Towers Tiny Tots Pre School

Towers Tiny Tots Pre School Goat Lees Community Hall, Mulberry Chase, Off Trinity Road, Ashford, Kent, TN25 4AB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/09/2012 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The sensitive and calm approach of all the staff highly supports children's self confidence and self assurance, especially when settling into the setting.  The dedicated and committed staff team act positively towards making continuous reflective practice within the service to improve and promote the education systems and welfare of children in their care  Children play in a very safe and secure environment, allowing them the freedom and confidence to explore and to learn about keeping themselves safe.  Children's differing abilities are supported well through effective challenges and positive teaching strategies to extend their thinking, engagement and learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children are not always given the opportunities, encouragement and resources to make marks for a purpose such as in role play, throughout the learning environment.  The planning of the indoor environment does not always promote children's physical skills such as climbing, movement, throwing or catching.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are scheduled:  at least once in every inspection cycle. The current cycle ends on 31 July 2016  more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged as inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage; or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised for inspection where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out observations in both indoors and outdoors environments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector arranged time with the manager to discuss safeguarding and welfare issues such as recruitment away from the children

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Inspection activities

 The inspector arranged feedback with the manager, senior manager and member of the committee

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spent six hours at the provision gathering evidence form observation, documentation and discussion with staff and management as well as parents

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Information about the setting

Tower Tiny Tots Pre-School registered in 2012 and operates from Goat Lees community hall. It is situated in Kennington, Ashford. Kent. The pre-school is open each weekday from 9am to 3.30pm for 38 weeks of the year. Children have access to a communal outdoor play area which is closely supervised. Children aged three and four-years-old receive funding for free early education. This provision is registered on the Early Years Register only. Children come from a local catchment area. The pre-school employs three Staff. Two of whom, including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications. All three staff are working towards further qualifications. At present the pre-school has 14 children on roll, some on a part time basis.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 Plan indoor activities where children can practice moving in different ways and at different speeds, balancing, target throwing, kicking and catching

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 Provide activities both inside and outside where children will experiment with writing, including opportunities for writing during role play

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who attend

The education programme provides a wide range of experiences through the expertise of the staff, the resources and openly accessible space available to the children, both indoors and outdoors. Children thrive at the setting due to the patient, sensitive and reassuring attitude of the whole staff team. Children of all ages are provided with interesting and challenging experiences that test and challenge them and their differing abilities in the majority of areas of learning. Staff have a very clear understanding of the revised Early years Foundation Stage and constantly refer to guidance informing them of the stages that children are working towards. Staff are flexible at providing the right experiences at the right time. They are not afraid to make changes from the usual routine to meet the needs of individual children.

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who attend

Children are effective communicators, using vocals, gestures and expressions to communicate their needs and wishes, even those with less confidence to speak openly communicate with others. Staff provide the resources and support to entice language from even the shyest of children. Children thoroughly enjoy the experiences offered to them to make marks, especially using malleable and textural materials such as shaving foam and sand. However, mark making for a purpose is not always promoted within both the indoor and outdoor environment such as within role play. Therefore children are not actively learning that writing is for a purpose. Children's interest and concentration is positively promoted through the use of repetitive stories and the enthusiasm of staff's voices. Staff act out stories encouraging children to think about the next line and event in the story helping them to predict and recall.

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who attend

Children choose from a good range of materials and media to be self-expressive in art and design. They explore the feel of glue and paint between their fingers, solving how to stick some objects in different ways to create their own designs. Children are developing good dexterity and coordination, especially using small tools. For example, children use tripod grips for pencils, making circles, dots and line marks as well as skilfully scooping sand in small spoons and making sandcastles with complex movements. Children have daily experiences outside, learning about the weather and their natural surrounding. However, they do not always have their physical development promoted inside as there are limited resources accessible to them to make large movement such as climbing, throwing or kicking. Staff cleverly provide the resources, support and time for children to learn social and self help skills, especially those associated with going to school, such as putting on

