The Lenches Pre-School Group

The Lenches Pre-School Group Church Lench Village Hall, Main Street, Church Lench, EVESHAM, Worcestershire, WR11 4UE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23/05/2013 17/03/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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 thrive in this beautiful and vibrant pre-school where they make rapid progress in all areas of learning given their starting points. This is because the wonderful activities offered are supported by the staff's enthusiasm, expert knowledge and understanding of how children learn.  Secure bonds are seen throughout the pre-school in the inspirational interactions between adults and children.  The exceptional staff practice and carefully organised environment results in highly confident children who achieve excellent levels of independence for their age.  Children show superb cooperative skills when managing their environment and are harmonious and considerate to one another as they play.  Parents are passionate about their involvement in the pre-school. All discussions are purposeful and impact exceedingly well on subsequent care offered and received by the children.  Day-to-day management and professional supervision are of an exceptionally high

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This provision is outstanding

quality and support ongoing improvements. Roles are clearly defined and there is an excellent sense of teamwork.

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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 throughout the pre-school and outside spaces.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the manager, staff and children at appropriate times throughout the observations.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation including children's records, assessments and planning, training matrices and a selection of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took into account the views of parents from discussions throughout the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The Lenches Pre-School opened in 1963 and was registered at the current premises in 2008 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in the village hall in the Church Lench area of Evesham, and is managed by their pre-school committee. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from two rooms and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, six hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, one with Qualified Teacher Status and one is working towards Early Years Professional Status.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school opens Tuesday to Friday in school term-time with sessions available from 9am until 3pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 30 children attending who are in the early years age group. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 consider enhancing the excellent provision of opportunities for children to extend their experiences by, for example, having a 'holding bay' where their creations can be retained for children to continue to enjoy, develop, or refer to over a period of time.

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who attend

Children's progress is meticulously assessed and actively monitored. This is because staff track the impact of the activities provided on children's learning and are passionate about ensuring there is a variety of innovative activities across the seven areas of learning. Staff complete all required progress checks and assessments and share these effectively with parents. As a result, parents are fully aware of their child's development and are made aware of any areas where their child's progress is less than expected. This information is used exceptionally well in order to gain appropriate support at an early stage. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and English as an additional language, are developing excellent skills for their future learning, such as moving through pre-school and on to school.

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who attend

Children are exceptionally keen learners who are very well supported by knowledgeable and dynamic staff. They are highly valued as unique individuals with a strong focus on their starting points which are expertly assessed on entry. For example, records from previous settings and other professionals are scrutinised and parents' contributions are greatly valued so that staff know what the children can already do. Staff then use their expertise and ongoing communications with parents to build on children's skills and interests to help children to settle and become a significant part of the pre-school family.

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who attend

Staff ensure that they get to know the children and their families incredibly well. Initial information about children's likes, dislikes and starting points is obtained from parents and highly valuable information about the day's events is given at the end of the session. This is continued as staff successfully share accurate and regular information about children's progress with parents and encourage them to bring information to the staff. As a result, parents are fully involved and helped to support children's learning, either at home or in the setting. Children and their parents actively contribute to the highly effective organisation and provision of experiences in the pre-school. For example, several parents read stories to the children, share activities, such as cooking, and a significant number are members of the pre-school committee.

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who attend

The staff's interactions and teaching techniques are exemplary and show their superb understanding of how to truly engage and capture all children's interests. They provide the most fantastic experiences with strong focus on the children exploring and investigating, interacting and leading their own play. Children constantly initiate and extend activities as they want to with a member of staff stepping in when appropriate to drive the activity forward and add in extra challenge. The way in which the staff steer the conversations with children is exceptional. They include all children in conversations as they each listen to what others have to say and develop their confidence in speaking in large and small groups. For example, during a music session, everyone joins in putting their 'singing heads' on and clicking on their 'listening ears'. They are then encouraged to take turns choosing instruments with some children gaining comfort and reassurance if they are less

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who attend

Staff skilfully identify how some children, particularly the boys, need more exuberant play than others. Therefore, at times throughout the day, the doors are opened wide and children relish the opportunities to extend their play outside. Alternatively, space is made inside for children to continue and extend their adventures. For example, children work together exceptionally well as they climb inside the huge expandable ball and walk it between other activities around the room. This becomes their dustbin lorry because they are collecting up the boxes to be recycled. Throughout the session several children join in and laugh together with staff praising them for such a wonderful idea.

