Kings Meadow Pre-School

Kings Meadow Pre-School 75 Hampden Road, KINGSTON UPON THAMES, Surrey, KT1 3HG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/05/2013 15/06/2011

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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

 Staff are skilful in planning activities which inspire and motivate children to learn.  The manager has an enthusiasm and drive for excellence, rigorously monitoring all aspects of practice to inform continuous improvement.  Staff give the highest priority to the safety of children and effectively support children's growing understanding of how to keep themselves safe and healthy.  There are excellent partnerships with parents which help to ensure that children receive relevant support and consistency in their learning and development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to further develop use of the outside area to provide more challenging opportunities for children of all ages to explore and investigate.

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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 looked at all required documentation and sampled policies, procedures and children's progress records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with registered provider and manager about the provision and the self-evaluation processes  The inspector observed and spoke to children as they played indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff in all rooms interacting with children and held discussions with them.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents via discussions, questionnaires and references.

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Information about the setting

Kings Meadow Pre-School opened in March 2007 and operates from a single storey building located in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey. The premises comprises of three main play rooms, a separate dining area where meals are eaten, and use of an adjoining hall where soft play equipment is set out daily. There is access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is situated in a residential area on the outskirts of Kingston town centre and opens from 8am to 6pm each weekday for 51 weeks of the year, excluding Bank holidays. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 61 children in the early years age range on roll. The nursery supports a number of children with English as an additional language and children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Children aged two, three and four receive funding for free nursery education. There are eight members of staff working at the nursery, including the manager. The

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Information about the setting

manager has an Early Years Degree and Early Years Professional Status. Four members of staff hold appropriate early years qualifications to National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level 3, one has an NVQ Level 2 qualification, one member of staff is working towards a qualification and one is unqualified.

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

 review the resources and opportunities available for children in the outdoor learning environment to promote more challenge and exploration in their learning

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who attend

Children make good progress because staff show a strong understanding of how to support their learning. Staff make useful observations of children's interests and achievements and use these effectively to plan a wide range of activities that challenge children and build on their learning. A very good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities ensure that children are the prime instigators in their own learning. Next steps for children's learning are precisely focused and personalised. Planning includes practical guidelines about how staff should support each child's learning in a particular area. Staff work closely with parents to gather detailed information about children's background, individual needs and starting points before they begin at the nursery. Parents are encouraged to continue to contribute their observations from home to provide an all round picture of children's achievements. Staff are welcoming and are always on hand to chat to

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who attend

parents and reassure them of their child's well-being. Information is openly shared and parents are encouraged to be involved in their children's learning by making comments in the 'learning journey' books, joining in charity events or coming into the nursery to share their skills. The introduction of the progress check for children at age two enables staff to secure early intervention if they identify that a child is falling behind the expected developmental milestones.

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who attend

Children are highly motivated to explore, and demonstrate the characteristics of keen learners, both indoors and outside. Photographs of the children participating in activities and displays of the children's work around the nursery help them to connect their experiences and reinforce what they have learnt. Staff interact positively with the children and support their play in meaningful ways. The highest priority is given to helping children acquire communication and language skills. Staff smile and sing songs with babies. They make eye contact with babies and repeat single words clearly. Consequently, babies enthusiastically imitate words and sounds. Staff support toddlers to build sentences by repeating what they say and adding new words. They are constantly offering praise to the children for their efforts. Older children are learning to listen to others and to take turns when speaking in a group situation.

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who attend

The youngest children learn in an environment with an emphasis on sensory experiences. They love to explore different textures using their hands and mouth so staff are mindful to provide safe resources. Babies watch with interest as rice trickles through their fingers, or patterns appear as they swish their fingers through paint. They enjoy banging the saucepans with spoons which staff have hung on the garden fence. Toddlers shape and mould dough with their hands and use a range of tools to make patterns and cut shapes. Great fun is had in the mud kitchen in the garden and digging for buried objects in the sand. Children express themselves through a wide range of arts and crafts. They delight in showing visitors the cars they have made and enthusiastically describe how they made them using recycled items. This clearly demonstrates how children are motivated and feel proud of what they have accomplished.

