Ducklings

Ducklings Emerson Valley Hall, Roeburn Crescent, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK4 2DF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/10/2012 11/02/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 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 enjoy their time in the pre-school; they are highly involved in a range of activities which supports their all-round development.  Children's safety and welfare is effectively promoted by kind and caring staff.  Parents are very complimentary about the approachable and friendly staff and the way in which children develop confidence and self-esteem.  The pre-school staff establish effective working relationships with the local Children's Centre, school and other professionals in order to further complement children's learning and development.  The pre-school is well managed and staff have the knowledge and skills to successfully prepare children for their future education.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There are missed opportunities for children to fully understand and investigate the natural world.  The book corner requires further resources to extend children's interest in books and storytelling.

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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 voluntary and compulsory parts 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 activities in the pre-school rooms and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment files, tracking documents and policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed the leadership and management of the pre-school with the manager and regional manager.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and children.

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Information about the setting

Ducklings Pre-School registered in 2004 and it is run by Ducklings Ltd. The pre-school operates from two rooms in a local community building in Emerson Valley, Milton Keynes. There is access to a secure outdoor play area. The pre-school is open each weekday from 9.15am to 11.45am and from 12midday to 2.30pm during term time, with a lunch club available to families who require it. The pre-school is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. There are 44 children on roll from two years to four-years-old and they attend for a variety of sessions. Systems are in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and children who are learning to speak English as an additional language. The pre-school employs seven staff and of these, five staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. It is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the

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

 use puppets, props and interesting items to spark children's further interest in books and storytelling ideas.

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

 extend children's outdoor play experiences to give opportunities for more investigations of the natural world, for example, provide chimes, streamers, windmills and bubbles to investigate the effects of wind.

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who attend

The pre-school's effectiveness in helping children to learn and develop is good. Staff plan and provide a well-balanced educational programme to meet the children's individual learning and development needs. Staff support children's learning effectively through the continuous play provision and purposeful, sensitive interactions with all the children. Planning and assessment is effective, therefore, children make good progress given their starting points. Their next steps for learning are clearly identified and staff support children to achieve these targets.

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who attend

During all of the activities, children develop good speaking and listening skills. Staff introduce new words to children to broaden their vocabulary. Children are developing good literacy skills; they recognise their name on their coat peg and book bag, and find their name on their duck shape to self-register. They are becoming very aware that print carries meaning as they look at books, refer to them for information during activities, and enjoy listening to stories. They take books home in their book bag to read with parents. However, puppets and props are not available to further encourage children's interest in the book corner. Children develop good early-writing skills as they write for many purposes. For example, during role play in the garden, children make tickets for their 'bus' rides. Children make choices about when they want to play with indoors or outdoors. They are developing good physical skills as they crawl through tunnels, build with large blocks and

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who attend

use climbing apparatus with increasing confidence. However, activities do not fully encourage children to investigate the natural world. Children enthusiastically join in music and movement sessions and they work cooperatively together as they hold the scarves between them to create a circle. In the garden, children squeal with delight as they ride around in the 'bus'.

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who attend

Children are developing good mathematical skills. While playing with the sand and water, they explore volume and capacity, filling and emptying containers. Staff encourage children to use mathematical language, such as, big and small. They enjoy counting songs and rhymes, and identify shapes and colours while building with play bricks. Children engage in many worthwhile activities to develop their understanding of the world. While celebrating Halloween, they have fun in the 'scary cave'. They enjoy dressing up and use magnifying glasses to look at 'creepy crawlies'. They take part in many festival celebrations and when celebrating Diwali, parents bring in naan bread for children to try. Children are exploring arts and media; they are highly involved in musical activities, playing instruments, singing songs and rhymes. They enjoy modelling with dough, making spiders, scooping out pumpkin seeds and use tools such as scissors and rolling pins with

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who attend

increasing control. Children are enjoying their time in this stimulating and fun-filled environment.

