Walney Central Pre-School

Walney Central Pre-School The Old Police House, Central Drive, Walney Island, BARROW-IN-FURNESS, Cumbria, LA14 3HY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/11/2012 21/11/2011

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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 are happy and settled in this warm, welcoming and nurturing pre-school where they enjoy positive relationships with their friends and staff.  Children are making good progress in their learning and development as the staff promote their self-confidence through praise and encouragement as they try new experiences and learn together and from each other.  Children are learning the importance of regular exercise and fresh air as they enjoy playing and exploring in the well-resourced outside play areas. They are also developing good self-care skills, which promotes their independence.  Children are well supported and prepared for their transitions to school and are developing the necessary skills to help them embrace new experiences with self- confidence.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The resources and images to reflect similarities and differences between communities, traditions and people with disabilities are not consistently available for the children to independently select and fully develop their learning and understanding of diversity.  Ways to enable all parents to share what they know about their children's starting points and their achievements at home, have not been fully explored. Therefore, this information is not being used to contribute to the overall assessment and planning for their next steps.

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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 room and the outdoor play area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager and spoke to staff during the activities.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of children's learning journals and operational files consisting of policies, risk assessments, staff qualifications and suitability documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Walney Central Pre-School has been registered since 1972 and is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is run by a committee and is situated on Walney Island, Cumbria. It operates from a playroom in a single storey building and the children have access to two enclosed outdoor play areas. It is open from Mondays to Fridays from 9am until 3.30pm, during term time only.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 33 children in the early years age range on roll. The setting is in receipt of funding to provide free early years education for three and four-year-old children. The setting supports children with special needs and/or disabilities and children who have English as an additional language. There are nine members of staff who work with the children, all but one hold appropriate early years qualifications at a minimum of National Vocational Qualification Level 2 or 3. The nursery is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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

 improve children's opportunities to explore and play with resources and positive images of different communities, traditions and disabilities, in order to fully promote their understanding of similarities and differences between themselves and others

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

 consider further ways to enable all parents to share what they know about their children when they first start attending the pre-school and their on-going learning at home, in order to obtain a fuller picture of the children's overall progress and plan for their next steps.

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who attend

Staff have a secure understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements. They use their knowledge and experience to plan interesting and challenging activities for all children to enjoy and develop their skills in the seven areas of learning. The staff have a good understanding about the characteristics of learning and they use effective teaching methods to promote suitable challenges to extend the children's learning. For example, they use open ended questions and encourage the children's confidence and self-esteem by having high expectations of their abilities. During circle time, the children enthusiastically engage in challenging activities involving numbers and letters and they are very eager and motivated to answer questions and have a go at writing numbers and letters on the white board. This enables all children, including quieter children, to gain a sense of achievement, grow in confidence and pride and learn in a safe

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who attend

and encouraging environment. There is an effective key person system in place which ensures that all children receive individual support to make good progress in their learning and development. Regular observations and precise assessments of the children's progress are undertaken and recorded in learning journals. This information is effectively used to inform the individual planning for each child. Staff confirm that children are progressing well towards the early learning goals. Most children are working comfortably within the typical range of development expected for their age. Staff offer very good support to children whose progress is below those of other children of their age and assessment shows they are making good progress towards closing the gap. Staff work closely with external agencies in order to fully support the children who have special needs and/or disabilities.

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who attend

Staff encourage parents to share information about their children when they first attend and thereafter on an on-going basis. Whilst some parents contribute to their children's learning journals, there is scope for staff to consider further ways of enabling all parents the opportunity to share what they know about their children's starting points and their achievements at home. Without this information, it is difficult to obtain a full picture of some children's overall progress and plan precisely for the next steps in their learning.

