Little Angels Pre-School Ltd

Little Angels Pre-School St Ann's Church, Compton Road, COLCHESTER, CO4 0BQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/05/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Staff are passionate about delivering a high quality service and ensuring children have the best possible start in life. Consequently, they have a very positive attitude to improvement and listen to children's and parents' views. They keep up-to-date and implement new ideas from childcare research and new initiatives to ensure they are constantly evolving the setting.  Children receive exceptionally high levels of care and attention from dedicated and knowledgeable staff due to the high staff to child ratios and successfully implemented staff deployment.  Children are provided with a wealth of learning opportunities in the natural outdoor environment providing valuable opportunities to take appropriate risks to learn about how to keep themselves and others safe.  Staff give high priority to liaising with parents and getting to know children exceptionally well. Consequently, children make excellent individual progress in their

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This provision is outstanding

learning and development because their individuality is respected and activities and learning opportunities are tailored to meet their individual needs.

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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 activities in both the playrooms and the outdoor learning environment and conducted a joint observation of an activity with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the managers of the provision, spoke to staff and interacted with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working within the setting, the provider's self- evaluation and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of inspection and information included in the self-evaluation documents.

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Information about the setting

Little Angels Pre-School was registered in 2012 on the Early Years Register. It is temporarily situated in Saint Ann's Church in Colchester while they are awaiting the completion of the building improvements in their other premises in Saint Matthew's Church Colchester, Essex. The pre-school is managed by a limited company, serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 13 members of childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. Several staff are currently working towards further qualifications. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday from 9am until 3pm, term time only. Sessions are from 9am until 12 noon, 12 noon until 3pm and from 12.30pm until 3pm. Children attend a variety of sessions and a lunch time facility enables them to stay all day. There are currently 71 children attending who are within the early years age group. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special needs and/or disabilities. The pre-school works closely with the local children's centre and the local authority.

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

 review 'school transition time', for example to ensure routines flow with the children's interests and their choices so that all children have time to focus on their chosen activities.

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who attend

Children thrive in the rich, varied and imaginative learning environment. They are motivated and eager to learn, showing high levels of engagement in the activities. The staff have high expectations of themselves and the children, they are knowledgeable and have a clear understanding of how children learn. They make regular observations to ensure they are planning for individual children and providing sufficient challenge. Staff successfully gather information from all parents regarding children's interests and learning at home and share what children enjoy in the setting. This two-way flow of information means parents are fully involved in their child's development.

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who attend

The children have lots of opportunities to look at books as they cuddle up with the staff to share stories. They use their imaginations to make up their own stories as they run around pretending to capture their friends in a net. Children are becoming very confident communicators and chat to each other and the staff. Staff promote children's communication and language skills exceptionally well and children have opportunities throughout the session to communicate their thoughts and feelings. Staff use signing with all the children at group times and during some activities. Visual clues are also used to help children with special educational needs or who speak English as an additional language, to choose what they want to do and to understand the routines. For example, picture cards of routines, such as, snack, toileting, outdoors, group activities, resources and tidy up time are used to help children to communicate their needs and to understand

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who attend

Children excitedly explore the stimulating outdoor area. They are fascinated as they look in detail at a spider through a magnifying glass and guess what it wants and where it is going. Staff successfully engage their interest further and suggest looking for more insects under pieces of wood and on the fence, skilfully asking questions to encourage the children to think as they decide why one snail shell is empty. Children explore a range of media for example, the use dough to squeeze and roll and make patterns in flour. They experiment with paint mixing and have the freedom to try their ideas out and also to make mistakes. For example, children add a lot of water to the powder paint causing it to overflow. They are then encouraged to find a solution to the overflowing pot and to make suggestions as to how they could use the mix to paint. As a result, children are learning to think through ideas and to solve problems.

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who attend

Staff receive training in Forest Schools and develop and expand upon the ideas in the outdoor area. One section of garden has been left as a nature area where nettles encourage insects and butterflies and children role play under the trees and behind bushes, providing opportunities to explore the natural world. Children's independence skills are developing as they dress up in role play and dress themselves for the outdoors and confidently explore the environment. These skills help children to prepare for their next transition to school.

