Bright Start Montessori Pre School

Bright Start Montessori Pre School Crofton Oak Scout and Guide Hall, Crofton Road, Orpington, Kent, BR6 8JE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/10/2013 13/07/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children gain good communication skills because the quality of teaching is effective. Staff use effective questions skilfully to help children think.  Staff involve parents well in their children's learning and development because there is effective two-way communication with each child's key person.  Children with additional needs get good support because the staff have good links with other agencies.

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It is not yet good because

 The pre-school self evaluation procedure are not up-dated often enough to ensure the practice moves forward well and maintains continued improvement.  Systems for the monitoring of staff's ongoing suitability are not robust.  Children cannot access role-play on a daily basis to help them make sense of the world around them.

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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 made observations of children while playing both inside and out.  The inspector viewed documentation and looked at children's individual records.  The inspector held discussions with staff and parents.  The inspector interviewed the area manager and deputy of the nursery.

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Information about the setting

Bright Start Montessori Pre-School opened in 1991 and registered with Ofsted in 2001. The pre-school operates from a scout and guide hut in Orpington, in the London Borough of Bromley and serves a wide area. The pre-school delivers the Montessori approach to education and has gained an accreditation from the Pre-school Learning Alliance. It opens five days a week during school term times from 9.25am until 4.30pm. Children attend either morning, afternoon or full day sessions. Part-time sessions are from 9.25am to12.30pm or from1.30pm to 4.30pm, although some morning part- time children stay for the lunch club before going home. The pre-school also provides French classes during the session for the children.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and both parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 83 children in the early years age group on roll. The pre- school receives funding to provide free early education for children age three and four years olds. A team of 15 staff, including the manager, is employed at the pre-school. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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must:

 improve the systems for supervision and appraisal to ensure that staff's on-going suitability, performance and professional development is monitored and promoted effectively.

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

 review the arrangements for the provision of role-play so that it is freely available to children, allowing them to act out every day situations that help them make sense of the world, when they wish

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

 strengthen systems for self-evaluation, to include contributions from parents and children to better foster a culture of continuous improvement.

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who attend

Children are happy and well settled in the pre-school. Staff have a good understanding of children's capabilities because they discuss their individual needs with their parents. There is an effective key person system so that all children and parents have a familiar person to go to or liaise with about children's personal development. The key person makes observations of the children to assess how they are developing. They spend one to one time with children working with specially devised activities to help children learn and develop in all areas of learning.

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who attend

Staff use the Early Years Foundation Stage framework along side the Montessori ethos to track children's development. Consequently, they assess that children are making suitable progress expected for their ages and stages of development. The pre-school staff have strong links with the local inclusion teams. They work closely with them to support children who have additional needs. Practitioners come into the pre-school to monitor and assess children. They work with the key person to plan activities that will help them to develop. As a result, all children make good progress in relation to their starting points.

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who attend

Parents are effectively involved in their children's care, learning and development. They have good relationships with their key person and discuss children's progress regularly. They use a contact book system where the key person shares details of children's well- being and achievements. They also make suggestions for activities so that parents can support children's learning at home. This means that parents are effectively involved in children's learning and development.

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who attend

Children gain a good range of skills and abilities that ensure they are well prepared for next stage of learning and the transfer to school. Children play with programmable toys learning about cause and effect. They can express themselves through a good range of different media, such as paint and collage work. Children take part in adult led activities in an outside woodland area where they learn about safety and explore the natural world. Staff teach them to recognise different plants and help them learn which ones they shouldn't touch.

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who attend

Children enjoy looking for hidden toy animals and excitedly show the ones they find to the staff. Staff talk to them about the animals and the sounds they make. The staff recognise that children benefit from being outside, for instance children who are quiet indoors use their voices and speech much more when outside. These sessions help to support those children who learn well in the outdoor environment.

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who attend

Children enjoy playing with small play people and their accessories and use their imaginations to develop scenarios for the characters. However, toys and resources that enable children to act out familiar situations are not used on a daily basis. This oversight means that children miss opportunities to explore everyday situations that help them make sense of the world around them.

