Beulah Pre-School

Beulah Pre-School Hollinwood Youth Centre, Withins Road, OLDHAM, Lancashire, OL8 3QD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/06/2013 29/06/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 3 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 Practitioners have an insufficient understanding of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This means they have breached several legal requirements which compromise children's safety and well-being.  Sufficient information about each child is not recorded. Therefore, not all necessary steps are taken to keep children safe and well.  The information obtained from observations and assessments of the children is not used effectively. As a result, the planning is not consistently tailored to meet their needs.  Managers do not monitor the performance of practitioners. Therefore, training needs are not identified.  Parents are not provided with a written summary of their child's development, between the ages of two and three years. Practitioners do not use every opportunity to work in partnership with parents and other professionals, to support children's learning and development.

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This provision is inadequate

 Self-evaluation is weak. Improvements that are identified are not quickly addressed, which has a significant impact on children's care and safety.

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It has the following strengths

 Practitioners provide a satisfactorily resourced environment in which children play and explore confidently. Children are comfortable in their care.

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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 observed activities in the setting and had a tour of the premises.  The inspector held a meeting with the management team.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at some paperwork, including the settings self-evaluation and children's records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector ensured the views of parents and children were included through discussions.

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Information about the setting

The childcare service was re-opened in 2003 as Beulah Pre-school. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from rooms within Hollinwood youth Centre in Oldham.

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Information about the setting

There are 10 members of voluntary staff, which include the management team, of whom 9 hold appropriate childcare qualifications at levels 2 and 3. The setting serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The setting opens Monday to Friday during term-time only. Sessions are from 9.15am until 11.45am on Monday and Tuesday and from 9.15am until 2.15pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 44 children attending who are in the early years age group. The setting provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 ensure staff have the training, skills and knowledge to consistently deliver a quality learning experience for all children

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must:

 improve the use of observations and assessments to more rigorously track children's progress across the seven areas of learning. Then use the information to tailor challenging and stimulating activities which meet children's individual learning needs

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must:

 foster a culture of continuous improvement to obtain a clear view of what the setting needs to do to develop and bring about improvements for children

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must:

 provide opportunities for regular staff supervision in order to foster a culture of mutual support, teamwork and continuous improvement in order to improve practice and ensure children are consistently supported

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must:

 provide parents with a written summary of their child's development in the prime areas, when their child is between the ages of two and three years, in order to improve opportunities to work in partnership with parents and other professionals to support children's learning and development

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must:

 maintain a daily record of children's hours of attendance at the setting to further contribute to their safety while on the premises

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must:

 implement an effective policy and procedure for administering medication to children by ensuring that each and every medicine is accurately recorded in order to ensure the good health of children is promoted.

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

 develop further opportunities for children to increase their independence and to take a more active role in the setting, such as pouring their own drinks and serving their own food at mealtimes

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

 extend opportunities for children to represent and develop their own ideas. For example, by allowing them to express their creativity during craft activities.

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who attend

Practitioners do not have a sufficient knowledge and understanding of the seven areas of learning and development. Therefore, they are unable to demonstrate the progress children make whilst in their care or how they tailor children's learning to support their individual needs. This minimises the opportunities to ensure that children acquire the necessary skills in order to support their readiness for school. Practitioners obtain children's starting points, through discussions with parents during initial settling-in visits. An assessment process has recently been implemented by the management team. However, there are major inconsistencies between practitioners. Some have not implemented it at all and those that have, have an insufficient understanding of it to ensure it is rigorous enough to monitor the progress children make. For example, where the progress check at aged two has been completed, practitioners have used this as a

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who attend

baseline assessment for their key children and parents have not been given a written summary in order to support their child's learning at home or to share with the health visitor. This shows that practitioners do not have an adequate understanding of the purpose of the assessment. Therefore, because there are inconsistencies in how practitioners monitor children's progress, there are also inconsistencies in how children are supported in the next steps in their learning. However, the setting's Special Educational Needs Coordinator is supported by the local authority development worker. Together, they have worked alongside other professionals and parents, to write individual education plans to ensure children have some of their needs met. However, this information is not adequately cascaded to children's key persons to ensure a complementary and consistent approach.

