Woolston Adventure preschool

The Woolston Centre, Church Road, Southampton, Hampshire, SO19 9FU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/10/2012 23/09/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is good

 Assessment arrangements are not always used consistently across the staff team, so everyone knows how best to support individual children  Staff do not make full use of the outdoor area in order to fully support children's learning across all areas of development  Children are happy and settled, as staff make good use of home visits to get to know children and their families well before they start  A high emphasis is placed on staff receiving good quality training, supervision and an annual appraisal to enable staff to have the skills and knowledge to deliver high quality care and education for the children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Indoors, staff provide a wide range of play and learning experiences that promote children's all round development effectively. This environment is welcoming and supports children's individual interests, so all make good progress  Assessment arrangements are not always used consistently across the staff team, so everyone knows how best to support individual children.

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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 took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children's play and learning activities, together with staff interactions in both in the indoor and outdoor environments

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the chair of the committee and the manager about the management structure, self evaluation and development plans

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of children's assessment records and planning documentation

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of staff suitability including recruitment and vetting procedures, and staff qualifications.

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Information about the setting

Woolston Community Pre-School 1 is one of two sessional pre-schools run by the same committee. It registered in 1975 and operates from a refurbished nursery block in a community building in the Woolston area of Southampton. There is a fully enclosed outside area used by all children. Children attend a variety of sessions and live in the local and surrounding areas. The pre-school is also registered on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 32 children on roll in the early years age range. The pre-school is open throughout the week, except for Monday mornings, from 9am to 12 noon and from 12.30pm to 3.30pm during school term time. There is also an optional lunch club. The pre-school currently supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and children learning English as an additional language. There are eight members of staff, of whom one holds a relevant Foundation

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Information about the setting

Degree and seven hold early years qualifications to at least level 2.

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

 improve monitoring of assessment arrangements to make sure they are all consistent, regular and precise, and that assessment of children always involves sharing information with other staff involved with the children

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

 improve further resourcing of the outdoor area so that it offers a highly stimulating environment with resources that promote learning and challenge across all seven required areas of learning, and which support the different interests of children.

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who attend

Children make good progress in their learning, taking into account their starting points and the length of time they have been attending. This progress is due to the support and guidance staff provide as the children choose activities. Staff are observant and responsive to opportunities to join in play, which stimulates children's interest. For example, staff used appropriate questions to extend children's ideas when playing with the playdough, counting and comparing the items they have made. Consequently, children persist at activities they enjoy.

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who attend

Staff offer children an inviting and interesting environment which encourages them to play and learn imaginatively. The indoor space provides a broad range of toys and activities which support children's learning across all seven required areas. Children benefit from interesting experiences which they are eager to share and talk about. For example, children enjoy songs, stories and activities to promote Harvest Festival. Children have open access to a large outdoor area in which they extend their physical skills through running, jumping and riding. However, those children who prefer to learn outdoors cannot access resources that cover all required areas of learning or their particular individual interests, as staff do not provide them.

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who attend

Despite this drawback in the outdoor area, the educational programmes offered by staff help all children to reach the expected levels in all areas of development. This is because they are provided with a good balance of free play and adult-led activities. Consequently, children develop a strong exploratory and independent approach during their play. Staff make good use of regular staff meetings and informal discussions at the beginning and end of each session to evaluate the success of activities. There is a high emphasis on developing children's communication and language skills, and this is demonstrated by the implementation of a special national initiative. Staff routinely use sign language alongside the spoken word to support children's speech and language. They use new words during children's play to extend vocabulary. For example 'enormous' was introduced during story time to describe a giant pumpkin.

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who attend

The systems staff used to observe and track children's progress are effective overall. Children's Learning Journeys are currently being developed further to ensure that they include observations about children's progress, photographs, individual summaries and planning for their next steps in learning and development. However, sometimes information about individual children is not shared across the wider staff team. Staff demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements and, as a consequence, children are making good progress.

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who attend

The pre-school invites parents to termly progress meetings with staff to discuss their children's progress. Good systems are in place to obtain children's starting points from parents, which help to promote children's ongoing learning as they first join the pre- school.

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who attend

Staff make good provision for children with identified additional needs The pre-school has strong links with a range of outside professionals who work closely with the setting to put into place plans for children needing help with language or special educational needs and/ or disabilities. These plans are thorough, detailed, and shared with parents so that everyone can work towards ensuring the child's best interests are served.

