Dunmore Pre-School

Dunmore Pre-School Farm Road, Off Austin Place, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 1NA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/06/2013 10/11/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 2 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children are settled and eager to play whilst at the pre-school. They enjoy varied activities and staff plan securely for their progress.  Children benefit from the suitable range of resources and activities available, which supports their learning soundly.  Children enjoy a welcoming environment where their self-esteem and sense of belonging is well promoted.

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It is not yet good because

 Although the pre-school have a daily attendance register, this does not include the children's hours of attendance. This is a breach of legal requirements.  Staff do not always share information on minor accidents in the setting with children's key persons. While accidents are all recorded appropriately, as parents are not always informed as soon as is reasonably practicable, this is a breach of legal requirements.  The level of noise in the main playroom prevents some children from concentrating as well as possible.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the setting and in the nursery garden.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection, during and after activities.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation, including progress records and planning documents and discussed these with staff.  The inspector conducted a joint observation on an activity with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the management team and gave feedback at the end of the visit.

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Information about the setting

Dunmore Pre-School opened in 1982 and is managed by a committee of parents. The pre- school operates from a detached self contained modular building in a residential estate in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The pre-school provides funded early education for three and four- year-olds. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 55 children aged from two to under five years on roll. The pre-school is open each weekday from 9.15am to 3.30pm during school term times. All children share access to a secure, enclosed outdoor play area. The pre-school employs eight staff of whom six hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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must:

 maintain a daily record of the names of the children being cared for on the premises and their hours of attendance

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must:

 ensure that staff share essential information with each other so that parents are informed as soon as is reasonably practicable when accidents have occurred that involve their child.

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

 encourage children to concentrate more by limiting noise, within the main play room.

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who attend

Children are happy and content at nursery. They enjoy a suitable range of toys, resources and activities that help them make appropriate progress in all areas of learning. Staff have a secure understanding of the learning and development requirements, which helps them to plan soundly for the children to promote their all round progress. The staff have established effective systems of observation and assessment, and support the records of observation with photographic evidence. There are secure links to identify next steps in child's learning, and assessments such as the two-year-old progress check, support the children's emerging development. This means that children have their learning needs met soundly.

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who attend

Children's communication and language skills are well supported by staff. Children's listening and attention skills are generally well promoted throughout everyday activities and circle time. Their speaking and understanding of communication and language is well developed by staff. Staff consistently engage in conversations with the children and ask a suitable range of questions to develop their thinking skills. For example, staff ask 'what have you been doing outside,' and other staff are heard asking the children to work out 'how the ladybirds will get into the lady house'. This supports the children's thinking skills while engaging them in conversations to extend their vocabulary. Children's early writing skills are well promoted as children enjoy a variety of situations to make prints and marks in creative activities. For example, children make patterns by printing with toy animals and explore the soil and sand with their fingers to make shapes and marks. These activities

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who attend

prepare children well for their next stage of learning, such as moving to school as they learn the skills they need for this change.

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who attend

The children have a suitable range of activities on offer throughout the day. They enjoy being physical inside and outside on the climbing apparatus. These enable children to develop their balancing skills as they climb and balance on the bars of the climbing frames. Children also enjoy exploring mathematical games, as they fill an abacus with discs. Staff support children's understanding and recognition of colours as they play, and encourage children to count the discs. Children learn about the world they live in through the focus that the nursery have on forest school learning. Inside, the children play in the tent area and develop their imaginations as they have a 'camp fire'. Their creativeness is well supported by the staff, who give the children marshmallows to burn on the fire. This leads into purposeful conversations about safety, supporting children's understanding of how they can be safe around the fire. Children play well together in the role play area and

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who attend

they readily invite staff into their play as they make pretend meals for them all to eat. Children have opportunities to work in groups and enjoy listening to stories read by staff. However, at times, the noise levels in the room are loud and this means that during some group activities it is difficult to hear what the children are saying. It also means children become distracted from the task in hand, as the noise affects their ability to concentrate as well as possible.

