Cherbourg's Little Stars Pre-school

Cherbourgs Little Stars Emmanuel Hall, Cherbourg Road, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO50 5HU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/10/2012 11/11/2008

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 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

 Children take part in play activities with enthusiasm because staff make good use of the large hall to provide a welcoming, stimulating and well-resourced environment  Staff interaction is good and supports children well in developing positive relationships with others, which is a useful skill for their future lives  Children are happy and settled, as staff make good use of home visits to get to know children and their families well before they start  Leadership is committed to supporting staff to achieve higher level qualifications and uses an effective monitoring process for developing staff knowledge and skills, in order to continue to improve the provision offered to the children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not make full use of the indoor environment to offer opportunities for children to enjoy physical play  Staff do not make the best possible use of snack and meal times to promote children's communication and language skills or.

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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 looked at a sample of children's assessment records and planning documentation

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of staff suitability including recruitment and vetting procedures, and staff qualifications

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager about the management structures, evaluation and development plans

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Inspection activities

 The inspector children's play and learning activities, together with staff interactions in both the indoor and outdoor environment  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Cherbourg's Little Stars pre-school is run by a voluntary management committee. It opened in 2008 and operates from The Emmanuel Hall in Eastleigh, Hampshire. Children access a secure outdoor play area in a neighbouring school. It is the pre-school's policy not to take children under the age of two and a half years. There are currently 54 children on roll in the early years age group, over the age of two years. The pre-school is funded to provide free early education to children aged three and four years. The pre-school is open every day from 9am to 3.30pm, during term time only. The pre-school employs eight staff of whom six hold an appropriate level 3 early years qualification and two hold level 2 qualifications.

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

 sharpen the focus on helping children to acquire communication and language skills during snack and lunch times by: 1) encouraging conversation with others, demonstrating appropriate conversational skills, for example, by taking turns and listening to others, and 2) talking to children about what they have been doing and helping them to reflect upon and explain events.

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

 sharpen the focus on helping children to acquire physical skills by offering large portable equipment that children can move about safely and cooperatively to create their own structures, such as milk crates, tyres and large cardboard tubes.

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who attend

Children make good progress in their learning, taking into account their starting points and the length of time they have been attending. This progress is due to the support and guidance staff provide as the children choose and play at their activities. Staff are observant and responsive to opportunities to join in play, which stimulates children's interest. For example, staff used appropriate questions to extend children's ideas when playing with the construction toys, counting wheels and comparing the items they have made. Consequently, children persist at activities they enjoy.

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who attend

The pre-school staff offer children an interesting and inviting environment which encourages them to play and learn imaginatively. The main play room provides a broad range of resources and activities which promote children's learning across all seven required areas. Children benefit from interesting experiences which they are eager to share and talk about. For example, children enjoy the use of a computer tablet with a number of children's applications that promote matching, sorting and counting to support early mathematics skills, which will be useful for their future lives. Children progress well overall in gaining physical skills even though there is no direct access to an outdoor area. Staff make daily use of the local primary school playground, parks and playing fields to extend children's physical skills through running, jumping and riding, although further opportunities to provide large physical play indoors are missed.

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who attend

Despite this drawback in the outdoor area, the educational programmes offered by staff help all children to reach the expected levels in all areas of development. This success is because children are provided with a good balance of free play and adult-led activities. Consequently, children develop a strong exploratory and independent approach during their play. Staff make good use of regular staff meetings and informal discussions at the beginning and end of each session to evaluate the success of activities. There is a high emphasis on developing children's personal, social and emotional skills and this is demonstrated by the strong relationships children have with each other and members of staff.

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who attend

Staff demonstrate good knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements and, as a consequence, children are making good progress. Overall systems used by staff to observe and track children's progress are effective. Children's 'learning journals' include useful observations about children's progress, photographs, and planning for their next steps in learning and development.

