Ickford Pre-School Incorporating After School Club

Ickford Pre-School Incorporating After School Club Ickford Combined School, Sheldon Road, Ickford, AYLESBURY, Buckinghamshire, HP18 9HY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/09/2013 05/07/2010

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Children make strong attachments to their key person and other staff, which promotes their personal, social and emotional development well.  The educational programmes are stimulating and support children to make good progress in their learning in preparation for school.  The staff place a strong emphasis on establishing effective partnerships with parents and others in order to successfully meet the children's individual needs.  Effective self-evaluation means that the staff continually extend the good service for children and their families.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not make best use of toys and resources to entice the children to play in the role play areas to develop their imaginations further.  Although children make good progress in their early literacy, staff do not use other resources, such as puppets and props, to extend children's interest.

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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 both play rooms and the garden.  The inspector had discussions with parents, children and staff.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's  records, policies and procedures and the pre-school's self-evaluation.

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Information about the setting

Ickford Pre-school registered several years ago and the breakfast and after school clubs registered in 2002. The pre-school has access to a large purpose built building and an outdoor play area in the grounds of Ickford Primary School in Ickford, Buckinghamshire. The pre-school is open from 9am until 12.00am and 12.00 to 3.15 each weekday during term-time only. The breakfast club operates from 7.45am to 8.45am and the after school club from 3.15pm to 6pm term-time only. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs. It is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The pre-school is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. There are currently 33 children in the early years age range on roll. The pre-school employs seven staff to work directly with the children and six of the staff have appropriate

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

 use visual materials, such as props and puppets, to encourage children to take part in story time and to visit the book area more frequently, to develop their literacy skills further

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

 make better use of toys and resources in the role play areas to further enhance children's imagination and creativity.

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who attend

The warm and welcoming atmosphere in this pre-school creates a positive climate for children's learning. Planning arrangements increasingly allow activities to stem directly from children's interests and effective systems for assessing and tracking children's progress are in place. There is a good balance between activities chosen by the children and those led by adults. At the same time, staff are always on hand to guide, support and encourage children to be active, independent learners.

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who attend

Children develop good communication and language skills. Along with children's emotional and social development, parents are particularly complimentary about this area of their child's learning. Children listen carefully to each other during circle time as they talk about what they have brought in to pre-school. They enjoy exploring letter sounds and the letters in their name. Children listen attentively and follow staffs' instructions when playing parachute and ring games. Staff encourage plenty of discussion during all activities by asking questions that require the children's responses. Children have many good opportunities to recognise their name and observe words and letters in their environment. Their interest in early reading is encouraged through choosing books from the visiting library bus to take home and share with their parents. The book corner is cosy and inviting and children enjoy story times. However, staff do not extend their interest in books, for

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who attend

example, by using puppets and props. Activities such as making marks with their fingers in sand, dough and paint and using chalks, pencils and crayons helps prepare children for writing in the future. Children learn to write for a purpose; for example, at Christmas time, they write letters to Santa and post them in the letter box.

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who attend

Children have very good opportunities to increase their physical skills. They move freely and safely as they choose to play indoors or outdoors. Children have great fun playing parachute games and squeal with delight as they hide under the parachute. They use their imaginations as they build with logs and planks of wood and balance, with increasing control over their bodies. Children develop fine motor skills as they thread beads and make patterns with coloured pegs in boards. Staff are skilled at extending children's understanding of early mathematics. For example, as they sort and match the coloured worms they talk about big, small and middle-sized. Children thoroughly enjoy experimenting in the sand and water trays because staff plan fun activities. For example, children learn that the heavier the ball they roll down the guttering in to the water the bigger the splash they make.

