St Edmunds Pre-School Kindergarten

St Edmunds Pre-School Kindergarten St Edmunds Church Hall, 9 Willage Way, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 3NA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/01/2013 11/02/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 The quality of teaching is outstanding. Staff relate extremely well to children and are very skilful in their questioning, encouraging children to express their views and think about what they are doing. As a result, children make excellent progress, in relation to their starting points, in their learning and development.  Children are thriving. They show high levels of independence, curiosity and imagination and demonstrate excellent behaviour and strong self-assurance. Children quickly become immersed in their play, showing excellent social skills, thoroughly enjoying their time at this relaxed and friendly pre-school.  Children are cared for in an extremely safe and secure environment where they develop an excellent understanding of the importance of safety routines and the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle.  Every child is able to reach their potential as staff work exceptionally well to include all

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This provision is outstanding

children and work in close partnership with other professionals to support children special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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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 spoke with the owner/manager and all members of staff on duty.

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Inspection activities

 The Inspector looked at all regulatory records, policies and procedures and sampled five children's learning journal files.  The Inspector obtained the views of seven parents.  The Inspector spoke with children and observed them at play.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the owner/manager.

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Information about the setting

St Edmunds Pre-School Kindergarten opened in 1977 and has been operating under the current individual ownership since 2010. However the owner has worked at the pre-school since 1983 and has been the manager for 20 years. It operates from a hall in Beckenham, Kent. St. Edmunds Pre-School Kindergarten serves the local area. There are currently 50 children on roll. Children attend a variety of sessions. The pre-school currently supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and who speak English as an additional language. It is in receipt of funding for nursery education for children aged three and four. The pre-school operates morning and afternoon sessions between 9am and 12.15pm and from 12.30pm to 3.45pm. There are eight staff members who work with the children. All staff have relevant childcare qualifications. The pre-school receives support from the local authority and is registered on the Early Years Register.

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

 increase children's access to a wider range of technology to further enhance their learning.

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who attend

The pre-school is extremely well organised and provides excellent opportunities for children to actively explore all seven areas of learning both indoors and outside. Staff enthusiastically describe children as unique individuals and demonstrate an excellent understanding of child development and of how individual children learn. They have high expectations and show excitement as children acquire new skills or discover things for themselves, as a result children are inspired. Staff have a sharp focus on helping children to acquire communication and language skills. Skilful questioning and an ability to adapt activities enhance children's experiences and offer challenge. Children play a dynamic role in their learning, showing extremely high levels of independence, curiosity, imagination and concentration. This means that they are very well prepared for school and for their future learning.

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who attend

Staff work together to observe and assess children as they take part in their chosen activities. They plan more focus based activities to help identify and address any gaps in children's learning and to provide targeted support. Staff are particularly sensitive in supporting children with disabilities in their play and exploration and as a result all children are learning to understand and respect each other's differences. Detailed journals provide an accurate record of children's development. They highlight individual next steps and clearly show the excellent progress children are making. Parents are fully encouraged to share information about their children's development and to support their learning at home.

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who attend

Children become absorbed in their imaginative play. They decide on roles for one another and play extremely well as they set about weighing produce, scanning the shopping and exchanging money. Staff are on hand to enhance children's understanding of weights and measure and introduce addition and subtraction problems through play. Children make excellent progress in their early writing skills and their interest is promoted through writing for purpose. For example, the provision of pens and pads encourage the children to write shopping lists and create menus. Children show an excellent appreciation of books. Staff are enthusiastic story tellers and skilfully involve children by asking them questions about the plot and characters. Children benefit from being able to independently choose their favourite books, sitting on cushions to look at these themselves, or telling stories to each other. Staff involve parents in reading with their children at home through the book

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who attend

lending scheme. More able children can read their names during self-registration and to write their name on their art work. Innovative activities, such as orienteering at the local park, help children make very good progress in their letter and number recognition.

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who attend

Knowledge of the local community and wider world are effectively extended through interesting displays, including books and artefacts. Children's knowledge of festivals, different countries and cultures are also developed through craft activities. Visitors to the pre-school, such as police officers, have shared information with the children about keeping safe. Children learn about the properties of different materials as they play with a variety of malleable resources such as play dough, corn flour gloop, sand and water. Children use natural and recycled materials to construct three dimensional pieces of art and take great care with painting. They enthusiastically join in the dance, drama and music sessions in preparation for the regular performances put on for parents. All children are included in the production which develops their confidence and self-esteem as they proudly perform in front of an audience. Children use various equipment to help them

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who attend

learn about technology although the range is not extensive.

