Poppets Pre-school

Poppets Pre-school Upper Wickham Lane, Welling, Kent, DA16 3AP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/10/2013 17/09/2010

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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

 Staff provide a safe and caring environment where children's personal, social and emotional developed is supported very well.  There is a wide selection of resources available that promote all areas of children's learning effectively. These are stored at low level enabling children to choose toys independently.  Staff plan well for children's individual needs through effectively assessing the stage they are at and planning interesting, challenging activities to enhance their development further.  The pre-school team continually reviews their practice through effective self-evaluation systems to ensure positive outcomes for all children.  The key person system is effective in supporting children to settle into the pre-school and to form strong attachments with staff.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Although there are examples of print in other languages and some dual language books these do not reflect the home languages of all of the children currently attending the pre-school.

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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 spoke to staff, children and parents during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of safe recruitment, self-evaluation systems, ongoing professional development of staff and safeguarding processes.  The inspector observed children enjoying child initiated and small group activities.  The inspector looked at a range of documentation including policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of children?s observation and assessment folders and at planning systems.

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Information about the setting

Poppets Pre-School is privately owned. The pre-school operates from St Michael's Church Hall in Upper Wickham Lane, Welling. It is situated at the lower end of Upper Wickham Lane opposite the horse's field. The pre-school has access to the church hall, a side room, storage rooms, kitchen and toilets. The outside area is not secure, but is occasionally used for supervised activities.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 44 children on roll, all of whom are in the early year's age group. The pre-school receives funding for early years education. The pre-school is open from 8.45am to 11.45am Monday to Friday, term time only and when the numbers allow it operates afternoon sessions on four afternoons with the exception of Wednesdays. The children attend a variety of sessions. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

There are seven members of staff employed, all of whom hold an early years qualification at level 2 or 3. The pre-school receives support from the local authority.

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

 extend the range of resources and activities that reflect linguistic diversity other than English to include all first languages of children attending the preschool.

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who attend

The pre-school staff demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of how to promote the learning and development of young children. For example, staff clearly understand the expected levels children reach at their different ages and stages. Staff use a guidance document effectively to support progress and development further by clearly identifying the next steps in a child's learning. As a result, children are making good progress. Each child has a key person, who is responsible for closely monitoring the individual progress of a specific group of children. Children's personal, social and emotional development is progressing extremely well. Staff promote children's confidence and self-esteem during activities. For example, they praise children's early mark making skills and their attempts to complete puzzles. Children are prepared well for their move onto nursery and school. Small group activities such as playing board games help children

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who attend

to take turns, listen and play cooperatively with each other. Staff sit with children at activities to extend their play and learning and use lots of open-ended questions to help extend their vocabulary and language development. Staff use spontaneous opportunities during play activities to promote and enhance children's vocabulary by using and repeating words. This enables children to start building on their vocabulary, their communication and understanding.

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who attend

The pre-school hall is set out attractively with designated play areas, which enable children to move around freely and safely. Children are able to independently select from the extensive range of resources available due to the way activities and toys are stored at low level. For example, in the creative and writing areas low level trolleys with clear storage boxes display the different materials and writing tools available to the children.

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who attend

The pre-school places a high priority on children's communication and language skills. Staff through the introduction of vocabulary support children's language development extensively during play activities and everyday routines. Staff effectively use non verbal actions, gestures and introduce and repeat new words continually to extend communication and vocabulary. For example, when playing with a shape activity a member of staff introduces the different colours and shapes. She encourages children to repeat these words and also praises children when they point to a colour correctly. Support for children who learn English as an additional language is generally good. For example, parents are often asked to provide key words and phrases in a child's first language and staff use these to communicate with children initially to help them settle in. There are some labels that involve other languages such as welcome labels and some

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who attend

displays in Spanish. However, currently the dual language books and print in other languages does not fully reflect the languages of all children attending the setting.

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who attend

An effective 'rising five' group ensures that older and more capable children are stretched to their full potential. For example, children participate in an adult directed activity, listening and responding well to instructions. During an activity about a favourite story, older children enjoy listening, eagerly joining in with repeated refrains such as 'and this was just right'. They draw a picture of the story in their writing books and then depending on their stage of development either trace over the letters of a brief sentence or independently copy letters. The activity is differentiated well by the member of staff who clearly understands and supports children at their own stage of development. This encourages their confidence and self-esteem while also promoting their early writing skills. The member of staff uses the story to bring in concepts of size, counting and stranger danger. The children are offered the opportunity to taste porridge which is greatly enjoyed

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who attend

by some of the children who eat several bowls!

