Furzton Tots Preschool

Furzton Tots Preschool Ridgeway Community Centre, 33 Dulverton Drive, Furzton, MILTON KEYNES, MK4 1NA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/10/2012 08/05/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children receive a warm welcome in the preschool. Staff learn and pronounce their names correctly and this encourages the children to feel valued. Children are offered a wide range of interesting activities that covers the prime and specific areas of learning.  Children are interested learners who enjoy finding out by exploring; they play with what they know and willing try most activities that are available. Children behave well and their interaction with staff, children and their environment shows that they feel safe in the preschool.  The preschool establishes sound partnerships with external agencies to meet and support children with special educational needs and or disabilities.

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It is not yet good because

 Although the educational programmes have breadth across the seven areas it lacks the depth to provide challenging experiences that meet the needs of all children.  Although children behave well and engage in learning many of the older boys show a lack of concentration; they spend too much time rushing between activities.  The preschool assessment of children's skills and abilities is precise. However, staff do not use the information sufficiently well to develop focused plans that are targeted for individual children. Support during children's activities is not always conducive to children's further learning.  There are insufficient opportunities for parents to contribute to children's assessment records and share information about children's learning and development at home. Partnerships with other providers are not well established to make a strong contribution to children's learning and development.

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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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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children's activities indoors and outdoors  The inspector carried out an observation with the preschool manager  The inspector talked to parents, staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of documents including, planning and assessment records, accident records, staff rota, recruitment, qualifications, induction and disclosure information and children's record forms.

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Information about the setting

Furzton Tots Pre-School is privately owned and registered in 2008. The preschool was re- registered in 2011 as a limited company. It operates from the main hall in the local community centre in Furzton, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. There is an enclosed area for outside play. The preschool is open each weekday from 9.15am to 2.30pm during term time. The preschool provides funded free early education for three-and four-year-olds. The preschool is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register Currently there are 34 children on roll and they are in the early years age group. The preschool supports children special education needs and/or disabilities. Seven staff working directly with the children, including the manager/owner, five staff hold appropriate childcare qualifications. The manager holds a BA Honours degree in Childcare and Education, one other member of staff holds a foundation degree, three staff members

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must:

 improve the educational programme to ensure that it provides appropriate levels of challenge for every child by providing targeted plans for individual children to help them to develop all of the characteristics of active learners  improve systems for partnership working with parents and other providers, where children attend more than one setting to make sure that all parties can make a strong contribution to support children's learning and development

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

 develop staff's ability to skilfully question children during activities in order to reshape tasks and give explanations to improve learning.

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who attend

Children are settled, comfortable and at ease in the preschool. Children interact positively with staff and others and they move around the preschool freely, which shows that they feel safe. Children participate in activities that cover all seven areas of learning and entice them to play. In addition, the variety and range of resources available are interesting to them, for example, some children dress up and show their creativity, others use the building blocks or play with the vehicles. Some children play in the home corner, while some enjoy using the musical instruments. There are opportunities for children to make marks with shaving foam and paint and writing implements. Children enjoy books and stories in large and small group activities. Although there is a full range of activities available the educational programmes lacks depth. For example, some children's play with the vehicles does not progress beyond

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who attend

wheeling them around on the floor or repeatedly sending them down the shoots. Children do not always get all of the support that they need from staff to help them to reshape their activities, to help them to concentrate and develop their thinking and improve their learning, therefore many children move very quickly between activities. On the other hand, some children show that they can concentrate well; however, they do not consistently get the support they need to extend learning and develop their ideas. Although all children are keen to learn and are willing to have a go, many children only play with what they know. This shows a lack of the depth of children's learning experiences overall.

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who attend

The preschool does not yet support all children to demonstrate all of the characteristics of active learners. Never-the-less children are making some progress from their starting points. For example, parents state their children have settled well into the preschool. They add that their children interact better with other children and their children's behaviour has improved. These positives steps go some way to begin to support future learning.

