Little Bears Pre-School

Little Bears Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY271846 Inspection date 28/11/2011 Inspector Sandra Croker

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Setting address Stadhampton Primary School, Cratlands Close, Stadhampton, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX44 7XL Telephone number 01865 400 033 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

Little Bears Pre-School opened in 2004. It operates from purpose built premises within the grounds of Stadhampton Primary School and has wheelchair access. Children have access to an enclosed outside play space. The children attend from the local area.

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Description of the setting

Little Bears Pre-School is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 30 children from two years to four years old on roll. The pre-school provides free early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs, physical disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school opens during school term times on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9am to 3pm. On Friday the pre-school opens from 9:00am to 3pm but operates specifically for children over three years old from 12 noon to 3pm. There are five staff employed to work with the children; of these, four have early years qualifications at level 3 and one has an early years qualification at level 4 or above. The pre-school receives 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

Children are happy, settle well and make good progress in their learning and development overall. The learning environment is safe, well planned with good resources in easy access of all children. It positively promotes equality and diversity. The manager and staff have an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision, they include the views of children and parents and take effective steps to develop it. Leaders and managers communicate ambition and motivation and secure improvement well. There are effective measures to safeguard children and staff promote their good health. Overall strong links with parents and carers help to involve them in their children's care and education, and they are kept well informed of their children's progress.

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further?

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

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further?

 enhance the partnership with parents by parents by offering them ideas about how to support and extend their child's learning at home  develop further children's understanding of healthy practices, by reinforcing messages about healthier choices with regard to packed lunches. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Robust safeguarding measures and strong recruitment strategies assess the suitability of staff working with the children. Staff fully understand their safeguarding responsibilities, so that children are protected and cared for in a safe and secure environment. Comprehensive risk assessments are carried out and staff ensure effective actions are taken to reduce or eliminate risks to children and a designated health and safety officer ensures these are upheld. Self-evaluation involves the staff team and recognises the strengths and weaknesses of the provision well. Continuous reviews of the quality of the pre-school take place through discussion with children and parents. Leadership and management are confident about what the pre-school needs to do to improve further and have been effective in making and sustaining developments. Staff are well organised and have a clear appreciation of their roles and responsibilities. A detailed range of

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the early years provision

policies and procedures guide staff practice and are executed effectively to promote children's health and welfare. Resources and equipment are plainly labelled and allow children easy access. As a result, there are exciting opportunities for children to make choices and to take shared responsibility for their own learning and play.

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the early years provision

Overall there is a strong partnership with parents, who comment very positively on the provision. Staff work attentively with parents to settle children and ensure that individual needs are met effectively. Parents are involved in the life of the pre- school through newsletters, daily discussions and notice boards, which display useful information, such as the weekly planning of activities. Records of children's learning demonstrate the strong understanding that key workers have regarding individual children's needs and stages of development. However, some parents do not feel they fully understand how to help their children make further progress with their learning. Staff show good care and understanding of equality and diversity, enabling them to provide a service which is inclusive to all. Detailed information is obtained from parents initially, when children settle in, to ensure that staff are fully mindful of and can meet children's individual needs. The pre-

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the early years provision

school has established robust links with the school and effective partnerships assisting children with specific needs. Information is shared with families needing additional support. There is an interesting and empowering environment created, both indoors and out, which encourages children's independent learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children are content and settled and understand the routines of the day. They show good levels of independence and an eagerness to tackle self-chosen and adult-led play. The pre-school is delightfully presented and provides an interesting environment for children. Staff use unstructured and focused observations consistently to help in planning next steps, so that activities meet each child's stage of development. They record and track children's progress systematically. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Carefully planned activities take into consideration the individual interests of children and offer new and interesting tasks across all areas of learning. There are daily occasions for outdoor play. Children are continuously praised and their achievements valued, helping them develop an understanding of expected behaviour, like being kind, sharing and taking turns. Children are inspired and

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and outcomes for children

interested in the activities and resources available to them, showing good levels of concentration and playing purposefully. Children behave well. There are good procedures in place to support those families with English as an additional language and successful partnerships have assisted staff in developing effective approaches, when managing children with additional needs.

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and outcomes for children

Young children's language is good. Staff model language thoughtfully, developing children's vocabulary. For example, staff talk about the clothes to put on before the children go outside. Young children confidently form sentences to explain what they are putting on to keep them warm. Older children talk about what they have drawn in their pictures. Staff effectively question the children to expand their explanations so that children tell them that their dragonfly is fierce and not friendly. Staff give praise as younger children use their own words and form simple sentences, at snack time, to say what they did at a recent school event. Staff appropriately and actively promote equality and diversity and tackle unfair discrimination. They detect a child's need for additional support as early as possible. Children confidently recognise numerals and count when playing. Younger children count toy mini-beasts as they match them on to sequencing

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and outcomes for children

cards. They play with the beads on the large counting frame. Older children use developing mathematical language as they count the children attending. Children delight in number songs and rhymes. These enable children to experiment and practise their number skills with growing confidence. Children enjoy their play as they tap different sized wooden logs together from an interactive display and independently share books together about aeroplanes and dinosaurs. Young children delight in creating colourful paintings and independently put them in their drawer to take them home. Children play competently and happily outside on wheeled toys. They take pleasure in collecting sticks in buckets to use in a large collage for a wall display.

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and outcomes for children

The pre-school environment has resources that improve the good development of children's skills for the future. For example there is a digital camera that children use to record their own work. Children's knowledge and understanding of the world around them is encouraged by playing with clothes and dolls in the role play area and by developing their mouse skills when playing on the computer. Children's independence is supported well as they decide for themselves which fruit to eat at snack time. They capably pour their own milk or water. Children confidently move around the setting choosing and guiding their own play and learning because resources and activities are readily available to all. Children are supported well to begin to read and write through the use of visual signs, symbols, notices, numbers and words around the pre-school. Good hygiene practices are promoted. Snacks are well balanced and nutritious. However, staff do not always

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and outcomes for children

reinforce the importance of making healthy choices for packed lunches with the children. Children are confidently learning about how to take risks within a safe environment. They have good opportunities for physical exercise outside. They use a good assortment of high quality play equipment where they can improve their This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 balance, jumping, and climbing skills. 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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