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Staff have an effective key person system which is initiated a few weeks after children settle. This is to make sure children are matched with staff that they are bonded with and those who parents feel happy and secure to relate to. Staff are deployed well within the setting, working well together to make sure all children are engaged and socialising with others. Children are supported well when enjoying their own company. Staff are quick to recognise when to stand back and allow children to explore themselves and when to ask questions and suggestions to extend children's thinking and learning. Relationships between staff, parents and children are strong, helping to settle children quickly and to provide a safe and stimulating environment to promote their wellbeing. Children's behaviour is very good. This is due to the positive boundaries and expectations that staff have of children and the clear messages that children receive towards inappropriate

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

behaviour. Staff are very positive role models themselves, supporting children's understanding of manners and how to build positive friendships with each other. Staff use very effective strategies such as sharing bears and stories about caring and taking turns.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children learn about healthy lifestyles every day through the routines that promote healthy eating and hygiene practices. Children have access to fresh air every session, even in inclement weather. They are constantly reminded to wash their hands after messy play, toileting and before eating and drinking. Staff talk to children about needing tissues for their nose and how to dispose of it correctly. Children are offered drinks frequently and have access to their own drinking cup at all times. They are offered very healthy options at snack time; such as fresh fruit and raw vegetables. Parents are offered guidance as to what to provide for children's lunch boxes to promote healthy eating.

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provision

All the staff and management have a very clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities towards the learning and development requirements as well as the safeguarding and welfare requirements. The management and committee play an active part in the daily lives of the children and are frequent visitors to the setting. The manager and the staff work closely together to provide a stimulating and well planned programme for children's ongoing development. Staff talk to parents to initiate the individual planning systems with information about children home lives, likes, dislikes and interests. Regular observations are made to assess children's achievements and all staff actively use guidance to ascertain the stages of each child's learning. Staff use their knowledge to plan activities and resources to extend children's learning and move them on to the next step. All staff take responsibility for observing all children's progress which is monitored on a

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provision

termly basis and discussed on an informal ongoing basis with parents. Staff actively seek information from parents about children's learning at home and use this to inform children's unique stories and their ongoing development.

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provision

Children are cared for in a very clean, safe and secure environment, with effective procedures and systems in place to make sure all adults that have access to the children are suitable to do so. Very robust recruitment procedures provides the children and their families with staff who have appropriate skills, qualifications, experiences and knowledge to offer high quality care and learning opportunities. The premises are frequently checked and action is immediately recorded and taken to remove hazards. Particular care is taken when using the local communal play ground adjacent to the pre-school premises. Children learn about wearing sashes that identify them as pre-school children and within a very short period of time, learn where they can and cannot go when using the park. They have an inept understanding of keeping themselves safe by asking for tissues to dry the slides and rockers in the park so that they do not slip and hurt themselves. Parents have access

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provision

to well written and professional procedures and policies as well as daily verbal and displayed information in the entrance hall and notice boards. Documentation to promote children's ongoing welfare is kept up to date and accessible to staff, such as attendance registers, medication and accident records.

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provision

The setting has a very positive attitude towards continuous improvement. All the staff take an active role in identifying their particular strengths as well as a collective team. They work hard to evaluate the effectiveness of each session and make immediate changes when areas for improvement are identified. They are very keen to gain further information and support from outside agencies with regard to improving their services for both children and their parents. Staff meet regularly with their managers to discuss the setting and their personal and professional development. They actively and enthusiastically attend further training and use resources to build a greater understanding of new strategies or requirements and gain further qualifications. The manager and her team have produced an effective training and operational plan to demonstrate their commitment and dedication to the service.

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provision

The setting has established good links with other professionals through their sister nursery, particularly with local schools. Liaisons are made with reception teachers, to allow a smooth and calm transition for the older children. Staff spend time talking to teachers about the children and work closely with parents to allow a communication of children's interests, successfully styles of learning and their current stages of development. Staff also communicate with other setting that are involved in the shared care of children, to promote consistent learning strategies.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY446095 Local authority Kent Inspection number 790956

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 14 Name of provider Towers Tiny Tots Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01233653536

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises that are usually their own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. 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,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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