Ridgeway Under Fives Pre-School

Ridgeway Under Fives Pre-School Main Road, Ridgeway, SHEFFIELD, South Yorkshire, S12 3XR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/10/2013 30/03/2009

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Children are settled and are confident in the pre-school. This is because there is a key person system in place. Children use this secure relationship to participate in activities with enjoyment.  Partnerships with parents are good. Information is shared regularly between key persons and parents to promote children's care and learning.  High priority is given to maintaining children's safety because practitioners consistently implement safeguarding policies and procedures to ensure children's well-being.  Leadership and management is strong there are clear priorities identified to further improve the quality of the provision, to ensure that all children make progress in their learning and development providing them with the necessary skills for future learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Sometimes, there are not as many opportunities as possible for children to use real life tools in their imaginative play. This means their very good understanding of how to use and manipulate a range of tools is not progressed as well as it could be.

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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 looked at a selection of children's assessment records and planning, evidence of suitability of staff working within the pre-school and a range of other records and documentation.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the pre-school supervisor.  The inspector observed activities in the main playroom and the outdoor area.  The inspector took account the views of parents.

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Information about the setting

Ridgeway Under Fives Pre-school has been registered for over 40 years and moved to the present setting in 2001. It operates from the main room of the village sports and social centre in Ridgeway, Derbyshire. It is a committee run provision serving the local community. The pre-school has use of a large playroom, with access to kitchen and toilet facilities. There is an outdoor play space available to the children. Access to the premises is via a small step at the front of the building and a ramp to the rear.

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Information about the setting

There are presently 27 children attending in the early years age group. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday from 9.30am until 12.30pm, term time only. Children attend for a variety of sessions and the pre-school receives funding for early education for three- and four-year-old children.

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Information about the setting

A team of nine staff are employed to work with the children, seven of whom hold recognised childcare qualifications, mostly at level 3; one is currently undertaking training and one is unqualified. The setting receives support from the local authority and the Pre- School Learning Alliance.

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

 enhance further the role-play resources and equipment to ensure that all children have opportunity to use real life tools in their imaginative play, in order to support their very good learning.

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who attend

All practitioners have a good knowledge and understanding of the seven areas of learning and development, which enables them to effectively observe, assess and monitor the children's progress. As a result, children are making good progress. Priority is given to the prime areas of learning and development.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good and children's communication and language is effectively promoted. This is because practitioners talk to the children, comment on what they are doing, provide clear explanations, use descriptive words and ask questions to encourage the children to think critically and make decisions. Sharing of books, informally and formally, takes place throughout the session. The practitioner effectively models how to handle books and uses actions to extend children's engagement with the stories. As a result, the children actively engage with the stories being shared and learn about how to respect books.

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who attend

A robust observation, assessment and planning system is in place. Practitioners complete regular detailed ongoing formative observations of the children. These observations record the children's progress, enjoyment and achievements and are used to assess the child's development. They also effectively inform the planning of activities and experiences to support the children in consolidating their learning and to move them on to the next steps in their learning. Observations and assessments are recorded in each child's learning journal and parents can contribute to this from the beginning. The planning reflects the children's interests. Therefore, children are effectively challenged through the activities and opportunities provided in the, mostly, well-resourced learning environment. Parents are offered formal opportunities throughout the year to meet with their child's key person to discuss their child's learning and development. They also discuss their progress across

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who attend

the areas of learning and development and any areas of learning requiring additional support. As a result, parents are kept informed of their child's learning and development.

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who attend

Children, generally, access a wide range of resources, both inside and outside. They can freely access additional resources, which are stored in low-level units in defined learning areas. Practitioners respond effectively to support children to independently select additional resources, advising them of the choices they can make. For example, a child chose the map of England, they found a place to put this on the floor and then proceeded to drive the car along a blue line. A practitioner joined the child on the floor and through skilful use of good communication skills, the child explained, 'that they were driving up the M1'. However, there are fewer opportunities for children to use tools in the role-play area, this means their first hand experiences are not as rich as possible. An equal opportunities policy is in place that clearly demonstrates how the setting support all children and families that access the setting. There is an appropriate range of resources and activities

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who attend

to enable children to learn more about different cultures, festivals and celebrations, for example, by tasting a range of different foods at Chinese New Year.

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who attend

Children have opportunities to explore the local community through well-planned trips and outings. These provide opportunities for learning and development across the seven areas of learning. For example, the playgroup have access to an allotment where the children are learning how to show care and concern for living things as they grow and care for flowers and vegetables.

