Trelowan Preschool

Trelowan Pre-School Treverbyn Rise, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 8RA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/03/2013 23/03/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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

 An exceptionally knowledgeable, skilful and enthusiastic staff team provide an outstanding educational programme and this ensures every child is making good or better progress in all areas of their learning.  The strong, well established key person system provides excellent levels of care and support to promote all children’s independence and confidence.  Dedicated and highly trained staff offer outstanding support; together with very effective partnerships with health and social care services promotes a strong focus on equality of opportunity.  Well-focused and highly effective partnerships with parents and schools provide excellent opportunities to further continue children’s learning and development.  Leaders at all levels demonstrate an excellent understanding of their responsibilities. Their vision to strive for continuous improvement is enthusiastically shared throughout the staff team.

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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

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged 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 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  scheduled 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 a range of learning activities in the indoor and outdoor environment.  The inspector held meetings with the manager and chair of committee.  The inspector talked with staff and parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of nursery documentation and children’s assessment records and planning documentation.

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Information about the setting

Trelowan Pre-School was registered in 2002 and is managed by a committee. It operates from a building in the grounds of Penryn College, in the town of Penryn, in Cornwall. Children have sole use of a secure outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school is open each weekday from 8:45am to 3pm during term time only. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 54 children in the early years age group. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities; and children who speak English as an additional language. The pre- school receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four. Some children also attend other early years settings. There are seven members of staff who work with the children, of these six are qualified. The manager has achieved Early Years Professional Status.

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

 update the record used for monitoring the assessment of children's learning to ensure it is fully in line with the current seven areas of learning to promote its effective use as a source of information.

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who attend

Every child is making good or better progress at this outstanding provision. From the start to the end of the daily sessions, all children are fully engaged with the exciting and interesting activities and resources. The exceptional educational programme, which covers all areas of learning, has a strong focus on the prime areas. The ‘wake and shake’ dance time provides excellent opportunities for children to develop their physical capabilities and personal, social and emotional well-being as they follow instructions and jump, shake, and swing their arms to music. The session provides children with a highly enjoyable start to the session which they embrace with enthusiasm; creating a positive ‘buzz’ of excitement and squeals of delight from the children. Staff celebrate with the children on their successful accomplishment of each physical challenge. For instance, staff praise children with comments of, ‘well done, fantastic star jumps’, and support their remarks with the

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who attend

use of Makaton sign language. Older children have a good understanding of their physical self, for example, they can name parts of their body, and can distinguish between left and right. Younger children demonstrate their counting skills as they count up to 5, and move around the room with constant laughter. Children with mobility and balance difficulties are carefully supported by skilled staff and great enjoyment is expressed by all.

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who attend

Children are positively encouraged to access the outside play area all year round. Enthusiastic staff promote learning outdoors by encouraging children to take turns as they run under and through the tunnel, ride bikes, throw and kick balls to each other, use paints and chalks on the fence and roll small balls down the low level guttering. Children show great excitement as they run up and down the ramp to chase the balls and work together to solve the problem of how to catch them at the bottom of the ramp. There is superb provision for children to learn about how to take risks and meet challenges. For instance, children access the tree swing and use the den with camouflaged roof and walls to develop their imaginative play. The ramp into the outside play area allows all children, including those with mobility aids, to access the whole of the outdoor play area. Staff plan additional activities outside to further promote boys' interests and learning styles. For

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who attend

example, boys are encouraged to engage in activities linked to their identified interests such as sport, farming and transport.

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who attend

There is an exceptionally well planned balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities throughout the session. Children show very high levels of confidence as they become fully engrossed in their role play. Imaginative role-play is particularly popular with the children and is used to support children's understanding of the world. Toy medical instruments are carefully used by the children to check staff and visitor’s heart rates and to examine the insides of the adult’s mouths and ears. Children consistently demonstrate the characteristics of effective learners as they play, explore, and ask questions to check their understanding. Willing staff pretend to be unwell and use highly effective questioning to encourage the children to think about a possible diagnosis for their ailments. One child pretends to bring a drink of water, and another child brings an ice-cream as their response to the adult saying they are ‘feeling very hot’. A 3-year-old girl carefully wraps a real

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who attend

bandage around the adult’s wrist to help with the pain. A 4-year-old boy presses the buttons on a cash register, he says, “I am checking the computer to see why she is poorly” and gleefully comments, “She has a skeleton”. He continues to press the buttons and shows he can recognise all the numbers. The child tells me the adult, ‘must be in hospital for 9 weeks’. Children use mark making to convey information, for example, they use notepads and pencils to write down the staff’s name and ask the staff to spell out the letters. Children correctly use phonetic sounds to write correct letter shapes. Adults introduce new words as they talked to children about the doctor writing prescriptions for medicine.