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who attend

Good systems are in place to obtain children's starting points from parents when they first join the pre-school. Parents can attend individual appointments with their key person to discuss their children's learning and development progress. There are strong links with a range of outside professionals who work closely with the pre-school to put into place plans for children needing help with language or special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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who attend

Overall, children are working within the typical range of development expected for their age across all seven areas of learning. Children are interested in a wide range of toys and activities and are keen and interested learners who display the characteristics of effective learning. Staff thoroughly support their acquisition of these skills and, therefore, children are well prepared for their future development when they move on to school.

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

All children form appropriate bonds and secure emotional attachments well. Home visits are provided before children start, where useful information is collected from parents about children's developmental starting points, likes and dislikes and any additional support required. As a consequence, children's individual welfare needs are met effectively. There is a good 'key person' system in place and staff work closely with parents and other agencies to ensure all children are successfully included in everything on offer.

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

Children's behaviour is good because staff give clear explanations when help is required to achieve this. High concentration skills at activities they enjoy also help children to behave well. Children enjoy a fun and interesting 'small group time' with their key person who introduces new skills and concepts to support their learning and development. For example, the older children were exploring a range of early writing materials to support letter recognition. Children become independent in their personal care. They follow good hygiene routines and understand the reasons why they should do so because staff explain these clearly.

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

Children's understanding of safety is threaded through the daily routines. They have an excellent knowledge of road safety due to their daily trips to the school playground. Children are fully aware that they must wear their high visibility vests, hold on to the walking rope and only cross the road when staff say it is safe to do so.

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

During snack and meal times children's independence is encouraged as they serve themselves their snack and pour their own drinks. Staff do not routinely sit with the children and miss opportunities to create a social occasion during these times and encourage conversations. Staff provide parents with useful information about providing healthy lunchbox content as part of the pre-school's healthy eating policy. This promotes children's understanding of healthy foods, such as eating fruit instead of sweets.

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provision

The leadership and management of the pre-school instigate rigorous and effective safeguarding procedures for child protection and recruiting suitable staff. The named child protection officer has a good knowledge of child protection procedures and fully understands the responsibility to protect the welfare of children. All staff have a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. They know the possible signs that a child is at risk of harm and understand fully what to do if they have any concerns about a child. Policies and procedures are regularly reviewed to help ensure that they are up to date. Staff must read these once they have been updated and are fully aware of their contents, implementing them consistently. Children's safety is maintained using comprehensive risk assessment.

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provision

The committee and manager demonstrate a thorough understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The provision delivers engaging activities across all areas of the educational programmes in order for children to progress well towards the early learning goals. Overall, all children are making good progress in relation to their starting points and capabilities. Monitoring procedures for capturing children's learning and development are effective and inform planning for children's next steps. The 'key person' system is working well, so each child has a special person who cares for them. This system means that children are confident and ready for school or the next stage in their learning.

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provision

There is a strong appraisal and supervision system in place to address staff training and professional development needs on an ongoing basis. Staff are very keen on participating in training to further build on their knowledge and understanding of early years practice. A thorough induction programme is provided to all new staff so that they know what their duties and responsibilities are in terms of the staff team. The committee and manager work closely with relevant support staff from the local authority, actively seeking their advice and acting on it to improve quality. The committee, manager and staff make good use of evaluation processes to set challenging targets for improvement through ongoing discussion, regular team meetings and the use of clear action plans. All recommendations made at the last inspection have been fully met.

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provision

There are generally effective systems in place to work in partnership with parents and carers. Staff value parents' contributions regarding their children and are beginning to collect their views to identify future priorities for the pre-school. Parents receive feedback at the end of each session and they can make appointments to meet with their children's key person to discuss their progress. Parents report that their children are settled and happy and that the staff provide a friendly and caring environment.

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provision

The pre-school works closely with other agencies involved with children and their families. For example, support workers and speech-and-language therapists are regularly involved with some children, and their families share information with the pre-school about their individual needs. Staff foster exceptional partnerships with other early years settings to provide continuity of care for children who attend both settings. There are good partnerships in place with local schools that effectively support children's move to full time education.

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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 EY367858 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 815560 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 54 Name of provider Cherbourg's Little Stars Date of previous inspection 11/11/2008 Telephone number 02380 629077

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Setting details

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. 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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