Dragonflies Pre-School

Dragonflies Pre-School Collingbourne Ducis Village Hall, Chicks Lane, Collingbourne Ducis, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 3DZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23/09/2013 02/10/2008

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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

 Children enjoy a varied and interesting range of activities. Staff support children's play skilfully so they make good progress in all areas of their learning.  Children can choose when to play outside in the well-resourced garden, which especially benefits children who learn better outdoors.  Children are encouraged to become highly independent, curious and active learners. They behave very well and make good relationships with others. These skills prepare them well for their future learning.

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It is not yet good because

 The pre-school does not consistently record the required information about children's parents and carers, including who has parental responsibility, and alternative emergency contact details.  The key person system is not established strongly enough to ensure staff obtain and share sufficient information with parents, in order to help children settle and to meet their individual care needs on every occasion.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff and children during a session, both inside and in the garden.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the manager and members of staff at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with parents and took account of their views, including those from questionnaires.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation, including registration forms, children's records, the safeguarding policy, children's developmental records, the self- evaluation form and planning.

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Information about the setting

Dragonflies Pre-school opened in 2004, after previously being known as Collingbourne Pre- school. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and operates from a room in the village hall in the village of Collingbourne Ducis, Wiltshire. Children attend from the village and surrounding area. The pre-school provides funded early years education. The pre-school cares for children from two to five years of age. There are currently 22 children on roll. The setting welcomes children with special educational needs and children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school operates from Monday to Friday during school term time only, between the hours of 9am and 3.30pm. The pre-school employs four members of staff, who work with the children. The manager has an early years foundation degree and the deputy holds an early years qualification at level 3. The other two staff both hold relevant qualifications at level 2. Three of the staff are working

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Information about the setting

towards higher qualifications. The pre-school receives funding for early education for two, three-and four-year-olds.

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must:

 record the name and address of every parent and/or carer (any other person who has parental responsibility for the child); which parent or carer the child normally lives with and emergency contact details for parents and/or carers so any can be contacted in an emergency

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must:

 strengthen the key person system and ensure sufficient information is obtained and shared with parents, from the outset, to ensure the needs of all children are met.

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who attend

Children enjoy their time at pre-school because they are always busily involved in interesting and challenging experiences. Staff note children's interests and the different ways in which they learn. They incorporate these into their plans, taking account of what each child needs to learn next. Staff work alongside the children and support them in their activities, explorations and play. For example, a child decides to make a camera from a cardboard box. A member of staff quickly fetches a real camera and talks to the child about its features. Together they hunt for appropriate shapes and objects to make the lens, viewfinder and button. Through the good support of this simple activity, the child learns about technology, shapes and new vocabulary. Children solve problems, use their imagination and develop language skills as they describe what they are doing. Staff also recognise when to leave children alone to explore, make their own discoveries and learn

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who attend

skills by playing on their own or with other children.

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who attend

Staff carefully monitor the range of activities and experiences they provide and the progress children make in all areas of learning. This helps ensure staff provide a broad and balanced educational programme, with a strong focus on developing children's language and social skills. Staff have received training in supporting children's language development. They use nationally recognised materials to help children gain confidence in speaking in groups and to support children with speech difficulties. Staff give parents helpful tips so they can continue with their children's learning at home.

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who attend

Children can choose to play outside whenever they want to, which is especially beneficial to children that are more active and those who learn better outside. With the children's help, staff have created a well-resourced and stimulating outdoor space, where children have plenty of room to run, climb, dig and use other large equipment. In addition, they have created many quiet spaces that encourage children to sit and chat with friends, such as small shelters and logs to sit on. Staff have attended Forest School training and this has given them excellent guidance to help them make the most of the outdoor environment. They provide a range of resources that children can move and use in creative ways, such as large crates, canes and tarpaulins. Staff develop children's mathematical awareness in fun ways such as parking ride-on toys, in the matching numbered space. Children help to draw these with chunky chalks, which develop their early writing skills well.

