St Aidans Pre-School

St Aidan's Pre-School St Aidan's Church Hall, Southcoates Avenue, KINGSTON UPON HULL, HU9 3HF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/05/2013 14/10/2009

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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

 High regard is given to children's personal, social and emotional development with warm caring relationships ensuring they are happy and settled.  The pre-school is well organised and staff make thorough observations of the children, which are reflected in the planning and meet the needs of every child.  Good relationships exist with parents. There are effective ways of seeking their views about their children's care and the sharing of ideas and activities to promote their learning both at pre-school and home. This means that they are fully involved in their children's learning.  The excellent relationships with school ensure children's transition into school is smooth and they are well prepared for their future learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There are few opportunities for children to use words and letters in the outside area to promote their communication and language.  Children do not have access to number games, shapes or labels in the outside space to promote their counting skills.

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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 toured the premises and the outside area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed policies and procedures, risk assessments and the monitoring and assessment procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector made observations of the children with staff and discussed the activities seen. She also observed the relationships children have with staff and their peers.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and children through discussion and documentation.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

St Aidan's Pre-School was registered in 1984 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in church premises in the Southcoates area of Hull. The pre-school is committee run and is managed by a local manager. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from one large room and there are two fully enclosed areas available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, seven hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and one has a childcare degree.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school opens Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, term time only. Sessions are from 9am until 11.30am and 12.30pm until 3pm There is a lunch club from 11.30 until 12.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 54 children attending, who are in 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 those with special needs and/or disabilities.

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

 enhance children's already emerging communication and language skills by providing opportunities to use words and letters in the outside area

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

 provide children with opportunities to promote their growing understanding of numbers and shapes in the outside area.

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who attend

Children's progress in their learning is good because staff have a thorough understanding of how to engage their interest and support their development. Children's progress across all the areas of learning is good, particularly in their personal, social and emotional development and physical development. Staff ensure that they respond to the children's needs effectively, in order to prepare them for school, for example by developing independence, confidence and enthusiasm for learning. Children are becoming very aware of technology and can use the computer confidently. They also have access to programmable toys and the camera and CD player. Number games and rhymes are used effectively to promote their counting skills but they do not have any number displays outside to promote their mathematical skills when being active. They all move around confidently, balancing and running safely.

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who attend

A love of books and language is promoted effectively by providing opportunities for children to access a wide range of books both for stories and information. Children use the attractive book area independently and select books or story sacks to promote their interests. They also like to sit with staff to listen to them reading. They are confident to contribute to stories and rhymes by predicting or discussing what is happening. Children, including those, who do not speak much, are able to express their needs, to show that they are hungry or want particular resources. Staff work closely with parents and outside agencies to develop support for children with special educational needs and /or disabilities, including speech therapy to aid their communication skills. Staff have experience of caring for children, who speak English as an additional language. They make them feel comfortable in the pre-school, help them to settle and communicate effectively to support

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who attend

their development. There are, however, few opportunities for children to see labels, words and letters on display in the outside area. Therefore, support for children's literacy skills is not maximised.

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who attend

Parents receive information about the activities that staff are planning to provide each half term. They are encouraged to participate in activities at home and to make observations of their children. Parents are also invited to parents' sessions to sample the play experiences their children enjoy and to give ideas for future activities. Staff invite parents to share any special skills, interests or abilities they have, which may widen the children's learning or give them ideas for activities in the future. Parents are also kept informed of their child's development and their learning journey records are readily available for them to see. This ensures that the parents are effectively included in their child's development to provide a coherent approach to learning in the pre-school and at home.

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who attend

The pre-school has excellent relationships with the local schools and children are able to visit their new school with the staff, while some teachers visit the pre-school to observe the children and what they can do. Children's learning journeys and the tracking forms ensure that schools have a reliable assessment of their abilities and interests. Therefore, children are well prepared for the transition to school. The pre-school staff are able to support their key children during the first week of school to help them to settle.

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

Staff build good relationships with parents when children start to attend the pre-school. They have a secure knowledge of the children's starting points gained from their initial assessment, observations and information from parents, as well as their welfare needs. The key person ensures good communication and regular information exchanges to keep parents involved. They take account of children's routines at home where possible and meet their individual care needs. All the children are comfortable with the staff and ask for help if they are worried or have concerns.

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

Children understand the importance of good hygiene practice and independently clean their hands before having their lunch and snack. Their understanding of healthy eating is effectively promoted by the provision of fruit and vegetables, with milk or water to drink. They have created a wall display showing which are healthy foods and which they should avoid. Parents provide packed lunches and are given suggestions for foods to support their children's well-being. The introduction of the 'brush buses' after lunch has effectively promoted children's understanding of dental health and they now happily clean their teeth at home. Children's physical development and their understanding of the natural world are supported very effectively through the use of the outside space, as they dig and plant seeds, tending them as they grow. They grow herbs and vegetables, which they then harvest and prepare ready to eat. Children show care and concern for living things when

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

they investigate bugs and insects, using the magnifying glasses to observe them.

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

Children in the pre-school learn to behave well and that boundaries are there for their safety and to protect them. Staff provide encouragement and role models for good manners. Children are aware of the need to take turns and share resources. If some of them get impatient when they have to wait, staff manage their behaviour with patience. They explain the safety issues carefully and help them to understand. Children learn to use resources with care and know that they need to be careful near the road. The lollipop lady from school visits to discuss how they should cross the road to prevent accidents. Children show concern for each other, particularly when younger ones cannot find things that they are looking for and those, who are more familiar with the setting show them where they are.

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provision

Staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of safeguarding issues and know the procedure to follow if they have concerns. Parents are made aware of the role and responsibility of the staff to protect all the children in their care. Parents' commented that the staff are rigorous in their practice when allowing children to leave the setting, ensuring only authorised persons can collect children and that they are fit to do so. Comprehensive risk assessments are in place and regularly reviewed. These identify hazards and the appropriate steps to take to minimise risks and keep children safe and secure. The whole environment is welcoming, safe and stimulating and children enjoy their learning and grow in confidence.

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provision

Policies and procedures are in place to ensure the safe and efficient management of the pre-school. These have been reviewed in line with the revised guidance and approved by the management committee, including the mobile telephone and networking policy. The required information about children is obtained and accident and medication records are maintained.

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provision

Robust systems are in place for the employment of new staff, although, the current staff group has not changed for several years. A thorough induction process, followed by ongoing appraisals, ensures that suitable people are employed. Peer observations have been introduced to identify any strengths or concerns and to enable the management to support staff having difficulties. All the staff and committee work hard to provide high quality care and education and undertake training to ensure that they can meet the needs of the children in their care.

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provision

Staff work closely with other day care settings and outside agencies within the area, which has helped the pre-school develop more effective exchanges of information between carers. It has also provided opportunities to develop ideas for different activities. Parents spoken to during the inspection are very happy with the care their children receive. They enjoy looking at the children's development files and seeing their artwork displayed. Parents also like to be involved in the activities staff provide and particularly value the opportunities to support and observe their children at home.

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provision

Self-evaluation is used effectively to identify areas for improvement, which can be included in the action plan, while also recognising the strengths of the pre-school. Parents are consulted on a regular basis to ensure that their views are included and know their opinions are valued. Future plans include the further development of the outside area to support children's physical development. Children are also asked for their views and suggestions for activities and resources.

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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 509995 Local authority Kingston upon Hull Inspection number 855585

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 56 Number of children on roll 54 Name of provider St Aidan's Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 14/10/2009 Telephone number 01482 374433

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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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