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who attend

Staff plan many good opportunities for children to learn about their local community and the world in which they live. Children enjoy walks around the village, visiting the allotment and village church and visits from the police and fire officer. They enjoy festival celebrations, such as Chinese New Year, when they enjoy eating noodles. Overall, staff make good use of the toys and resources to support children's learning. However, the role-play areas do not have a wide range of interesting resources and objects to fully capture and extend the children's imaginations. Children make good progress given their starting points and, as keen and motivated learners, they show a desire to find out about new things. Children are very well-prepared for the next stage in their education.

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

Each member of staff is a 'key person' for a group of children. The key person groups work effectively and as a result, children feel a sense of belonging and develop confidence in their surroundings. Children separate readily from their parents and are keen to see the activities that have been prepared for them. Staff interact warmly with the children and they clearly know them well as individuals. Children's behaviour is good and sensitively managed, consequently they behave well and learn to share, take turns and be kind to each other.

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

Children gain an impressive understanding of how to keep fit and healthy by taking part in sports, ballet and other physical activities on a regular basis. Children learn to keep safe and free from harm, for example, as they wear high visual jackets and talk about road safety. Within the pre-school setting, they learn to use scissors safely for cutting.

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

There is a good range of nursery furniture to meet the ages and stages of the children attending. Children's individual dietary requirements are catered for and they enjoy healthy snacks of fresh fruits and vegetable sticks. They develop independence as they pour their drinks and select and cut up their fruit. Parents provide a packed lunch for their child if they stay for the afternoon session and children enjoy sociable meal times.

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

Good hygiene routines help children learn about healthy practices, such as washing their hands and wiping the tables for lunch. A suitable nappy changing routine is followed and staff wear protective clothing to minimise possible cross infection. Necessary paperwork is in place to support the good health of the children; for example, medication administration procedures, accident and incident recording and sick child policy. Therefore, staff promote the well-being of the children effectively.

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provision

The pre-school places a strong emphasis on safeguarding children. Comprehensive policies and procedures are clearly understood and implemented by staff and designated individuals. All staff have a good knowledge and understanding of child protection. Robust recruitment procedures, including effective induction procedures for staff, help to safeguard the children from unsuitable people. In addition, managers have completed safer recruitment training, which further evidences their emphasis on keeping children safe. Effective systems are in place to ensure children are safe and secure, for example, no child leaves the pre-school unsupervised and comprehensive risk assessments cover all aspects, indoors and outdoors.

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provision

The pre-school staff have an accurate view of what they do well and where further improvements are required. By building on strengths, staff have a clear vision for the future. Action taken to implement the recommendations from the last inspection benefit the children's learning and development. This means the pre-school has a good capacity for further improvement.

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provision

The manager monitors the quality of teaching, planning and assessment procedures to ensure that children make good progress in all aspects of learning. Effective checks are in place for all children, including the two-year-old children. Kind and caring staff support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities effectively. They are quick to identify where children may require further support in their learning and work closely with parents and other professionals, such as the local authority inclusion team. This helps staff to support children in the pre-school and to narrow any gaps in their learning. Boys and girls achieve equally well because staff plan activities to appeal to their different interests. Partnerships with parents and others are strong. Children benefit from the friendly exchange of information between staff and parents on arrival and collection, which ensures children's changing needs are met and provides continuity of care. Parents speak

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provision

highly about the staff and provision. They value the friendly staff, who take time to get to know their children well and they feel they are well informed about their child's learning and welfare. Parents are encouraged to be involved in their child's learning by sharing achievements from home to place on the 'WOW' board. Children's learning journals clearly evidence the children's good progress and their next steps for learning and are shared with parents. Parents are invited to parents' evenings and they can access information on the pre-school's website, through newsletters, notice boards and emails. The children benefit from being familiar with the school grounds and hall. Staff work closely and share information with school teachers to help children to move on happily from pre-school to school. The children clearly have fun and enjoy their early learning experiences in this pre- 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 151306 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 843193 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 33 Name of provider Ickford Pre School Playgroup Incorporating After School Club Committee Date of previous inspection 05/07/2010 Telephone number 01844338785

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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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