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who attend

Staff highly value children's contributions and ideas. For example, although staff have to pack away all of the equipment, resources and displays at the end of each session they ensure children's artwork is displayed at every session. Staff alter the position of displays and posters on a daily basis as they have observed that this adds to children's interest and increases opportunities for discussion. Children stick their drawings and paintings up on their 'gallery wall' and at the end of each session children take their parent/carers over to find their creations. Following a recent 'Right Dance' course one member of staff has re- evaluated and made changes to the writing area to further promote children's enjoyment and progress. For example, shorter pencils and chunks of chalk are now available as well as writing pencils, coloured pencils and long sticks of chalk. These support younger children who find long pencils or chalk sticks harder to manoeuvre. Children are supported

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who attend

to use these writing tools for different purposes in their play such as in the home corner and office areas. They are encouraged to self-register upon arrival and members of staff also support children to recognise their names by having name cards accessible for children to copy. There are many opportunities for children to see print on displays, on labels, on their name cards and in books in the book corner.

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who attend

Children participate in a wide variety of activities to support their development of early maths skills. There is a designated maths area with a selection of mathematical resources such as number and shape puzzles, counting activities and shape sorters. Number displays around both halls encourage children's awareness and recognition of numbers. During activities, staff promote children's early counting skills well. For example, when helping children to draw around their hands staff encourage them to count how many hands and fingers they have. Children thoroughly enjoy using the innovative role play areas and small world resources to extend their imaginations. For example, they enjoy making sandwiches in the cafe, and washing and ironing their dolls clothes in the washroom area.

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who attend

The observation and assessment systems enable staff to plan effectively for children's individual developmental needs. Comprehensive tracking systems are used to support children's progress and development and identify any gaps in their learning. Next steps are planned to enhance each child's learning at a level appropriate to their stage of development. Planning clearly differentiates between the younger and older/more able children to ensure staff can support children's progress effectively. Parents contribute to their child's ongoing learning and development through an observation book and parents sign this when they have viewed their child's developmental folder. Many have written very positive comments about how helpful they have found observations on their children. This system also enables staff to ensure all parents have had the opportunity to view their child's developmental folder. Progress checks for children aged two years have been

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

A well-established key person system helps children form strong emotional attachments with the staff. Settling in sessions are individual to each child and staff help children to enjoy new activities with close support. Initial sheets completed by parents are a valuable tool in helping staff plan activities that will engage a new child. For example, staff take footballs into the outdoor area and engage a new child in an activity his parents have highlighted as a particular interest. The member of staff supports the child in this activity and after this, the child happily participates in other activities such as blowing bubbles and chasing around the outdoor area. The caring staff team enable children to feel safe and content as they settle into their new environment. Children are happy and settled in an environment that is warm and welcoming. New children are comforted when they are distressed by the kind, caring staff team and quickly enjoy the activities available.

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

Staff work closely with parents at the start of their child's placement to find out about each child's care needs, current stage of development and interests. Information from the registration forms, child interest sheet and discussions with parents during settling in sessions enable staff to be fully aware of children's individual needs. This information and staff's initial observations help them to support a child's first few sessions and start planning for their individual learning needs. Children's unique characters, family backgrounds and individual interests are highly valued and respected by the staff team. Staff are attentive to children's individual needs and develop positive relationships with them. Each key person demonstrates a good knowledge of their key children and ensures that activity planning and specific targets supports their ongoing practice. A next steps sheet is displayed so that all staff can see what area each child is currently being

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

supported with, which promotes consistency.

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

Children are supported to develop their confidence and independence by learning to take responsibility for small tasks during the session. For example, at the snack bar, they pour their own drinks, choose their snack from a selection of options available and tidy away their plates and cups in the washing up bowls provided. This activity also encourages their sorting and matching skills as they put their cups and plates in separate bowls.

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

Children's health is promoted well. The premises are clean and well maintained to ensure children's health and well-being. Children are learning the importance of good personal hygiene through effective daily routines such as washing their hands before snack time and after going to the toilet. Children are supported to manage their self-care and personal tasks such as putting their hands over their mouths when coughing and using tissues hygienically. These self-help skills support children to gain important skills for the future. The pre-school has good procedures in place to ensure that children's special dietary requirement are adhered to.