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who attend

Children learn about other cultures in exciting ways. They celebrate a German festival by making lanterns and learning a German song to sing on a walk in the dark. Afterwards they enjoy hot chocolate while they share their exciting experience of the dark. Parents are encouraged to come along and several fathers attend. They are encouraged to write down their children's comments, which help them focus on their children's developing language skills.

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

Every child is allocated a key person. They have responsibility to help children settle, form good relationships with parents, monitor children's progress and ensure their individual needs are taken into account. In most aspects, the arrangement works well. Staff monitor their key children's development very effectively. They keep parents fully informed of this and involve them in their children's learning. Staff gather much relevant information from parents but the inspection highlighted gaps in the information obtain and shared with parents at the outset. The pre-school have recently devised a more detailed information sheet. However, they do not ensure that the parents always complete this and discuss it with the key person before their child starts. Management do not always consider making sure the key person is present on a child's first day to help them settle and discuss specific care needs with the parents. On occasions, this means staff have not fully understood

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

Staff are warm and caring towards the children and as a result, children are happy and become confident and independent. They learn to behave well because the staff have a consistent approach to teaching children what is acceptable behaviour. Staff use positive methods such as reward stickers for good behaviour and this helps to build children's self- esteem. Children are sensitive to others' needs and older children are kind and helpful to the youngest. For example, two children sit with a new child and are delighted when they know the words to a favourite nursery rhyme.

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

Children learn the importance of a healthy lifestyle. They tuck into the healthy and nutritious snacks that the pre-school provides and help clear away dirty cups and plates. Children can help themselves to drinking water at any time, either from their own bottles or by pouring from a jug. Staff record any allergies or special dietary requirements that children have and take account of these. Children are encouraged to manage their own personal hygiene so that over time they learn to use the toilet and wash their hands without adult help. They recognise their named pegs and hang up their coats. Children are learning important life skills that will help them cope well as they move on to school.

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

Children are physically active every day. They can play outside if they wish and keep fit through a wide range of enjoyable activities. There are steps and slopes to climb, trees to run and hide behind and places to dig, which help strengthen muscles and develop coordination. Children have freedom to explore their surroundings, where they learn to play safely, and without hurting others. They learn to handle equipment, such as scissors with great care. The pre-school keeps accurate records of attendance and supervises children closely inside and out so they know who is present at all times.

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provision

Overall, the manager and leaders have a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements, and meet most of them. The inspection took place following a concern regarding some care routines. The inspection highlighted some weaknesses in the key person system. The arrangements are not strong enough to ensure staff always obtain and share sufficient information with all parents from the outset, to enable them to meet children's needs on every occasion. There are occasional gaps in records of information about children's parents and parental responsibility, and additional emergency contact details. These are breaches of legal requirements. Nonetheless, overall the pre- school's documentation supports children's welfare and safety.

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provision

Staff have a thorough understanding of their responsibility regarding child protection. All have received training so they are clear about what to do if they have concerns. The manager works effectively with outside agencies to help safeguard children. There are robust recruitment procedures in place. Adults, such as volunteer helpers, awaiting suitability checks, are not left alone with children. Children generally play in a safe environment, because staff routinely check all that the children come into contact with, for hazards.

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provision

Staff plan a broad and interesting educational programme that meets the learning and development requirements fully. They monitor the curriculum and children's progress very effectively, which helps all children make good progress in relation to their starting points. The manager and her staff work hard to continue developing their professional knowledge. They regularly attend relevant training and gain additional qualifications and as a result the quality of teaching is good and children are eager to learn. Staff have established strong links with the nearby primary school, which helps children move happily into school. Staff work very effectively with other professionals, such as speech and language therapists to give children additional support when necessary.

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provision

The management team and staff reflect routinely on their practice. They seek parents' and children's views and welcome advice from their local authority early years advisors. This helps them identify areas for development and put in place well-targeted improvement plans, such as for outdoor play. They have not however been sufficiently rigorous to ensure they meet all of the welfare requirements fully.

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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 EY300331 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 936563 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 22 Name of provider Collingbourne Pre-School Group Committee Date of previous inspection 02/10/2008 Telephone number 07760 080578

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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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