Sunflower Maunds

Sunflower Maunds Hatch Pre- School Maunds Hatch Pre School, Maunds Hatch, HARLOW, Essex, CM18 7RG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/04/2013 27/09/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Staff have a good understanding of keeping children safe. Children's behaviour shows that they feel safe in the setting.  Children are forming strong bonds and attachments with the staff which promotes their confidence and self-esteem.  Partnerships with parents are established so that children benefit from continuity of care and are able to continue their learning at home.

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It is not yet good because

 Observations and assessments of children's learning are not consistently rigorous therefore planned experiences for children are occasionally not well matched to children's individual needs.  Staff have not provided a written summary of the progress of children aged between two and three years.  Self-evaluation lacks rigour and therefore does not support on-going improvements to the provision for 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

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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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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 spoken to on the day of inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager and staff throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, the self-evaluation form and a range of other documentation including a selection of policies and children's records.  The inspector observed children's activities both indoors and outside

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Information about the setting

Sunflowers Maunds Hatch Pre-School was registered in 2010 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in Harlow, Essex, and is managed by a committee. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from a community building and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school employs three members of child care staff, and one volunteer. Of these, two hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and one holds level 2.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school opens Monday to Friday during the school term. Sessions are from 9am until 12 noon. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 15 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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must:

 improve the monitoring of assessment and planning to ensure that all children's needs are supported in all the areas of learning and development and that they are all making good progress.

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must:

 provide a written progress check for all children aged between two and three years of age.

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

 develop further the self-evaluation of the setting's practice by including the views of all users to make sure that the needs of all children are met.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is generally good. Children gain confidence as staff show them how to use the computer mouse to participate in age appropriate computer games. Staff help show children as young as two, how to move the mouse to correspond with the movement of the cursor on the screen and to click at the appropriate time. Staff guide children's hands to move the mouse to the correct place. Staff respond well to children's ideas and suggestions. For example, one child notices the wind in the garden and asks a member of staff to help her make a kite. This inspires other children to join in making kites of their own, resulting in several children enjoying the fresh air and exercise in the garden with their kites. Children's physical skills are generally promoted through providing a selection of toys and equipment. In the garden, children are encouraged to feel the difference in exploring the soil while wearing plastic gloves and then later with bare hands.

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who attend

These activities are exciting and interesting, and the teaching is generally good. However, these activities are generalised and not specifically targeted at individual children's next steps to support and extend their progress in their learning and development.

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who attend

Parents view their involvement in their children's learning as good. They are satisfied in the amount of information shared. Parents attend review meetings with their child's key person to discuss and share information on the child's progress. Key persons show an awareness of where children are in relation to the expectations for their age and have a reasonable understanding of their next steps in their learning and development. However, the current assessment and planning processes do not effectively ensure that all children consistently receive individually tailored activities based on an accurate assessment of their next steps. Therefore their progress is not maximised.

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who attend

Children's independence and self-confidence are supported and they are generally making sound progress in the prime and specific areas of learning in preparation for the transfer to school. Children who speak English as an additional language are appropriately supported by sound partnerships with parents and with the use of resources such as dual language posters. This results in children making satisfactory progress in their communication and language skills in English.

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

Children display good levels of confidence and self-esteem. This is because the key persons are skilled in forming firm and appropriate bonds and attachments with the children. Children display confidence in asking for help in making their kites, finding the paper, wool and ribbons for the tail and in being shown how to knot the ribbon. Children, who are settling in, respond well to the staff and this results in children being able to leave their parent or main carer happily. Children's behaviour is generally good and this shows that they feel safe in the setting. They are developing a general awareness of understanding risk through activities that encourage them to explore their environment and to use tools safely. For example, children show confidence when exploring the soil using gardening tools responsibly and creating their kites using scissors.

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

Parents comment on how quickly their children have settled due to the close relationships formed with staff. Every session, parents are told what activities their child has participated in that day, how they have been and any information, such as accidents, are acknowledged by parents.

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

Care practices are good and support children's emotional well-being and welfare. Staff give children clear messages to develop their understanding of eating healthily. For example, staff provide a choice of fruit for snack and children occasionally participate in activities such as growing tomatoes, further encouraging children to adopt a healthy attitude towards their diet. Children regularly participate in some physical exercise indoors and outside. Children use scooters inside the main hall and balls, trikes and hoops in the garden. The small climbing frame, balancing stilts and the provision of a broad selection of tools and equipment, are developmentally appropriate for the majority of children, enabling them to develop their physical skills and abilities. However, they sometimes lack challenge for the older and more able children.

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

Staff effectively support children's abilities to manage their own needs. For example, three children stand in line, each doing up the buttons on the painting shirt of the child in front with the member of staff encouraging and helping them co-operate with each other on this task. This demonstrates that the impact of the staff teaching children to learn to be independent enables children to be competent at managing their personal needs relative to their general age.

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

Children are well supported in their settling in to the setting and are well prepared for the next stage in their learning because staff provide appropriate support to prepare them for their transitions onto nursery or school. Effective partnerships with the local nurseries and schools support children's smooth transitions to their next stage of learning.

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provision

Staff display a satisfactory awareness of the learning and development requirements in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. They provide a range of activities and resources that enable children to make satisfactory progress towards the early learning goals. However, the monitoring of the planning and assessment is not consistently rigorous. This results in inconsistency in the recording of children's progress. Staff have yet to complete a progress check for children aged between two and three years old. However, current assessment processes do highlight some gaps in children's learning which enables staff to intervene appropriately when required.

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provision

Staff have a suitable understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. They all regularly update their training and knowledge to ensure children are safe. Improvements since the last inspection have resulted in regularly written risk assessment records and daily safety checks throughout the premises. Staff employed or volunteering in the setting are checked to ensure that they are suitable to work with children. Arrangements for safeguarding children are strong and supported by clear policies and procedures known and implemented by all staff.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are well-established. Parents comment that they receive regular updates on their children's progress and are happy with the support their children receive. There are currently no children attending with special educational needs and/or disabilities or who attend other early years provision. However, staff understand the importance of partnership working to support children's continuity of care and learning and specific needs when the need arises.

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provision

The setting's self-evaluation is developing, successfully identifying some strengths and areas for improvement. However, it lacks rigour as the views of children and parents are not actively sought and actioned to ensure that the needs of all users are met. Leaders and managers are sufficiently ambitious about improving the setting. For example, recent improvements have resulted in all staff updating their knowledge regarding safeguarding children procedures. Staff have also re re-organised the main room into zones dedicated to and reflecting all the areas 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 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 EY420530 Local authority Essex Inspection number 875689

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 15 Name of provider Great Parndon Community Association Date of previous inspection 27/09/2011 Telephone number 01279866386

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Type of provision

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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