West Hoathly Community Pre-School

West Hoathly Community Pre- School North Lane, West Hoathly, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 4QG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/06/2013 21/03/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 4 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

 Systems to ensure confidentiality regarding written records are not in place. Some records have been kept off site without prior permission from Ofsted.  Observation and assessment is not used effectively to clearly identify children's next steps or inform planning to ensure children's on-going learning and progress.  There are no systems in place for self-evaluation. As a result, ongoing improvement is limited.  The outside area is not being used effectively to promote children's learning and development.  Recruitment systems are not robust and the suitability of staff is not checked prior to employment to safeguard the children in their care.

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It has the following strengths

 Children are happy, settled and behave well and staff promote children's safety.  Children's move into school is managed well as staff have built good relationships with the local primary 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 held discussions with the manager at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector had discussions with the chairperson.  The inspector observed activities in the indoor and outdoor learning environments.  The inspector looked at children's learning journals and communication books.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at policies and procedures and evidence of staff recruitment records.

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Information about the setting

West Hoathly Community Pre-School registered in 1992. It is managed by a voluntary management committee of parents with children at the pre-school. The setting operates from the parish hall in West Hoathly, West Sussex and serves the local and wider area. All children have access to a secure outdoor play area. The pre-school is open Monday to Thursday 8.45 am to 12.30pm. There are additional afternoon sessions from 12.30 pm to 2.45 pm on a Thursday during the summer term. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. Currently there are 12 children, aged from two to four years on roll. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. There are two members of staff, who hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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must:

 ensure information and records about children and staff are held securely and available to those who have a right or professional need to see them

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must:

 ensure the recruitment process is robust and that staff qualifications are seen prior to employment.

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must:

 implement systems of self-evaluation by carefully monitoring the overall practice in order to drive forward improvement.

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must:

 evaluate the observations and assessment of each child and use this information to accurately identify their needs and plan for their next steps in their learning.

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

 develop the use of the outdoor area so children can explore and investigate reflecting their different interests and supporting their learning and development across all areas of learning.

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who attend

Staff are unable to monitor children's progress, because systems to observe and assess their progress are inconsistent. Observations made on children's learning and development are not always evaluated to help identify children's next steps. In addition, observations do not consistently inform the planning of activities to ensure children are sufficiently supported or challenged. This means that activities are not sufficiently adapted for the differing age groups and abilities of the children.

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who attend

Initial meetings and discussions with parents allows staff to find out about children's likes, dislikes, interests and care needs. This contributes towards finding out children's starting points and helps them settle. Consequently, children arrive happy and confidently part from their parents and carers, displaying growing independence as they hang up their book bags and change their footwear. Staff create an environment where children are able to move between the different activities choosing resources.

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who attend

The manager understands the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage but has only recently been appointed so plans to improve the educational programme are in the early stages. Activities are planned around the interests of the children. Currently the children are enjoying learning about mini beasts and growth. They visited a local place of interest where they had first-hand experience of exploring and observing mini beasts. On returning the manager created a large tray filled with soil, fur cones, twigs, rakes and magnifying glasses for the children to investigate with. However, the activity has been available for several days and it no longer offers children challenge; staff have not changed or adapted it to stimulate their interest.

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who attend

Children's communication and language is encouraged as staff discuss and join in with children's play. Children listen to stories and staff encourage their enjoyment by involving them. Together they make up actions to act out the movement of the different sea creatures in the story. Children are invited to borrow books from the pre-school to take home and share with their parents. This helps children develop an interest in reading and in books. However, staff miss opportunities to promote children's thinking and solve problems for themselves because they do not use open-ended questions.

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who attend

Staff encourage children's mathematical development through their interest in growth. Children have planted a selection of seeds and are learning how to use tape measures to see how tall they grow. To complement this the children have made a display of a big bean stalk and staff and children have measured themselves against it. During the inspection children discover how peas are grown inside pods. They carefully pop them open and then compare the sizes of the peas inside. This helps children develop mathematical language as well as learning about the world around them.

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who attend

Children have daily opportunities to go outside, at set times so they are not able to move freely between the indoors and outdoors. Children enjoy riding on tricycles and scooters, which promotes their physical development. However the outside area is not being used to embrace learning across all areas and fully support those children who prefer to learn outside.

