Bright Beginnings Pre-School Ltd

Briscoe Little Acorns Pre-School Ltd Briscoe Little Acorn Pre School, Felmores End, Pitsea, BASILDON, Essex, SS13 1PN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/07/2013 14/03/2013

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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

 The inspirational managers lead by example and successfully strive to provide and maintain an outstanding service for families in the local community.  Children enjoy an excellent variety of stimulating, exciting play and learning experiences that contribute to them making rapid progress in all areas of learning.  The staffs' exceptional awareness of equality and diversity issues underpin their everyday practices. There is a very strong focus on supporting the language, communication and social skills of all children to enable them all to participate and significantly achieve.  Children are exceptionally well protected because of the staffs' expert knowledge and implementation of safeguarding procedures.  An exceedingly effective key person system supports children to make secure emotional attachments and promotes their well-being and independence. Highly effective partnerships between the key persons and parents ensure that children's needs are

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This provision is outstanding

quickly identified and exceptionally well met.  Excellent links are also established with other professionals. This allows staff to use expert advice in order to support individual children. It also allows staff to exchange ideas and information with teachers, particularly when children start to attend school.

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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 indoor and outdoor learning environments, this included a joint observation with the Early Years Professional.  The inspector held discussions with the managers, staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector met with a special educational needs coordinator from the local authority, an early years home liaison worker, a specialist teacher and family support worker.  The inspector viewed a sample of the children's development records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector saw evidence of suitability and qualifications of the staff, risk assessment, policies and procedures and other documentation in relation to health and safety checks.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and from written comments obtained by the pre-school at the recent fun day.

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Information about the setting

Briscoe Little Acorns Pre-school Limited was registered in 2010 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in purpose-built premises in the Pitsea area of Basildon, Essex. The pre-school is managed by a limited company. It serves the local area and is accessible to all children. The pre- school operates from two playrooms and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school employs 19 permanent members of childcare staff. Of these, two hold early years qualifications at level 4, nine hold early years qualifications at level 3, and seven hold qualifications at level 2. One of the managers holds Early Years Professional Status. The pre-school also employs eight bank staff who cover for staff absence.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school opens Monday to Friday term time only. Sessions are from 8.45am to 11.45am and 12.30pm to 3.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 119 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:

 build on the already good opportunities for children to explore technology, for example, by using more objects, such as cameras and sound recorders, to fully enhance their understanding of the world.

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who attend

The staff have an excellent knowledge of how children learn and develop. They deliver the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage in exciting and imaginative ways, to ensure that every child is supported in working towards their full potential. There is an extremely effective blend of adult-led activities and those chosen by the children, with an emphasis on ensuring that children are instigators of their own learning and development. All children achieve extremely well from their starting points and the pre- school's commitment to inclusion successfully helps narrow achievement gaps. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities or those who speak English as an additional language make rapid progress. This is because everyone who works in the pre- school understands and caters for them exceptionally well. Each member of staff knows their key children in great detail. They understand what their current interests and next

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who attend

steps for learning are and confidently explain how they are supporting them to progress further.

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who attend

The staff have very high expectations of all children and ensure that they all benefit from the activities offered. The planning, observation and assessment arrangements are precise and purposeful. The observations by key persons are supported by a wealth of photographs, examples of creative work and early writing in the children's 'special books'. These show a clear picture of each individual child's progress over their time in the pre- school. Achievements are meticulously tracked to ensure that there are no gaps in learning. In addition, the successful completion of the required children's progress check at age two, means that additional intervention is promptly sought and obtained when progress is less than expected. Parents remain continually involved and informed about what their children are learning and what they are learning next. This is because the staff plan time with parents on a regular basis, to talk and to share the children's records.

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who attend

Parents also become actively involved by attending special fun days where they take part in creative activities alongside their children or they borrow books from the pre-school library to share with their children at home.

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who attend

Children are very active learners and independently explore their learning environment, while making choices and taking decisions about whether to play inside or outdoors. They are very excited when undertaking activities and thoroughly enjoy participating in experiences where they can use their imagination. Outdoor learning activities are particularly interesting. For example, highly creative and imaginative use of resources helps create a jungle, where children investigate the sounds of the rain forest and explore how wild animals move. Staff intuitively support each child, knowing when to stand back and when to intervene to extend and challenge a child's learning. They are skilled in getting children to be inquisitive and ask questions about the world around them. This is particularly evident during gardening activities when children sow seeds or water and harvest the fruit and vegetables they have seen ripen. Children also actively learn about

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who attend

life cycles and show awe and wonder as they observe caterpillars become butterflies.

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who attend

Children are extremely well prepared and they develop the skills they need in readiness for starting school. High levels of independence are shown, older children are encouraging of one another and are able to persevere until a task is finished. Children use their reading and writing skills at self-registration or to label their pictures and make lists in role play. They take a real pleasure in looking at books and know that they can use literature to get information about things they are interested in. Children develop and use mathematical skills exceptionally well. Every opportunity is taken to develop skills practically, for example, discovering how shapes fit together when constructing tracks or by using counting skills as they work out how many pieces of different fruit they have on their plate at snack time.

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who attend

The staff place a high emphasis on developing children's communication and language skills. They successfully use a visual based communication system to encourage speech through the use of signing and speaking. The pre-school is also involved in the 'Every Child a Talker' programme and a member of staff acts as a designated 'communication champion'. In addition, a musician comes into the pre-school each week to deliver the 'Clatter and Natter' workshops with children, where they develop their speech and vocabulary through rhymes, songs, music and movement.

