Non-Domestic 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 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

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

Trentham Pre-School opened in September 2001. It runs from a purpose-built premises in Stoke on Trent. The setting serves the local and surrounding areas. Children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 24 children from two to five years may attend. There are currently 47 children on roll in the early years age group. The setting is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register. The setting is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early years education to children aged three and four-years-old. The setting supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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Description of the setting

The setting is open five days a week during the school term. Sessions are from 9.15am to 4.30pm. There are nine staff employed to work directly with the children. Of these, one holds a qualification at level 6 in early years, seven hold a qualification at level 3 in early years of whom three are working towards a qualification at level 5 in early years, and one holds a qualification at level 2 in early years. They receive support from the local authority.

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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

All children are well behaved, happy, settled and supported well by staff to make a positive contribution and play an active part in the setting. The use of resources, environment and teaching methods, which are mostly effective, help children make good progress in their learning and development. Arrangements for safeguarding children are robust and clearly understood by those working with the children. Engagement with parents and carers and links with the local schools, other settings and agencies, make a strong contribution to children's achievement and well-being. Those in charge routinely make good use of a range of rigorous monitoring systems to continually improve outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 utilise more fully the broad range of resources available and plan more clearly their use and learning intention to help more fully exploit children's play and learning  increase opportunities for children to observe, find out and identify features of the natural environment. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

There are clear policies, strategies and procedures in place to ensure the safeguarding and welfare of children, along with an effective safeguarding children policy that includes the procedure to follow in the event of an allegation made against a member of staff. All staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children. There are effective procedures in place to ensure adults caring for children are suitably vetted, inducted, qualified and experienced. All records, policies and procedures required for the safe and efficient management of the service and to meet the needs of all children are in place and regularly reviewed. Effective risk assessments and positive action to manage or eliminate risks means children are able to move safely and freely in their environment.

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the early years provision

A well-established team have a good knowledge of the learning and development and welfare requirements and are well focused on helping all children to make good progress in their learning and development. This clear vision and common sense of purpose is shared by the whole staff team who are enthusiastic about the children's care and learning. All recommendations from the last inspection have been tackled well to improve outcomes for children. The leader, who is also involved with the care of the children, leads and encourages a culture of reflective practice and informed discussion to identify the setting's strengths and priorities for development. Consequently, self-evaluation is accurate, realistic and challenging and supports well the capacity to maintain continuous improvement.

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the early years provision

Partnership with parents and carers is a strength of the setting. A strong commitment to maintaining positive relationships with all parents and carers means they are regularly consulted and involved in decisions about the care and education of their children. They support parents well to get involved. For example, children are keen to bring information about what they have been doing over the weekend to stick in their scrapbooks and a library system is on offer which helps strengthen this link. Parents are kept well informed about the provision and about all aspects of their children's achievements and progress. Partnerships with other settings, agencies and professionals are effectively established to help support transition and children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Consequently, these children are happy, valued and included well.

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the early years provision

The environment is bright, clean and welcoming and a well-established routine, which offers a rich and broad range of experiences, helps children make good progress in all areas of learning. Good quality planning and deployment of staff contributes significantly to helping support children and promoting a positive attitude towards learning. Children freely choose, explore and discover at their own leisure, which is balanced well with a motivating range of adult-led activities which helps further extend children's learning. However, staff do not always fully utilise the broad range of resources and experiences available to them to further exploit children's play and learning and provide a clear enough learning intention for their use. Planning is based upon accurate observation and assessment of what the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children do and like, which helps support children's enjoyment and achievement

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and outcomes for children

Children's personal, social and emotional development and the extent to which children make a positive contribution is fostered very well. Children are happy, confident and well settled because relationships with staff are warm and positive, which contributes to their sense of belonging. All children are involved, busy and occupied with the wide range of opportunities on offer to them. They are developing their confidence well as they busily move around their environment, both indoors and outdoors. Children know the routine well. For example, they respond immediately to the ringing of the bell and happily help tidy up. Children are given the time and space to increase their self-help skills such as collecting their own cup and plate, pouring their drink and spreading their crackers. Children are well behaved and learn about sharing and taking turns and their achievements are celebrated well by the staff.

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and outcomes for children

Staff place a clear emphasis on extending the children's communication, language and literacy daily. Circle time is used well to encourage children to initiate conversation and take account of what others say, and used well to help children link sounds and letters. Children also benefit from a daily session with their assigned key worker and group where they take part in interesting and fun activities to consider sound. For example, children identify sounds they hear outside and the different sounds musical instruments make, and develop a fondness for rhyming. Children build good foundations for early literacy through having good opportunities to make marks, both indoors and outdoors, and to recognise their own and others names. Children begin to show a fondness for books as staff plan and use an interesting range of books, props and songs, often in relation to the theme and children's interest to help reinforce learning.

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and outcomes for children

The children's knowledge and understanding of the world is mostly supported well. Children begin to develop a sense of place as they learn about their own and other's families. They begin to know about their local environment as they visit the post box to post letters, visit the travel agents in relation to the theme and visit the local shops and parks. Children benefit from some meaningful experiences as they plant and care for flowers, herbs and vegetables in pots, and talk about the changing seasons. However, children have fewer first-hand experiences to observe, find out and identify features of the natural environment, such as, identifying insects.

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and outcomes for children

Children's problem-solving, reasoning and numeracy is building. They seek patterns, count, sort and match through everyday play and as they use threading, games, puzzles and construction toys. Children show an interest in the computer which is used well to reinforce mathematical concepts. Children begin to identify numbers during circle time and learn about early addition and subtraction as they play and sing number rhymes. A good selection of arts and crafts materials, dough and paint is made available. Some children spend much of their time playing This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 imaginatively in the role play area and with the small world toys. However, these experiences are not always fully exploited enough to help further extend children's learning. Children respond well to what they hear, see, smell and touch as they use the paint, sand, water, shaving foam and food play.

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and outcomes for children

Themed activities and visitors to the setting, such as the local community officer and road safety representative, help children learn about the importance of staying safe. The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles is good. Children benefit from the access to fresh air and the outdoor environment throughout the session. They benefit from a varied range of experiences, mostly indoors, to increase their physical skills. Children benefit from a healthy snack of fresh fruit, crackers, toast, milk and water. Children learn about the importance of keeping healthy through discussion and making healthy choices from their lunch boxes. They successfully develop skills which contributes well to helping children develop good skills for the future as they become active and independent learners. 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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