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

Because there is only one permanent member of staff, they are the key person to all children on roll. This works sufficiently well to support children's emotional needs, due to the low numbers attending. However, although the key person knows children's starting points, these are not successfully built upon to ensure children are making adequate progress.

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

Children behave well and are familiar with their surroundings and the routine of the session. Staff are caring and act as good role models for the children. When it is time to tidy away the staff shake a tambourine and children instantly stop what they are doing and listen. Staff praise the children for their attentive listening and explain to them it will soon be time to tidy away. This gives children time and helps them prepare for the change in activity. Staff are vigilant about children's safety. They remind children not to walk in front of the slide, to sit down when they are eating and not to run inside. This helps children begin to learn how to keep themselves and others safe.

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

Healthy eating is promoted well by staff, and parents are encouraged to provide a healthy snack and lunch box for those children who stay for the 'Cygnets' session. Children enjoy playing in the role play area, which had been turned into a 'Fruit and Vegetable' shop. Children have the opportunity to handle and use real fruit and vegetables in their play. This enhances their learning experiences as they were able to use all of their senses as they could feel and see the different textures and later smell and taste them. Through daily opportunities to exercise outside, children are learning to keep themselves healthy. They enjoy helping staff choose what they would like to play with outside from the store cupboard. This allows children to follow their own interest and become engaged in their play.

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

Staff help children develop appropriate hygiene routines. They make sure children wash their hands after using the toilet and before snack and lunchtime. Children are asked to put rubbish, tissues and food they have finished with in the bin to help prevent the spread of infection. Staff check the environment on a daily basis for risks and to make sure it is clean. Staff use an anti-bacterial spray on tables before and after meals. This helps children understand about good hygiene practice and how it can help them stay healthy.

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

The pre-school has developed good relationships with the local school. Staff offer a 'Cygnets' session during the summer term for children who are due to start school in the September. Children and staff regularly visit the school, spending time with the reception class, and joining in with activities. This helps children settle quickly and confidently into their new environment.

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provision

The manager understands the importance and her responsibility in safeguarding children. The child protection policy has been updated to reflect the use of cameras and mobile phones in the setting. This helps promote children's well-being and safety. The inspection was brought forward, following a notification from the provider about the previous manager's lack of qualifications. The inspection found the recruitment process was not robust and that a member of staff had been employed without proof of a relevant childcare qualification. In addition, some staff records are stored off site without prior consent from Ofsted. These are both breaches of requirements.

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provision

Since the last inspection there have been several changes to the committee and to staff. This has resulted in the employment of only one permanent staff member. However, new management demonstrate a better understanding of their roles, responsibilities and accountability. They understand recruitment procedures, and know to check applicants' identity, qualifications and references. There are clear procedures now in place to check new staff's suitability. Because management are very new to their duties, this has not yet had an sufficiently positive impact on improving the outcomes for children. Systems for self-evaluation are not yet in place and consequently the pre-school is not able to promote continual improvement. The manager understands the requirements of the education programmes. However, although planning is based on the interests of the children, observations made on children's learning and development are not evaluated to plan for

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provision

their next steps in learning. Therefore children are not sufficiently challenged in their learning and development to make the best possible progress given their age, ability and starting points.

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provision

Staff appraisals and supervision are the responsibility of the manager but have not been implemented as the pre-school uses agency staff until they are able to recruit a suitable, permanent member of staff. Currently the manager discusses the organisation of activities and the day-to-day running of the pre-school with staff each week. This allows staff to be involved with implementation of activities during the sessions. The new committee members have changed the systems in place for the supervision of the manager to ensure there is better communication and support.

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provision

The new committee members and manager are beginning to work well together to help develop an effective partnership with parents. The manager uses daily communication books for each child and talks with parents at drop off and pick up times. At the end of each session, the manager displays information about the activities the children have been doing. The manager is also in the process of organising meetings with parents to discuss their child's learning journal. This provides opportunities for parents to be involved in their children's learning and development. However, an effective system to seek and include parent's views in the pre-school's self-evaluation is not in place.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Not Met

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 implement effective systems to ensure that the manager of the later years provision and any person caring for, or in regular contact with, children is suitable to work with children; is of integrity and good character and has skills and experience and qualifications suitable for the work (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).

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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 113823 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 921002

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 12 Name of provider West Hoathley Community Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 21/03/2013 Telephone number 01342 811380

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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

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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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