Jack n Jill Preschool

Jack 'n' Jill Pre-School & Nursery Stonelodge Community Centre, Hawthorn Drive (South West), Ipswich, Suffolk, IP2 0QY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/06/2013 28/02/2011

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early years provision

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

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This provision is inadequate

 A number of safeguarding and welfare requirements are not met, which has an impact on children's safety and well-being at the pre-school. The premises are not well- organised to meet each child's individual needs. Children are not effectively supervised, which results in some children displaying inappropriate behaviour.  The key person system is not well-embedded. Care practices and the educational provision are variable and do not support all children's individual needs.  Effective planning and assessment is not implemented consistently to ensure sufficient challenge for all children. The planning does not effectively take account of children's individual learning styles and is not tailored to meet their specific needs. The progress check at age two is not routinely completed to identify gaps in children's learning.  Children are not routinely provided with fresh and accessible drinking water. They have

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This provision is inadequate

limited opportunities to develop independence and to enhance their understanding of healthy eating, by participating in the planning and preparation of snacks and drinks.  The pre-school does not use reflective practice or self-evaluation to identify its strengths and weaknesses. This results in limited monitoring of the provision and weak leadership.

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It has the following strengths

 The environment is made welcoming and attractive through the effective displays of children's creative work.

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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, deputy, practitioners, chairperson, children and parents at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the main playroom, small snack room, focus activity room and garden. She viewed all areas of the building used by the pre- school.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of records, for example, information about children's learning and development, written policies, accident and medication logs, the complaints log, daily attendance registers and other relevant documentation.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The Jack and Jill Pre-school was registered in 1980 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a community hall in the Ipswich area of Suffolk, and is managed by a committee. The pre-school serves the local area. It operates from a large hall and a number of smaller rooms and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school employs 10 members of childcare staff. Of these, nine hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above, including the manager with Early Years Professional Status.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school opens Monday to Friday term time only. Sessions are from 9.15am until 3.30pm with a breakfast club from 8.30am to 9.15am. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 100 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 small number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 consider the individual needs, interests and stages of development of each child and use this information to plan challenging and enjoyable experiences in all areas of learning

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must:

 use observations to assess children's level of achievement and to effectively identify their next steps in learning. Conduct a progress check at age two for all children aged between two and three years and provide parents with a short, written summary, and use the check to identify and support any gaps in children's learning

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must:

 ensure fresh drinking water is available and accessible to children at all times

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must:

 ensure staffing arrangements meet the needs of all children to maintain their safety. Ensure children are adequately supervised and staff are appropriately deployed to meet all children's needs

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must:

 tailor the key person system to ensure that all practitioners have a secure knowledge of the children in their key groups.

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

 encourage children to become more independent and to develop knowledge of healthy eating by being more actively involved in the planning and preparation of snacks and drinks

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

 improve leadership by implementing effective monitoring of all aspects of the pre- school to ensure consistent delivery of the educational programme and care practices. Improve systems for self-evaluation to monitor, evaluate and assess the pre-school's strengths and weaknesses and to drive improvements.

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who attend

Practitioners' knowledge and understanding of how children learn is inconsistent. This results in them providing children with an ineffective educational programme, which does not challenge their thinking or extend their knowledge. Children confidently make choices over their play by selecting toys and resources from the wide range presented for them each day. This enables them to guide their play and learning. However, they are provided with few opportunities to participate in focussed activities, which are planned to challenge their thinking. While practitioners make regular observations of the children's play, these are not effectively linked to areas of learning, or used to plot children's progress. The planning in place is very general and is not tailored to meet children's individual learning styles or to take account of their interests. Practitioners are able to demonstrate where children are developmentally by following guidance, such as the document, Development

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who attend

Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, the lack of information gathered regarding children's starting points, means that they are unable to show how much progress each child makes. This includes those who speak English as an additional language and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The pre-school is beginning to implement the Early Years Foundation Stage progress check at age two. However, these are not completed consistently, do not show an accurate assessment of each child's development and are not effectively shared with parents.

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who attend

The resources available to children enable them to use their imagination, as they become involved in small world play or take a seat in the large pirate ship. They paint pictures at the painting easels and take pride in explaining the subject of their painting. Children's pre-writing skills are encouraged indoors and outdoors, as they are presented with a selection of pens, chalks and other materials. They have fun drawing large pictures on the ground with chalk, adding to each other's pictures and giggling excitedly about what they have drawn. Children enjoy participating enthusiastically in singing sessions, helping to choose what song to sing next. Most children enjoy listening to a story and join in with their favourite parts. Stories and singing sessions are generally organised in one large group. Those children who become disinterested are able to wander away to play with the equipment, practitioners observe and support children for whom the large group activity is

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who attend

Children are generally developing skills, which will help to prepare them for their next stages of learning, for example, 'big school'. For instance, they learn to put their shoes on and off, to listen to directions and to recognise their own name.

