Sandhills Pre-school

Sandhills Pre-School Playgroup C/O Sandhills Primary School, Terrett Avenue, Sandhills, Headington, Oxfordshire, OX3 8FN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/06/2013 30/03/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The pre-school provides a welcoming and stimulating environment where children enjoy learning and make good progress.  There is good support for children with special educational needs and for those children whose first language is not English.  The key person system ensures a good quality of care is provided for all children and ensures that their progress is accurately monitored, and parents kept well informed of their achievements.  The manager has shown good leadership and has improved the quality of the provision since the last inspection.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The activities staff provide outdoors are not as challenging and stimulating for the children as those provided indoors.

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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 held discussions with the manager and deputy.  The inspector spoke to the children and staff.  The inspector took account of the parent's views following discussions with them.  The inspector viewed a sample of the pre-school's documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector made a number of observations of activities, including undertaking a joint observation with the pre-school manager

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Information about the setting

Sandhills Pre-School Playgroup has been registered at its current premises since 2003. It operates from the two community rooms on the site of Sandhills Community Primary School in Headington and is managed by a voluntary committee of parents and carers. The pre-school serves Headington and the surrounding area. It has a secure, enclosed outdoor play area. The pre-school opens on weekdays during term time from 8.50am to 2.50pm and there are currently 45 children on roll. All of these are in the early years age group. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The pre-school supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children who special educational needs and/or disabilities. The pre-school employs nine members of staff, of whom one has a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) at level 4, three have NVQ level 3, three have NVQ level 2 and two are unqualified. The pre-school receives support from the local authority. The pre-school is registered on

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Information about the setting

the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The pre-school receives funding for some two-year-old children and for three-and four- year-old children.

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

 improve the use of the outdoor environment by providing new and unusual activities for children to explore and investigate.

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who attend

Staff provide a bright and welcoming environment and encourage children to engage in stimulating, well-resourced and enjoyable activities. Staff establish strong relationships with children, know them well and cater for their individual needs. Staff plan weekly topics that link well to children's experiences and foster children's interest in learning about the world around them. The staff provide a good balance of planned adult-led activities and those that the children will choose for themselves. From the start of the day children display good levels of self-confidence as they interact with staff and other children, showing their developing social skills. Children mix well as they share activities in pairs or small groups and show good levels of concentration as they work together or individually. Children develop their small muscle skills as they cut, roll and shape play dough or load sand into a variety of containers. Boys and girls play well together using construction kits,

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who attend

floor toys or in the role play area as they engage in imaginative play. A group of children work well together to assemble a train track. Children regularly practice writing their names and tracing around templates with pencils and other writing implements to improve their early writing skills. The pre-school has been involved in the 'Every Child a Talker' programme and this has proved to be very effective in encouraging all children to develop effective communication skills. It has been particularly effective in supporting children whose first language is not English and staff use sign language to ensure this group are fully included in the activities of the pre-school. This is particularly evident at snack time when staff focus specifically on speaking and listening skills and introduce new vocabulary frequently linked to the topic of the week. All children respond to staff verbally and using sign language. Staff encourage

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who attend

children to develop good number skills at every opportunity, for example, counting at snack time shows how children are growing in confidence and can answer the questions about 'one more' or 'one less'. Children thoroughly enjoy listening to the story about the caterpillar who eats a range of different foods and they talk enthusiastically about the pictures in the book. Children hunt for plastic insects hidden in a tray of potting compost and match them up to the pictures. Staff engage children well and extend their learning through the use of effective questions that make children think about their own experiences. Children enjoy learning in this interesting way. Staff assess children's progress effectively and the information held shows that the majority of children are achieving at the expected level for their age and stage of development. Children who do not speak English as their home language make good

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who attend

progress due to the good level of support staff offer them. Staff use common words in a number of languages, such as Russian and Polish, to communicate with children and this helps the children to successfully integrate into the pre-school. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities show improvement from their starting points because of the good support they receive.

