Sholing Community Centre Pre-School

Sholing Community Centre Pre- School Butts Road, Southampton, Hampshire, SO19 1BN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/09/2013 11/09/2012

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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

 Children are motivated, engaged and learn well during circle time because staff are skilled at pitching teaching to their developmental level.  Successful strategies are in place to promote children's language and communication skills, through sound assessment and planning of children's learning.  The staff work effectively with other agencies, which helps to safeguard children.

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It is not yet good because

 The key person system for early engagement with parents and children new to the setting is not well-embedded. This means staff do not consistently promote children's well-being.  The new nominated person is not fully aware of the correct procedure to take if an allegation is made against a member of staff, so children are not fully safeguarded.  Although significant progress has been made, self-evaluation is not yet thorough enough to fully improve outcomes for children.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed play and learning activities and tracked children, indoors and out.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had discussions with the manager and nominated person regarding leadership and management.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of children's progress records, planning and had discussions with staff relating to safeguarding and welfare.  The inspector spoke to some parents to gain their views of the setting.

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Information about the setting

Sholing Community Centre Pre-school was established in 1969. It is run by a voluntary management committee. The pre-school operates from two rooms in the community centre in Sholing, Southampton and serves the local area. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register. The pre-school opens each weekday during term time only. Sessions are from 9am to 3pm except for Tuesday, when it is open from 9am to 12 noon. Children can attend for a session or the whole day, with a lunch club provided. There are currently 33 children from aged two to under five years on roll. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four years. The pre-school employs seven members of staff. All of these hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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must:

 develop the key person role and the communication with children's parents from when children join, particularly for the new two-year-olds, to promote their well- being

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must:

 ensure the nominated person understands the procedure to follow if a child protection allegation is made against a member of staff.

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

 strengthen the self-evaluation process in all aspects of the pre-school to ensure improvements are consistently and continually put in place.

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who attend

Children are keen and eager to be at pre-school and enjoy their time spent at the setting. Staff offer them a varied learning programme, which covers the seven areas and enables children to make independent choices in their play. Staff are on hand to support and interact with children, during their purposeful play and learning. Overall, the quality of the support and challenge for children is satisfactory. Staff have a generally secure grasp of how to promote children's learning and development. For example, when children make marks with pens on the clipboard outside some children are encouraged to write the letters of their name and are proud of their achievements. They paint on the easel outdoors and are encouraged to talk about their paintings and home life, with staff asking mostly useful questions or using statements to promote communication and language skills. There are opportunities for children to see numbers displayed in the environment

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who attend

but staff do not consistently use these during children's freely chosen play and routines to successfully promote mathematics for all children. Although a key person system is in place and children have small group time with their special person, it is not well embedded and consistent for all groups of children. Particularly for the children and parents who are very new to the setting. As a consequence, not all parents know who their key person is from their first day and the key person is not always present on the child's first day at pre- school. This means that staff do not fully meet children's learning needs from the onset.

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who attend

The observation, assessment and planning system is much improved since the last inspection with children's next steps planned and implemented more successfully. Staff have knowledge of and implement the progress check for two-year-olds. Overall, most staff get to know each unique child well, accurately assess their needs and provide stimulating play activities for them. For example, the 'Every child a talker' programme is well embedded across the staff team, with every child having a language audit. Small group teaching activities are then planned as appropriate to meet children's language needs. For example, a sounds game is introduced for those who have difficulty with specific sounds. The same book is regularly shared in 'dialogic books' as best practice in promoting talking, listening, and understanding. For example, children can recall elements of the story of Goldilocks and the three bears, while sharing the fun, lift the flap book.

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who attend

Children are encouraged to use props with the story such as three, different size chairs, which promotes mathematical concepts during story time. Children talk and observe the groups' pet land snails, helping them to develop an understanding of the world. Overall, children acquire the skills they need to aid them in the next stage of their learning. They are learning to recognise their own names, to concentrate and be attentive during circle time, which is a well-planned adult-led, teaching and learning activity. This helps to prepare children for school.

