Blean Pre-School

Blean Pre-School Blean Parish Hall, School Lane,Blean, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 9JA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/10/2012 11/03/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 Management have failed to notify Ofsted of changes in committee members or supervisor. Recruitment procedures are insufficient because there is no evidence to show that all staff and students have been vetted. This puts children at direct risk.  Not all staff have a good knowledge of child protection procedures, or have had recent training in safeguarding. There are no established systems to monitor staff's ongoing practice and offer regular training and development opportunities.  There are weaknesses in the educational programme. For example, children have limited resources available to design and create spontaneously, learn about cause and effect, and adults do not consistently use open questions consistently to encourage children to think and solve problems.  Although practitioners observe and assess children's progress, they do not use these observations consistently to identify and plan for the next steps in children's learning,

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This provision is inadequate

or to note and address any gaps in learning.  The pre-school does not use self-evaluation successfully in order to maintain ongoing continuous improvement.

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It has the following strengths

 Adults frequently praise children's actions and achievements, which gives them good self-esteem, and confidence to attempt new experiences.  Children's relationships with each other, and relationships with adults are strong. Children are kind and thoughtful to one another, and respond positively to adults' kind and caring interaction.  Parents are appreciative of the friendly and caring nature of the pre-school, and have strong links with supportive and helpful staff.

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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 observed activities in the play room and the outside learning environment.  The inspector held meetings with the manager of the provision.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan were not in writing, so discussed.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took advice from the duty inspector, Ofsted and Ofsted CIE with regard to the inadequate judgement and the breaches of legal requirements.

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Information about the setting

Blean Pre-School registered in 1994. It is managed by a parents' committee. It operates in Blean Village hall, near Canterbury. Children have access to a main playroom, another hall/reception area, and an outside play area. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register to care for 30 children in this age range. There are currently 27 children on roll. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free education for three- and four-year-olds. The pre-school opens five days a week during term time. Sessions last from 9.15am to 12.15pm. There are extended sessions for lunch clubs. The pre-school employs six staff including the manager; of these, five hold a relevant early years qualification, and one is currently working towards a qualification. The pre-school receives support from a local authority worker.

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

 encourage children's language and communication further by consistently encouraging them to think and reason, and by asking open-ended questions.

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who attend

Staff set out the room with thought given to providing resources across most areas of learning. However, as these are not always exciting or challenging, learning experiences are not always rich and varied. Children pretend to buy cakes in the shop, and they build with the construction toys set out on the floor. Although children learn through play, and from positive interaction with adults, a lack of resources which children can use in open- ended ways limits their learning and enjoyment. There are weaknesses in planning for understanding of the world and expressive arts and design. For example, children lack opportunities to use resources that show them the links between cause and effect, as there are few programmable toys accessible. Furthermore, children do not benefit from having access to a varied range of creative resources daily. This limits their ability to use resources in their own ways to design freely, and use their imaginations.

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who attend

Adults observe children's play and abilities, and use their observations to check their progress across the areas of learning. Observations and accompanying photographs are a helpful record for parents. However, these are currently not up to date, and therefore show an unrealistic picture of what children can do. As a result, staff cannot always see gaps in individual children's learning, and therefore do not consistently plan activities to address individual children's learning needs, or which will build on children's progress. Furthermore, there is no system to identify gaps in learning for different groups of children.

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who attend

Children are generally occupied and interested. Adults are deployed suitably to support the children, moving around the room to support their play, and children enjoy their input and company. Sometimes they support children well, for example, asking open-ended questions to encourage children to think, reason and use their imaginations. However, often questions are not open-ended, and children do not become engaged in conversation. As adults' interaction with children is of variable quality, this limits children's development in communication and language. Children use their imaginations and enjoy role play. Staff sometimes support this well, responding to children's interests. However at other times children lose interest when staff and resources do not challenge their thoughts or imaginations. Children pretending to go the seaside are asked if an adult can come too. They agree, but the game is not followed through by staff.

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who attend

Children's personal, social and emotional development is a strength of the setting. Children are thoughtful towards the feelings of others, and willing to share. They love books, reading for pleasure in the cosy book area, and reading to adults, taking on voices to reflect the characters in the stories. Group time is popular. Children are thrilled to be asked to get the 'treasure sack' and children are enthralled as they wait for the next object to be brought out. This time is especially successful as children are separated according to age, and enjoy activities which meet their needs according to their age and stage of development. For example, the younger children join in a favourite simple story.

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

Children enter the pre-school happily and confidently, separating from parents and carers easily, and rushing to see friends and take part in chosen activities. The very few children who are new and less sure are supported kindly by caring staff. However, although children's behaviour shows that they feel safe in the setting, this may be a false sense of security, due to ineffective recruitment and safeguarding procedures.

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

The key person system is embedded, and parents and children have good relationships with key adults. Parents appreciate the opportunities to discuss their child with his/her key person daily, to learn about their child's well-being and achievements.

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

Adults frequently praise children, making them feel good about themselves, and raising their self-esteem. Children receive stickers for good tidying up, and are quick to remind staff if they forget. Staff allow children to persevere and achieve goals, telling them 'well done, you've got it!' This gives children a positive attitude to learning, which will benefit them as they progress to school.

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

Children's good relationships with their peers and adults are noticeable. Children show that they care about their friends, showing concern and trying to talk to children who are unhappy. They help and share willingly, finding a sheet of paper for a friend, fixing it to the easel, and drawing side by side. They lie in the cosy book area sharing books.

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

Strong links with local schools result in reception teachers visiting the setting. Children therefore are helped to feel more confident entering school, being familiar with the adults there.

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provision

The committee who manages the setting is unaware of recent changes in the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, and are not conversant with the legal requirements for operating a pre-school. This has led to several breaches of the Early Years Foundation Stage safeguarding and welfare requirements which adversely affect the safety and well- being of children. The managing committee has failed to notify Ofsted of changes to the committee and a change of supervisor. It is a legal requirement to do so. Furthermore, there is no record kept of the committee's Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks, or those of some of the staff and students which is also a breach of a legal requirement. There is no recruitment procedure to which staff or committee can refer to, to demonstrate how they assess the suitability of adults working with the children. Although children's behaviour shows that they feel safe in the setting, this may be a false sense of security, as

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provision

staff are not clear who has CRB checks, some staff do not have a clear knowledge of child protection procedures, and not all have recent training. This means that unvetted adults may have unsupervised access to children. The premises are safe and secure, and procedures at arrival and collection times are carried out consistently by vigilant staff, keeping children safe at these times.

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provision

Self evaluation is not robust enough to enable managers to identify weaknesses detailed above and make meaningful improvements to the setting. Previous actions have not been addressed, for example, not all records are accessible on the premises. However, there have been recent improvements to children's progress records and planning, which are beginning to take effect. Some additional resources have been purchased, such as storage and display boards, which have improved children's environment.

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provision

Although children make satisfactory progress in their development, there are some inconsistencies in the monitoring of children's progress and in the delivery of all areas of learning. This results in gaps in individual children's progress, and the progress of groups of children, not being identified or fully addressed.

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provision

Staff are positive about improving their skills and attending training, and have benefitted from attending some short courses such as working with children who have special educational needs. However, as there is no established appraisal system in place, staff's professional development is not fully supported.

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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 127023 Local authority Kent Inspection number 813705 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 27 Name of provider Blean Pre-School Date of previous inspection 11/03/2010 Telephone number 07944 290301

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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.

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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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