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who attend

Overall, practitioners engage appropriately in children's chosen play by involving them in conversations and asking some questions that encourage children to think critically. For example, while children are completing jigsaws they suitably support children's literacy skills by asking them what letter they have and encourage children to make the sound of the letter. Therefore, this provides children with some opportunities to develop their awareness of phonics and consolidate their learning. Children have satisfactory opportunities to practise their writing skills. Practitioners provide an adequate range of resources for children, such as, corn flour, pens and brushes. As a result, children make marks with brushes and water outdoors and some children form recognisable letters. Regular story sessions offer some opportunities for children to develop their communication and language skills. As a result, children are able to talk about and choose

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who attend

their favourite books. However, some activities do not provide sufficient challenge for children. For example, there are missed opportunities for children to represent and develop their own ideas and creativity whilst they make their Father's Day cards because practitioners tell them where to put each piece of media to create pictures of fish. As a result, children reproduce practitioner's ideas and all the cards look the same. Adequate opportunities are provided for children to develop their mathematical skills. Practitioners support children as they compare the size of tall towers whilst building with construction bricks. Therefore, children begin to use mathematical language, spontaneously in their play. For example, children state they will be 'big 4' on their next birthday. Practitioners ensure children are provided with an adequate range of resources to support their physical skills. For example, children manipulate a range of small tools, such as,

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who attend

crayons and paint brushes. They have access to an outdoor area where they climb, play with wheeled toys and have space to run. Planned outings to the park, where children access the large play equipment also support children's physical skills. Children take part in a wide variety of cultural festivals, such as, Eid and Christmas and play with some multi- cultural resources, such as play food. Therefore, they develop a suitable understanding of the diversity of the world in which they live.

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who attend

The children's development files are available for parents to look through and some contain observations or examples of children's work. Therefore, parents are suitably informed about the range of activities children take part in whilst in the settings care.

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

Children's well-being is compromised. This is because practitioners do not consistently record sufficient information regarding any medications that children are taking whilst they are left in their care. This means it is not clear what medicines require administering. Furthermore, practitioners do not keep an accurate record of the hours children attend daily. Therefore, they fail to give a high enough priority to promoting children's safety and well-being. Children take part in some planned activities which contribute to their awareness of keeping themselves safe, such as monthly fire drills and discussions about road safety while out and about.

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

Children are suitably supported as they settle into the setting. Individualised settling-in procedures provide children with opportunities to familiarise themselves with the setting before they are left in the practitioners' care. Children are also encouraged to bring their comforters, such as teddy bears, to help provide additional security and familiarity for them, as they are settling-in. Practitioners obtain some useful information from parents during the initial sessions, such as, the children's likes, dislikes and routines. As a result, children form attachments with the practitioners and settle-in appropriately. Children are well-behaved, this is because practitioners offer lots of praise and clear and consistent boundaries. Children are provided with a satisfactory range of well-maintained, safe, accessible and age-appropriate resources which enables them to make choices about their play.

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

The setting has attained an award for promoting healthy eating. Practitioners serve fresh fruit for snacks and ensure the children access water and milk. Although, opportunities are missed to promote children's self-help skills and develop their independence as staff pour their drinks and serve the children's meals. Due to the organisation of the room, adequate staff ratios and deployment, children are free to choose to play indoors or outdoors, ensuring all children have daily access to fresh air.

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provision

The management team do not have a good enough understanding of the requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage in order to support the staff and ensure the requirements are adequately and fully implemented. Therefore, a number of legal requirements on the Early Years Register and both parts of the Childcare Register have been breached.

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provision

Practitioners have a suitable understanding of their responsibility to safeguard the children in their care. They have attended child protection training and are aware of the possible indicators of abuse. Practitioners are clear about the procedures to report any concerns and all the relevant numbers are to hand, should they require them. The management team demonstrates a satisfactory awareness of how to ensure the environment is safe for children. For example, they conduct basic daily visual risk assessments of the setting and any other rooms the children may use temporarily, when their usual room is closed for repairs.

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provision

Self-evaluation is not used effectively to drive improvements. Although the management team has started to evaluate their service, they have not addressed the improvements they have identified and have missed priorities for improvement that would benefit children the most. For example, the management identified the need to offer practitioners regular opportunities for supervision, but did not implement this. As a result, they did not identify that practitioners require training and support in order to fulfil their roles and responsibilities to support children's learning and development. Therefore, a programme of support to improve the knowledge of the whole team has not been prioritised.

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provision

Practitioners maintain a two-way flow of information with parents. For example, they ensure parents are aware of the activities the children have taken part in and what meals they have eaten. Parents state that they are happy with the care their children receive, staff are friendly and approachable and they do not have any concerns regarding the setting. As a result, parents have the confidence to discuss any concerns they have regarding their child and know they will be supported. For example, practitioners suggested activities, such as jigsaws and walks in the park, to parents whose children like to watch television for prolonged periods. The management has a sound understanding of the advantage of liaising with local schools to support children's transition. For example, teachers are welcomed into the setting to meet children before they start school. This gives teachers the ability to meet individual children's needs and ensures there is

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 maintain accurate records of the hours of attendance of every child looked after on the premises (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  maintain accurate records of any medication that is administered to children looked after on the premises (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  maintain accurate records of the hours of attendance of every child looked after on the premises (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  maintain accurate records of any medication that is administered to any child that is looked after on the premises (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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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 EY265718 Local authority Oldham Inspection number 920073

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 32 Number of children on roll 44 Name of provider Beulah Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 29/06/2010 Telephone number 0161 681 6152

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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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