St Clare's Pre-School

St Clare's Pre-School 10 Strouden Court, Warren Park, Havant, Hampshire, PO9 4JX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/06/2013 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

 Staff are extremely caring and perceptive and help children form exceptionally secure emotional attachments, providing a strong base for children's learning and well-being.  Children make strides in their progress, given their starting points, due to the excellent and tailored support provided by highly skilled staff.  Staff develop highly effective partnerships with parents and carers, other providers and external agencies, which ensures children's individual needs are quickly met and prepares them extremely well for the move to school.  Children are fully included in deciding what play equipment and activities are provided at each session, which means they feel completely valued and are totally engaged in their play and learning.  The leader and manager effectively oversee the excellent systems for the safe and successful running of the pre-school and bring about continuous improvements for children.

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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 main rooms and the outdoor area.  The inspector had discussions with staff, children and parents.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the deputy.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's records, staff suitability and safeguarding procedures, self-evaluation and action plans.

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Information about the setting

St. Clare's Pre-School first opened in 1971 and registered with Ofsted as a company limited by guarantee in 2012. It is one of two pre-schools managed by the same board of directors. The pre-school operates from premises in a residential area of Havant, in Hampshire. Children have access to two main playrooms and an enclosed outside area. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday, term time only from 8:30am to 3:30pm, with an optional lunch club from 11.30am to 12.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The pre-school serves families from the local community and surrounding areas. The pre-school is in receipt of funding for free early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. There are 70 pre-school children on roll. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children learning

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Information about the setting

English as an additional language. There are 13 members of staff who work directly with the children including the lead practitioner, a kitchen assistant and a lunchtime assistant. Of these, two hold a relevant early years qualification at level 4, seven at level 3 and two at level 2.

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

 help children further to use their name cards for self-registration and for activity waiting lists by making the name cards easier to find, for example, by laying them out.

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who attend

Children bound into the pre-school excited to see their friends and the staff. The sessions are an excellent balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities. Staff make an extensive range of rich and varied activities and resources available at all times. Children are confident in exploring these, which means they take the lead in their learning and enjoyment. Staff expertly use children's interests in their favourite football teams, for example, to encourage children's involvement in learning numbers and to develop pencil control. Staff make a template of a footballer's shirt, which children eagerly draw around. They learn to recognise numbers as they copy them onto the shirts. Staff extend this learning by helping children to put the numbers in order. Children learning English as an additional language are included and valued. Staff and children learn to count in French using the dual language number frieze. Staff make individual play plans for each child with

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who attend

special educational needs and/or disabilities and work closely with any other professionals involved in their care.

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who attend

Staff divide children into age groups for some parts of the day, including large group times and key person group times. This enables staff to adjust the activities to meet the developmental needs of the children exceptionally well. Staff recognise the additional needs of the two year olds and show they have correct expectations of the younger children's ability to listen and concentrate. They are highly skilled in adapting activities to extend children's learning. Older children show very high levels of concentration as they take part in group sessions because staff use effective methods to engage them. Children learn about subtraction as they sing about monkeys jumping on and falling off the bed. Children are eager to wear the monkey masks and fall off the bed as they join in the song. Staff demonstrate excellent practice as they take time to point to and count each monkey that is left. Children show their good understanding as they hold up the correct number of

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who attend

fingers to correspond with the number of monkeys left.

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who attend

Staff place an extremely high emphasis on promoting communication and language skills. They use Makaton signing as a visual means of communication with all children. Staff use their excellent knowledge, gained through research and training, to create an area with resources that are designed to promote speech and listening skills. Children explore the treasure baskets, developing and using language to describe what they feel. They learn about letter sounds as they explore the alphabet boxes. Staff effectively support more able children who are beginning to read blends of letters and some words such as 'mum' and 'dad'.

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who attend

Sharply focused ongoing assessments promptly identify any concerns about children's development and feed into the progress check for children aged two years. Accurate, targeted individual planning ensures each child makes rapid progress. Parents and other providers, where children attend more than one provision, are fully engaged in this process. Parents receive information about a speech and language scheme that the pre- school incorporates into their programme. This helps parents understand how to promote communication skills at home and promotes excellent shared learning. Children's progress is excellent as a result.

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

The high staff to child ratio and the effective key person system play a significant role in ensuring all children are very happy and settled. All key people get to know every child exceptionally well, which helps establish secure emotional attachments. They have a particular in-depth knowledge of each child, their home backgrounds, the professionals involved in their life, and their very specific needs. The secure bonds children form with staff help children to be receptive to the support offered in their self-care routines. As a result, all children display great confidence and develop high levels of self-esteem.

