Aston on Trent Pre-School

Aston on Trent Pre-School Memorial Hall, Aston-on-Trent, DERBYSHIRE, DE72 2AX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23/10/2013 03/10/2011

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early years provision

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

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This provision is satisfactory

 Partnerships with parents are strong and the two-way flow of information helps to ensure children's individual needs are met.  Staff follow children's interests and plan stimulating activities that children enjoy.  Children are happy, confident and comfortable in their surroundings. Staff have developed strong relationships with children ensuring children's well-being is promoted well.

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It is not yet good because

 The entry procedures into the pre-school are not secure enough to ensure the safety of children at all times.  Staffs' quality of the teaching is inconsistent and as a result, children's language skills are not always enhanced and their learning is not always challenged to meet their individual needs. Consequently, children's progress is satisfactory rather than good.  Monitoring of the educational programmes and staff performance across the pre-school is not effective or consistent.

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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 children and staff and held a discussion with the manager.  The inspector observed children engaged in activities both inside and outdoors.  The inspector invited the manager to complete a joint observation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation and records, including children's learning journals and staff files.  The inspector viewed a sample of the pre-school's policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

Aston-on-Trent Pre-school opened in 1967 and is on the Early Years Register and the both compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from the Memorial Hall in the village of Aston-on-Trent, in Derbyshire. The pre-school serves the local and surrounding area. All children share access to an outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school is open five days a week during school term only. Sessions are Monday to Friday 9.15am to 12.15pm. There are currently 47 children on roll, of whom, all are in the early years age range. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery receives funding for two-, three- and four-year-old children and supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school employs three full-time and four part-time staff who work with the children. Over half of the staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The pre-school receives support from the local authority and is managed by a parental committee of trustees, who delegate day-to-day responsibility to the staff.

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must:

 improve the entry procedures to ensure children are safe at all times; for example, review the use of the foyer area at these times to reduce the amount of adults and children waiting in the area

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must:

 improve staffs' quality of teaching to ensure they guide, support and challenge children, so they make good progress, paying particular attention to enhancing children's language skills.

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

 develop an effective process for monitoring of the educational programme and staff performance, so practice is consistent in helping children make good progress towards the early learning goals.

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who attend

Children enter enthusiastically into the pre-school to play with the range of toys and resources, which staff have prepared for them. Staff appropriately support children in following the routines of the pre-school and to learn a range of skills. This promotes children's independence and helps them prepare for their readiness to school. Staff involve parents from the start and invite them to share what they know about their child's development at home. This information, along with initial observations staff make of children while they play, helps form the children's starting points. As a result, staff can plan activities that are of interest to the children from when they start pre-school. Consequently, children settle quickly into pre-school life. Parents feel that they are well informed about their child's progress and feel confident to speak to staff about any concerns they may have. The routines of the day include a balance of adult-led and free

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who attend

time when children initiate and choose their own play. Children enjoy their time at pre- school and are happy and involved.

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who attend

Staff are developing a sound knowledge of the learning and development requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. They recognise the interests and achievements of children through their observations and assessments of their play. This helps staff plan a meaningful range of activities that children enjoy and are keen to participate in. They assess children's progress appropriately, using written records that include observations of children's play and achievements. Key persons use this information to identify clear next steps, which they then use in the planning of activities. The assessment procedures are suitable enough to enable staff to complete the progress check at age two. Children who need additional support are provided with designated staff, who know and meet their needs well. These staff have support from the local Special Educational Needs coordinator in following specific targets for the children, so that

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who attend

each child's is included in the groups and their needs are considered and catered for.

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who attend

Overall, the quality of teaching is satisfactory. Staff have an understanding that children learn through play and how they can support all children's learning. However, they do not provide breath or depth to the activities they provide. For example, children paint pictures of different fruits and add liquid smells to their painted fruits. However, throughout the activity children do not have the opportunity to find out things for themselves, such as, which liquid smell matches their fruit, to use or investigate real fruit or explore paint. In contrast, while children use play dough, staff encourage them to talk about what they are making, encourage them to use a variety of tools to create long and short 'sausages' and sing popular songs. This helps children to develop their language and mathematical skills effectively. As a result, the quality of teaching is inconsistent and does not always provide

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who attend

enough challenge for individual children. Consequently, children make satisfactory rather than good progress.

