St Clares Pre School

St Clares Pre School St Clares Primary School, Hawthorne Road, Lache, Cheshire, CH4 8HX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/10/2013 19/06/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 3 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 The environment is welcoming and stimulating for children, with a good selection of activities on offer to encourage their learning and development. Staff make good use of resources to further support children's listening and communication skills.  The organisation of snack time works well and enables children to make independent choices and develop their self-help skills.  Staff work well with the committee, parents and the host school to implement positive changes for the children. Suitable plans are in place to target areas for development.

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It is not yet good because

 Some members of the committee have not completed required checks to ensure their suitability, which does not fully meet requirements.  The current arrangement for nappy changing does not fully meet children's needs and support their growing independence.  Systems for monitoring children's progress are new and, therefore, not consistently embedded. This means occasionally, activities are not always fully matched to children's individual learning needs.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playroom and outside play area, and carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with staff, children, parents and deputy head of the host school, and held meetings with the manager and chair of the committee.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's records, checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff, and sampled a range of other records and policies.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

St. Clare's Pre-school was registered in 1984. It is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The pre-school is managed by a voluntary committee. It operates from a designated classroom within St. Clare's Catholic Primary School in Lache, Chester. Children have access to a secure outdoor play area. The pre-school operates from 9.10am to 12.10pm, term time only. It serves the local area and is accessible to all children.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school employs five members of childcare staff. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications, including three at level 3 and two with Qualified Teacher Status. There are 20 children on roll, all within the early years age group. The pre-school provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old-children. It supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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must:

 establish robust procedures to ensure all members of the committee promptly complete all necessary checks to ensure their suitability, including a Disclosure and Barring Service check.

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

 monitor the systems for reviewing children's ongoing progress, so that staff use this information more consistently to tailor learning experiences that match children's individual needs and interests

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

 review care practices in relation to changing children's nappies, in order to increase opportunities for children to manage their own hygiene and personal needs, and become more independent.

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who attend

Staff know how to engage with the children to support their learning and development. They join in with the children's play; asking appropriate questions, and modelling enthusiasm and enjoyment of activities. This helps to motivate children and generally sustain their interest. The resources and the activities on offer encourage children to get involved in self-chosen play that supports all areas of their learning. This includes a good range of natural materials for children to explore. Staff observe and assess children appropriately, but systems are new and, therefore, not consistently rigorous. This sometimes means that activities are not always closely matched to children's individual learning needs, in order to help them make best progress.

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who attend

Staff encourage children to develop appropriate skills that support their readiness for school, for instance, as they help them play cooperatively with one another and practise being independent. Children have daily opportunities to participate in activities in smaller key groups. For example, staff use props well to talk, sing and engage children in conversation. This is helping to improve children's listening, concentration, and communication skills. Children show interest in books and request staff to read stories to them. They enjoy playing outside, where they build with the large blocks and engage in pretend play. This supports their physical skills and imagination. Children handle small tools with skill when they use the play dough and staff promote children's understanding of number, for instance, by singing counting songs. Overall, children make satisfactory progress from their individual starting points.

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who attend

Parents express positive comments about recent improvements to the pre-school. For example, they say children are bringing more things home that they have made and they are taken on trips, which further enhances their learning. They also feel better informed because they are given more information about their children. Polish children and families are well supported because the pre-school employs a member of staff who also speaks Polish. She communicates with parents to share information in their home language. Also, she undertakes small group work with the children, translates conservations, and encourages repetition of words, which helps to build children's understanding of English. Some parents speak positively about how their child's English has improved a lot.

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

Staff create a calm and welcoming environment, where children show they feel content, settled and safe. They develop friendly and supportive relationships with the children, and help them to feel confident by positively praising their efforts. They seek relevant information from parents to enable them to provide appropriate care and support for the children. This aids a smooth transition into the pre-school. Parents say that children are 'happy to come to pre-school and have fun'.

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

Overall, care practices are appropriate and contribute to ensuring children's welfare needs are met. However, the current arrangement for changing children's nappies does not fully support their growing independence or help them to manage their own personal needs. This is because staff change children in the role play area within the playroom and not in the bathroom. This limits children's opportunities to practise using the toilet and to develop their understanding of good hygiene routines.

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

Staff have taken positive steps to strengthen the key person system, in order to further support children's individual needs. They have introduced a new system to help promote consistency in managing children's behaviour, for instance, using the '6 step approach to managing children's disputes'. This enables children to learn about acceptable behaviour and understand boundaries. Staff have also developed a 'rolling snack', which means children can help themselves to snacks and drinks whenever they choose. This positively supports children's self-help skills and enables them to make healthy choices in relation to food.

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

Children benefit from having direct access to outside play space and staff encourage them to be active outdoors. This supports children's physical health and promotes their well- being. Children show good control when they ride the wheeled toys or make attempts at skipping. Children are safely escorted to and from the bathroom, as its location is some distance away from the classroom. Staff remind children not to run indoors, which helps to raise their awareness of safety issues.

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provision

This inspection was carried out following a notification from the provider about concerns relating to safeguarding practice. The inspection found that the pre-school has appropriate policies and procedures in place to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff know how to keep children safe, for example, through close supervision and conducting daily checks of the premises. They understand their responsibilities to safeguard children from harm and they know how to report any concerns about children's welfare. Appropriate recruitment and vetting procedures are in place to help ensure all staff are suitable to work with the children. However, systems for checking the suitability of committee members are less robust. Consequently, a number of members have not fully completed required checks.

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provision

The pre-school has recently experienced a number of management changes, including the appointment of a new manager and a recently formed committee. The manager is working closely with staff, parents, the committee and the host school to implement positive changes, in order to help improve the quality of the setting. All parties involved in the pre- school make positive comments about how these changes are benefiting the children. For example, the deputy head teacher speaks positively about improved partnership working with the pre-school and explains how they are beginning to work more closely together, in order to enhance children's learning and support their transition to school. Parents say children are 'much happier, they are doing a lot more and the atmosphere is much nicer'.

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provision

The manager is beginning to monitor staff performance, for example, through observations, supervision and appraisal. The team meet on a weekly basis to discuss practice and identify ongoing areas for improvement. Each staff member has personal targets to meet, which include identified training needs, such as, safeguarding and working with children aged two years. This demonstrates the pre-school's commitment and capacity to improve. Arrangements for rigorously monitoring the progress of all children are still being developed. Some systems are in place, but these are new and not yet consistently embedded. The manager is aware of this and is taking steps to support staff in tailoring activities to meet children's individual learning needs.

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provision

Required records and policies to support practice are appropriately maintained. Closer links with the host school are developing well, which contributes to children's learning and supports their eventual transition to school. Staff are trying to involve parents more in the pre-school, for instance, by encouraging them to come into the setting to see what children are doing and to talk about their learning and progress.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 make sure effective systems are in place to ensure that the registered provider (committee) is suitable, which must include a Disclosure and Barring Service check (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  make sure effective systems are in place to ensure that the registered provider (committee) is suitable, which must include a Disclosure and Barring Service check (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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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 305317 Local authority Cheshire West and Chester Inspection number 939312

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 23 Number of children on roll 20 Name of provider St Clare's Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 19/06/2013 Telephone number 01244981110 or 07936 413246

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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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