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

Some children settle in to their pre-school life well, forming appropriate attachments with their key person and other adults. However, for some children, the transition between home and pre-school is not smooth, resulting in them becoming upset on entry to the pre- school session and remaining upset for the majority of their pre-school day. The key person system is inconsistent as some practitioners are not skilled in helping children to settle and enjoy their pre-school experiences. Some key persons demonstrate limited knowledge of the children in their group, for example, knowing what languages are spoken at home.

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

Some children are beginning to develop self-care skills and independence through the pre- school's everyday routines. Children have to be escorted to the toilets, which are situated on a lower level of the building, but once there are encouraged to independently use the toilets or potties and to wash their hands thoroughly before returning. The organisation of this aspect of the pre-school is not well-considered. The large numbers of children attending the pre-school, means that there is almost always one practitioner out of the main room, escorting children to the toilets. On a number of occasions during the inspection, children had to wait for the practitioner to return to the main hall, to balance the adult to child ratios before they were allowed to go. This results in some children becoming distressed and on occasion, not making it to the toilet in time.

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

The pre-school endeavours to encourage children to follow their rules and boundaries, which they are reminded about during a group activity each morning. However, the ineffective organisation of the pre-school, results in children's behaviour becoming disruptive and fraught. The premises are generally bright and welcoming, providing children with opportunities to play indoors or outdoors. There are ample resources, which generally cover all seven areas of learning. Newly fitted display boards, enable practitioners to display and present children's creative work on the walls.

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

Children are provided with a mid-session snack, which generally comprises of healthy and nutritious foods, such as fresh fruit, breadsticks and raw vegetables. Children choose when to take their snack and enjoy the company of their friends, chatting confidently to them and to the practitioner organising the snack table. There are, however, no opportunities for children to play an active role in the preparation or serving of snack. For example, by cutting or peeling fruit, spreading butter on bread or pouring their own drinks. Children experience fresh air and exercise when they play in the well-equipped pre-school garden. They are beginning to develop an understanding about keeping healthy and fit, however, demonstrate little understanding of issues, such as, the importance of wearing their sun hats. Occasional visitors to the pre-school enhance the children's knowledge and understanding and provide them with opportunities to develop

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

confidence when meeting new people. This helps to prepare them for their next stages of learning.

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provision

This inspection took place following concerns raised with Ofsted regarding an alleged injury to a child and access to drinking water. The pre-school does have clear procedures for recording all accidents and incidents and shares these with parents. The accident record sheets provide spaces for practitioners to monitor the children following an accident, especially a head injury. During the inspection a number of children were observed hitting each other. On two of these occasions practitioners did not notice, resulting in children crying and becoming upset. The pre-school session is very busy with up to 37 children attending at a time. While correct ratios and space requirements are met to enable the pre-school to take this number of children, the organisation of the pre- school session and deployment of practitioners is poor. This results in children's needs not being effectively met. The pre-school system for providing children with drinks is

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provision

ineffective. Some parents provide their children with drinks in named drinking bottles, but have the choice whether to place them in the children's reach or out of their reach, as practitioners find that some children take drinks from each other's bottle. The pre-school has a jug of water and cups in the kitchen area, but these are out of the children's reach. Therefore, many children are not well-hydrated, because they either can't reach their own drink or are not confident enough to ask for a drink.

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provision

Practitioners demonstrate some knowledge of how children learn, however, this is inconsistent, resulting in poor delivery of the learning and development requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Ineffective monitoring of the educational programme, planning and assessment, means that children do not make best progress. Practitioners are not consistently monitored to ensure high quality practice is achieved. The pre-school reviews and evaluates some aspects of its provision, however, this system is ineffective at identifying its strengths and weaknesses. There are some plans for the future, which are mostly based around the changes and developments the owners of the building are making to the premises. These will be beneficial to the pre- school, for example, the installation of a new toilet block, which is more easily accessible than the current ones and a newly fitted kitchen. Practitioners are supported through an

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provision

annual appraisal system and encouraged to further enhance their professional development, through training courses and workshops. There is an informal induction programme in place for new practitioners and students.

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provision

Children are generally well-protected from harm, as practitioners demonstrate secure knowledge of safeguarding children and the procedures to follow if they have concerns about any of the children in their care. The premises are checked for safety on a daily basis and toys and resources are kept clean and appropriately maintained through an effective checking process. All adults working with children are vetted to assess their suitability and proof of their clearance is available for inspection.

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provision

The pre-school works well with parents, providing them with clear information about the pre-school's practices, policies and procedures. Parents spoken to at the time of the inspection are complimentary about the practitioners and feel that they have a good relationship with them. They feel that their children are making progress and they are able to contribute towards their children's learning through open events and meetings with their child's key person. The pre-school is extending the way in which it shares information with parents to include an electronic means, many parents are pleased with this, as it enables them to log in and follow what their children are doing each day. Partnerships with other early years settings, which children attend are satisfactory and links with the local primary school, aide a smooth transition for those children entering 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 251534 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 921773

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 100 Name of provider Jack 'n' Jill Pre-School & Nursery Committee Date of previous inspection 28/02/2011 Telephone number 07837 411646

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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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