Clockhouse Preschool Playgroup

Clockhouse Preschool Playgroup Clock House Methodist Church, Clock House Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 4JP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/05/2013 17/06/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and disadvantaged children make excellent progress as staff are highly skilled and extremely knowledgeable, setting realistic targets for children to achieve.  The partnership with other professionals is exceptional in supporting children's development and ensuring they make good progress.  The staff provide an enabling and nurturing pre-school environment, both inside and outdoors, which helps children to thrive and make at least good progress in their learning.

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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 sampled relevant documents, including children's records and some policies.  The inspector gathered the views of parents and carers during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector undertook a joint observation of an adult-led activity with the provider/manager  The inspector held discussions with the provider/manager, staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children's activities indoors and outside, and the staff interaction with them.

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Information about the setting

Clockhouse PreSchool Playgroup registered in 1990 and is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary part of the Childcare Register. It is a committee run group and operates in a church premise. Children have access to a main hall and an outdoor play area. It is situated in Beckenham in Kent. The playgroup is open from 9.15am to 12.15pm Monday to Friday and from 9.15am to 2.45pm on Wednesdays, during term time. Children may attend any time between these hours. The pre-school is funded to provide free early education to all children aged three and four years.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 24 children aged two to four years on roll. The pre-school makes provision for children who learn English as an additional language. The pre-school employs eight members of staff, part-time. The group employ four qualified staff, one of whom has achieved Early Years Professional status. They group also uses regular volunteers.

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

 develop the programme for supporting children's mathematical development.

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who attend

The highly effective key person system and a robust system for tracking children's progress ensure that staff understand the children extremely well and know precisely what is needed to challenge and support their needs. Children's interests are given priority to create the planning of activities and are closely monitored for change. The detailed observations are linked to the areas of learning, therefore, children's individual learning priorities and starting points are clearly identified, from which planning stems directly.

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who attend

Staff provide an enticing and calm environment where children show they are extremely happy and settled. They develop their independent learning skills as they follow their own interests during play and can wander freely to the outdoor space. Staff ensure that they are deployed very well to anticipate and support children's learning. Children respond to this really well. New children settle quickly, become familiar with the routines and build respect and close bonds with the staff. They make friends easily and soon are involved in games and activities with children. Staff constantly talk to each other mentioning what they observe to the child's particular 'key person', just to reaffirm they are seeing something new and different from the child. Children become engrossed in make believe play and set up rules around their games such as road blocks when playing with wheeled vehicles. Children learning English as an additional language experience their home

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who attend

languages through the aid of dual language books, signs and symbols, showing that staff value their family backgrounds.

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who attend

Staff make it a priority in providing children with support to develop their learning further by making full and effective use of the outside area. Children revel in using magnifying glasses and peering through them, observing the environment and looking for bugs and creatures. Once they have collected their bugs or plants, staff support the children's learning further by helping them to access the internet to find references to what they have found.

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who attend

Children adore being creative, they make up their own ballet sessions and accompany the dance sessions with musical instruments. They listen and appreciate music and dance from other cultures and dress up accordingly to really take part in the whole experience. They are skilled in making pictures and drawing. They use a variety of different materials to create masterpieces from their imaginations. The programme for supporting children's mathematical development is not as strong as the other areas of learning both inside and out.

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who attend

Staff are skilful in motivating and nurturing children's play. They are calm and full of praise and encourage children to problem solve for themselves. They provide resources to challenge and stretch the children's thinking and use excellent language to encourage the children to think. They encourage children to take risks when using physical play equipment, such as climbing up the slides and negotiating balance and turn taking when playing together. They instinctively anticipate where all children are going to need additional help, including those who are disadvantaged or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This exceptional support encourages the children to try things for themselves, make mistakes and learn by exploring and experimenting. All children progress at least well, gaining valuable skills for their eventual move to school or other early years settings.