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who attend

Children have plenty of opportunities to play outside in the fresh air where resources and activities reflect all areas of learning, as the staff are careful to incorporate these outdoors. They fun exploring with water and the guttering tubes, and constructing with blocks. Children enjoy sing songs outside with staff and others enjoy exploring and discussing with staff on how they can dismount the platform from the climbing frame safety. Children also enjoy planting and watering flowers, plants and fruits, which help them to develop their physical skills, and promotes their understanding of how to care for living things.

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

Children have developed close relationships with the staff, which help them to feel secure within the pre-school environment. Staff greet the children and their parents warmly. This helps all the children, even those just starting at the preschool, to settle quickly. The staff operate a sound key person approach. They work well with the parents of their key children, which enables staff to meet the needs of the children securely. Children develop firm friendships with each other and readily invite staff into their play. Generally children play well together and clearly enjoy the company of their peers. For example, a group of children on a bug hunt explore the grass and leaves areas whilst on a bug hunt, calling out to their friends as they find an insect to watch and discuss. There are some suitable places for the children to relax and play imaginatively, such as the summer house outside.

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

The premises are clean and children have access to child friendly furniture and equipment. Children enjoy a welcoming environment where their self-esteem and sense of belonging is well promoted. For example, through use of named pegs and art work and pictures of children displayed throughout the nursery. Children use a suitable range of toys and resources, that are accessible to them, to aid their learning and play. Toys and resources are stored at a low level, which allows children to help themselves to items. Children enjoy a good-sized garden to play in and their learning and development is well supported outside. As a result, children's health and wellbeing is supported well through physical activity and fresh air.

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

Staff give positive messages to children, which in turn helps them to learn how to behave while at the nursery. Children generally play well together and are learning to share and take turns as they play. Children are developing an understanding of how to keep safe in their daily play. For example, children play traffic sign games to help each other to take care to avoid hurting one another when riding on bikes and scooters. Good hygiene practices underpin children's health and children are independent in their self-care. For example, children put on aprons to play with the water and wash their hands before meal times. A caf style snack-time enables children to decide when they need refreshment. This means children are developing independent skills well, by taking control of their personal needs.

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provision

The committee and staff team work well together and this promotes sound outcomes for children. Overall, the staffing team demonstrate a secure understanding of their responsibilities to meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The manager of the pre-school has an appropriate awareness of the priorities for the future and has an up-to-date self evaluation document in place. This shows that the nursery is reflective and committed to enhancing the provision for the children. The management team provide a consistent support to the staffing team and work directly with them and the children to promote consistently in care, learning and education. There are robust recruitment and induction systems are in place, which as a result ensure that all staff have the skills and suitability to work with children. There are suitable systems in place to prevent unauthorised persons from having access to the setting. Generally the staffing

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provision

team work well together, however, at times communication between them is not always consistent. This means that not all staff are aware of which children have had an accident so that the key person can inform the parents as soon as possible. While accident records are in place and these are filled in appropriately by all staff, sometimes parents are not swiftly informed of accidents that their children have had. This is a breach of requirements.

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provision

The manager has regular meetings with the staff and they benefit from the monthly supervision meetings. During these meetings the manager reflects on the staff members practice, they discuss future training and she offers guidance and training on their overall performance. The nursery have a suitable policies and procedures in place, these include safeguarding children and complaints. Arrangements for safeguarding children within the nursery are effective. All staff have a good understanding of how to safeguard children from harm and have a secure understanding of the procedures to follow in the event of a concern. Suitable risk assessments are in place and these are used well to minimise hazards to children. The nursery have a daily attendance register, however this does not record the exact times of arrival and departure for the children. This is a breach of requirements and as a result means that the staff cannot be certain of the number of

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provision

children present throughout the session. In the event of emergency, this means that staff may not have accurate information about which children are in attendance.

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provision

The committee, manager and staffing team are committed to working in partnership with parents and other professionals. Overall, parents and carers receive detailed communications from the staff and key workers where appropriate on a daily basis; this enables them to know how their child has been during the day. In addition the parents have access to parent's information board, policy folders and benefit from the regular parent consultations. The pre-school work in partnership with other professionals involved in children's care and the special educational needs coordinator has secure links with other agencies involved in children care. This provides continuity and consistency in the children's care.

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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 133399 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 921427 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 55 Name of provider Dunmore Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 10/11/2011 Telephone number 01235 202103

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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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