The Orchard Pre-school Ltd

The Orchard Pre-school St Margaret's Millennium Centre, Gatekeeper's Chase, Rainham, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 9BH

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/07/2013 04/02/2010

p.1

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

p.1

This provision is outstanding

 The leadership and management of the nursery is inspirational. Every member of staff is well qualified and has an exceptional understanding of their role and responsibility.  The partnership with parents is exemplary. They are involved at every stage of their children's time at the pre-school.  The observation, assessment and planning process is outstanding, ensuring the outcomes for every child are individual and next steps are very effectively identified and acted upon swiftly.  Staff recruitment, monitoring and training is highly efficient in its planning and implementation, ensuring all staff are highly qualified, experienced and suitable to work and inspire the children.  The pre-school environment and resources are highly stimulating, interesting and challenging, each child is able to flourish and make excellent progress in their learning and development.  The self-evaluation process is of a very high standard and is reflective and effective.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector agreed the plan for the day with the provider.  The inspector sampled relevant documents and record keeping.  The inspector observed childcare practices throughout the pre-school.  The inspector and a key person carried out a joint observation on an activity.

p.2

Information about the setting

The Orchard Pre-School originally opened in April 2000 and became a limited company in January 2008. It operates from three rooms in a community centre in Rainham, Kent. Two rooms have access to a secure outdoor play area. There is suitable, easy access to the premises. The pre-school opens on Monday to Friday mornings from 9.15am to 11.45am and Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday afternoons, from 12.45pm to 3.15pm. They operate a lunch club Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 11.45 to 12.45 and a breakfast club Monday to Friday from 8.15am to 9.15am during term time only. There are nursery, pre-school and 'Pre-school Plus' sessions.

p.3

Information about the setting

There are currently 94 children in the early years age group on roll. The setting received funding for two-, three- and four-year-olds. The setting supports children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The provider/manager's qualifications include a degree in Early Years, and Early Years Professional Status. She works with a team of 13 staff, including a caretaker and two volunteer helpers. All staff hold early years qualifications. They receive support from the local authority. The provision is on the Early Years Register only.

p.3

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

 build on the natural resources available, so children can further explore and discover different textures and colours.

p.3

who attend

The outstanding leadership and management of this pre-school have a highly positive and immediate impact on every child's development and learning. When compiling the exceptional educational programme, children's starting points, skills, interests and individual needs are always taken into account. Each member of staff displays a very professional and realistic knowledge and understanding of children's expected levels of development across all areas of learning.

p.3

who attend

The extremely detailed and frequent assessments are focused and highly effective. Key persons also provide excellent additional support for children where levels of progress are less than expected. For example, they encourage the children with additional needs, to believe in their own capabilities and move them forward in their development. All children are motivated and want to join in, displaying a strong willingness to learn. Children are making exceptional progress towards the next steps in their learning and any achievement gaps are narrowed successfully.

p.3

who attend

All staff show they have an excellent understanding of each learning area, this results in all children having access to activities which are exciting and interesting. Staff make sure children also have lots of fun while they are learning. For example, a construction activity with inter-locking bricks stimulates questions about what happens if their model built wobbles too much, or if they found it easy or hard to make. Children use mathematical language such as 'tall', 'small' and 'big', in the right context. They enjoy the interaction this activity brings. Staff talk to the children, listen to what they say and link it into what they are doing. This fully engages the children and encourages their concentration. Adults use different activities and skilful questioning to encourage children's speech. Photographs and detailed observations show how children enjoy a story about Pete the Pizza, and how they

p.4

who attend

decide they want to make a pretend pizza. Staff make this happen and they proceed to make cheese from shredded paper, creating giant pictures of tomatoes, They then make sure resources are available for children to make their own real pizzas for snack. Children's ideas are consistently followed up and extended.

p.4

who attend

Children's independence is promoted exceptionally well in every area of their learning. They are able to choose from stimulating and imaginative activities and resources. This is especially so in the outdoor area, where children can allow their imaginations to flourish. For example, in the mud pie kitchen, children can mix dirt or peat with water and create their own pies or milkshakes. This activity also helps in number sequencing and counting, when some mud pies have been 'sold'. Children have many opportunities to play together and negotiate what they do next, with each other and the adults. Children can look at different kinds of books and learn how to use them properly, reading stories of their choice and those they love best. Children love making their own books and finding props to tell the story.

p.4

who attend

Staff provide wonderful and exciting opportunities for children to further develop their physical skills every day. They can go outdoors all day, every day, if they wish. Children also go for walks with an adult, searching for bugs. They then research the life cycle of different insects, such as butterflies and learn to relate it into their own, such as taking the next big step in their lives, to school. Staff are skilful in making sure resources are educational as well as exciting. For example, children are learning about weighing and measuring in a cooking activity. As well as making and eating flapjacks at pre-school, children prepare a bag of ingredients to take home and make them again with a parent. Low-level storage full of art and craft materials is always available to children of all ages. They enjoy being creative and make pictures using a wide variety of media, including paint and other recycled items, although fewer natural materials, such as wood, are

p.4

who attend

Children are clearly pleased with their achievements, as some proudly point to what they have done. Adults show excellent skills at providing the children with the independence and confidence to try to do things for themselves. Children are kept interested in their environment and photographs show how well they use the outdoor area. Parents' contributions are numerous and various. They can also enjoy the freedom of playing with their children on different 'Stay and Play' days throughout the year. All children are making excellent progress towards the early learning goals. They display full enjoyment of all the learning opportunities and are enthusiastic to try new experiences.