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

The effective deployment of staff in the setting and security systems ensures children's ongoing safety and well-being. Supervision of children is very good and staff are aware of the need for children to be independent and take risks. For example, children are encouraged to use the toilets independently although staff provide support or help if required. Children learn how to keep safe during activities and during routine activities. For example, they practise the fire drill on a regular basis to ensure that they are aware of the procedure to follow in an emergency. Children's behaviour is good and they share and take turns well. Staff provide encouragement to support children to behave appropriately, offering gentle reminders of any inappropriate behaviour. For example, when a couple of children run in the hall they are reminded of the dangers of running in the hall and prompted to think of places where they can run safely.

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

Children are learning about diversity within their community through the wide range of play resources depicting positive images of diversity and disability. These include posters, puzzles, small world, books and role play resources. Throughout the year children enjoy celebrating different festivals through stories, cooking and art and craft activities.

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provision

Staff clearly understand their responsibility to promote the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Their knowledge of safeguarding children is good and they underpin their effective practice with secure policies and procedures. These are implemented well to ensure children are safe and protected in their care at all times. Procedures include a clear mobile phone and camera policy and a poster in the foyer reminds all visitors not to use their mobile phones in the pre-school. All staff members have attended child protection training and there is a designated person with responsibility for liaising with Social services about any safeguarding issues.

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provision

A robust recruitment process is in place to help ensure the suitability of staff. The manager monitors staff performance well. An effective supervision, appraisal and training system is in operation to ensure the ongoing suitability of staff. This supports staff's ongoing professional development and improves outcomes for children. For example, the staff team have completed an extensive range of different training courses between them. The knowledge and information they learn is shared with other team members and as a result new innovative activities are brought into the setting. The manager monitors how well each key person covers the areas of learning for each individual child and uses this information to identify any gaps. The manager assesses the individual needs of the children well, monitoring how two-year-olds and older children are progressing. This ensures that planning and assessment covers the educational programme effectively.

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provision

The staff team ensures that children are able to play in a safe and secure environment. A comprehensive risk assessment system ensures that any potential hazards to children are minimised. Security within the setting is good. For example, the front door is locked during the times the preschool operates and any visitors to the setting have to show their identification and sign into the preschool visitor's book. All visitors are fully supervised whilst at the setting which clearly safeguards the children attending.

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provision

Rigorous and effective systems for self-evaluation are in place and these are supported by clear improvement and development plans. The manager regularly reflects on and evaluates the service provided to ensure that children are offered good quality care. All actions from the previous inspection have been addressed comprehensively. This demonstrates the pre-school's positive capacity for improvement. The manager and staff team are continuously evaluating the provision through innovative methods. For example, recently staff observed each other during different activities and gave feedback on how they felt an activity went and how the activity could be enhanced further in the future. The staff team have also recently conducted a hall review of the different areas looking at it from a child, parents and an inspection perspective. Following this contributions from each member of staff on how areas could be improved have formed part of an ongoing

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provision

action plan. This system has really enhanced some areas and as a result the children are using them more. The pre-school uses the views of parents, children and early year's professionals in their self evaluation process. For example, questionnaires are sent out to all parents to ascertain their views on the pre-school and to ensure that they find their child's time a positive experience. Good partnerships are established with parents and others to positively support children's individual care, learning and development. A notice board, regular newsletters and feedback with staff ensure that parents are up to date with events and the weekly planning. Staff support parents to engage in their child's learning at home. For example, older children take a reading book and their writing books home and parents support them to listen to stories and to write letters and words at home. Comments from parents spoken to during the inspection are extremely positive. 'Staff could not be more helpful,

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provision

my child seems to be learning new things all the time' and 'I am so pleased with how my child has settled in, he is always coming out with new songs and stories'. Effective links have been made with other settings to support children's learning and development. For example, the pre-school has introduced a book scheme in line with early reading schemes used at local schools. From discussions with the manager and from evidence seen staff demonstrate a willingness to work with various outside agencies to ensure children are fully supported. This further promotes an inclusive environment.

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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 115362 Local authority Bexley Inspection number 913215 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 35 Number of children on roll 44 Name of provider Sandra Neate Date of previous inspection 17/09/2010 Telephone number 07597 798 588

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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

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’.

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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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