Kimpton Preschool

Kimpton Preschool Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY420362 Inspection date 21/11/2011 Inspector Lindsay Hare

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Setting address Kimpton Preschool, Linden Lodge, High Street, Kimpton, Nr Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 8RB Telephone number 01438 833936 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.

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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

Kimpton preschool registered in 2011. It operates from a self-contained building within the grounds of Kimpton primary school in Kimpton, Hertfordshire. There is a kitchen, office, toilets and an adjacent room and a secure area for outdoor play. The preschool is registered on the Early Years Register only.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 30 children within the early year's age group may attend the setting at any one time. The preschool is open every week day from 9.00am until 12.00noon, with a lunch club from 12.00noon until 1.00pm from Monday through to Thursday. There is one afternoon session on a Wednesday from 1.00pm until 3.00pm and a stay and play session is held on Thursdays from 1.30pm until 3.00pm. There are currently 27 children on roll aged from two years old until the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The preschool employs four permanent members of staff, three of whom hold an appropriate early years qualification and one staff member who is working towards a childcare qualification.

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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 setting provides an extremely safe and welcoming environment for children, ensuring they are all included and supported. Partnerships with parents are excellent and clear procedures ensure that they are kept well informed, and the children's needs are met. All the required documentation is in place. Children make good progress in their learning and development and are involved in the planning of activities. The setting is developing a system of self-evaluation and seeks feedback from parents in order to further identify priorities for improvement and implement changes to improve the quality of the provision and the outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the process of reflective practice and evaluation of the setting

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the early years provision

Children's welfare, care and safety are promoted extremely well. Staff have a very good understanding of the procedure to follow, if they have a safeguarding This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 concern. Most staff have attended or are due to attend safeguarding children training and have designated roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe from harm. There are robust recruitment and vetting procedures in place to ensure the suitability of staff and excellent security measures and collection procedures in place to ensure children are kept safe at all times. Effective risk assessments are carried out as well as daily safety checks to ensure all hazards are minimised. The setting often visits the school on site and uses their eco garden to explore and find bugs. Parents are invited to come in and share their interest, culture or skill with the children, for example one parent came in to play a musical instrument.

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the early years provision

The setting's professional and friendly, open approach to maintaining effective partnerships with parents ensures that children's care is consistently promoted. For example, the setting has developed a 'play and stay' session for parents one afternoon a week and has focused on the children's interests, opening one Saturday morning so that fathers could attend a session with their child. Excellent settling in procedures ensure that even young children become familiar and confident with the surroundings and staff in a short amount of time. For example, staff ensure that those activities and resources listed on the 'all about me' sheet are available to the children, when they visit initially. Parents are kept well informed about their children's care and progress, through the policy folder, daily discussions, newsletters and notices as well as consultations each term. Parents are able to contribute to their child's learning journal, updating staff with their

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the early years provision

child's new skills and achievements or areas of concern. The setting is currently devising a website and there are individual pigeon holes for each family so that other information can be shared. Parents are fully encouraged to contribute to their children's learning, for example, taking a library book or 'Bertie Bear' and pictures displayed show excellent home and preschool links. Children gain an awareness of the wider world through resources reflecting diversity, and exploring different cultural backgrounds and customs. The setting is establishing good partnerships with the school, the local Children's centre, where they use the toy library and has met with a childminder to share information as they are both caring for the same child.

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the early years provision

Staff attend regular staff and network meetings, are encouraged to attend ongoing training and are supported in continuing their own professional development. All staff are involved in evaluating the setting, using the reflective diary and regular discussions to identify areas for improvement. The setting has identified areas for development and action plans are in place to start to implement these changes. Questionnaires were sent out to parents to gain feedback and use this in their evaluation.

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and outcomes for children

Children have access to a wide range of activities and resources which are stimulating and interesting. The children have access to the outdoor area for most of the session and are able to transport their learning, for example, putting their play dough cakes in the home corner oven. Children's self-esteem is raised as all This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 around the room, their photographs and work is displayed often with captions of learning. This supports children in feeling valued and growing in confidence. Children access the outdoor area, using ride on toys, throwing and catching balls and planting in the garden area as well as using musical instruments and role playing road safety with road crossings and signs. They develop physically, as they use the slide, dance and do action rhymes. They are creative, using different mediums to create pictures such as their fingers, leaves, twigs and acorns they

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and outcomes for children

found on their nature walk and making hedgehog models out of clay. Children can select from a range of resources to explore sinking and floating in the water, such as; rubber ducks, stones, corks, underwater animals, shells and fishing nets. They use natural materials, such as logs for building and explore coloured sand and one child was keen to discuss her binoculars and that she used them to see the birds in the tree. They gain an awareness of various cultures and the events in their calendars, using books and resources, such as puzzles, pictures and dolls which reflect diversity. Children enjoy the process of cooking each week and developed their own 'roasted fox' sandwiches, 'owl ice cream', in conjunction with the story 'The Gruffalo' and tasted turnip, after reading the story 'The enormous turnip'.

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and outcomes for children

Parents complete a detailed 'all about me' form initially and together with observations whilst they are settling, this enables staff to identify children's starting points. Activities are generally planned around children's interests the previous week and focused adult initiated activities are planned to encompass individual children's next steps. Detailed observations and photographic evidence are collected by all staff and included in each child's profile. Observational assessment is linked back to the Early Years Foundation Stage, clearly showing how children are progressing towards the early learning goals, and identifying any gaps in any areas of learning. Children begin to recognise their name, registering themselves with named photo cards and there are lots of labels displayed around the room which helps them to understand that print carries meaning. Children are very confident and use the choosing board to choose a photograph of an activity they

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and outcomes for children

Everyday routine activities are used to develop children's learning, pouring out their own paint and spreading butter on their rice cake. There are lots of opportunities to make marks and children's emergent writing is evident, with children writing letters and posting them in the post box. Various resources encourage children to develop numeracy skills such as rulers, a height chart and calculators. Children experiment putting beads into the scales to make them balance and count how many spaces they have to fill with counters to complete the picture. They look at the clock and are developing an understanding of time as one child comments '12 o'clock is time for mummies'. Children are competent in using various programmes on the computer, and are able to program the beebot to move in different directions.

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and outcomes for children

Children behave well and are praised frequently. They are encouraged to use good manners at snack, with staff providing positive role models. Signs and songs promote children's understanding of why they need to wash their hands and they are able to use the toilets and low sinks independently. Young children wearing nappies are changed as and when needed and staff were observed allowing a child his space to finish before changing his nappy. Children learn to keep themselves This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 safe through careful reminders and explanations. They practise the emergency evacuation procedure and talk about the consequences of what might happen if they do not hold hands whilst crossing a road and why a grown up has to light the candles on the birthday cake. 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 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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