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who attend

The highly qualified, skilled, dedicated and talented team have a strong knowledge and understanding of the different ways children learn. They are very familiar with professional guidance material and use this very effectively to understand and make thorough observations of each child’s development and learning. They assess each child’s progress and plan for the next steps in their learning. Individual children’s learning journeys are very detailed and provide a wonderful account of their progress over time and are highly prized by parents. Staff make excellent use of accurate assessments to monitor and evaluate children’s learning.

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who attend

Children have regular opportunities to go on worthwhile outings to local places of interest. Excellent use is made of the school facilities; in particular, parents, children and staff participate in a highly successful sports day each summer when they use the nearby purpose-built physical sports facility. World and local celebration days are fully incorporated into the educational programme. Children excitedly describe the previous day’s food festivity to acknowledge St. Piran’s Day, and older children understand he is a, ‘Saint Man of Cornwall’. Children and staff enthusiastically talk about their plans to dress up tomorrow as a character from their favourite book to celebrate World Book Day.

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

All children arrive at the setting with great enthusiasm and are eager to learn. Routines are well understood by the children as they register their attendance using their fish- shaped name labels on the numbered board. They quickly make their choice from the wide range of stimulating and appealing activities and resources available. Strong friendships are evident as children play harmoniously in small groups. For instance, at the start of the session a group of boys in the book area share their thoughts and feelings with staff about past and future rugby matches. Excellent questioning by the interested staff member shows the children’s depth of knowledge about the countries involved, the colour of the kit worn by players and their enthusiasm for the winners of the tournament. Children express their views and interests with confidence. Expert story telling captivates the children’s interest; the level of anticipation is heightened by the adult’s tone of voice

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

and pretence of, ‘being too scared to turn the page’. Children scream and howl, in excitement, as the ghost story unfolds. One of the adults makes good use of a cardboard skeleton to enhance the story and this adds to the children’s excitement. A reassuring cuddle helps children who feel a little unsure and they soon continue to be fascinated by the characters and join in with the thrilling end of the story.

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

Snack and meal times are a highly sociable part of the day. Staff show keen interest and understanding as they talk with all the children about the children’s home life, and past and future events. Specialised seating ensures all children can sit together and maintain friendships. Staff have excellent knowledge and understanding of the importance of healthy diets and exercise. As a result, parents are provided with very good advice about appropriate choices and contents of their child’s lunch box. All food provided by the setting is healthy, balanced and nutritious. Staff make very good use of the ‘wake and shake’ dance time to talk to the children about being active and listening to the changes in their heart beat. Staff are excellent role models as they fully participate in all active play with lots of laughter and friendly banter shared with each other.

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

Wonderful attention is given to provide outstanding levels of care and support for all children. The good staff to child ratio promotes high levels of interaction and engagement, which results in children’s personal needs being met exceptionally well. One-to-one care is expertly provided for children with disabilities and those with special education needs. As a result, all children are included in the excellent daily routines and activities without any disruption to the flow of the session. Staff regularly attend specialised medical and health training, and as result, they are fully competent and knowledgeable in meeting children’s specific needs. The key person system is exceptionally effective; there are strong and very secure emotional bonds between children and the adults. The colourful photographic display in the reception area provides clear identification of the key person and the children in their group.

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

The staff’s enthusiasm and motivation does not wain throughout the day. Children arriving for the afternoon session are enthusiastically welcomed and fully supported in their learning. All children are very well behaved. They show empathy and a sincere concern for others. For instance, one child was worried that another child was near to the open door in her specialised walking frame. The child gently suggested that she waited for someone to, ‘put on your coat because it is raining’. Staff use their knowledge of other languages to provide valuable support to children who are new to English. Use of key words in the language spoken in the child’s home provided by parents further ensure all children feel included and valued.

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

Excellent attention is given to ensure children are well prepared for transition to school. There are close working partnerships with the local schools. The setting writes to the reception class teachers at the relevant school enclosing photographs of the individual children. Local schools reciprocate by visiting the pre-school to get to know the children, and to talk with staff about the child’s progress and what they are capable of, and to build vital trusting and caring relationships with children and their parents.