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who attend

There is a real buzz in the pre-school with children immediately engaged in dynamic activities. They are actively involved in making choices and decisions about what they are making in the craft area and very confidently express this. Staff motivate and challenge the children with open-ended questioning and model puzzled responses to help children think more critically during activities. For example, staff constantly ask, 'What do you think if we...?', and, 'How shall we...?' Children freely select from the wonderful array of resources, such as, the stickers, pasta shapes and collage papers, confidently cutting and sticking them together. This results in some innovative and very special creations, such as masks and wands that children delight in producing with a little help from staff. In addition, children become very creative as they use their new wands to cast a 'tidy up spell' at the end of the session.

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who attend

There are many superb opportunities for children to investigate in their flexible surroundings. For example, children actively explore an array of sensory activities and natural resources. They watch in awe as staff mix the water and the crystals to make gel and are so excited to touch, squeeze and squelch it between their fingers. In the 'garden centre' children thoroughly enjoy planting seeds and tending to the flowers and vegetables. They make patterns through the sand in the builders' tray with various trucks and diggers. With these wonderful resources children flourish at their own pace with cooperation from familiar adults and their peers.

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

Staff create a superb environment that is welcoming, safe and stimulating. As a result, all children are highly motivated to enjoy their learning and grow in confidence. Space and resources are exceptionally well planned and used to create wonderful experiences throughout. For example, tables are covered in soft fabrics to eliminate noise levels, which help children with impaired hearing to hear as it lessens the vibrations in their ears. In addition to this, the wonderful array of resources and activities are well planned and easily accessible. Children select these by looking through a resource brochure to identify what they would like out and staff encourage them to stand at the door and choose from those they can see. However, because this is a pack-away setting, there is restricted space to keep resources out to extend their play the following day. This means that there is further scope to provide a space where children's creations are retained so that they can continue

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

to work on and enjoy these for a period of time. Staff do, however, work significantly well with parents to overcome this by allowing children to choose resources to take home and bring back at a later date.

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

Staff are remarkably warm and caring which promotes children's confidence and sense of belonging exceptionally well. The key person system is highly effective in supporting individual needs. Secure bonds are seen throughout the pre-school in the interactions between adults and children helping children to feel at ease in their surroundings. Extensive information is shared between parents and staff so that individual routines are adhered to and adapted in full agreement as children grow and develop and move through the pre-school. Furthermore, staff ensure children and their families are fully supported as they access additional support services or when going on to school. Well-focussed activities and visits to and from local schools and other settings help children and families to prepare for their next stages.

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

Staff recognise diversity as a strength and happily celebrate festivals and events to promote children's understanding of different cultures and needs. Staff support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities or who speak English as an additional language are incredibly well. Parents explain how they travel for many miles specifically to come to this pre-school. This is because there are many opportunities for children to speak in their home languages and parents are invited to share activities, such as preparing cultural foods with the children. Staff are extremely focussed on ensuring that all children are valued in the pre-school and eagerly adapt practice and room layouts to meet the individual needs. They establish an excellent level of communication with parents and actively seek advice and guidance from other professionals in order to gain a wealth of knowledge and skills to ensure all children's needs are met. Furthermore,

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

throughout the year they take part in several charity and fundraising events, inviting parents to join in, which increase children's understanding of need in the community and wider world. This truly promotes the excellent 'family' ethos and ensures secure partnerships are very effectively embedded.

