Stalbridge Pre-School

Stalbridge Pre-School Stalbridge C of E Primary School, Duck Lane, Stalbridge, STURMINSTER NEWTON, Dorset, DT10 2LP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/02/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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 2

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This provision is good

 Staff give an extremely positive approach to supporting children's well-being. This effectively supports children in becoming confident, well-rounded individuals.  Children are cared for in very well-organised, inviting play environments. This actively supports their positive interest and enjoyment of learning through play.  Staff work very well together as a team and maintain smooth running sessions with well established daily routines. This helps children feel safe and settle easily.  Staff work very well with other agencies involved in children's care and learning to fully support their specific individual needs. This effectively promotes continuity for children.  Children often join in with activities at the adjoining primary school and benefit from the 'buddy' system in place. This supports a smooth transition to school for them.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff are reflective of their practice, but evaluation systems are not fully established to effectively monitor all aspects of the provision.  Some opportunities are missed in fully supporting children's understanding of early mathematical concepts.

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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 children in their play and interaction with staff.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector viewed the pre-school's self-evaluation form.  The inspector talked to several parents present at the visit.  The inspector viewed a selection of learning journals and planning documentation.

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Information about the setting

Stalbridge Pre-School registered at these premises in 2011 and was originally operating at their previous premises since 1970. This parent committee run pre-school now operates from a purpose-built unit within the grounds of Stalbridge C of E Primary School situated in Stalbridge, Dorset. Children have use of an entrance hall, main play room and toilet facilities. There is an enclosed outdoor play area at the back of the premises. The pre- school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 38 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group. The pre-school is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for three-year-old children. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are learning English as an additional language. The pre-school is open Monday to Friday, term time only from 8.45am to 3pm.

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Information about the setting

Morning sessions run until 11.45am. The parent committee employs an overall manager and five members of staff, all of whom hold a recognised childcare qualification.

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

 develop further the evaluation systems to fully monitor the effectiveness of all aspects of practice, to support aims for continual improvements

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

 support further children's understanding of early mathematical concepts, by reinforcing the written number shape more within their spontaneous play opportunities.

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who attend

Staff have developed a good understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. They get to know children's individual needs very well through effective key person systems. For example, staff talk knowledgably about their key children and how they help them gain their next steps of development. They plan a great variety of meaningful play activities based on children's interests. As a consequence, children enjoy appropriate challenges in their play that successfully help them build on their existing skills. Children become fully absorbed and motivated in activities. For example, staff creatively use a story board and props to engage children's involvement. Children show great excitement as they enthusiastically join in with the reoccurring phrases of a favourite classic fairy tale. This effectively promotes children's enjoyment of books as they begin to anticipate key events and

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who attend

phrases. Consequently, this actively promotes children's early literacy skills.

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who attend

Staff instinctively extend children's spontaneous interests in play. For example, children find a worm underneath a stepping stone in the garden. Staff help them look under other stones to see what else they can find. Children become fascinated as they see more worms, some orange ants and a beetle scuttling around. They carefully use their magnifying glasses to examine the worms and see how they move over the soil. As a result, children develop a great interest in their natural world. Staff naturally bring counting into everyday activities. For example, they encourage children to count up to six before jumping off the assault course equipment. Consequently, children become confident in counting and begin to recognise those of personal significance. For instance, they say 'I'm all grown up now as I am three'. There are a variety of good written number shape resources available around the play areas. However, occasionally staff miss

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who attend

opportunities of using these to extend children's learning. For example, to support children in making their early connections with their counting to the written number.

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who attend

Children become absorbed exploring jelly, shaving foam, soil or sawdust mixtures. They say the jelly is squashy and gloopy. They excitedly squeeze and pop the bright, blue plastic coated water beads and say these are like blueberries. This helps develop children's language skills very well as they learn new words to express their ideas. Children listen very attentively as they join in with a favourite sound game. They are keen to guess what makes each particular sound and confidently express their ideas. For example, they say 'it's that time ticking thing' as they hear an alarm clock. They recognise further sounds reflecting the routine of getting up in the morning, such as a kettle or running tap. This actively encourages children's listening and attention skills. Consequently, children begin to gain the necessary interest to develop their future skills. Parents say they are very happy with the pre-school and feel their children make good progress there. They say

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who attend

overall, they feel involved and supported in sharing their child's achievements. Staff talk to parents about their child's development as they start and use this information to plan initial activities. Parents are invited to 'stay and play' sessions each month. In addition, they are able to talk with their child's key worker about their child's progress. This actively helps to provide a consistent approach for children's learning.

