Mini V Preschool

Mini V Preschool Vernon Primary School, Clumber Road, Poynton, STOCKPORT, Cheshire, SK12 1NW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/06/2013 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

 The pre-school offers children a superb, vibrant, highly stimulating learning environment. It buzzes with the enthusiasm of children and staff as they explore the outstanding range of toys and resources that are freely accessible both indoors and outdoors.  The provider, managers and staff team are highly skilled and knowledgeable. They share a strong commitment to the continued development of the pre-school and put the happiness and welfare of the children at the core of everything that they do.  Children are highly valued in this exceptional pre-school. They are supremely confident and are regularly encouraged to give their ideas and views. These are incorporated into the daily routines and plans for activities.  Highly informative and purposeful learning journals are shared between parents, children and staff. Therefore, they work closely together to plan exciting and stimulating activities and experiences based on an in-depth knowledge of children's

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This provision is outstanding

skills, abilities and interests.  Extremely close links with the co-located school has led to innovative approaches to support children in their transition to school.

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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 spoke to children and observed activities in the pre-school playroom, children's centre playroom, school hall and outdoor play areas.  The inspector held a meeting and conducted a joint inspection with the provider.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to members of the staff team about the progress of their key children and their understanding of the pre-school's policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and children spoken to on the day of the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Mini V Preschool was registered in 1992 and re-registered in 2012. It is registered on the Early Years Register. It is privately owned and managed. The pre-school is situated on the site of Poynton Children's Centre and Vernon Primary School. Children are cared for in the designated early years unit which consists of one main room for children's play, continuous access to an enclosed outside play area, kitchen, bathroom and office space. The pre-school also has use of the children's centre play area and the school hall.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school employs eight members of staff, six of whom hold an early years qualification at level 3 and one of whom holds an early years qualification at level 2. Two members of staff hold a degree in Early Childhood Studies.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school opens Monday to Friday from 9am until 3pm each weekday, term-time only. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 58 children attending the pre-school who are within the early years age group. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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

 consider adding to the already very good strategies to develop children's skills in taking turns to speak during group times, for example, by giving them props to indicate when it is their turn to speak.

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who attend

Staff have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the children they care for as they observe them closely throughout the day and have excellent relationships with parents. Parents and staff routinely discuss and record observations of children's progress and experiences at home and pre-school in children's learning journals. Staff reflect on these and use their expert knowledge of how children learn and the Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance to track children's progress and devise next steps in their learning. They are highly skilled at using this information to plan a rich, varied and imaginative range of resources and activities that challenge children and support them very well in their rapid progress towards the early learning goals. Staff work very closely with early years teachers within the school children transfer to and therefore, have a clear understanding of the skills children require to prepare them for school. They take many

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who attend

opportunities to talk to parents about how they can enhance children's learning at home to support them further in reaching their next steps. Meticulous assessments include, termly reports that show a clear summary of children's progress in all areas of learning, including the progress check at age two. Information is shared with other early years settings that children attend to enable them to work together to promote children's learning and development.

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who attend

Staff are experts at listening to and watching children as they play and swiftly adapt activities and ask questions that consistently extend and challenge their thinking and learning. As a number of children have recently been on holiday they have a wide range of resources available relating to travel and the seaside. Children have great fun making boats from a range of cartons and materials. They eagerly take them to the water tray outdoors to see if they will float. Staff promote their understanding of mathematics as they encourage them to estimate, count and calculate how many toy figures they can put in their boats before they sink. A child says that they will put five figures in and then counts out four. Staff ask how many more the child will need to make five. Children enjoy testing out what objects float or sink. They talk to staff about the size and weight of each object before they throw them into a bucket of water. They help staff to write their results

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who attend

on a chart. This develops their understanding of writing for different purposes and enables more able children to practise their excellent writing skills. Younger children and those who speak English as an additional language are supported well as staff adapt the activity by asking them to guess if the objects will make a big or a small splash as they excitedly throw them in the bucket. Children have many more opportunities to develop their mathematical skills, including recognising numerals, weighing and measuring as they freely access a vast choice of consistently available resources.