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who attend

Overall, staff use effective techniques to help children learn and develop. They monitor children progress so they can effectively challenge children in the activities. They use a generally good range of questions to help children think about what they are doing. The range of planned activities provides children good opportunities to consolidate their learning by practising skills they have already learnt. For example, using good hand and finger control to mould and shape play dough, place small drops of water from a pipette onto a tray, counting each drop as it goes onto the spot. This activity helps them to strengthen the muscles in their hands, so they develop the required control needed to learn to write.

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

Staff foster children's physical and emotional well-being generally well. Children are happy, settled and have good relationships with staff. Overall, children have a good range of toys and resources to play with. There are plenty of toys and resources set out that the children can choose from. For instance, in trays on low shelves so children can see what is available and decide what they want to do. Children move about the pre-school quietly and calmly. They show confidence as they take part in a suitable balance of adult led and child initiated activities.

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

Staff manage children's behaviour well with appropriate strategies. They talk quietly to them about why some behaviour is not acceptable. Staff model good behaviour well, such as by saying 'please' and 'thank you' which prompts children to learn good manners. Staff remind children to be kind and polite to each other promoting a culture of respect for everyone. These attitudes allow children to feel valued and as a result, they gain a strong sense of belonging.

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

Staff effectively minimise hazards to children's safety through regular risk assessments during the session. Children gain an understating of their own safety and learn to assess risk for themselves as they play outside and learn about the natural world. They take part in adult led activities, such as using a climbing frame. Staff help children to learn how to negotiate the equipment, ask other children to demonstrate their skills and talk about how strong muscles help. This approach helps children to take risks in a controlled way and means they gain confidence to try new things.

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

Children learn about suitable hygiene practices as they are reminded to wash their hands after being outside and before eating. They enjoy a healthy snack and those that stay for lunch benefit from a variety of healthy lunches, such as cheese and ham pitta breads with tomato and cucumber. This means that children learn about what foods are good for them.

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provision

This inspection took place following concerns raised to Ofsted regarding staff suitability. This inspection found that all staff working with the children are suitably checked, vetted and hold recognised childcare qualifications. The staff team are close and work well together. They have regular meetings to discuss children's progress and to plan for their learning and development. The provider arranges staff training from the selection put on by the local authority, which means first aid, and safeguarding training is up-to-date. They use this time to reflect and evaluate the effectiveness of the activities. The provider knows the staff well; however, systems to monitor their performance and personal development are not robust enough. This is a breach of the welfare requirements and means the arrangements to monitor the staff team's ongoing suitability are not adequate. No harm has come to children, however.

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provision

The provider and staff team have a suitable understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. There is a suitable safeguarding policy that includes the correct procedure to follow in the event of a concern about a child or an allegation is made about an adult in the pre-school. Staff demonstrate a sound understanding of the procedures and there is a designated staff member who they know they can go to with their concerns. Policies and procedures are in place, shared with parents and support the staff team to protect the children in their care.

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provision

The provider monitors children's assessment records to ensure these reflect an accurate understanding of children's skills, abilities and progress. Children benefit from clear partnership working. There are effective links with the area special educational needs coordinator who helps the staff to indentify children's additional needs as early as possible. This means they can secure the support children need to help them make good progress in relation to their starting points.

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provision

The staff team work well together and because of their long-term relationships, they can indentify what is working well and where there is a need for improvement. They demonstrate a suitable understanding where the service is going and the priorities in children's development and progress. The provider has previously completed the Ofsted self-evaluation form as part of the pre-school's evaluation process. However, this has not been up-dated for sometime and as a result is not effective in helping the pre-school move forward as consistently as possible.

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provision

The partnership with parents is good. Parents report they are very happy with the care and support their children receive at the setting. They explain that they notice their children making good progress since starting. They confirm they know their key person well and get regular feedback on their children's development. Parents are welcome into the pre-school to share their experiences and promote children's understanding of peoples differences. Two-way communication is a strength of the partnership with parents and means they are effectively included in the children's learning and development. Overall, the pre-school staff meet the needs of the children and prepare them well for the next stage in their 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 137278 Local authority Bromley Inspection number 927356 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 81 Name of provider Michelle Steadman Date of previous inspection 13/07/2011 Telephone number 07761 677223

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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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