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

The staff's role modelling is excellent. They use consistent strategies, and age- and stage- appropriate explanations to provide children with a clear understanding of acceptable behaviour. They actively encourage good manners and help children to take care of their environment and resources by tidying up together when they have finished playing. For example, when it is time to tidy up, children are very eager to carry the mats and boxes to the storage cupboard or help to fold the table covers with great pride. Children show excellent care and consideration to others. For example, they are happy to play quietly when some children say they have a headache and ask if they can do anything to help.

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

Children benefit through dynamic outdoor experiences, which help them learn about the importance of fresh air and exercise and how to promote healthy lifestyles. They independently get on their boots and coats and select umbrellas to go out in the rain and hail. As they splash and listen to the hail tapping on the umbrellas they talk about the view and that they can see all across the fields when the sun comes out. Children are safe to explore and investigate the great outdoors. For example, excellent opportunities for children to manage their own risks in the safest and most independent ways are provided in their Forest School. Here children hunt for wildlife, build dens and insect homes, collect water to pour and make mud to dig in. They share their knowledge of safety as they remind others to be careful of the twigs and branches. Furthermore, they run and jump in the fields, watch the farmers tend to the animals and take in the beautiful scenery as they

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

talk about what they see in the distance.

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

Children develop independent self-care skills with great enthusiasm. They use the toilet with confidence and ask for help if needed, while those in nappies are taken care of effectively by their own key person. The staff feel that it is very important for those who are closest to the child, attend to their personal needs and secures the close bonds they have with the children. Children take great pride when choosing different fruits and savoury snacks, serving themselves or pouring their own drinks. These skills support children's next stage in their learning, preparing them for their transitions both in the pre- school and to other settings and school. Every child, from the youngest to the oldest, and of differing abilities, receives an outstanding early years experience that secures their future learning and ensures they are ready for school. Each of the areas are exceptionally well organised with excellent resources. The whole pre-school is homely and child-friendly

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

with brightly coloured displays and posters providing for a vibrant environment.

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provision

The clear and definitive policies and procedures in place support the smooth management of the pre-school. Safeguarding is outstanding because staff have excellent understanding of procedures to follow. Staff's skilful implementations ensure that all children are highly safeguarded and robust recruitment and vetting systems ensure all people working with the children are suitable to do so. The exceptional staff deployment ensures children are extremely well supervised. There are highly effective procedures in place, such as risk assessments and daily checks, to ensure children's safety. Extensive induction takes place to secure a highly skilled and quality workforce who meets the pre-school's exacting criteria. Leaders, managers and staff have exceptional understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements within the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. The successful staff supervision and

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provision

appraisal systems ensure continued professional development. Staff also benefit from high levels of training and local opportunities, such as attending provider consultations and events. There is unquestionable motivation of the enthusiastic and much appreciated staff team.

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provision

The rigorous and effective systems for self-evaluation inform the pre-school's priorities and are used to set challenging targets for improvement. This ongoing process in pursuit of excellence is demonstrated by an uncompromising and successful drive to strongly improve the highest levels of achievement for all children, given their staring points. Staff are highly focused on the importance of assessing the planning and delivery of the educational programmes provided for each child. In addition to this, they constantly and effectively monitor and revise their techniques in relation to children's progress and interventions where needed. As a result, they ensure that gaps are narrowing for groups of children and those identified as being in need of support.

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provision

Partnerships with other professionals are firmly embedded in practice due to the first class links with a range of different agencies and organisations. This ensures that all children receive well-coordinated support so that they thrive in this adaptable environment. Furthermore, the purposeful discussions with parents have great impact on the pre- school's organisation. For example, parents understand and contribute to the pre-school policies and procedures and many are members of the committee. Parents are passionate about the pre-school, actively seeking out the inspector to share stories about the great impact the pre-school has had on theirs and their children's lives. They speak in very high regard and such admiration for the staff and of the wonderful opportunities experienced by their children at this exceptional pre-school.

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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 EY377612 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 917065

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 25 Number of children on roll 30 Name of provider The Lenches Pre-School Group Committee Date of previous inspection 17/03/2009 Telephone number 07933779918

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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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