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provision

The well-established and loyal committee have long-term connections with the setting. Leaders at all levels demonstrate an excellent understanding of their responsibilities as they ensure that the pre-school meets the learning and development, and the safeguarding and welfare requirements to a very high standard. Close and highly effective collaborations between the committee and staff ensure there is very close monitoring of the planning and delivery of the educational programme for all children. There is a comprehensive system in place to monitor the assessments and evaluate children’s learning. This system requires minor improvement to ensure all monitoring is in line with the current areas of learning and this will allow it to be used with ease to support continuity of care and learning with other provisions. Committee members are proud to be involved in this extremely successful nursery and they relish the challenges presented as

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provision

they drive improvements. Great emphasis is placed on children’s safety. For instance, the committee quickly acted upon a concern raised by the manager about the safety of the roof of a nearby school building following damage caused by high winds.

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provision

The highly experienced and qualified leaders strive for continuous improvement. The manager closely monitors the effectiveness of the staff team; their performance and practice. This was demonstrated well during the inspection; after an observation of an activity the manager provided concise feedback to the member of staff about the effectiveness of the teaching observed. The manager accurately assessed the quality of teaching and children’s learning which is of a consistently high standard. Practitioners reflect on their performance and identify how they can improve further. Regular appraisals and supervisions provide staff with time to identify and discuss their professional development needs. All training attended by staff is used very effectively to further improve the excellent practice. For example, all staff have attended child protection training and most have attended the ‘Integrated Working in Cornwall Programme’.

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provision

Consequently, staff demonstrate a thorough knowledge and understanding of the correct safeguarding policy and procedures to follow should they have concerns about a child. Staff play a vital role as they work in partnership with statutory services and professional groups to safeguard children. The work of the professional early years practitioners at the setting is highly commendable and brings about good outcomes for families.

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provision

The leaders’ vision for success is shared throughout the team. Extremely effective use is made of all feedback received from parents, other professionals and agencies; together with the staff team’s strong ambition to strive for excellence. The well-considered self- evaluation leads consistently to further improvements throughout the setting. For example, last year the analysis of the summative assessments led staff to recognise differences in outcomes between boys and girls attending the pre-school. Consequently the educational programme was successfully adapted to suit children’s differing learning styles. Rich, varied and imaginative experiences are delivered every day to engage, motivate and enthuse all children. Consequently, the achievement gap between boys and girls has closed.

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provision

There is a strong focus on promoting equality of opportunity for all children that attend. Outstanding support is provided for children with special educational needs or disabilities. Partners from health and social care services regularly visit the pre-school to provide support and advice. This highly effective teamwork ensures children’s specific educational and welfare needs are met exceptionally well.

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provision

Excellent links with primary and secondary schools enhances the learning experiences of pre-school children and pupils. Pupils work closely with the pre-school to complete specific project work, for example, on writing a questionnaire for parents that use the pre-school. The analysis of the completed questionnaires resulted in a colourful, personalised and informative photographic display which adorns the reception area. This helps parents to develop their knowledge and understanding of how children learn at this outstanding setting. The setting provides invaluable, high quality work experience placements to help develop health and childcare workers of the future. Younger school-aged children, in particular those who lack self-esteem in their literacy skills, are warmly welcomed into the pre-school as they read to the children. All children enjoy and benefit from this inspiring partnership.

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provision

Parents are fully involved in their children’s learning. There are regular opportunities, informal and formal, for parents to discuss with staff the good and often rapid improvement their child is making. The recommendation from the last inspection has been fully met. The next steps in the learning and development for each child are recorded as part of their learning journeys and shared with parents. Assessments are used very effectively in discussion with parents to clearly explain children’s progress. Parents are respected as co-educators of their children and are sensitively encouraged to support their child’s learning and development at home. All parents spoken to are extremely complimentary of the setting. In particular, parents praise the staff’s high levels of dedication and the friendly and trusting relationships that are nurtured and highly valued. These excellent partnerships with all parents successfully promotes children’s well-being,

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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 action. 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 EY249233 Local authority Cornwall Inspection number 908426 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 54 Name of provider Trelowan Pre-School Date of previous inspection 23/03/2010 Telephone number 01326 378377

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Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: 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, which are usually the childminder’s 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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