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

The pre-school staff make suitable use of the community centre and they are developing a colourful and varied indoor play environment for children. Since the last inspection the provider and staff have worked hard to develop a richer more enabling environment and changed the outdoor play area. They have incorporated different areas of learning alongside physical development with play resources available to support children's development. For example, children can view some of their work displayed on partitions and can make choices in their play, selecting play resources from low storage units. Staff are kind, caring and attentive to all the children in their care. Most children are building secure and positive relationships with staff through fun games such as 'pass the teddy and say your name' at circle time. Children demonstrate confidence and self-assurance during these times. However, the key person system for new two-year-olds and their parents is

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

not as effective as it is for older children, because it is not in place from the very beginning. This has an impact on children's personal social and emotional development, during settling in times.

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

Children are reminded by adults to wash their hands after they use the toilet and are learning to respond to their own toileting needs. They become excited when the door is open for free-flow outdoor play, and enthusiastically get on the wheeled toys and pedal them outdoors. Some show good skills on the scooters and enjoy balancing on the stepping stones, which promotes their physical development. Children enjoy a healthy snack, mid morning, of a good variety of fruit. They have regular access to drinking water, which contributes successfully to their health and well-being. Minor accidents are dealt with sensitively and quickly by the staff, all of whom have first aid training. Accidents are recorded and shared with parents, when they collect their children. Children demonstrate good behaviour in relation to their age, and some older children know the rules and boundaries of the pre-school. This is because staff go through the rules at circle time and

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

ask effective questions such as 'where is it safe to run?' and 'how do I know where they go?' referring to books being left on the floor. Most children show they are learning to behave in safe ways from the good support from the staff.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward to monitor how well the new committee members understand their role as registered person. The inspection evidence gathered demonstrated the committee are fully supportive of the staff in promoting the learning and development requirements and are involved the supervision arrangements of the administrator and manager. There are procedures for the recruitment and appraisal of staff, who all hold a clear criminal record check. However, the arrangements for the safeguarding and welfare of children are not yet robust because the nominated person is not fully aware of the procedure to follow if an allegation is made against a member of staff. This is because, being new to the role, they are in the process of embedding their knowledge of the groups policies. However, the manager and another designated member of staff are fully trained and knowledgeable about child protection and know what to do if

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provision

they are concerned about a child or a staff member. They are vigilant and work cohesively with other statutory agencies to safeguard children. The stable staff team who work well together, receive coaching from a mentor to increase their knowledge of their roles and responsibilities. The manager and staff discuss training and further ways to improve, to ensure the setting is moving forward in terms of quality. There has been a clear drive towards improved outcomes for children since the last inspection with much more emphasis on the monitoring of staff practice and the educational programmes delivered. The new management committee fully embraces the manager's and staff's continuous development plan and are mostly clear on their role. Although staff evaluate practice, the self-evaluation process is not yet thorough, because it does not fully analyse all aspects of the groups work, nor does it include parents' feedback.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are generally secure and the linking of the learning that takes place, to children's home-life is developing. For example, parents record exciting 'wow' moments in children's learning, which are displayed in the pre-school. The communication, between the parents and their key person is variable because of the weaknesses in the current system, especially for children new to the setting. Parents speak positively of the pre-school, about the friendly, approachable staff, and of the learning opportunities offered and how quickly their child settled. Parents regularly view their child's learning journal and talk about children's progress and next learning steps, at a meeting each term. 'Bradley bear' along with his diary, goes home with the children and their families to help involve parents in promoting children's communication skills. Partnerships with external agencies such as children's services and the health visitor are well established to

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provision

promote children's learning and welfare needs. In addition the pre-school staff gain support from the Local authority.

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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 131556 Local authority Southampton Inspection number 927370

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 33 Name of provider Sholing Community Centre Pre School Committee Date of previous inspection 11/09/2012 Telephone number 023 8039 9979

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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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