p.4

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

It is very clear that all the children are extremely happy, occupied and content at the pre- school. They show they feel emotionally secure, by the way they freely move safely around the play areas. Before the children start, the provider provides extremely well planned induction sessions for every parent and child. The provider believes very strongly, that this really helps the children to settle in quickly and successfully. It also means staff are able to gain an insight into the children's skills and capabilities. For example, they learn if children can dress themselves, and how they play with certain activities. The manager also ensures staff obtain in-depth, detailed, appropriate personal information on each child. For example, they gain information about any allergies and dietary needs. This results in excellent progress and development records being in place, right from the start. A visual timetable help to make absolutely sure that children, especially younger ones, are

p.5

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

able to see and understand the routine and know what resources are available.

p.5

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

The whole pre-school is excellently equipped with quality toys and resources that suit all the age ranges of children attending. The staff are always reflective in what they provide and have made further, recent improvements, for example supplying children with more large wooden blocks in the outside area. This has resulted in bigger and more detailed constructions. Children love relaxing and chatting to each other or looking at a book in a more comfortable and cosy area. Staff laminate photographs and display these at a low level, so children can see and recall themselves engaged in activities.

p.5

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

The provider and key persons continue to obtain accurate and up-to-date information about their children, from parents. This enables staff to ensure that children's experiences are enjoyable and more individually focussed. Staff are extremely knowledgeable about their key children's individual needs. They make sure they are able to give children their undivided attention, helping them feel highly valued and important. The very young children respond well to all types of communication, interacting with their key person, laughing, smiling, and trying to copy them. If children need cuddles or hugs, there is always an adult nearby to oblige. The setting gives high priority to promoting children's healthy lifestyles. Children have free choice to play indoors or outside. If they play outside, children can take resources from indoors to extend their play. Exciting and stimulating activities provide children with an abundance of experiences outdoors, promoting their

p.5

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

physical skills as well as being able to play in the fresh air. The pre-school only provides snacks and drinks. Children who stay at the 'Lunch Club' bring their own packed lunches. Children's behaviour is very good. Staff ensure children are constantly occupied. However, if children show signs of inappropriate behaviour, staff deal with it calmly and sensitively by staff. All children look to the adults for support and guidance, for example if they need help with an activity. Children are extremely well prepared for the next big step, such as attending the reception class at school. Adults show obvious pleasure and praise at children's efforts and achievements. This clearly motivates them to continue with activities that perhaps need more concentration. The provider and staff constantly focus on giving highly individual care and learning opportunities to each child attending the pre-school. The highly professional and detailed observations show how the staff are able to track

p.5

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

every child and ensure they provide effectively for every stage of children's development.

p.6

provision

There are strong and effective arrangements in place to implement the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. Staff display a clear understanding of the local Safeguarding Children Board procedures. The leadership and management of the pre-school is inspirational, for children, staff and parents. The provider has developed an exceptionally effective recruitment, monitoring, training and appraisal system. This means that every member of staff is fully checked before they start work at the pre-school. The provider and room supervisors carefully supervise new staff through their probationary period and any issues are swiftly addressed. Staff training is a high priority for the provider. All staff benefit from having the opportunity to access to highly professional external and internal training. Regular staff meetings and individual supervision sessions happen monthly. This ensures staff can continue their professional development and the

p.6

provision

quality of care and learning for children remains consistently high.

p.6

provision

Management and all staff members display an excellent knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. All have had safeguarding and/or child protection training, externally or in-house. The required documentation and record keeping is highly detailed, providing excellent information and analysis about every area the nursery provides for children and their families. All staff show they have an extremely thorough knowledge and understanding of the procedures to follow, if there were concerns about a child in their care. Children's safety is highly important to the provider and staff. They carry out extremely thorough risk assessments on the environments children use and any outings undertaken. This ensures the pre-school provides a safe, secure and high quality provision. The children and staff practice the evacuation drill frequently, to help them learn how to keep themselves safe in an emergency.

p.6

provision

The provider has highly effective, consistent, individually focused and supportive measures in place, to monitor the educational programme. This ensures all areas of learning are comprehensively covered, with particular focus on ensuring children's personal, social, emotional skills are promoted very well. The provider has excellent partnership with parents, and they are provided with many opportunities to be fully involved in their child's learning. Key persons make themselves available to have discussions with them at the beginning or the end of the day. There is also very good communication with other professionals involved in individual children's care, which helps provide further continuity of care and learning. The provider has developed a highly effective and successful self- evaluation process. This ensures that any changes and improvements are monitored well and the effect on the children and the pre-school as a whole is expertly assessed and

p.6

provision

evaluated. The provider uses some technology to communicate with parents, carers and potential users of their service. The pre-school provides an outstanding level of care, learning and development opportunities and support for all the children and their families.

p.7

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

Setting details

Unique reference number EY397666 Local authority Medway Towns Inspection number 912981 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 58 Number of children on roll 94 Name of provider The Orchard Pre School Limited Date of previous inspection 04/02/2010 Telephone number 01634 371985

p.9

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.

p.9

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.9

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.

p.9

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.

p.9

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.

p.10

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,

p.10

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’.

p.11

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.11