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who attend

Children's early writing skills are developing very well. They confidently use crayons, chalks and pencils to make marks that begin to resemble early letter formation. Many of the older children proudly write their names on their work. Staff work with parents in order to display examples of writing in the home languages of children attending. Visual aids, signs and captions are successfully used to help children understand the routines. Children have good opportunities to choose from a wide selection of age appropriate books. Staff help children to develop a love of literature by bringing their favourite stories to life. For example, imagine the children's surprise as they discover a fury tiger at nursery eating all of their tea. Just like in the book, the children decided there was nothing to do but visit a local cafe instead. A book lending scheme encourages children to share books with their parents at home and trips to the theatre introduce children to another

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who attend

Children enthusiastically join in familiar action songs and rhymes that help to consolidate their understanding of numbers. Staff make the most of everyday activities to encourage children to develop mathematical thinking, such as counting out and weighing ingredients whilst baking. Older children learn how to record a tally of the different colour cars that drive past by the nursery. Children empty and fill different size containers in the water tray and very young children are developing practical problem solving methods as they insert shapes into containers and solve simple puzzles. Outside older children learn they have to work together in order to build a tall structure using large bricks. This reinforces their awareness of why taking turns and playing cooperatively is important and provides them with skills for future learning.

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who attend

Children have some opportunities to learn about growth and how to care for living things. They plant and water tomato plants and cress seeds indoors. However, there is scope to enhance the use of the outdoor area to enable children to investigate more and have greater challenge. Children have easy to a range of technology. Young babies show delight as they explore the effects of light and sound toys. Children love to scramble through tents and dens using torches to light their way. They learn to use remote control toys and have tremendous fun playing interactive games using the touch screen smart board. Older children adeptly use a mouse to control movements on the computer and use cameras to capture what interests them. Staff skilfully help children to acquire the skills, attitudes and dispositions they need for their next stage of learning or moving forward to school.

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

Children's physical and emotional well-being is catered for extremely well. Children are happy, settled in their rooms, and have good relationships with staff and each other. The key person system works very well and young children benefit from consistent relationships with familiar carers who attend to their day-to-day needs. The nursery offers all parents settling in times for their children and these are flexible according to their needs. This helps children separate from their parents, putting them at ease and promoting their self-esteem. Staff work closely with parents and are able to talk at length about the uniqueness of the children in their key groups. They give details about their sleeping and eating preferences, their interests and the children's wider families. This helps them to fully meet children's individual needs. Staff ask parents to provide photographs of the children's family members and display these so children can refer to

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

them when talking about home situations or when they need comforting.

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

Staff talk with children about the importance of exercise and a healthy diet and they work closely with parents to follow children's individual dietary requirements. Meals are nutritiously balanced and children regularly contribute their ideas to the menu and help to prepare the tea. Children are able to serve themselves so they learn about portion size. They have access to water and help themselves to a drink when they are thirsty. This means they learn to recognise their own needs. Children relish opportunities to be physically active in the outdoor area. They learn to negotiate obstacles as they ride bikes, to balance on the see-saw and climb the steps to the slide. Children swirl ribbons in the air as they dance to music and jump in and out of puddles. Indoor soft play sessions give children excellent opportunities to develop their mobility as they climb, roll and tumble over large equipment with close supervision from staff to ensure their safety.

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

Staff promote children's understanding of healthy practices very well. Children understand that they need to wash their hands before they eat because of germs. They are supported by staff while they learn to manage their own personal hygiene effectively. Staff are vigilant in reducing the risk of cross-infection. They follow stringent routines when preparing food and changing nappies. Adults are asked to remove their shoes before entering the nursery, which helps to maintain a hygienic environment for crawling babies. Children sleeping in cots or on beds have their own fresh bedding and are monitored by staff as they sleep. Staff give high priority to safety and are deployed appropriately. The compliance with required staff-child ratios consistently enables good supervision levels that support children throughout the day.