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who attend

Excellent opportunities are provided for children to learn about the similarities and differences in the world around them. Children understand about different festivals and cultures and play with multicultural toys. In this way, they learn about similarities and differences between people and their diverse backgrounds. Children go on supervised outings in the local environment, for example, they visit the local shop to purchase the milk needed for snack each day. They have numerous opportunities to use technology, as they competently and independently use the computer or various programmable toys. However, there is scope to develop children's understanding of a wider range of technology, for example, by using cameras or voice recorders to record their own observations of their time in the pre-school.

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

Children settle very quickly and feel secure due to the extremely well-established key person system. They form very close attachments as the staff treat them with warmth and kindness. When children join the pre-school, staff are sensitive to their needs and they welcome parents to join 'stay and play' sessions until their child feels secure. Parents provide important information about interests, enthusiasms and capabilities right from the start to help the initial transition from home. The key persons also continue to give an extremely high priority to building positive relationships with parents, to ensure they are responsive to children's changing needs. Staff give time and thought to preparing children for their transfer to full-time education and they have extremely close links with the local schools and other professionals.

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

Children thrive because of the strong focus on care and nurture. The staff meet children's diverse needs exceedingly well by ensuring their participation in fully inclusive activities. During their time at the pre-school children become very confident, outgoing individuals who love to share their learning with others. They are extremely proud of their achievements and the achievements of their friends. For instance, they are eager to talk about why they proudly wear a sticker that tells everyone their photograph has been displayed on the 'Friendship Tree'. Staff follow a clear policy for managing children's behaviour, which includes anti-bullying strategies. This means that children understand about the need for responsible behaviour, learn to wait their turn or share resources with their friends. Where any concerns may arise, staff work very closely with parents to discuss and formulate consistent approaches so that children can learn to express their

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

The nursery provides a rich and vibrant learning environment. The extensive resources are of high quality and easily accessible to children. The free access to the garden and covered play space allows children to enjoy exercise or explore according to their particular interests and learning styles. Children's opportunities to learn about keeping safe are enriched by being able to take manageable risks, for example, they confidently explore the climbing frame, during their imaginative games. Gentle reminders about how to use equipment, practising emergency evacuation and wearing high visibility jackets on outings, help them learn key messages about keeping themselves safe. The staff are extremely mindful of the effects of hot weather and ensure that children have shaded areas to play under awnings and wear appropriate sun protection. Excellent hygiene procedures and a commitment to very healthy lifestyles are consistently reinforced by

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

staff. Children make their own decisions about when to eat snack, through the highly successful use of a rolling snack-bar system. They eat nutritious snacks and access drinking water throughout the day, as part of their healthy diet.

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provision

The management and staff team are dedicated, passionate about the care and happiness of all the children, and clearly demonstrate they love their work. The management team comprises of an overall manager, and two further managers who work within the rooms with the children. They form a very cohesive team, working together and supporting the staff superbly well. All staff are reflective practitioners, who welcome new ideas and are keen to try them out to successfully maintain an outstanding level of care and education. Children's progress is monitored extremely closely and results are used very effectively to ensure that all children get the support they need in a timely manner. Procedures for managing staff performance are rigorous and the staff are consistently developing their own knowledge through ongoing training and information cascaded at meetings. There is constant self-evaluation to identify what the pre-school does well and this highlights areas

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provision

they feel can be developed. As a result, action plans are exceedingly well targeted to meet the needs of the children. For example, there are exciting plans for a specialised communication area where children, with speech and language difficulties, can work with additional therapists and outside agencies during the pre-school sessions.

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provision

Safeguarding arrangements in the pre-school are stringent, robust and clearly documented. This ensures that any child protection concerns are managed swiftly and in the children's best interests, should this be necessary. The staff team's expert awareness of safeguarding issues, along with regular training ensures that children remain safe and secure. All staff likely to be in contact with the children undergo robust background checks. The extremely clear policies and procedures are frequently reviewed and collaborative working with parents ensures that children are safe at all times. The pre- school has taken the additional step of having a 'zero tolerance zone', to certain actions and behaviours, surrounding the premises to ensure that all families know the pre-school places a high priority on their children's safety within the community. Detailed risk assessments are completed for all aspects of the premises and ensure potential risks to

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provision

children are identified and promptly minimised. The staff's teamwork is exceptionally good, ensuring they are appropriately deployed, both in and outdoors to constantly supervise the children.

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provision

The partnership with parents and carers is highly mutually respectful, fostering an exceptional level of trust. Parents hold the staff and the pre-school in high esteem, and say they could not wish for anything better for their children. One summed up their views by saying, 'it is an amazing place! The children love coming here and the staff really prepare them well for school'. Parents get a wealth of information about the pre-school through newsletters and notices on display. There is also a very informative welcome pack with key information about the areas of learning and the strategies the staff use when managing children's behaviour. The staff team have developed unquestionably well- established channels of communication, with interagency teams to develop individual education and care plans for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The pre-school takes a lead role in establishing effective working relationships with local

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provision

schools to ensure that there is a seamless transition as children move onto the next stage in their education.

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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 EY422878 Local authority Essex Inspection number 924710

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 52 Number of children on roll 119 Name of provider Briscoe Little Acorns Pre-School Ltd Date of previous inspection 14/03/2013 Telephone number 01268 450 025

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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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