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who attend

Children are well supported in acquiring good communication and language skills. They enjoy regular phonic sessions and are recognising letters and sounds. They are able to identify objects and recognise that they begin with the same letter, for example, that snowman, Santa and sunglasses begin with 'S'. They enthusiastically take turns to make marks and draw the letter 'S' on the white board. They demonstrate good listening skills during story time and whilst watching puppet shows performed by staff and each other. They enjoy singing Christmas songs that they have learnt in preparation for their Christmas play. They are beginning to recognise their names on their coat pegs as they show the inspector where they hang up their coats on arrival. Children have many opportunities to develop their mathematical and problem solving skills. For example, during registration, they count how many boys and how many girls are present. There are

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who attend

six of each and they count them all together to make 12. They take it in turns to write the numbers on the white board. Children enjoy games that help them recognise shapes and colours as they listen carefully to instructions and jump onto different coloured shapes scattered on the floor. They hang decorations on the Christmas tree and learn about the concept of 3D shapes, such as the parcels that are cube shaped.

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who attend

The children have access to a good selection of craft resources where they can spontaneously select paper, paints, glitter and glue, to create pictures such as snowmen and Christmas stockings to display on the wall. They also explore and experiment with various enhanced materials, such as wet and dry porridge oats, purple sand and glitter play dough. Children happily engage in imaginative play with their friends in the home corner and enjoy dressing up in various costumes. The children are developing good skills in using a wide range of information and technology equipment. For example, they confidently use the computer and mouse. They learn about the concept of time and turn taking by using an egg timer to know it is time to let their friends have a turn. There is scope for improving children's opportunities to learn about similarities and differences within communities and traditions, as well as disability. They celebrate festivals, however,

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who attend

many of the resources and images that promote positive attitudes about diversity and difference are not routinely made available to the children. Therefore their learning opportunities in this area are not fully developed.

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

Children enjoy their time spent in this friendly and welcoming pre-school. Children feel safe and secure in the care of the staff and especially their key person with whom they have formed very positive and trusting relationships. Children confidently and independently move about the room, selecting their favourite activities and choosing to play inside or outside. Children enjoy regular fresh air and exercise in the well-equipped outdoor play areas. When it is raining, the children still play outside because it is covered over and they dress appropriately in their warm coats. They learn good coordination as they throw and catch balls and ride on their tricycles. Children learn about living things, for example, as they plant winter pansies and water them to keep them alive. They use magnifying glasses to study the features of insects such as spiders and worms.

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

Children learn about keeping themselves and others safe through guidance from the staff who act as positive role models to encourage children to behave in a responsible and respectful way. The children develop good self-care skills such as putting on their coats before going outside and they wash their hands before eating their lunch. Children are very well supported in their transition to school. They visit the school beforehand and have photographs of the classroom and teacher to look at to familiarise themselves and prepare them for the move. Also the teacher visits the children at the pre-school and the children show them their learning journals.

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provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children are effective as the manager and staff are trained appropriately. The policies and procedures are well known by the staff and are shared with parents and effectively implemented. Staff are trained in first aid and can respond appropriately in any cases of accidents or emergencies. There is a medication policy which is shared with parents and carefully followed by all of the staff members. Medication is safely stored out of children's reach in a store cupboard in the office. The procedures for vetting and recruiting staff ensure they are suitable and safe to work with children. Written risk assessments and daily safety checks are undertaken so children are kept safe and secure at all times.

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provision

The manager and staff have a good understanding of the learning and development requirements and there are effective systems to monitor children's progress. Thorough induction systems ensure that staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities. Their professional development is actively encouraged through annual appraisals, regular one to one meetings, team meetings, training and support. There is a culture of teamwork and mutual support amongst the established and experienced staff group. This results in a positive outcome for children. The manager and staff have completed a self-evaluation process which identifies the pre- school's strengths and areas for development. The views of parents are regularly sought through discussions. The manager and staff work together well to continually develop and provide good outcomes for children. The positive partnerships between staff and parents ensure that children's needs are well met. Parents spoken to comment very favourably

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provision

about how much their children enjoy attending the pre-school. Parents are kept well informed about their children's progress through daily discussions with their children's key person and they look at their children's learning journals. Information about the planned activities are displayed on the wall for parents to read. Partnership working with external agencies and professionals is effective in ensuring that children receive a good level of support, when additional needs are identified.

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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 317622 Local authority Cumbria Inspection number 892570

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 17 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 33 Name of provider Walney Central Pre-School Date of previous inspection 21/11/2011 Telephone number 01229 470 051

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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. 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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