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

Children are very secure in their friendships with each other and particularly with the staff. This is shown when during play children go back to their key person for reassurance and to share an experience with them. They benefit enormously from having a key person who oversees their learning and development, knows them so very well and shares vital information about progress with parents on a regular basis. This system makes sure that parents know how well the children are progressing and how they may support them at home to further their development.

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

Children choose what they want to do and with whom. They are very familiar with and extremely comfortable in their surroundings, knowing just where they can find toys and equipment, showing great independence as learners. They know the daily routines, all of which promote their self-confidence. Children are happy and animated during tidy up time singing along to the tidy up song and enjoy helping each other as a team. Snack times are set up as a very social occasion when Oscar the puppet arrives to talk about feelings and being shy. Children eagerly write him letters or post him pictures to cheer him up to make him feel better. Therefore children are learning about how to care about each other and be aware of how people feel.

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

Staff encourage children to learn the importance of healthy lifestyles. Children relish opportunities to play outdoors and demonstrate their developing agility as they use play equipment. Children learn about healthy eating and follow good hygiene practice showing excellent awareness of why this is important. Their emotional and physical needs are fostered impressively by staff, who nurture children in their care and learning.

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

Staff provide accurate information to parents regarding their children's two-year-old progress checks. Disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and/ or disabilities are exceptionally well supported and therefore thrive in the pre-school. Staff are extremely well trained and experienced. They have professional and effective links within the borough to ensure that children are receiving the support they need to allow them to develop and make excellent progress. Staff work closely alongside parents and relevant professionals to ensure that all children will be able to make the move to other early years settings for their future learning seamlessly.

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provision

The manager has an excellent understanding of their legal responsibilities in promoting the learning, development and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. There are high quality systems in place to help safeguard children, protect their welfare and appoint suitable staff. Recruitment and vetting is rigorous to help ensure staff are suitable for their roles. Ongoing monitoring of their practice also takes place to make sure that they are able to enhance children's learning and development and competently meet children's individual needs. Staff have attended safeguarding training and have a thorough knowledge of how to liaise with other agencies as required. Staff show consistent high regard to promoting children's safety while at the pre-school. For example they have signs in place to remind children to stay out of the kitchen area and the stable door ensures staff can still see children if they pop in to the

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provision

kitchen. Staff conduct thorough risk assessments and ensure appropriate safety equipment is used to minimise potential risks. They teach children to be aware of how to keep safe specifically when it comes to road safety. They have devised a detailed programme with props and resources and this is also fed through to parents so they can continue children's learning on the journeys to and from playgroup. The space children have to play in is spacious and airy. Children's behaviour is managed sensitively by staff who take full account of children's age and level of understanding. Behaviour management strategies are well considered and consistently applied. As a result children quickly learn the behaviour expectations within the setting.

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provision

Since the previous inspection the manager has developed the assessment and planning systems to the point where it is very detailed, concise and reflects children's individual needs exceptionally well.

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provision

The detailed self-evaluation regarding the quality of the service takes place to pin point priorities for further development. They review questions in parent questionnaires, to gather more response. The manager works very closely to develop new ideas making it as collaborative a process as possible between staff, children and parents. The manager recognises the importance of employing experienced, well qualified staff and volunteers to deliver care and education to a high standard.

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provision

Staff make time to have conversations with parents both at the start and at the end of sessions. They send out newsletters and display information for parents about the activities and changes within the pre-school. They also send information out electronically for those who can not attend to collect their children. They are invited to look through children's records of progress and discuss findings with the children's key person. Children take home a bear which takes part in weekend activities and family occasions such as holidays and then children share this information with everyone. This helps to involve parents further in their children's learning. Parents views are embraced within the self evaluation process and any issues are dealt with immediately. Parents spoken to during inspection report that their children are so very happy, and have made considerable progress since attending the pre-school. They feel they are fully included in their children's

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provision

learning and development, and staff are 'very approachable' and 'supportive'. All children are very well prepared for future 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 137287 Local authority Bromley Inspection number 916684 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 25 Name of provider Clockhouse Preschool Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 17/06/2009 Telephone number 020 8663 6149

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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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