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who attend

Staff use circle time well to help children focus for a short period of time in readiness for their move to school. They use appropriate ways to gain children's attention, such as inviting them to participate in sign language as the say 'Hello'. Staff show them how to count and children become involved in counting how many children are present. Circle time enables children to talk about their experiences. For instance, they discuss the weather and what they are going to do throughout the session. This helps children to communicate and develop their listening skills as they listen to their friends talk about what they have been doing at home.

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who attend

Staff extend children's spontaneous ideas in play some of the time. For instance, outside they provide related resources to encourage children's imaginative ideas. They notice a group of four-year-old children have developed a role play game of 'fire fighting'. Staff provide further resources so children can 'put out the fires and make siren noises'. Children enjoy playing the role of fire fighters and ride around shouting 'Fire! Fire!' However, staff do not expand their communication skills or enhance their learning. This is because they do not talk to them about what they are doing or introduce new words to extend their language. They do talk with children during the activity, but do not ask purposeful questions and pose problems to help them think and recall. Consequently, children are not expressing themselves effectively or problem solving efficiently to enhance their learning.

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who attend

Children love and appreciate books. Staff provide a good range of books that children can select for themselves. The inviting quiet spaces encourage children to relax and listen well. Children join in with familiar phrases and suggest ideas as staff read a favourite story to them in a group. They use props, such as, puppets encourage children to remember to listen and respect one another. These help children's literacy skills well. To further these skills children have opportunities to write for a purpose. For example, writing shopping lists and letters to 'Santa'. Staff plan various activities that encourage children's awareness of number, shape and measure. For example, children transfer water and sand using a variety of containers, measuring and counting as they play. They also take pride in planning and making models with various construction materials to compare size and shape.

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who attend

Children thoroughly enjoy creative play as they use a range of art materials, such as, glue, and glitter that they choose from the 'art station'. They create pictures and use scissor skilfully to show their practical skills. Children further develop their physical skills they have opportunities to be involved in dance and movement sessions and play parachute games. To promote children's understanding of the world, they plant flowers, dig in soil. They use the computer and cause and effect toys to help develop their technology skills.

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

Children develop warm and trusting relationships with staff, which appropriately supports their emotional well-being. They settle quickly and are confident and happy, which demonstrates they feel safe and secure at the pre-school. Staff implement the key person system well to support children's individual care and learning needs. They know children well and meet their individual needs suitably. Children establish strong relationships and attachments with their key person and this supports their personal development appropriately. Children develop confidently and engage well in learning as a result. New two-year-old children are handled sensitively and comforted well when they become upset. Staff use the initial information gathered from parents to become familiar with the needs of each child when they join the pre-school. This continues as staff develop relationships with the parents and the children. As a result, they establish secure

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

attachments and relationships, which promote the sharing of information. This helps children to settle easily and feel reassured in the pre-school, being emotionally ready to learn. Discussion with parents provides clear information about children likes and dislikes and any allergies or health issues.

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

Children behave well. They learn to behave fairly and play with some cooperation. For example, they share as they play with a collection of different sized wheeled toys. They receive appropriate support to manage their own behaviour, as staff guide them, so they learn what is expected of them. Staff promote positive ways of dealing with behaviour management, such as, having 'pre-school rules', providing rewards and constant praise. These help children to build their self-esteem and confidence well. Children learn appropriate self-help skills as they learn how to use the bathroom independently. Here, they learn to wash their hands correctly as they look at the posters to remind them how to. They also learn to independently put on their coats to go outside and pour their drinks at snack time.

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

The pre-school provides a fun and welcoming environment where play areas are bright and inviting for children and organised well to meet children's needs. Children benefit from the high numbers of staff present, who give children plenty of comfort and attention, building their confidence. Children learn about aspects of their own safety. For example, they learn how to use equipment correctly. They also learn how to evacuate the building quickly and safely because they take part in regular fire drill practices. This means they know how to keep themselves safe in an emergency. Overall, this helps to maintain a safe environment for the children to play. However, the weaknesses in the security systems mean children's well-being cannot be fully assured.

