St Peters Thundersley Preschool

St Peters Thundersley Preschool Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 204000 Inspection date 10/10/2011 Inspector Chrissie Pittman

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Setting address St Peters Church Hall, Church Road,Thundersley, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 3HG Telephone number 07948570545 or 01268 774205 Email st.peterspreschool@sky.com 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.

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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

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 Peter's Thundersley Preschool is run by a committee and opened in 1964. It operates from the main hall and foyer within the church hall building, adjacent to St Peter's Church, Thundersley, Essex. All children share access to a secure outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 26 children may attend the pre-school at any one time. It opens from 9.15am to 11.45am Monday to Friday, with additional sessions on a Wednesday and Friday from 12.15pm to 2.45pm. The setting opens for 38 weeks a year. There are currently 40 children aged from two to five years on roll, some of whom receive funding for nursery education. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The pre-school serves the local community and surrounding areas.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school employs 12 staff, of whom 10, including the managers, hold appropriate early years or teaching qualifications. There are two staff currently working towards a recognised early years qualification. The setting receives support from the local authority and the Pre-School Learning Alliance.

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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

Children are making good progress in their learning and development in this stimulating environment. Staff are skilled and experienced in meeting children's needs and have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Managers understand the strengths and weaknesses of the provision, and as a result are improving some processes, such as observations and assessment and how staff share children's progress with parents to effectively determine their next steps. Overall, good relationships between providers and other agencies are in place to maintain children's capacity to make continuous improvement and ensure individual needs are met. Staff are very reflective and are continuously looking for ways to improve the provision. They have successfully developed close relationships with children, and partnership work with parents is a strength of the setting, ensuring all children's welfare is effectively promoted.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further a systematic and routine approach to using observations in order to better plan the next steps in children's developmental progress. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Staff are knowledgeable about safeguarding policies and have effective procedures in place to manage any concerns they may have about children in their care. Staff are appropriately vetted to ensure they are safe and suitable to work with young children. This means that children are confident to confide in adults and behave in ways that are safe for themselves and others. Comprehensive policies and procedures on safeguarding enable staff to effectively promote children's well- being, including parents completing personal documentation regarding allergies. Staff carry out effective risk assessments, and evacuation plans are practised regularly so that children know what to do in an emergency. Staff are knowledgeable about the Early Years Foundation Stage and use this well to support children in their learning. The environment is well organised and accessible to the children. For example, the division of the hall into learning zones with

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the early years provision

activities reflecting the six areas of learning means that children are able to make good progress in moving around freely and self-selecting resources.

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the early years provision

Managers and staff are reflective and are continually looking for ways to improve the provision by setting ambitious targets. They have addressed previous actions and recommendations promptly and effectively. For example, they have improved standards of care substantially by updating policies and vetting procedures. Nursery education has also been improved. Most children now understand that words carry meaning and they are given more opportunities to write for a purpose.

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the early years provision

Partnership work is good. Staff value the role of parents by listening to their comments and wishes, for example, a parent requesting to take a child's profile home. Good quality information is shared with parents through termly meetings to discuss children's starting points and subsequent progress. Parents are very supportive of the staff in their verbal comments. Partnership work with others is also good as staff develop working relationships with other health professionals and local early years settings to ensure continuity of care so that transitions are managed well. Staff actively promote equality and diversity by effectively supporting children's language, communication and social skills so all can participate and communicate equally. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make very good progress. This is because systems allow for the identification of a child's needs for additional support as soon as possible.

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and outcomes for children

Planning and assessment has been reviewed and successfully implemented, ensuring that arrangements meet the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Parents have an interview with their child's key person to discuss their child's progress every term. The continuous provision successfully covers the six areas of learning and daily plans reflect children's interests and individual learning needs. Children's individual profiles include their starting points, next steps and the 'Development matters' framework. However, This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 although profiles have some observations informing the next steps in learning, this has not been fully developed to demonstrate children are achieving to the best of their capability in every area of learning. Overall, children are making good progress given their starting points. They enjoy learning about diversity and

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and outcomes for children

inclusion through routines and discussions and by celebrating cultural events, such as Easter. This is because the staff use activities effectively to promote diversity.

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and outcomes for children

All children are happy, confident and secure as they enjoy their time at the pre- school. Most are inquisitive learners as they enthusiastically explore all the play areas. Staff have positive relationships with the children because they respond to their needs, interact effectively and promote sustained thinking, for example, encouraging children to draw maps in chalk on the playground and creating tickets for a pretend bus ride. Children develop an early appreciation of books and stories as the book corner is welcoming and well resourced, and children enjoy sharing stories. Staff also provide a rich environment for communication, language and literacy through mark making activities, stories and descriptive conversations with the children. As a result, children are very confident talkers using good descriptive language. For example, they talk about going backwards and forwards in a rowing boat and the attributes of mini beasts.

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and outcomes for children

Children's behaviour is very good as staff are effective in creating an environment that values positive behaviour, such as earning a stick-on apple to put onto the kind/helpful tree at storytime. Consequently, all children behave well and feel valued. Staff successfully combine traditional activities with contemporary play, for example, children enjoy singing nursery rhymes and performing creative dance. Parents also join in and pin their children's achievements to the 'wow' board to be recognised at storytime. Children's individual learning styles are effectively catered for, for example, the older boys prefer to play with a ball and hoops and with superhero activities. The outdoor garden area provides an exciting environment for children to play with paint and water activities. Children are also confident in their physical and technological skills as they use a range of outdoor play equipment with ease and most are adept at using simple programmes on the computers.

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and outcomes for children

Children's health and safety is good as staff ensure that children know about their own personal hygiene and how to be safe within the environment. Being healthy and staying safe are promoted through daily routines, for example, hand washing before snacks. Nappy changing procedures effectively safeguard both children and staff. Managers ensure cross-infection is minimised. Children who have an accident or are unwell are effectively supported by the staff as they have a good understanding of the procedures to follow. Children demonstrate good social skills and independence, for example, at snack time they set up their own places and pour their own drinks, clearing up their plates afterwards. Snacks are healthy and nutritious, and children know fruit is good for them. There is constant access to fresh drinking water to ensure that they remain hydrated at all times. Overall, children's health and well-being are very effectively promoted.

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and outcomes for children

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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