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who attend

Overall, children are working within the typical range of development expected for their age across all seven areas of learning. Children are interested in a wide range of toys and activities and are keen and interested learners who display the characteristics of effective learning. Staff thoroughly support their acquisition of these skills and, therefore, children are well prepared for their future development when they move on to school.

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

Children's behaviour is good because staff give clear explanations when help is required to achieve this. High concentration skills at activities they enjoy also help children to behave well. They cooperate with routine events, such as 'Hello time'. They listen attentively to staff, and enjoy joining in with group story and singing times because staff make them interesting. Children are encouraged to take responsibility for their safety. Their independence is well supported in their personal care. They follow good hygiene routines and understand the reasons why, as staff explain these clearly.

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

Snack time is an important part of the day where children enjoy positive interaction with each other and staff. Staff expect them to help prepare the area and decide when to enjoy their snack. Children help themselves to a range of healthy and nutritious foods that give them choice and help them to think about a healthy diet. They are encouraged to pour their own milk, cut their own fruit and butter their own crackers.

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

All children, especially those in need of additional support, form appropriate bonds and secure emotional attachments. Home visits are provided before children start, where useful information is collected from parents about children's developmental starting points, likes and dislikes, and any additional support required. As a consequence, children's individual welfare needs are met. There is a good 'key person' system in place and staff work closely with parents and other agencies to ensure all children are successfully included in everything on offer.

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provision

The leadership and management of the pre-school instigate rigorous and effective safeguarding procedures for child protection and recruiting suitable staff. The named child protection officer has a good knowledge of child protection procedures and fully understands the responsibility to protect the welfare of children. All staff have a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. They know the possible signs that a child is at risk of harm and understand fully what to do if they have any concerns about a child. Policies and procedures are regularly reviewed to help ensure that they are up to date. Staff sign to say that they have read them and are fully aware of their contents, implementing them consistently. Children's safety is maintained using comprehensive risk assessments.

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provision

The committee and senior managers demonstrate a generally comprehensive understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The provision delivers engaging activities across all areas of the educational programmes in order for children to progress well towards the early learning goals. Overall, all children are making good progress in relation to their starting points and capabilities. They enjoy a broad range of experiences. The manager is relatively new to the post but has made significant improvements to the pre-school. Monitoring procedures for capturing children's learning and development are being reviewed and this reassessment of systems is improving further the planning for children's next steps in learning, although monitoring of the assessment system is not yet fully in place. The 'key person' system is working well, so each child has a special person who cares for them.

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provision

This means that children are confident and ready for school or the next stage in their learning. There is a strong appraisal and supervision system in place to address staff training and professional development needs on an ongoing basis. Staff are very keen on participating in training to further build on their knowledge and understanding of early years practice. They support each other to do so. A thorough induction programme is provided to all new staff and also to students so that they know what their duties and responsibilities are in terms of the staff team.

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provision

The manager works very closely with relevant support staff from the local authority, actively seeking their advice and acting on it to improve quality. The committee, manager and staff make good use of self-evaluation to set challenging targets for improvement through on-going discussion, consultation with parents and the use of clear action plans. They are currently focusing on gaining The Healthy Early Years award to promote children's healthy lifestyles. All recommendations made at the last inspection have been fully met.

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provision

There are generally effective systems to work in partnership with parents and carers. Staff value all parents' contributions regarding their children and are collecting their views to identify future priorities for the setting. Parents receive feedback at the end of each session and a termly parents' evening provides opportunities to meet with their children's key person. Parents benefit from family events such as celebrating Her Majesty The Queen's Diamond Jubilee and holding a fundraising coffee morning for the McMillan charity. Parents report that their children are settled and happy and that the staff provide a friendly and caring environment.

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provision

The pre-school works closely with other agencies involved with children and their families. For example, support workers and speech-and-language therapists regularly involved with some children and their families share information with the provision about their individual needs. Although key staff are aware of this information it is not routinely shared with all staff so continuity of care may not be maintained. Staff foster exceptional partnerships with other professionals at local schools who visit to support children's move to full time education. Children with identified needs receive individual support plans and this ensures that all children are well prepared for their transition to school.

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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 131577 Local authority Southampton Inspection number 905388 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 32 Name of provider Woolston Community Pre-School I & II Date of previous inspection 23/09/2009 Telephone number 023 8044 4414

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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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