Ducklings Pre-School

Ducklings Preschool Methodist Church Hall, North Square,Chickerell, Weymouth, Dorset, DT3 4DX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/02/2013 15/01/2009

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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 keen and enthusiastic learners. They have very good opportunities to make free choices in what they want to play with, and how they want to play.  Parents are actively involved in all aspects of their child's care and learning, helping to ensure a consistent approach.  Children develop a secure awareness of their own community and the wider world that encourages them to value and respect diversity.  Children access the well-resourced role-play areas and a broad range of craft and design materials to promote their creativity and imaginative play well.  The staff team work very well together, led by a well-qualified manager with a clear drive for improvement.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Effective tools for children who learn English as an additional are not always fully utilised to support their communication needs.  Not all children are involved in practising the emergency evacuation procedures to reinforce their awareness of personal safety.

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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 playroom and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector completed a joint observation and held meetings at an appropriate time with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documents and sampled welfare records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of staff suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children and the provider's self-evaluation form.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection and engaged in discussions with staff.

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Information about the setting

Ducklings Preschool registered in 1990 and is a committee run group. It operates from one large playroom within a church hall situated in Chickerell Village, near Weymouth in Dorset. There is a fully enclosed paved area for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The preschool is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 39 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group. The preschool is registered to receive government funding for free nursery education for children aged two, three and four years. They support children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and children who learn English as an additional language. The preschool operates during school term times only. They open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9am to 2.45pm and on Wednesday and Friday from 9am to 1pm.

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Information about the setting

There are seven members of staff employed at the preschool. The manager holds a level 4 qualification in childcare. Three staff hold level 3 qualifications, and one of these is currently working towards an early years foundation degree. Two staff hold level 2 qualifications and are both working towards level 3. One member of staff on an apprenticeship is working towards gaining a level 2 qualification.

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

 strengthen further the strategies used to support children who learn English as an additional language in communicating their needs

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

 improve emergency evacuation procedures to ensure that all children are involved in practises to further increase their awareness of personal safety.

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who attend

Children are keen and enthusiastic learners. On arrival, they are quick to settle to an activity of their choice and continue to be fully involved and engaged in learning throughout the session. This is due to the highly accessible and stimulating environment that staff prepare ready for children's arrival. Children engage in a very broad range of fun and interesting activities, which support their learning in all areas. Staff provide sensitive support to ensure children make the very best of the learning opportunities on offer. This means that children make good progress in their learning and are well prepared for the next stage in their learning. Staff have a very secure understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They complete frequent observations of children as they play. Staff use this information well, along with information provided from parents, to plan activities that will support children in taking the

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who attend

Excellent partnership working with parents is in place. Staff meet with parents frequently to share children's learning journeys, detailing how children are progressing. Staff complete the required progress check for two-year-olds in partnership with parents, and pass this on to health professionals as required. Parents have the opportunity to attend workshops to increase their own awareness of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how staff support children's learning within the setting. A book-sharing scheme enables children to select a book to take home and share with family members. This means that parents are fully involved and encouraged to continue to support children's learning at home.

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who attend

Children are keen to explore and investigate. They weigh and stir the pancake mix, noticing the changes in the ingredients and suggesting ways to make the mixture runnier. They are encouraged to think things through and problem solve. As they select a torch from the box, they consider why it does not light up and what they could do to make it work. Extremely well resourced role-play areas, help to support children's all round development. The area has been thoughtfully set up to link with a topic about Chinese New Year and a recent outing to a Chinese restaurant. Children pretend to cook using woks, eat using chopsticks and read menus and magazines written in Chinese.

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who attend

Children make marks in the notebooks, pretending to write food orders. As well as encouraging children to use their imaginations and develop early literacy skills, this helps them develop a respectful awareness and understanding of the wider world. Outings to the local library, church, park and school means that children develop a strong sense of their own community. Children are confident communicators. They engage in discussions with adults and their friends when playing and sharing news. Staff have implemented some positive strategies to enable children who lack confident language skills to communicate. For example, they have learnt key words in children's home language when this is not English and have purchased books in different languages. Although staff have picture cards to use to aid communication during regular routines, these are not always fully accessible to help children to make their needs known at all times and in all areas.

