Manorcroft Primary School

Goslings Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 124953 Inspection date 28/06/2011 Inspector Karen Callaghan

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Setting address St Georges Church Hall, Elstan Way, Shirley, Surrey, CR0 7QJ Telephone number 0208656 0751 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

Goslings Pre-School opened in 2001 and operates from a hall within the grounds of St. George's Church within the Shirley area, Croydon. The pre-school is open from 9.30am to 12pm on Tuesday and Thursday and 9.30am to 2.30pm on Wednesday and Friday. The pre-school is closed on Mondays. Children are accommodated in a hall. There is an outside play area, toilet facilities for the children and a separate disabled toilet. There is a resource room which is also used for teaching groups of children. The pre-school is registered for 45 children aged from two years to five years old. There are currently 53 children on roll. Children aged three and four are funded for free early education.

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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

The outcomes for the majority of children are outstanding. Children are eager to attend the pre-school and make significant gains in their learning. They show high levels of independence, curiosity and concentration. Excellent links with parents and carers help them to become highly involved with their children's learning and together with the high expectations and excellent teaching overall by the staff leads to outstanding progress. The pre-school promotes positive behaviour overall and this is reflected in confident, happy children who have respect for both adults and their peers; relationships are strong at all levels which results in a nurturing and supportive ethos. The capacity to improve is highly positive owing to rigorous monitoring and careful target setting.

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further?

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

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further?

 analysing the children's range of language and ensure that staff use more open ended questions when engaging with them to enhance children's achievement  using the children's suggestions to take ownership of their behaviour.

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the early years provision

Leadership and management are exemplary in most aspects. The highest priority is given to keeping children safe and promoting their welfare. All staff are trained to recognise any child who may be at risk and can respond appropriately if there is a concern. Employment procedures are fully in place to ensure the suitability of staff who are actively supported to further develop their knowledge and skills. All required policies are in place, reviewed on a regular basis and new developments This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 shared with staff and parents. Staff are vigilant about safety issues and implement a comprehensive programme of risk assessment both for the inside and outside environment. A daily check list is used very effectively in order to reduce hazards and keep children safe.

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the early years provision

Staff are aware of the importance of promoting equality of opportunity and diversity; an 'anti-bias' policy has recently been devised by staff, shared with parents and has had an positive outcome on children's emotional development. Each child has a key worker who knows the background and needs of each child; they carefully observe, assess and plan to make sure that their input is highly effective and children make extremely good progress. Goslings Pre-school staff have started to make full use of the national programme 'Every Child a Talker' and all staff have had training in its use which has had a significant impact on children's language skills. The pre-school has now extended this programme fully to ensure that the impact continues to enhance new children's skills in the future. Letter sounds are particularly well taught to the older and more capable children and their vocabularies are enhanced by 'the word of the week'. The curriculum is

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the early years provision

exciting and motivates children to learn. The life cycle of the butterfly with real mini-beasts offer an absorbing way for young children to learn about the world. The curriculum plans are flexible to make sure every child can be challenged and motivated. Outcomes are clearly attributed to an imaginative use of resources including the highly effective deployment of staff.

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the early years provision

The pre-school is highly committed to working in partnership with others and takes a lead role in establishing excellent working relationships with a range of outside professionals including sports partnerships, speech therapists, musicians and inspirational speakers. Goslings Pre-school is used by the Croydon Early Years Team as a centre of good practice; staff from other settings visit and see the highly stimulating provision.

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the early years provision

Goslings Pre-school has a strong commitment to working in partnership with all parents and carers. There is a wealth of opportunities for parents to get involved in decision making and finding out about how children learn. They are invited in on a regular basis to watch sessions on language development and letter sounds as well as coffee mornings and helping on trips. Parents are kept informed regularly on the targets set for their children and how they can support their children's progress at home. They have opportunities to have their suggestions incorporated into the curriculum and are kept fully informed of new policies, often sitting on small committees to improve them. Parents are enthusiastic in their praise for the pre- school. They say that the care of their children is of a high quality and that their progress is exceptional.

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the early years provision

Self-evaluation is rigorous at the pre-school and analyses what it does well and what steps it can take to improve, using ideas from the parents and carers. Future plans are well documented, evaluated and monitored. Leaders are highly effective in communicating ambition and drive to secure improvement. Processes for managing the performance of staff and encouraging them to improve their qualifications are well established and contributes to the high standard This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

The children enjoy their time at the nursery and are enthusiastic, curious and confident learners who make excellent progress. They benefit from the staff's detailed knowledge of their individual needs. Staff set high standards which result in the majority of children making very good progress towards the early learning goals. The pre-school provides a happy, well-organised and stimulating environment. The children enjoy a variety of exciting activities both indoors and out; they explore mini-beasts and delight in watching them grow. They use clipboards to make audits of the insects they have seen and both boys and girls enjoy practising their early writing skills in the pretend play areas. Children have fun with sand and water activities where they are encouraged to experiment with different materials. The staff support their language skills and enable them to ask questions. The children are encouraged to extend their language skills, listen

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and outcomes for children

carefully and join in stories with songs and drama: the story of The Hungry Caterpillar engaged a large group of four year olds to act out the story and making a large creative collage. Early phonics teaching is particularly impressive with children fully engaged in joining in. Skills for the future are well embedded; the children have access to cameras and take their own photographs to put on display, There are a computer and programmable toys that children use to support their learning in a creative manner and help them learn valuable skills for the future. The manager is keen to extend technology for communication and has set up a small group of staff and knowledgeable parents to investigate innovative ideas.

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and outcomes for children

Children feel extremely safe in the supportive atmosphere of the pre-school; they speak to the staff confidently and are aware of the needs of other children. Arrangements for their safety are highly effective; there are child safety locks on entrance doors, visitors sign in and there is a daily risk assessment check list. The children demonstrate a exceptional awareness of a healthy lifestyle and have good personal hygiene routines; they use a transportable wash basin with hot water. The parents receive guidance on suitable content for packed lunches and these are monitored by pre-school staff. The children have plenty of opportunities to make independent choices; they make toast, butter it, choose their spread and wash up afterwards.

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and outcomes for children

Equality and diversity is promoted fully. A range of cultures is planned for and celebrated and parents are encouraged to join in. Recently the children dressed up, many of them creating their outfits independently, and took part in the 'royal wedding' celebrations. The local vicar was invited lead the service.

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and outcomes for children

Although children's behaviour is generally a strength of the pre-school, there are times when a few children are overly boisterous. Staff do not always fully involve the children in gaining a sense of how their behaviour can affect others. Assessment procedures are robust; the pre-school uses the Croydon Early Years Profiles fully which insures that every child has highly effective and appropriate targets to achieve. The majority of children progress rapidly towards the early learning goals. 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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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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