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

The preschool makes appropriate contributions to children's well being. All children and parents regardless of background or ability receive a warm welcome. There are no children learning English as an additional language, however, staff know the home language of children who come from homes where families speak other languages. Welcome posters in various scripts serve as a visual welcome to the preschool's users. Children from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures attend the preschool. Staff gain information about children's starting points and parents' preferences for children's individual needs and personal care. Children's key persons have a fair understanding of children's skills and their developmental stage. Staff do not however make full use of the information they gather through observations and assessment to ensure children are challenged in their learning and development.

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

Overall, the wide range of suitable resources ensures that children have ready access to resources that are appropriate to their developmental stages. Children learn to understand about similarities and differences as they learn about a range of different cultural celebrations. Resources such as books reflect people from different cultural backgrounds. Children have opportunities to see positive images of others who display their racial and physical characteristics. Additionally, they can dress-up in some clothes that may not be familiar in their home or family groups.

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

Although not all aspects of partnership working are strong, here is effective partnership with agencies that support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The preschool's special educational needs coordinator works closely with other professionals to target, support and review the arrangements that are in place for these children. This helps to ensure that jointly they reduce gaps in their learning and development for these children. Children attempt to wash their hands before eating. However, staff supervision of this activity is not good and, children attempts are cursory. Therefore, although children are keen to have a go, they do not get all the support they need to deepen their understanding of how and why to wash their hands properly. Children get exercise as they regularly play outdoors. Children snacks and packed lunches include a range of suitable foods including fresh fruits. They follow staff's guidance to eat the main food items first.

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

Children show that they are developing their social skills well as their good behaviour contributes positively to a calm social environment at lunchtime. Children speak easily to staff and others; they show they are learning to listen, share and take turns. They show these skills clearly, as they play in groups of their choosing.

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

Staff use large group activities effectively to raise children's awareness of general rules for safety, such as to remember to walk indoors and to be kind to their friends. Children know that they should walk on the pavement when they are in the street and that it is important to pay attention and listen for traffic when they are out.

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

Children do not get all of the support they need to develop their motivation and concentration fully. However, their enjoyment of play, positive behaviour and interaction with children and adults show that they are learning some useful skills to support their learning and lay foundations in preparation for school readiness.

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provision

The leadership and management team does not fulfil all requirements to oversee all educational programmes. This results in a weak educational programme overall. Children's safety and welfare are promoted satisfactorily. Sound safeguarding procedures are implemented. The clear policies and procedures provide guidance for staff, students, volunteers and parents in the preschool. The recruitment procedure is effective; only staff who are appropriately vetted are permitted to be unsupervised with children. Staff know the designated person with overall responsibility for safeguarding and are clear of the procedure to follow if they have any concerns about a child's well-being. Induction helps staff tounderstand their roles and responsibilities. For example, staff know that they are responsible to attend to children's personal care and hygiene needs. They practise the evacuation procedure with the children, so that they all know what to expect if the alarm

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provision

sounds. Fire exits are marked and kept clear and fire-fighting equipment is in place. Effective use of risk assessments and hazard checks help to keep the physical environment safe and secure. Children are not able to leave unattended and only adults admitted by staff are able to enter.

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provision

There is some positive work with parents, such as finding out children's starting points, their preferences for children and informing them of their child's key persons. In addition, the preschool provides books for children to share at home with parents. However, there is no clear system for parents to see and contribute to children's development records. In addition, where children attend other settings there are no arrangements to enable a two- way flow of information. The manager knows that there is a requirement for the preschool to complete a progress check at age two for children. Although she has not completed any of these assessments yet, she is clear about the information to include.

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provision

The manager acknowledges that the preschool's self-evaluation is not fully developed to capture all of the areas for improvement. However, the preschool has recently started to work with the local authority to help them to make better use of children's assessment and observation records and to develop better ways to engage parents in the preschool's activities, such as, contributing to self-evaluation. The manager works with staff to identify training needs and manages to secure some opportunities for staff to continue their professional development.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met

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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 EY437709 Local authority Milton Keynes Inspection number 888280 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 37 Number of children on roll 34 Name of provider Furzton Tots Pre-School Ltd Date of previous inspection 08/05/2012 Telephone number 07877012261

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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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