Hawkslade Farm Pre-School

Hawkslade Farm Pre-School Hawkslade Farm Community Centre, Barley Crescent, AYLESBURY, Buckinghamshire, HP21 9YL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/09/2013 10/12/2009

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early years provision

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

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This provision is satisfactory

 The pre-school works hard to value parent contributions to children's learning and help them access other local services to support specific needs.  Overall, teaching is effective and supports the learning needs of children helping them make progress while at the pre-school, particularly in children's communication and language skills and in their physical development.

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It is not yet good because

 The provision for confidential personal information is not secure enough, which means staff do not fully promote children's welfare.  There are weaknesses in how staff plan and organise the learning environment, which reduces children's learning experiences and free choice of resources.

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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 staff and children.  The Inspector conducted a joint observation with the registered person.  The Inspector spoke to three parents.  The Inspector sampled records and documents.  The Inspector read the pre-schools self-evaluation.

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Information about the setting

Hawkslade Farm Pre-school opened in 2005 under the present ownership and operates from a community centre in Hawkslade Farm, in Aylesbury. The setting is run by a private partnership. Children have access to a secure outdoor play area. The setting receives funding for early education for children aged two, three and four years. It is open each weekday, during school term-time, for 38 weeks of the year. Morning sessions are from 9.30am. Children stay for lunch and sessions run until 2.30pm. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and there are currently 46 children attending who are within this age group. The setting is also registered on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The setting serves the local and neighbouring communities. The setting provides support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are nine staff members, including the joint managers. Of these, six staff hold

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Information about the setting

relevant childcare qualifications and two are working towards a qualification. The pre- school staff receive support from the local authority.

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must:

 ensure confidential information about staff and children is handled securely and only accessible and available to those who have a right or professional need to see them. Be aware of the Data Protection Act 1998 and where relevant the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

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

 improve children's learning environment by making sure resources are clean and attractive and by planning interesting and challenging activities both inside and out.

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who attend

Many children are in the process of settling in and building secure attachments at this pre- school. Most are able to let parents go and engage in the range of activities provided by the staff. Where children are well established they are confident and self-assured. The environment encourages children to move between the entrance hall, main playroom and garden. Children are able to explore, play and build skills in each area of learning through both child-led and adult-initiated activities. Staff spend lots of time playing with children. They engage children in games and discussions to discover their interests. For example, staff sit with children in the small world area as they all discover what characters are in the box, which they talk about.

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who attend

Overall, staff soundly promote children's language development and work with the speech and language unit to support children's specific language and communication needs. Staff make use of group times to sing and use story sacks. They read stories to children in small intimate groups to promote their personal, social and emotional security, as well as encourage language development. The pre-school staff are currently developing a 'chatter bag' programme where children can take home a bag of play objects. Parents are encouraged to talk about the objects with their children as they play together and create stories. This activity is intended to support language development at home. Children work out how to use technology. They have an appropriate range of resources to handle such as cameras, torches, computer tablets and interactive toys. Equally, children have experiences of planting and growing flowers and looking for bugs in the garden. Staff

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who attend

encourage mathematical games, such as matching and counting how many bugs there are, which helps children to become familiar with numbers and colours.

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who attend

Staff show kindness and offer children comfort where needed. Overall, they engage children well and help them explore the learning environment. Staff confidently monitor children's development through observations and assessments, including through the two- year progress check. They are developing systems to better identify and promote children's individual next steps and using these within their planning. The pre-school has recently introduced a new system for monitoring development and are currently adjusting to this. Staff confidently talk about how they share information with parents in relation to children's development. They show developing skills in how they encourage parents to help children learn at home.

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

The staff successfully develop key person relationships with children and parents. Key groups are colour coded and this theme runs through from children's name cards to their home time baskets. Key people work with parents to share information and help children build secure attachments. The friendly relationships built between staff and parents help children settle. Early friendships between children can be seen and some children group together to enjoy each others' company in play. Children are learning to play alongside each other, share equipment and toys, negotiate and accept others choices and feelings. Children are learning pre-school boundaries, their achievements and behaviour is rewarded through both praise and stickers. Staff have positive attitudes and this shows in their relationships with children, allowing them to play and investigate freely. They help children be mindful of others; developing their understanding of safety. Stories from

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

around the world help children explore other children's lives and their communities.

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

Children show signs of growing independence as they increasingly manage in the toilet area by themselves. Songs help children build confidence in hand washing routines. Children choose from a healthy selection of snacks, pour their own drinks and clear away after they have eaten. Staff work with parents to ensure children receive healthy packed lunches. Children's health is further encouraged through physical activities. They enjoy a range of foot propelled cars and scooters and have a range of climbing and balancing resources to help them gain coordination. Generally, the environment encourages children's learning. However, planned learning in the outside spaces is less adventurous. Children mainly have access to activities which encourage physical development. There is little encouragement for children to build skills in the other areas of learning. In addition, activities which are offered in the morning are offered again in the afternoon. Although

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

children can access their own choices from close by at this stage of settling in, they showed little initiative to do so. This means that children are sometimes restricted in their choice of resources.

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

In general, children are adjusting to change and gaining the skills they will need in the future. Their self-care skills are building and they are gaining confidence in becoming independent learners. Staff take steps to support children as they get ready for the move to school.

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provision

This inspection took place following information received by Ofsted as a result of concerns relating to a lack of confidentiality regarding children's records. The inspection found that on one occasion, systems to keep confidential information secure were not followed. This resulted in information being shared with unauthorised persons, which is a breach of a legal requirement. However, the provider has already reviewed this incident and taken action to improve the systems in place. Therefore, the impact on children is limited.

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provision

The staff show a satisfactory knowledge of safeguarding children. Procedures are comprehensive and staff understand their role in reporting child protection concerns. The pre-school has a designated person to support staff knowledge and skills and regular training is undertaken. The recruitment procedures are secure. Overall, the pre-school staff soundly promote children's safety.

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provision

The leadership and management team have recognised some of the weaknesses within the delivery of the learning and development requirements. While assessments are relatively precise and accurate, planning weaknesses to differentiate between the needs of children are not secure. They have addressed this by implementing new systems to support staff as they observe and plan. Their intention is, as this system embeds, staff will feel more confident in planning next steps for children. The leadership and management team are building skills in coaching and mentoring staff. Overall, staff teaching skills are relatively well developed. They show a suitable level of knowledge around children's development.

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provision

The pre-school is currently developing systems to self-reflect on practice and identify and remedy any weaknesses. Overall, previous actions and recommendations have been addressed. The pre-school have recently invested in resources and many resources are in good condition. However, some resources are worn, which impacts on children's interest and choices. The leadership and management team welcome the views of parents and monitor children's interests to ensure they are working towards common goals. Staff develop skills through courses. Training is cascaded down to others during team meetings. Several staff are working towards higher childcare qualifications.

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provision

Parents give positive feedback about this pre-school. They report good levels of staffing and staff that are friendly and put them at ease. Parents are happy with the level of information they receive. They feel the staff have helped them access other services within the county, which their children can benefit from. These include speech and language professionals and links with local schools. The pre-school also makes the most of links with their local authority early years team to improve practice. They work in partnership with safeguarding agencies to promote children's well-being.

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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 EY311978 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 928273

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 32 Number of children on roll 46 Name of provider Jill Gannon & Sharon Robertson Partnership Date of previous inspection 10/12/2009 Telephone number 07754 533178

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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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