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

Children and their families are warmly greeted by staff as they arrive. Children enter confidently, eager to start playing with their friends. Staff are extremely knowledgeable about the children in their care. This begins with the well-planned settling-in procedures. Visits to the pre-school with parents and younger siblings enable close relationships with their key person to develop. Staff are able to gain a clear knowledge about each child's home life, starting points and interests. This in turn enables them to provide well-planned activities to support their unique needs. All staff demonstrate a genuine interest in what children have to say and respond to them enthusiastically. Staff are caring and affectionate, therefore children feel nurtured and that their thoughts and feelings are important to others.

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

Staff are very effective in helping children to understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Children value the social occasion of eating their snack in small groups and at a time when they feel hungry. This provides excellent opportunities for staff to talk about the importance of healthy eating and for children to chat about their lives and things that interest them. Children tuck into a wide variety of fresh fruit, kindly donated by parents, and learn to pour their own drinks carefully. Children's understanding of healthy foods is developed further through cooking activities. Staff gently remind children about good hygiene practices and as a result they know to put their hand over their mouth when they cough and to use tissues for runny noses. They are supported by staff while they learn to use the bathroom independently and they learn about germs and the importance of hand washing. Children thrive due to easy access to a range of interesting play equipment that

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

promotes mobility and agility, both indoors and outside. For example, they enjoy having the space to run around energetically, to ride on bikes, learning to negotiate obstacles and space, to scramble through tunnels and walk on stilts. Children competently organise themselves into teams of four to play tennis, showing great skill and team spirit, laughing and cheering as they hit the ball to one another.

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

Children have an excellent understanding of their own safety as they are encouraged to think about why certain safety procedures are in place. For example, they understand the climbing frame will tip if too many children use it at one time and not to run on the decking area after it has rained. Children take part in regular evacuation procedures so that they know what to do in an emergency. Children actively join in with tidying up when they have finished playing with something. This promotes a sense of responsibility and an understanding that this maintains a safe environment. Children develop courteous and respectful behaviour as they follow the exemplary role model of the staff.

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provision

The provider demonstrates an excellent awareness of her responsibilities in meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Stringent arrangements are in place for the safe recruitment and induction of staff. An effective appraisal process helps to monitor their continued suitability and on-going professional development. The pre-school welcomes support from their local authority to improve outcomes for children and the owner/manager encourages staff to undertake further training. Safeguarding is given the highest priority. Policies and procedures have recently been reviewed and updated. All staff demonstrate a very secure knowledge of safeguarding procedures and are confident of what to do should they have a concern about a child in their care. The owner/manager holds responsibility for monitoring and dealing with all safeguarding concerns and has updated her training. Children are cared for in an extremely safe and secure environment.

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provision

Thorough risk assessments alert staff to potential hazards which they deal with successfully.. Any incidents concerning children's safety and wellbeing are fully reviewed using feedback from staff and parents to help ensure the ongoing safety of children.

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provision

Children clearly benefit from the outstanding quality of teaching delivered from the well- qualified and experienced team of staff. All are aware of their role and responsibilities throughout each session, working extremely well together to deliver a calm and productive session. Required documentation is well organised, maintained accurately and high regard is given to ensure confidentiality. Policies and procedures are consistently implemented to ensure any concerns raised are prioritised and dealt with effectively. Self-evaluation is very thorough and forms part of the daily routine with all staff involved in reflecting on practice and planning for the future as they set up. This helps to ensure each session is planned to reflect the needs and interests of individual children. Parents and children contribute to the process as they are consulted through the use of questionnaires. More formal staff

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provision

meetings are held each term where all areas of the service are reviewed and new legislation, such as the two year developmental check, are introduced. Recommendations made at the last inspection have been successfully addressed and the owner/manager is passionate about her work and has a clear vision and action plan of improvements. These include increasing displays of children's craft work and further labelling using print and pictures.

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provision

Parents speak very highly of the staff and value opportunities to discuss children's learning and development each day at pick up times. They are encouraged to look through and contribute to their child's learning journals and are invited to more formal review meetings with their child's key person. Parents comment on how well their children are progressing as staff are very supportive and offer many learning experiences. Along with emails and informative newsletters, information is displayed on notice boards to keep parents up to date with the pre-school news. Staff work in partnership with other professionals exceptionally well to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This ensures that every child is able to reach their potential. For example, the pre-school provides one to one support for children that need it and individual care plans are drawn up with parents and any other agencies involved in a child's care to help ensure a truly

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provision

shared approach to meeting their needs. The owner/manager has worked hard to establish working relationships with several local schools. Reception teachers are welcome to visit and spend time with the children prior to them starting school. This also provides opportunities to share information about children's progress thus far, helping to smooth children's transitions into school.

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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 EY417451 Local authority Bromley Inspection number 890822 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 50 Name of provider Patricia Mary Noad Date of previous inspection 11/02/2011 Telephone number 0208 658 6667

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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: 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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