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who attend

Children are eager and confident communicators. They chat to each other and staff throughout the session. Staff recognise the importance of promoting children's listening skills in their preparation for school. They are aware that in their eagerness to talk, some children find it hard to take turns and listen to others. They carefully plan small group activities and resources to support children in developing these skills, although there is scope to expand the strategies used, for example, by giving children props to indicate when it is their turn to speak. Staff have devised a curtained stage area with a microphone and nursery rhyme basket. Children greatly enjoy taking turns to sing and the audience listens and then use cards to show whether or not the 'performer' should go through to the next round. Staff skilfully conduct planned activities with small groups of their key children. For example, a group of children learn to take turns and use their

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who attend

observation skills as they play a memory game. They are keen to tell staff what object has been removed from a tray. They show excellent literacy skills and link sounds to letters as staff give them clues by telling them the initial letter sound of the object they have removed. Another group of children show they are highly skilled at rhyming as they match objects such as 'car' and 'star'. A superb range of reading, writing and mark making materials are available in all areas of the room. These encourage all children to practise and develop their excellent literacy skills as they play. Children playing in the home area write down orders for food, children in the hairdressers note down appointments and children playing at the travel agents book holidays. Children refer to books and other reading materials that are available to support their learning in all areas of the room. Therefore, they are inspired to read and use books for a variety of different purposes.

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who attend

Inspiring role play areas provide children with optimal opportunities to develop their social skills, communication skills and imaginative skills. They also promote children's physical skills, literacy skills, understanding of the world and use of technology. Boys and girls have great fun as they play in the area that has been cordoned off as a 'building site'. Children have high visibility jackets and hard hats and are aware of potential hazards at building sites. They proudly state that they are building a house and explain that the tape is to stop people going in 'because it can be dangerous because things can fall on you'. A child uses a truck to go and gather some sand and water and brings it back to the building site to mix it using a jug and bucket and cement mixer. Children negotiate roles and talk about their play. One child states 'I'm your daughter aren't I?'. The friend replies 'Yes and I've

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who attend

got another daughter and she's 20'. The child tells the friend who they are and states it is her husband that 'We are just going to play with these toys next door' and politely asks 'Are we alright to play with your toys?'

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who attend

Children's artwork is attractively displayed around the room. It demonstrates their excellent expressive art and design skills using the superb range of art materials that are freely available to them throughout the play sessions. Children become intrigued with blocks of ice that staff have frozen with different objects, colours and flavourings in. Staff ask children questions to encourage them to investigate and explore these using their different senses. They smell them, discuss what they can see inside them, how they got in and how they can get them out. Children regularly use technology to support their learning, including a computer, calculators and torches.

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who attend

Children have extremely good physical skills as they have many opportunities to use an excellent range of challenging large play equipment. They greatly enjoy using their bodies in different ways as they jump off climbing equipment in the school hall. One child proudly shows the inspector that they can jump off and staff explain that it has taken the child a while to build his confidence. Other children experiment in landing in different ways, some do forward rolls and others do star jumps. Children run and balance and throw, catch and kick balls or bean bags with increasing skill. Overall, children make excellent progress in their learning from their individual starting points and are very well-prepared for the next stage in their learning, including school.

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

Children build extremely strong bonds with their peers and staff, particularly their key person. They are confident and secure as they are valued highly and treated with utmost care and respect. They enjoy spending time playing independently, with friends and with staff. Children enjoy a lot of freedom, within appropriate boundaries, to explore the superb range of inspiring toys and resources. Therefore, they have an extremely strong sense of belonging at the pre-school and are highly enthusiastic and motivated in their play and learning. Children eagerly show the inspector how they have decorated their outdoor playhouse. Staff share in their enthusiasm and gently remind them which toys they must not paint. They receive regular praise from staff for their behaviour and skills and show pride in their achievements as they regularly look at their learning journals. The superb learning environment of the pre-school is enhanced by regular opportunities to use

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

rooms within the co-located children's centre, school hall and outdoor play areas.

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

Visual aids, such as, flash cards and visual time-tables are used to support less confident children and those who speak English as an additional language. These enable them to understand and make choices in the daily routine. The pre-school has a strong ethos of empowering children. Each child has a page in the 'child's voice file'. They regularly ask staff for the file to add ideas or requests to their page and staff swiftly respond. Staff have bought fish from the fishmonger following a request from a child to 'see inside a fish' and have added green grapes as well as red grapes to the snack menu. Children have opportunities to take responsibilities within the pre-school. For example, they take turns to be the 'special helper' when they help to give out plates for snack and ring the bell to inform children that it is time to finish off playing and to tidy up.