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who attend

Practitioners ensure that resources and equipment are added to activities to extend their learning potential. For example, tape measures and clipboards were added to the work area to enable the children to plan what they were going to build and to record measurements. Practitioner's role model how to use equipment and resources to ensure that the children are aware of the uses, enabling them to sustain their interest at an activity. For example, a practitioner sat with a child and, through sustained shared interest, engaged them in an activity to make marks using the child's interest in dinosaurs. The practitioner demonstrated different strategies that the child might like to try, enabling the child to make decisions and think critically about how they could adapt the mark making tools.

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

Children are settled, happy and confident within the environment. All children have an allocated key person. The key person is the main contact for parents regarding their child's well-being and learning and development. Children's personal, social and emotional development is given high priority by all practitioners. Parents are highly valued and encouraged to participate in their children's learning through a range of strategies implemented by the playgroup. For example, they are welcome to volunteer in the setting and accompany the children on outings and trips.

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

Children's behaviour is good throughout the pre-school. There are established 'Golden Rules' in place, which are shared with parents to ensure a consistent approach to behaviour management. The children are encouraged to learn about right and wrong through discussions with the practitioners. For example, the children are encouraged to, 'be careful with the sand as it may go in their friend's eye and it will hurt them'. Practitioners regularly offer specific praise to children about what they have done well, which reinforces the child's sense of achievement.

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

Children have good opportunities to learn about healthy lifestyles. As part of the routine a snack bar is provided for them to independently access and a visual photograph board supports them to develop an understanding of how to select their snack. Snack time promotes the prime areas of learning as it allows the children to engage in the social aspects of eating alongside children. It also develops communication skills and enables the children to use small muscle skills when pouring their drinks. Practitioners enable children to further develop their counting skills as part of snack time with clear numbered pictures that show how much of each snack selection the children may take.

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

Children enjoy playing outdoors. They can access the outdoor learning environment in most weathers as the pre-school provide waterproof clothing. Outdoors, children develop their physical skills by running round with their peers, riding bikes and throwing balls back and forth. They are refining ways to negotiate spaces and gain control over their bodies, which helps them to learn about keeping themselves safe.

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

Secure transitional arrangements are in place that fully supports children and their families as they move on to other providers or school. For example, school practitioners are encouraged to visit the setting to meet the children and the key person supports the children on visits to the school. Transition documents are prepared to provide a summative assessment of the child's overall development. These are shared with the new provider promoting a consistent approach to the child's education and care.

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provision

The supervisor has a good understanding of her role and responsibility for the quality of the delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has a good overview of the children's learning and development and high levels of awareness of the children's learning and development needs. The supervisor monitors and evaluates the education programme on a regular basis to ensure that is has depth and breadth and is supporting the children to make progress in their learning. Effective tracking documents are regularly completed to ensure that the supervisor has an overview of the children's level of development and progress. The supervisor takes responsibility for overseeing the planning and regularly samples the children's learning journals. She ensures that the children have a good learning environment that ensures purposeful and developmentally appropriate learning takes place.

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provision

A robust safeguarding children policy is in place, which clearly links to the local safeguarding guidance. Safeguarding is good because all practitioners have a good understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures and their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children. This means that children's welfare is promoted.

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provision

Practitioners are deployed effectively to ensure that ratios are maintained at all times, for example, when the children are going to the toilet or washing their hands ready for snack. Staff position themselves appropriately to maximise children's opportunity to be independent and build their self-care skills ready for when they start school.

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provision

Structured performance management is in place and practitioners participate in a yearly appraisal. Professional development is good. Practitioners have accessed a range of training to support them to enhance their professional practice. For example, they have attended a course offered by the speech and language service to support children with speech and language issues. The practitioners have universally implemented some of the teaching strategies shared at the training to further support all children's communication and language development.

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provision

The supervisor and management committee are committed to ongoing improvement to ensure the best possible outcomes for the children. The supervisor regularly reflects on the quality of the provision. In partnership with the highly effective management committee, the priorities for improvement have been identified. For example, the development of the snack bar provision. A questionnaire has been issued to parents and their feedback is informing the proposed changes for snack. This demonstrates reflective practice, ensuring that the supervisor and committee have a good understanding of the setting's strengths. This means they can target the areas for improvement that will have the greatest impact on the children's progress across the seven areas of learning and development.

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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 EY225752 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 855766

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 27 Name of provider Ridgeway Under Fives Committee Date of previous inspection 30/03/2009 Telephone number 01142470622 07837 273 030

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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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