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

The pre-school provides a superb environment, which effectively supports all areas of each children's learning and development. The outdoor play area is small but staff are inventive and continuously look for ways to use it imaginatively. They create areas to grow and care for plants, such as runner beans and carrots in tubs, to promote children's understanding of where food comes from. Staff use highly successful strategies to help children feel included and valued in the decisions made in the pre-school. Children use a picture voting system to contribute to group decisions on what new equipment to purchase and what specific equipment they would like out throughout the sessions. Staff are resourceful and make their own play equipment to meet the needs of children. The 'hand gym' bag contains a range of small items for children to use to strengthen their small muscles and develop coordination, which is particularly effective for children with

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

physical difficulties. Children use pincer movements to attach pegs and make a fist as they squeeze the soft ball.

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

Children behave extremely well. This is because practitioners skilfully guide children towards using effective skills in playing cooperatively and generally encourage them to follow helpful procedures. Children waiting to have a turn on the computer place their name card on the waiting list. They use a timer as they begin their turn and know that it is someone else's turn when their time runs out. However, on occasions, some children cannot find their name cards easily to put them on the waiting list and to self-register. This is because name cards are stored in a tray and staff do not lay them out to help the children find them. This means some children do not always fully benefit from this system.

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

Staff promote effective hygiene practices and healthy lifestyles at all times. Children enjoy healthy snacks and parents are encouraged to support the healthy lunchbox policy. Children with medical needs are supported extremely well. Children benefit enormously from the time they spend outdoors and from the high levels of physical activity available to them. Thorough risk assessments and training help all staff to minimise hazards effectively to help keep the premises extremely safe and secure. Children are very aware about keeping themselves safe as they play, for example, they wipe up spilt water so that they do not slip over. Staff prepare children extremely well for the move to school and for their future learning. This is because children learn exceptionally positive skills and attitudes to exploring and learning, building friendships and their self-care. Staff forge superb links with schools whose teachers visit to read with the children prior to attending

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provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children's well-being are excellent. The management team has an extremely secure understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. They work with the lead practitioner and staff to meet these to the highest standard at all times. All those involved respond promptly and effectively to any concerns that arise, working with outside agencies where necessary. This approach helps to ensure children are safe and protected at all times. All staff have an extremely secure knowledge of the child protection procedure to follow should they have a concern regarding a child. They begin child protection training as part of their induction and continue to increase their knowledge and skills through regular, ongoing training. The implementation of robust procedures when recruiting staff and directors ensures the suitability of all adults involved in the pre-school.

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provision

'Aiming high' is the mantra of the pre-school. It has made many improvements since the last inspection in its pursuit of excellence. The effective use of staff appraisals targets their ongoing professional development. Many aspects of staff practice are used as examples of excellence by the local authority. They invite staff to share their skills with other providers. Management and staff use highly successful systems to evaluate all aspects of the pre- school. Parents and children are regularly invited to give their opinions of the pre-school and what it provides. Staff meet regularly to share ideas and evaluate the effectiveness of the activities they provide and the progress children make. The local authority advisors help highlight areas for development. This process results in continuous improvements to maintain and develop the excellent practice and environment children enjoy.

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provision

The entire staff team have an exceptional understanding of the learning and development requirements. They work tirelessly to continuously improve the delivery of them. Management monitors children's progress to check specific groups of children are moving forward. A recent audit of children's progress identified that boys were not reaching such high levels of achievement in writing as the girls. Staff reviewed the environment and the opportunities provided to develop early writing skills. As a result, they planned using specific activities that the boys showed an interest in, such as sweeping with a broom, which helps develop their large muscles. Squirting water pistols at targets helps to develop hand to eye coordination. 'Secret writing dens', created by a sheet over the climbing frame act as a magnet to the boys. As a result, boys now show extremely high levels of interest in mark making and records show their levels of achievement for writing have risen

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provision

Partnership with parents is highly successful. Staff are very welcoming and friendly when parents arrive with their children. They use this time to discuss children's changing needs. Parents and carers report their children are making strides in their development since starting in the pre-school. For example, they comment 'Speech has improved so much and they are much more confident now and play with the other children'. Parents greatly appreciate the high levels of support staff provide to help them access the specialised help they and their children sometimes need. The team around the child, which includes parents, staff, other settings and outside agencies involved in children's care and learning, work exceptionally well together to deliver a consistent approach. Staff meet with teachers to share information about children's specific needs, ensuring children will continue to be supported effectively when they go to school. This has a very strong effect on each child's

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provision

excellent welfare and learning, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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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 EY454097 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 899011 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 70 Name of provider St Clare's Pre-School Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 02392479255

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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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