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

Children play in a very rich and vibrant learning environment. Staff organise this exceptionally well to provide excellent learning opportunities in each area. For example, children explore a great variety of exciting materials, textures and colours in the designated 'creation station' area. The organisation of this area supports children's independent creativity extremely well. Children talk about a cafe they visited and this prompts a change of the role play area to being a cafe. Staff provide an excellent range of resources to support this interest. For example, they laminate picture menus for children to use and display posters of healthy fruits and vegetables. Children enjoy choosing nutritious foods, such as apples, bananas, cheese or raisins that they want for their meal. They mark against the corresponding pictures on their menu so their friends know what to 'cook' for them. This effectively reinforces children's choices of healthy foods and supports

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

them in mark making for a purpose. In addition, children's imaginary ideas are enhanced as they are able to act out their experiences.

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

Staff emphasis the benefits of healthy lifestyles for children with visits from the dental hygienist. This promotes children's understanding of looking after their teeth and eating nutritious foods extremely well. Children love the free-flow play experiences offered, which help them benefit from lots of fresh air and exercise. They eagerly attempt the challenges and risks of the excellent range of outdoor activities offered. For example, they happily climb on, over, through and under the sturdy assault course equipment. This helps them develop very good control of their body movements and they start to balance and climb carefully. Staff are proactive in letting children take 'safe risks' in their play. They ask children how they are going to climb safely along the curved wall of the outside area. Children are quick to realise they need to be careful and hold onto the top fence as they climb. Consequently, children develop a very sound understanding of how to keep

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

Staff are highly committed to enabling every child to reach their full potential. For example, they support children's specific needs extremely positively and frequently liaise with other involved agencies to implement shared strategies. This proactive approach provides continuity for children and effectively supports their progress. Staff and children are familiar with a simple sign language and confidently sign along to a favourite story. These procedures are highly effective in providing a fully inclusive provision. Children often meet with the reception teacher and pupils from the adjoining school for joint activities. A 'buddy' system has been set up so that older school children can support pre-school children in moving on to their 'big' school. This liaison is extremely effective in making this transition a smooth learning journey for children. Children respond exceptionally well to the very caring, reassuring and humorous approach given by staff. They praise children's

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

efforts and kindness with extremely positive recognition and maintain consistent and highly effective boundaries. Consequently, children demonstrate very high levels of self- esteem and behave very well. Children are quick to negotiate with each other to solve problems in their play. For instance, they play cooperatively as they help each other stack some rectangular plastic crates to make a small tower. This actively encourages children in forming their early friendships and developing a positive attitude to others.

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provision

Staff have a very sound awareness of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. All staff have completed safeguarding training and are aware of their responsibilities. The manager actively liaises with other involved agencies, which provides a cohesive approach to protecting children's welfare. Suitable recruitment procedures are in place and the manager effectively supports new staff through a clear induction process. Clear appraisal systems are in place and the parent committee support the manager in this process. They encourage staff in ongoing training opportunities. This effectively enhances staff development, which helps to promote outcomes for children.

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provision

The pre-school staff continually reflect on their practice, which helps them make ongoing improvements. For example, they identified a need to develop better systems of liaison with other settings children attend. They now initiate a shared approach to children's development, which successfully supports continuity in children's learning. This promotes positive partnership working. The recently formed committee support staff well in developing the pre-school. For example, they have appointed a dedicated safeguarding committee member to support staff should a concern arise with a child. However, their systems of monitoring some areas of practice are not yet fully established. For instance, to ensure they consistently monitor all aspects of the operational procedures. Staff complete daily risk assessments and have suitable prevention in place overall. For instance, they check blind cords are out of reach and that the outside ramp is clear of debris. They

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provision

complete frequent fire drills with children and evaluate the effectiveness of this practice. This shows they follow appropriate procedures to help minimise accidents.

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provision

Staff liaise with parents on summarising their child's development in preparation for completing the progress check for two-year-old children. In addition, staff use tracker systems to plot children's progress across the seven areas of learning. This helps them promptly identify any gaps in their learning and supports effective monitoring of children's development. Consequently, staff promote children's development very well and effectively support them in making good progress across each area of learning.

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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 EY419797 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 810141 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 38 Name of provider Stalbridge Pre-School Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01963 364723

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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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