North Derbyshire Tertiary College

Knutsford Community Pre School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 130639 Inspection date 20/02/2012 Inspector Tina Kelly

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Setting address Knutsford JMI School, Knutsford Avenue, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD24 7ER Telephone number 01923 466025 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

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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

Knutsford Community Pre School opened in 1974. It is committee run and operates from a classroom within Knutsford JMI School in Watford, Hertfordshire. The pre- school has sole use of a large classroom with an integral kitchen, a small area for group work, and cloakrooms. There is a covered outside play area.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register to care for a maximum of 28 children at any one time. There are currently 52 children on roll. It serves the local community and opens Monday to Friday during term time only. Sessions are from 8.50am to 11.50am and from 12.20pm to 3.20pm. The pre-school supports children who have English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Description of the setting

A team of eight qualified and experienced staff are employed to work with the children. There are additional staff to support admissions and administration. The pre-school is a member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance, completed the Herts Quality Standard accreditation in 2012 and gained a green rating in the county RAG process.

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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

Children are making excellent progress in their learning and development. Well- established learning journeys and observations are used extremely effectively. The pre-school's strong commitment in working with parents, other early years providers and agencies ensures children's individual needs are recognised and met to an extremely high standard. Robust and detailed documents for the well-being of the children and for the smooth running of the setting are well established. The experienced staff team demonstrate a very strong commitment to continuing their professional development. The comprehensive evaluation process shows that the pre-school continually reviews their practice and identifies areas that are working well and areas to be developed further.

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further?

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

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further?

 developing further children's opportunities to see their name in print and using this to promote personalised learning. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children are safeguarded as there is a comprehensive awareness of safeguarding issues among the staff, all of whom have attended recent training. The pre- school's work with support agencies is exemplary. They liaise closely with the local multi-agency team to ensure appropriate support for all children and families. Comprehensive policies and procedures, alongside information being readily available to staff and families, ensures everyone involved with the children is aware of the pre-school's commitment to providing a safe environment where children thrive. Thorough risk assessments are well established to monitor outings and all areas of the setting. Strategies are in place to identify and minimise risk to children. Through everyday routines children display a growing awareness of safety issues and are beginning to understand how to keep themselves safe, with excellent support from staff. The building and space used by the children is

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the early years provision

The pre-school has highly positive relationships with parents and carers, who are heavily involved in the decision making process. Their views and suggestions are taken on board to develop and enhance the provision and improve outcomes for all children. Parents and carers are well supported in helping their children to learn through their involvement in the learning journeys. They are invited to social events and welcomed into the setting to share their skills and hobbies. The highly inclusive system of communications provides a comprehensive two-way sharing of information, resulting in strong levels of engagement for all families. They visit local schools and welcome visits from teachers to ensure a smooth transition to school and other early years settings.

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the early years provision

The supervisor is supported by a well qualified and experienced staff team who are highly committed to extending and promoting learning through play for all children in their care. They are keen to continue with their professional development through regular training opportunities. Regular staff meetings and appraisals consistently review skills and identify areas for future training. The pre-school is part of the pilot scheme for a development programme to raise standards of speech and communication. They intend to cascade the information to parents and carers to promote and extend children's language in the home. The completion of the local quality standard accreditation shows a comprehensive evaluation process that reflects rigorous monitoring and a full analysis of aspects of the setting that are working extremely well and areas for development. Improvements are identified and an action plan is in place. This reflects on the setting's highly

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the early years provision

effective procedures to secure future improvements. Through excellent leadership and a committed and ambitious staff team who are highly motivated, children's learning is promoted to an exceptionally high level, providing outstanding outcomes for all who attend. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children are cared for in a warm, welcoming and stimulating environment. The importance of reading is highlighted with cosy book areas around the setting. Stories are often supported with the use of story sacks with puppets and props to extend the children's involvement. The book area in the garden is popular in all weathers, with cushions and fleecy wraps available to children as they read. The setting recognises the vital importance of enhancing and extending children's early language and communication skills. Having attended the 'Every Child a Talker' training sessions they use every opportunity to ask appropriate questions and extend children's developing speech and language. Children clearly enjoy using the small recording buttons to repeat words and sentences which extend their vocabulary and pronunciation. Parents contribute experiences through the home link book which are then shared with all the children at circle time. Children show

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and outcomes for children

extreme confidence and a strong sense of belonging and self-esteem as staff read about the special events and family celebrations from home. Children have developed excellent skills on the computers and are competent in using the mouse and making decisions about the programmes they use. They are also skilled in helping with the CD player and sharing their ideas about the music they like. The setting uses phonics at group time to support children's speech, language and sound recognition. Children place laminated name cards on a display to show where they would like to play. This process works well and promotes the children's recognition of their names. However, the use of the name cards is not extended to other activities, such as being used at snack time to identify the seat where they are sitting or used alongside their creative artwork to enable them to begin to recognise letters and write their names independently.

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and outcomes for children

Children demonstrate a broad range of skills that will help them develop in the future. Staff have an in-depth knowledge and a very good understanding of how children learn through play. The excellent planning shows a range of activities are provided to extend and promote all areas of learning. Children's learning journeys are comprehensive, with effective observations and planning for the next steps in their learning. Equality and diversity are promoted through the varied range of resources and events planned throughout the year. Displays and resources around setting reflect many different cultures, languages and family settings, and these are incorporated in the children's play with sensitive interaction by the staff. The extremely well-organised and resourced outside play area has a positive impact on children's sense of well-being and helps to promote all aspects of their development. The central play structure that was built by parents and painted by

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and outcomes for children

the children can be adapted to provide endless imaginative play opportunities. Most of the children became involved in the pirate role play. Dressing up and finding toys and resources to bring outside to extend their play becomes a major part of the session. Children who have been 'cooking' with the dough take their game outside to feed the pirates. Staff support their play with enthusiasm and give appropriate help when needed. The outside environment offers children freedom to explore, use their senses, make judgements about their own safety and be physically active and exuberant. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children's understanding of a healthy lifestyle is promoted to a very high standard through everyday routines and experiences. They have a very good understanding of the simple hand washing routines that are in place prior to the rolling snack

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and outcomes for children

time. Children show great dexterity as they butter their bread and help in making pancakes. Their experiences are greatly enhanced with staff, who give excellent verbal support at all times asking questions and using counting to promote the children's reasoning and numeracy skills. Resources are of exceptionally high quality and children are given an impressive range of memorable learning experiences which contribute to them making outstanding progress in their learning and development. 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 exceptiona lly 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 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 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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