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

Children have a growing awareness of healthy foods and drinks, which is fostered through appropriate discussions with the staff. An example of this is when staff explain to children the importance of eating healthy foods, such as, fruit and vegetables and also about drinking water after riding bicycles outside. Staff encourage healthy exercise through providing opportunities daily as children enjoy lots of running and jumping, both indoors and out.

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

As children prepare to move on to school or new provisions staff make contact and invite the new teachers to meet with the child in the pre-school. This helps reassure the child and reduces any anxiety about the move and helps their continuity of care and learning.

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provision

The inspection was brought forward due to concerns about a child leaving the pre-school during entry procedures. At inspection, it was found that children's safety was compromised as a child was able to leave the premises unsupervised. This is a breach of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. It is also a breach of the Childcare Register. The committee and staff have taken appropriate steps to address the issue to prevent it occurring again. They have altered the arrangements for children and parents entering the premises. This includes placing two staff in the foyer wearing visible vests, removing the register and tables from the foyer into the main room, parents being reminded to close the door and opening the outer door earlier to avoid an initial rush of parents and children. However, observation of this procedure at the inspection, it was noticed that there is still a risk to children during

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provision

entry procedures. The reason for this is that parents and children congregate in the foyer entrance. As parents speak to staff there are times when children are not effectively supervised. As a result, there are gaps where children could go through out into the car park. For example, staff on the outer door talking to a group of four parents with the door open leaving a space for children to manoeuvre through the gap and leave the premises unsupervised. This puts children at risk.

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provision

Staff demonstrate an appropriate understanding of child protection issues. They have completed safeguarding training and are able to identify the signs and symptoms that would cause concern. They know the correct procedures to follow, to keep children safe. Suitable recruitment procedures are in place, which include the completion of Disclosure and Barring Service checks. Staff complete appropriate risk assessments and records of daily checks help them to ensure areas of the pre-school, including the entrance space, are safe. In addition, staff ensure they deploy themselves effectively so that children are supervised appropriately and correct ratios maintained. Required policies, procedures and records are in place. For example, detailed records of any accidents or necessary administration of medication are maintained and shared with parents. This effectively promotes continuity in how children's well-being is supported.

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provision

The manager and staff have a sound overview of the curriculum. However, currently there is no robust system for the manger to monitor the educational programmes to ensure children make good progress. Planning and assessment display a suitably accurate understanding of all children's skills, abilities and progress. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are satisfactorily targeted so that there are sufficiently appropriate interventions. The pre-school is committed to on-going improvement. Staff receive monthly supervision meetings and regular appraisals and are encouraged in ongoing training opportunities. This supports them well in developing their knowledge and understanding of developing the provision to promote children's development. There is a suitable programme for staff development. For example, staff have recently undertaken training on 'Every Child a Talker' to enhance children's language

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provision

skills. However, the monitoring of staff performance is in its early stages and has not recognised the need to improve the quality of teaching overall.

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provision

Self-evaluation suitably takes into account the views of staff, children and their parents. The manager is aware of the areas that need to be developed within the pre-school and has taken some appropriate steps to address these issues. One example, for improvement is to enhance the outside area by, planting more flowers and vegetables to enhance children's learning of the natural world. The manager and staff seek the views of the committee and parents through questionnaires and the views of children through discussion. These also contribute to the self-evaluation process so that everyone is involved in improving the quality of the provision. Partnership with parents is a strength of the pre-school they receive regular information about the pre-school. Parents spoken to at the inspection praise the pre-school staff for their friendliness and dedication to their children. They say their children are very happy

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provision

and enjoy attending pre-school; they talk about their friends, staff and are eager to attend. Staff have built secure partnerships with other professionals and share useful information with other early years providers when children also attend other settings. Strong links have been established with local schools. This promotes a consistent approach to children's care, learning and development.

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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:

 ensure that a child is unable to leave the premises unsupervised (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that a child is unable to leave the premises unsupervised (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 206712 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 937369

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 28 Number of children on roll 47 Name of provider Aston-On-Trent Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 03/10/2011 Telephone number 07890 748179

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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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