New Lodge Pre-School

New Lodge Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY294104 Inspection date 07/10/2011 Inspector Anita Pyrkotsch-Jones

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Setting address New Lodge, Wigan, WN1 2ND

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Telephone number 01942 820 857 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 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

New Lodge Pre-School has charity status and is committee managed. It has been registered since 2004 but has operated since 1992. It operates from the basement of Wigan Bowling Club, which is located in Wigan. Children have access to a secure, enclosed outdoor play area.

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Description of the setting

The setting is open for two sessions, from 9am to 12noon each weekday for children aged three and over and from 12.30pm to 15.30pm for under three's on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It operates during term time only. A maximum of 30 children may attend at any one time and currently, there are 30 children on roll, of these, 21 children receive funding for nursery education. Children attend from the local community. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who have English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs four members of staff, all of whom have relevant early years qualifications and two have a higher qualification. The setting receives support from the local authority teaching team.

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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 across all of the early learning goals. This is because the pre-school staff team have an excellent knowledge of all aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage and promote this in all aspects of their work. The pre-school provides a curriculum that is exciting, innovative and meets the individual needs of all of the children. Regular and robust observation and assessment of the children is used to plan a range of stimulating activities that develops children's skills and knowledge. Written policies, procedures and risk assessments are rigorous, updated regularly and quality assured by outside agencies, such as the Fire Service. This level of detail ensures that the welfare and well-being of the children is safeguarded. There are excellent partnerships with parents and carers, they are fully involved in their child's learning and contribute to their assessments. The pre-school has clear priorities for

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

continuous improvement and in self-assessing the setting. Recommendations from the previous inspection have been addressed which has had a positive impact on the provision.

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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 the formal self-evaluation document to include informal self- assessment and the regular actions set by the pre-school. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Staff at the pre-school have an excellent knowledge and understanding of safeguarding and the policies, procedures and protocols that are used to support this. The designated safeguarding officer attends regular update training. The staff are aware of the steps that they would take if they have concerns regarding the welfare of any of the children that attend the pre-school. Risk assessments are outstanding and successfully identify potential hazards within the setting. Daily risk assessments are completed for indoor and outdoor spaces and also for fire safety. A termly risk assessment is also completed to provide a comprehensive health and safety check of all aspects of the pre-school. The fire risk assessment has been quality assured by the Fire Service. There is a fire evacuation plan in place and fire drills are regularly practised. Reports written after fire drills include action points which help the setting continually improve their evacuation procedures.

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the early years provision

The pre-school has clear priorities for continuous improvement and in self- assessing the setting during planned weekly meetings. Recommendations from the previous inspection have been effectively addressed which has had a positive impact on the provision. Staff used the previous inspection report as a position statement for the quality of provision. They have developed all aspects of their work and built on the good and outstanding findings of the previous report. Weekly planning sessions include reflection and self-assessment of the service that they provide. They take notes from these meetings to help them to focus on their priorities. For example, they are currently reviewing their provision in line with the 'Every Child a Talker' initiative and have adapted and updated resources within the setting to support this. The staff team are continuing to develop the formal self- evaluation document to encompass informal self-assessment and actions set by

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the early years provision

the pre-school. Staff all have an early years qualification ranging from level 2 to degree level. They strongly focus on continuous professional development, with the current priority being around 'Every Child a Talker'.

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the early years provision

The pre-school is exceptionally well-resourced, it is fully inclusive and provides children with a curriculum that is exciting, innovative and meets the individual needs of all of the children. Staff have an excellent knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage which they promote in all aspects of their work. Children work in keyworker groups for part of the session which enables staff to monitor and assess progress and development. Strong relationships between the staff and children are being developed within this welcoming and caring environment. Systems for identifying and supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is robust and children's dietary needs are well met.

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the early years provision

Parents and carers are very complimentary about the pre-school and report that communication is excellent and they particularly like the learning journal which provides them with in-depth information about their child's time at the pre-school and shows clear progression through the early learning goals. Parents contribute their own observations to the learning journals. Daily communication booklets are sent home with the children as staff appreciate that parents do not always have This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 time for verbal feedback or that another person may be collecting their child. The pre-school are part of a cluster group of local childcare providers and meet with the cluster regularly. They also have close links with other Early Years Foundation Stage providers.

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and outcomes for children

Children make very good and often very rapid progress in their learning and development across the early learning goals. For example, a number of children have highly developed writing skills. Staff have an excellent knowledge of all aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage and promote this in all aspects of their work, from planning and delivering the curriculum to observing and assessing children's progress and development. A wide range of well-planned indoor and outdoor activities enhance all aspects of the children's learning. Activities are planned that meet the children's needs and interests, for example, observation has highlighted how boys engage less in mark making and numeracy activities. Staff have incorporated this by using sand and sponge markers to make letters, numbers and shapes, to encourage them to participate. During weekly planning meetings, staff evaluate the use of activities and then adapt the ones that are less

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and outcomes for children

popular to encourage more children to engage with them. Children's starting points are identified on entry to the setting and this is used as a basis for planning to meet their individual needs. Staff regularly observe the children and record these in the children's learning journals along with photographs of the children and examples of their work. Each observation is clearly linked to the early learning goals and this is then cross-referenced to an assessment tracker. Assessments are comprehensive and clearly show the progress that is being made. Staff are then able to plan for the children's next steps for learning. Parents and carers are encouraged to contribute their own observations to the children's learning journals. Children regularly share their journals with staff and written comments are made about the children's reactions.

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and outcomes for children

The pre-school provides a range of exciting and innovative activities. Children enjoy mark making with chalks, crayons and pens on a large cardboard box. They enjoy sharing books and enthusiastically sing songs to each other. Sand is fun to play in when glitter and dinosaurs are added and the interactive whiteboard with laptop is a source of amazement and curiosity. Circle time is a sociable occasion where children join in with action songs and rhymes and enjoy using the 'elastic' made of a range of textiles to discuss the texture of each material. They take turns with the resources, readily sharing what they have and are developing sustained periods of concentration. All staff model good behaviour and consequently, children's behaviour is exemplary.

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and outcomes for children

Part of each session is spent in keyworker groups. They become involved in activities, such as letter and number lotto, with each activity being developed to meet the needs of the individuals in each group. Staff are able to monitor progress in these groups and are able to provide additional support or challenge if needed. Children who speak English as an additional language are well supported with staff providing a clear focus in developing language skills. Children explore the world This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 around them as they go for outside walks in the grounds of the setting or plant and harvest fruit and vegetables from the vegetable plot. They enjoy outdoor play and develop physical skills through the use of equipment, such as climbing frames, slides and wheeled toys. Visits to places such as the animal farm provides them with an understanding of living things. They recycle items to support families in

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and outcomes for children

Africa and look at pictures and DVDs to show how their efforts are helping others.

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and outcomes for children

Hygiene practices are well developed with children independently washing their hands after toileting and before snack times. Rigorous safeguarding measures are in place to protect children and they are aware of safety issues, such as handling scissors correctly. They also know which areas of the pre-school they are not allowed to access, such as the kitchen area. Fruit and vegetables picked from the vegetable patch are often served at snack-time and all snacks are nutritious. Children decide themselves when they would like to have for their snack, self- select how much they would like and pour their own milk or water. Water is freely available from the water cooler which is used sensibly by the 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 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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