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who attend

Good relationships are established with the local school. The teachers come into pre- school to meet the children, so that they are familiar with them when they start. School teachers and pre-school staff also discuss the knowledge and skills the children need to acquire in order to transfer to school successfully. As a result, staff prepare children well for transferring to school.

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

Every child has a designated key person who is responsible for supporting them in the setting and liaising with their parents to meet their individual needs. This system works effectively in practice; children develop strong attachments to their key person and other staff. This helps promote their confidence and growing independence. Children's behaviour is very good; children demonstrate high levels of respect for each other and adults. Children receive praise and encouragement; they enjoy receiving certificates, stickers and the 'duck of the week' for their achievements. This helps children to develop a sense of self-worth and builds confidence.

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

Children are learning to lead healthy lifestyles; they make choices about whether to play in or outdoors. There is a wide range of resources to support children's all-round development both in and outdoors. Children enjoy outings in the local community, for example, as they go on a walk in the fog. They are learning about road safety and talk about stranger danger. In addition, they are taught to use tools, such as scissors safely, and take part in fire evacuation procedures. All of these activities help children to learn about keeping themselves safe.

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

The pre-school offers a rolling snack time and children decide when they are hungry and thirsty. This is a relaxing and sociable time when they sit together with their friends, help themselves to a range of healthy snacks, and pour their own drinks. During this activity, children are developing their independence skills in preparation for school. Personal hygiene routines are well established. In discussions with children, they know they need to wash their hands so they don't get 'wiggly worms - germs'. There is a range of equipment in the bathroom to meet the varying needs of the children, for example, toilet seats, steps and potties. Furthermore, suitable hygienic nappy changing procedures are followed. Parents and staff support one another to help children to become toilet trained.

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provision

The pre-school's effectiveness in helping children to learn and develop is good. The management team organises staff training to update their existing secure knowledge and understanding of the early learning goals. The manager has good systems in place to monitor the effectiveness of planning and assessment, and the quality of teaching. She observes staff practice and encourages discussions during staff meetings and staff supervisions to continually improve practice.

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provision

The management team is very organised and enthusiastic. Systems are in place to reflect on the pre-school's practice and to identify areas for development to further benefit the children. For example, by updating policies and procedures in line with the revised safeguarding and welfare requirements. Staff know their role and responsibility in relation to safeguarding children. They are knowledgeable about child protection matters and procedures to follow if there are concern's about a child's well-being. Children are safe and secure on the premises. Staff follow suitable procedures at arrival and departure times. There is a password system in place, and prior notice and identification is required when children are being collected by other adults unknown to staff. Daily attendance registers demonstrate that staff: child ratios are maintained and the children are well supervised during all activities. Rigorous recruitment procedures mean that staff have the necessary

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provision

knowledge and skills to promote children's educational needs, safety and welfare.

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provision

Boys, girls, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning to speak English as an additional language make equally good progress given their starting points. The two-year-old progress check and tracking system for recording what all children know and can do highlight where an individual child needs extra help or challenge. In addition, staff work closely with other professionals, such as, speech and language therapists to support and extend children's learning. Individual education plans are implemented and staff refer to these to plan activities to help children to acquire new skills. Staff are very sensitive towards each child's needs in order to help them to interact successfully with their environment. Children who find learning difficult make good progress relative to their starting points and capabilities. A key strength is the way that the provision reaches out to parents and carers. Informal

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provision

day-to-day discussions, notice boards and letters promote good communication systems for parents/carers. Parents provide information about children's developmental starting points and they receive on going information about their children's learning and development. Staff provide extra support and guidance for parents as the need arises. For example, the pre-school establishes effective working partnerships with the local Children's Centre where other services are available that parents can make use of. Parents are unanimous in their support of the pre-school and are very happy with the care and education their children receive.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary 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 EY287576 Local authority Milton Keynes Inspection number 885933 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 44 Name of provider Ducklings Limited Date of previous inspection 11/02/2009 Telephone number 07963 604768

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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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