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

The highly stimulating environment has a wealth of accessible resources and promotes learning and challenge for children, both indoors and outdoors. The key person system is robust and staff are sensitive and skilled in supporting children to form secure emotional attachments. Staff put a high priority onto supporting children with transitions from home to the setting and then into school. They take time to get to know the children and their families well in order for them to feel safe, secure and to settle with ease. The staff treat the children with respect and value their unique personalities. As a result, children are extremely confident and happily move around all areas accessing resources that interest them. Staff are affectionate and caring and children readily come to them for cuddles and reassurance. Trusting relationships are also built with the parents and their families as they work in close partnership providing a consistent approach for the children. The

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

continual sharing of information between home and the setting means children's welfare needs are exceptionally well met.

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

Children confidently take risks in the safety of the environment as they climb along an arched tree branch. They develop an excellent understanding of potential hazards and move with great care around the nettles as they search for insects. They develop close friendships with their peers and involve them in their games. For example, they take turns to be 'Jack in the Box' as they squeeze themselves into a cardboard box while their friends close the lid, then excitedly jump out. They have an excellent understanding of the reasons for wearing sun cream and help to apply it to themselves and to their friends. They show great kindness to each other and take younger ones by the hand to go and play. Staff successfully support the children to learn effective strategies to manage their own behaviour. Some have their own special book which provides the opportunity to explore feelings and gives some ideas for children to try. For example, when they are

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

frustrated they find a quiet and safe area to go to and discuss with a supportive adult what they want.

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

Children learn to keep themselves healthy as they have daily fresh air and take part in exercise. They have additional opportunities to take part in a new initiative to develop their movement; they delight in bouncing along as they are supported on top of large balls or they roll over the balls on their stomachs. These new skills heighten children's awareness of their own bodies and how they use them, successfully helping them with physical and self-care skills. Children have a secure understanding of healthy foods and the importance of them in helping them to grow. They independently access healthy snacks and pour their own drinks when they are thirsty. Dedicated, knowledgeable staff work closely with parents ensuring that individual diets and care routines are discussed in detail, respected, followed and reviewed to ensure the children receive the best care possible.

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provision

The devoted staff team work exceptionally well under the support and guidance of highly motivated managers. As a result, all staff share the strong drive for excellence. High quality professional supervision and mentoring is based on clearly focused observations carried out by the managers or their peers. Specific areas for development are highlighted and team meetings and staff training days are used exceptionally well to discuss and embed good practice ideas. For example, they feedback on training attended and work in groups to gain a greater understanding of the characteristics of effective learning in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Highly successful staff deployment, along with high adult to child ratios ensures all the children are supported in their play and their learning is extended and assured. Staff are passionate about their roles and ensure that the areas they are responsible for are well planned and resourced

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provision

invitingly to encourage children to take part. Children are exceptionally well safeguarded in the setting because staff are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities. They have received safeguarding training and know the course of action to take if they have a concern about a child's welfare or have any concerns regarding the behaviour of staff. All staff are subject to a rigorous recruitment and selection procedure and have disclosure and barring checks in place. Staff receive ongoing training following their induction, including accessing a wealth of internal and external training courses.

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provision

High priority is given to partnership working. Staff welcome advice and guidance from the local authority and know how to access external agencies if children require additional support in their learning and development. They work extremely closely with the local schools to support children to become familiar with teachers and the new environment before they move into school. Teachers have stressed that they find it very helpful when children are able to dress and undress for physical education lessons. Therefore, the pre- school include a school transition time for children who are due to attend school the following term. This short session takes part during the morning and children are encouraged to attend. However, occasionally, some children are not keen to attend and would rather remain outdoors or in the main playroom where they have choice and a wealth of play experiences. Staff have identified the need to review this session and to

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provision

weigh up the value of making it a familiar activity against the advantages of the wider learning experiences the pre-school offers.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are exceptionally strong and parents feel very included and welcome in the setting. They feel their views and opinions are taken into consideration and highly praise the setting and staff. They state that their children have made exceptional progress, have gained confidence and their social and communication skills have greatly improved. The managers and staff have a very strong drive for improvement and very clear views on how they are going to develop the setting further. With consistent monitoring and the additional use of a computer program, they are able to clearly identify areas for development and form realistic and challenging targets. Meeting the needs of children and their families is at the heart of the continuous development plan that all staff are exceptionally passionate about.

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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 EY456570 Local authority Essex Inspection number 891031 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 71 Name of provider Little Angels Pre-School Limited Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01206865628 07511770901

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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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