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

The pre-school is a secure environment where children feel safe and are becoming confident. Children are specifically encouraged to develop independence and to make decisions for themselves. Children are well cared for and procedures are in place to ensure their welfare needs are met through good hygiene procedures. Key persons find out about the children's interests, and likes and dislikes, through the 'All About Me' information completed by parents when children are first admitted to the pre-school. Children understand when to wash their hands and they meet their own personal needs, such as taking themselves to the toilet. Children develop strong bonds with their key person. Behaviour is good and children are encouraged to resolve any disputes with others in a sensible manner. Consequently there is good order throughout the session and children play together harmoniously. Children come from a range of different backgrounds and cultures. Staff promote positive

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

attitudes to diversity and this means that children mix well and happily share activities together. Children develop good cultural awareness as they celebrate different religious festivals during the year, such as Diwali and Hanukkah, as well as the major Christian ones. Healthy lifestyles are promoted positively. Children enjoy healthy snacks and lunches and regular opportunities for physical activities both indoors and outside. They use the school field when it is available. However, the activities provided outdoors are not as stimulating and challenging as those provided indoors. This has some impact on the learning for children who prefer to learn outdoors. Children dress appropriately when preparing to play outside. They are developing a level of independence in dressing themselves and pouring their own drinks at snack time. Parents have expressed concern about the outdoor play area and the hard sloping tarmac

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

surface, which is also used as a car park outside pre-school hours. Management have risk assessed the area and zoned it to reduce any element of risk from accidents. They have acted to ensure it is as safe as they can make it and recognise that it is a valuable facility for the pre-school. It is well supervised and children know and understand the rules to keep themselves safe. Children who are due to transfer to school are prepared well because of the good progress they are making. They achieve the expected levels for their age in all the areas of learning, including their personal, social and emotional development.

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provision

The experienced manager is developing a strong staff team who support children's welfare and learning well through well established procedures. Staff take steps to help provide a safe and secure environment where children develop and learn happily. Children are well supervised as the required ratios of staff to children are met. All staff receive training in safeguarding and child protection and this is updated at regular intervals. They demonstrate a good understanding of the procedures to follow in the event of concerns being raised, in accordance with the pre-school's policy. Rigorous recruitment procedures, including criminal record checks and references, are followed to ensure only the most suitable people are employed to work with the children. Staff who handle food have received food hygiene training and all staff have received first aid training. Staff complete regular risk assessments to help to ensure resources, equipment and the premises,

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provision

including the outdoor play area, are safe at all times. Staff complete risk assessments for outings, for example, when children are taken out for seasonal walks to gather natural materials such as leaves and conkers. The staff update their skills through following appropriate training courses, which are identified at their twice yearly appraisal interviews. School and college students take up work experience placements in the pre-school and they are carefully supervised as they work alongside experienced members of staff. The manager and deputy have received training in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and have shared this with staff through in-house training sessions. Key workers make frequent observations of children and these are recorded in children's learning journey folders so that each child's progress is regularly tracked. The progress check for children aged two years is being prepared to share with parents by the end of

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provision

the summer term. Staff understand and meet the learning and development requirements through providing interesting topics and well organised resources and activities for the children. Staff use the 'Every Child a Talker' programme to effectively extend and develop children's communication skills. It is particularly useful at snack time where the opportunity to introduce discussion and conversation make this a valuable part of the day. This has successfully met a recommendation from the last inspection. There is a strong partnership with parents who speak highly of the provision made for their children. Staff talk to parents at the start and end of each day to keep them well informed of children's progress and more in depth discussions are held at termly open evenings. Staff seek parents' views, through questionnaires, about the quality of the provision and any improvements they would like to see. The pre-school responded

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provision

positively to providing a covered area adjacent to the outdoor area and raised funds to finance the project. There is good partnership working with the reception class teacher. Staff share information and arrange visits to the school to attend assemblies and meet the staff, to help children move on successfully. Staff work cooperatively with outside agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The local authority advisory service also provides a good level of professional support to the manager and staff. The pre-school makes good use of self-evaluation to identify its strengths and any areas for development. Once identified these are put into an action plan. As a consequence staff are currently looking to find ways of further improving their assessment arrangements for children whose first language is not English and for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Improvements have been made to the quality of displays of children's

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provision

work and the book corner has been revamped with a new supply of attractive books linked to the topics covered. A music area has been introduced, with a range of good quality instruments to encourage children to explore rhythm and sound. The whole staff and committee are involved in the development and implementation of the action plan so that responsibility for improving provision is a shared one.

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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 EY257122 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 843505 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 45 Name of provider Sandhills Pre-School Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 30/03/2009 Telephone number 07974990627

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Setting details

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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