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

Staff build very close links with parents. They gather a wealth of information from them to establish an excellent knowledge of children's individual needs, abilities and cultural and family backgrounds when they start at the pre-school. This enables staff to support children as they settle happily into pre-school and to promote their welfare. The pre- school has excellent links with the co-located school. The provider holds regular meetings with school staff and has developed many strategies to ensure that children are supported extremely well in their transition school. They have recently added a selection of school uniforms to the dressing-up clothes, children visit school for story sessions and 'phonics is fun' session. During the final weeks of the autumn term the door that joins the school foundation stage classroom to the pre-school room will be open one session a week. This allows children to become familiar with the school environment while having the security

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

Full regard is given to promoting children's health and safety and staff take many opportunities to talk to children about potential hazards and how to keep themselves safe. They benefit greatly from opportunities to use equipment and resources that present challenges, while learning rules to keep themselves safe. For example, when they use equipment in the school hall, children know that they must wait for the last child to come off the safety mat before taking their turn to jump. Children develop self-help skills and independence in their personal hygiene as they learn to access tissues to wipe their own noses and cut bananas and pour their own drinks at snack time. Children benefit from many opportunities to exercise and to be physical and active in their play. They enjoy healthy snacks and drinks and have great fun taking part in a session run by a student nutritionist looking at healthy and unhealthy foods and using these to make happy and

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provision

The provider has an excellent understanding of her responsibility to ensure that the provision meets the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She works closely with the co-located children's centre and other professionals to support families in promoting their children's welfare and to safeguard children. Staff are fully aware of their responsibility to prioritise the safety and welfare of children at all times. They have a clear understanding of the signs and symptoms of abuse and of when and how to refer concerns to the relevant agency. Robust recruitment, selection and induction procedures ensure that staff are suitable and have appropriate qualifications and experience and expert knowledge in order to carry out their roles and responsibilities. Staff's excellent understanding of various policies and procedures is reinforced as different scenarios are discussed at each staff meeting.

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provision

The provider and manager have high expectations of staff and have a clear knowledge of their strengths, interests and areas for development. Staff feel valued and are highly motivated. They share the provider's and manager's passionate commitment to providing the best possible early years provision to children. They are dedicated to their work with children and are keen to extend their knowledge and skills. They enjoy taking responsibility for specific areas of development within the pre-school. This is agreed in response to staff's interests, the needs of their key children and areas identified for their professional development. Staff enthusiastically describe how they have researched the particular area of early years they are developing and appreciate that they are supported in attending a range of training sessions. Recent training has included 'Letters and sounds' and this has significantly enhanced staff skills in promoting children's listening,

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provision

The pre-school's highly comprehensive self-evaluation incorporates the views of staff, parents, children, the local authority, other early years providers and professionals. The provider attends meetings with local providers and reads 'outstanding' inspection reports to learn from best practice at other early years settings and from other professionals. Excellent systems are in place to provide an accurate and clear overview of the progress of different groups of children in different areas and aspects of learning. This has allowed the pre-school to establish sharply focused areas for development in the educational programme. The provider and manager work alongside the staff team and have established a strong ethos of reflective practice amongst all staff. They routinely review how effectively play sessions, routines and the learning environment are meeting children's needs and promoting their development and make well-targeted improvements

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provision

in response to their observations. Staff regularly review their key children's learning journals to ensure that they include a balance of observations of children in all areas of learning during child-led and adult-led activities. The manager and provider have a clear overview of these to ensure that they are all of high quality and accurately reflect children's progress and areas for development. Comprehensive tracking systems ensure that any gaps in children's learning are quickly identified. Staff work very closely with parents and the provider works tirelessly to ensure children receive appropriate support from other professionals when necessary to support their learning and skills. Views of parents and children are sought in a wide range of ways. These include through daily discussions, via learning journals, the 'child's voice' file and questionnaires that are given to children and parents. Feedback from parents shows how highly they regard the pre-

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provision

school. They particularly appreciate that the learning journals are shared and the wide range of experiences their children engage in.

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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 EY453476 Local authority Cheshire East Inspection number 896480

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider Hazel Eunice Stock Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01625 873769

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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

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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