Endmoor Preschool

Endmoor Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY313627 Inspection date 19/03/2012 Inspector Geoff Dorrity

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Setting address St. Patricks C of E School, Gatebeck Road, Endmoor, Kendal, Cumbria, LA8 0HH Telephone number 015395 67388 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

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

Endmoor Pre-school was registered in 2005 and operates from within St. Patrick's Primary School in the village of Endmoor, near Kendal in Cumbria. There are two rooms dedicated to the pre-school, and shared spaces in the school such as the hall and computer suite. Children have free access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school is open from 12.20 until 15.20, from Monday to Friday during term- time only. The pre-school serves the local village community and surrounding rural area.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and may care for no more than 24 children in the early years age group; of these, none may be under three years at any one time. There are currently 17 children on roll.

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Description of the setting

The pre-school employs two staff both of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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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

Outcomes for all children are good. Children make progress because they are provided with good quality, individualised care and learning in a stimulating, positive environment. The nursery regularly reviews provision and practice, and continuously makes improvements based on this. Highly effective relationships with parents, other professionals, and other provision provide children with a consistency which assures their protection and supports their learning. Particular strengths observed at the time of the inspection were the commitment to improvement, partnerships with parents, and the quality of support for children with additional needs.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop systems to ensure that children, parents and volunteers are meaningfully involved in the self evaluation process  use data more effectively to identify areas for improvement

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the early years provision

There are highly effective strategies in place to ensure children are safe. For example, there are comprehensive risk assessments in place that include daily This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 visual checks. Entrances are locked, and the outdoor area is checked before children can have access. Safe recruitment practices are followed and staff have been checked to confirm they are suitable to have close contact with children. All staff know the actions to take if they are concerned about the well-being of a child in their care and have attended safeguarding training. Children show they feel safe and secure at the setting. They have developed strong relationships with their key worker and other staff. They are taught to keep themselves safe, exemplified in their adventurous play. They are not uncomfortable in the presence of strangers, are confident and eagerly get involved in conversations with them.

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the early years provision

Children benefit greatly by the provision of a stimulating, language-rich environment. The extensive resources both indoors and out, successfully supports all children's learning and development. The learning environment is well organised into defined areas for creative, malleable, small world, construction, maths, language, literacy, creative, natural materials, music, and information technology. Clearly labelled storage units support children's independence, choice and decision making skills. Natural materials, pictures of positive images, examples of children's work, number lines and alphabet are attractively displayed.. The outdoor environment is equally well-equipped to cover all areas of learning. Good use is made of recycled materials for imaginative play and is accessible through free flow from the indoors to outside.

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the early years provision

The pre-school is aware of its strengths and weaknesses. Staff continually look for ways to improve the provision for the children and note areas where children are particularly engaged. However,parents and volunteers are not formally involved in this process. All recommendations from the previous inspection have been addressed promptly, for instance there is now a robust planning, observation and assessment procedure in place, and all parents are given a detailed handbook about the setting. Recent improvements have included the re-organisation of the indoor environment, which has enabled children to access resources independently. Action plans are in place for further developments written in conjunction with the advisory teacher. This partnership is particularly strong and is used to gain an independent view of the setting. This means that children are accessing high quality care and learning.

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the early years provision

The setting has established exceptionally good working relationships with parents. They comment how welcome they are made to feel and regularly volunteer to help out. Robust relationships are established with other provision and professionals involved with the children, such as the school, and contribute well to supporting children's welfare and learning. Staff work effectively in partnership with other professionals and parents to develop collaborative strategies to meet the needs of individual children. Daily diaries are exchanged and parents are encouraged to contribute by noting the activities their children are undertaking at home. Staff suggest ideas of how parents can further support their child's learning in pre- school. Highly effective transition arrangements have been established and parents comment on how their children are well-prepared for school. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children show they feel safe by their close relationships with the adults who care for them. Parents comment on how their children settle very quickly and confidently into the pre-school due to the skills of the staff. When playing outdoors children demonstrate an awareness of safety, for example when balancing crates to make a tower, establishing whether it is safe to climb on. The large equipment is used safely, without adult intervention. Children are taught to use tools correctly, when cutting out shapes. They regularly practice fire drills and understand why this is important.

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and outcomes for children

Children are well supported to adopt healthy lifestyles. Nutritious snacks and water are readily available. There are healthy food displays in the pre-school and children grow cress, salads and herbs to eat. They know to wash their hands before eating and why they should do so. Children enjoy baking and ingredients are carefully selected to ensure those children with allergies can take part. Parents recognise this good practice and comment on how the staff ensure no children are excluded. Children have freeflow access to the well equipped outdoor environment, and make good use of this opportunity to enhance their learning and develop their physical skills.

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and outcomes for children

Qualified and experienced staff support children well in their development. They implement effective planning based on observations. Parents comment on the progress their children have made since joining the pre-school. Adults use open questioning to challenge the children's thinking, such as why concrete will burst a balloon, or asking the children to describe what drying glue feels like. When mixing paints they are intrigued as to the colours made, and explore this further. Number is used in everyday activities, such as when counting the shapes made out of dough. Children enjoy listening to stories and then re-telling their own versions. After playing with musical instruments, they make their own and form a band to perform their song. They plant cress and other salads to eat at snack time. There are clear routines which are followed, for instance, after having a snack together, the children settle down for a quiet reading time, sharing books and stories. At the

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and outcomes for children

end of the day they take turns talking about events and objects from home.

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and outcomes for children

All children show an extremely strong sense of security and belonging with the pre-school. Their behaviour is exemplary. They happily work independently at activities, or collaboratively as a team when building outdoors, with each taking on different roles to achieve the desired end result of a stable tower. They are inquisitive learners exploring paint colour mixing and predicting what the resulting colour will be, or when experimenting with different types of enclosure when playing with the farm. They are developing their computer skills and enjoy playing on the interactive white board. To further enhance this, each week they use the computer suite in school. They are supported well to develop ambition for the future by discussing and recording what they will be when they are older.

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and outcomes for children

All children are valued as individuals and they are learning to value diversity in society through a wide range of activities and resources, such as celebrating This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 festivals, and foods from other cultures in the home corner. They are developing their understanding through focussed discussions with staff about how we are all part of the puzzle. They show responsibility for themselves and others, tidying away after activities, and helping dress each other before going outside. They care for each other, and let staff know if they think someone is upset. They value each other's contributions to discussions at circle time when sharing what they have brought to show, or events that they have done at home. 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 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 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 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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