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

Children settle extremely well in the welcoming and friendly preschool. They develop strong bonds with their key person, who has a detailed understanding of their individual needs and personalities. Children feel secure as they understand the consistent boundaries. They revisit the 'Golden Rules', which they have helped to create, to remind them of how to behave. Staff act as good role models and encourage children to be polite and caring towards each other. Children learn to share and take turns in their games, helping them to build strong relationships with others. Children's independence is encouraged well. They pour their own drink of milk, find their fruit and have a go at peeling it themselves. Children benefit from being able to make choices about what they want to play with and where they want to play. The outdoor environment is available for them to use freely throughout the day. Staff make sure that wet weather gear is easily accessible to enable

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

children to play in a way that suits them, even on the rainiest days. The playroom is stimulating and very well organised. The skilful use of clearly labelled and accessible drawer units and shelving enables children to select from a wide range of high quality resources. For example, children using the creative area access a broad range of natural and man-made materials enabling them to imagine and develop their own projects. They select with their own ideas in mind, and show pride and a strong sense of satisfaction in meeting their own goals.

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

Safety is a priority for all staff. Daily checks and full risk assessments help to ensure the preschool environment, and any outings enjoyed by the children, are as safe as can be. Children are starting to learn about safety. Along with a member of staff, they participate in carrying out basic risk assessments. They tick off the areas they have checked on their white boards, feeling very important as they help to make the preschool safe. Children practise the emergency evacuation procedure regularly, which contributes towards their awareness of personal safety. However, staff do not monitor these fully to make sure that all children have an opportunity to be involved on different days. Staff implement good practices and procedures to support children's health. Children enjoy healthy snacks and drinks during the day. Children benefit from opportunities to get outside in the fresh air daily. They use a wide range of play equipment to increase their physical skills, such as

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

balance beams and scooters. They also go on walks in the local community and visit the local school for weekly physical education sessions. This helps them to develop a positive attitude towards physical activity and recognise the benefits of it for their long-term health.

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provision

Management and staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the learning and development and safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They have made many positive changes since the last inspection, such as improvements to the registration system help to support children's safety. This means that all those involved work consistently to support children in reaching their full potential. Rigorous procedures are followed with regards to staff recruitment and vetting to help keep children safe. All those working with the children have full checks completed, and participate in a detailed induction, so they are clear about their role and responsibilities. Safeguarding policies and procedures are reviewed regularly in-line with changes in requirements. All staff have a confident understanding of their individual roles and responsibilities when dealing with any child protection concerns. They follow effective

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provision

practices such as recording visitors to the setting and noting any existing injuries, which helps them to support children's ongoing welfare.

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provision

Strong leadership from the manager means that the staff work well together as a team. Their individual skills are valued and contribute towards the successful running of the preschool. All staff are keen to develop their own knowledge through attending training, which is fully supported by the management. Staff cascade newly gained skills during staff meetings, increasing the knowledge and skills of the whole staff team and ensuring consistency in their approach. Thorough self-evaluations are completed and include the thoughts and views of staff, parents and children. This helps the preschool to identify priorities and make improvements to all aspects of the provision. The preschool value the support and guidance of other early years professionals. Staff also visit other settings to identify possible ways in which their own practices can be improved upon to better meet the needs of the children attending. This demonstrates the preschools commitment to

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provision

Parents state that they are very happy with the preschool. They feel fully involved in their child's learning and report that staff value the information they provide through the 'wow' notes. Parents are fully aware of the settings policies and procedures. They receive details of any changes to keep them up-to date through regular newsletters and posters. Staff establish extensive links with the local primary school. Children visit the school weekly and join in with celebrations and fund raising events throughout the year. Schoolteachers make regular visits to the preschool to get to know children. This eases children's transition from preschool to formal education when it happens.

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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 140990 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 846561

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 25 Number of children on roll 39 Name of provider Ducklings Pre-School Chickerell Date of previous inspection 15/01/2009 Telephone number 01305 766920

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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.

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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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