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

Staff demonstrate a very positive approach towards inclusion. They show an excellent understanding of each child's unique needs. A variety of resources and displays around the nursery depict positive images of diversity, including those of culture, gender and disability. Parents are invited to join in with nursery celebrations as children find out how others mark special occasions. During Holi, the Hindu festival of colours, children had tremendous fun popping balloons filled with coloured paint. The learning environment has been carefully planned to cover all areas of learning. The emphasis is very much on children being able to access their own resources, which are positioned at a low height. As a result, children are able to choose what they want to play with independently. Children of all ages quickly learn the rules and expectations of the nursery and respond well to staff's calm and patient attitude to managing their behaviour through distraction and

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

simple explanations. Children are acknowledged and praised for their efforts and respected as individuals. Consequently, there is a positive atmosphere at the nursery and children behave extremely well. Staff talk to children about safety rules when they are playing, such as how to use small hammers and tacks safely. Visits from local fire and police services build community relationships that help to keep children safe. Children benefit from taking part in special activities to link with charity events. They have great fun dressing-up to raise money for a worthy cause.

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

Children are fully supported when they move to the next room within the nursery and in their transition on to school. Teachers are invited to visit the nursery to meet the children. This enables the key person to discuss children's individual learning and development and any special educational needs and/or disabilities they may have, ensuring continuity of care and learning.

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provision

The provider, manager and staff have a clear understanding of their responsibilities regarding meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Robust recruitment, vetting and induction procedures are in place, ensuring adults working with the children are suitable to do so. This ensures that children are cared for by staff who have the required qualifications, skills and commitment, enabling children to feel secure and safe. In addition to whole team meetings individual staff supervision and appraisals are held with the manager. This ensures individual training needs are identified and training organised so staff can update their knowledge and professional status. Management and the staff team are fully aware of their responsibility in protecting children. Any concerns about a child's welfare or well-being are shared with the designated safeguarding officer and appropriate action taken. All the regulatory

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provision

documentation that underpins children's welfare and safety is in place. Clear policies and procedures are known and understood by all staff and implemented consistently. The nursery has a clear and detailed complaints procedure in place and management swiftly address and record any concerns parents raise appropriately. Staff routinely undertake daily safety checks and records show comprehensive risk assessments cover all aspects of the premises and any outings from the nursery. Staff maintain required ratios and supervise children well to keep them safe. Staff are skilful at involving children in helping to identify any potential hazards and thinking about how to make it safer. This means children are beginning to be able to assess situations for themselves and take responsibility for their own safety.

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provision

The provider, manager and her team demonstrate a strong willingness to embrace change in order to improve outcomes for the children. The nursery takes part in an external quality audit scheme and displays several certificates of completion. Management spend time in all rooms monitoring the educational programme and quality of teaching rigorously and consistently assess the impact on outcomes for children. Detailed action plans are set for each room in order to bring about improvements and maintain high standards. Self- evaluation takes into account the views of staff, children and their parents. Staff place high importance on listening to children's thoughts and ideas when planning the nursery environment and activities.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are excellent. There is a regular and effective flow of information including daily chats, newsletters and parent consultation sessions, where information is shared about children's progress. Many parents support the nursery in practical ways, such as providing scrap materials for modelling and coming to talk to children about their work. Parents were keen to report on the wonderful 'family atmosphere' within the nursery and how much their children enjoy coming. Partnerships with external agencies and other providers are well established and make a strong contribution to meeting children's needs. Appropriate interventions with external agencies are secured in order that children receive the support they need. Staff work alongside parents to implement activities that have been identified by relevant professionals to enable children to progress fully. The nursery also has strong links with the local children's

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provision

centre and offers support for a number of families who receive funding for early education for two-year-olds.

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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 EY348316 Local authority Kingston upon Thames Inspection number 917618 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 45 Number of children on roll 61 Name of provider Karen Audrey Cox Date of previous inspection 15/06/2011 Telephone number 020 8547 0272

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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