Cliffe Preschool

Cliffe Pre School Main Street, Cliffe, SELBY, North Yorkshire, YO8 6NN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/11/2013 13/06/2011

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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 requires improvement

 Children generally enjoy their time at the setting. They learn from an interesting range of activities that take place indoors and outside.  Each child has a key person who works closley with them to form secure attachments and build friendly relationships with their parents.  The manager is very keen to improve and develop the provision for children's learning.

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It is not yet good because

 Teaching requires improvement because planning is not strongly linked to the observations and assessments that staff make to help them understand how to respond to children's individual learning needs. There are too few activities that make each child's learning personal so they make good progress.  Staff do not always make the best use of resources, space and time to provide good quality learning experiences for all children. This means not all children are consistently highly motivated or kept well engaged.  Ways to engage with all parents to share information and promote children's learning at home, which will help them make good progress, are not firmly established.

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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 activities in the playroom and the outside learning environment.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the manager, members of staff and children during the inspection.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with the children, the provider's self-evaluation record and improvement plans.

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Information about the setting

Cliffe Pre School registered in 2010 on the Early Years Register. It is located in the village of Cliffe, on the outskirts of Selby, North Yorkshire. The pre-school serves the immediate locality and also the surrounding areas. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The committee run pre-school operates from a purpose built cabin, which provides a main playroom, an office, a kitchen area, disabled toilet facilities and children's toilets. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The pre-school is accessed by the front door via a small ramp.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school opens five days a week from 9.00am until 3.15pm, term time only. There are currently 24 children attending in the early years age range. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

There are currently five staff working directly with the children, four of whom have an appropriate early years qualification. Three of the staff have qualifications at degree level, one is qualified at level 3 and one is unqualified but very experienced. The pre-school receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 raise the quality of teaching by adopting a more systematic approach to planning, making sure it is clearly focussed towards using what staff know and understand about each child's individual learning needs

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must:

 improve how staff use resources, space and time to ensure all learning opportunities for children, including routine events, are fully maximised and all children remain successfully engaged, interested and challenged.

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

 improve engagement with all parents to help them be more actively involved in supporting their child's learning and development at home.

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who attend

Staff understand how to promote the learning and development of young children but the quality of teaching is variable. This means that not all children make good progress in their learning. For example, staff understand the need to help some children learn how to listen, concentrate and play well with their friends by taking turns and sharing. They organise a sound lotto game, involving the use of a laptop, that helps children to learn these skills. However, staff do not always use their knowledge consistently well to ensure that all possible learning opportunities, for instance registration and circle time that form part of the routine, extend and enhance this type of learning for children. The inconsistent quality of planning and organisation of some activities means some children quickly lose interest, concentration and do not listen well. It also means for older children there is often a lack of challenge, which has an impact on their behaviour.

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who attend

Staff complete observations of children and make assessments of the progress they are making. Although they lack confidence to systematically use the information they gain to plan for each child's unique and individual learning journey. This means the programme of activities is not always well shaped and guided by each child's individual learning needs, particularly those children who need extra challenge. However, staff know children very well, including those who require additional support. They make sure that these children have individual learning plans, these are shared with parents and other professional agencies. This ensures that extra adult support can be provided or professional advice and guidance sought, to ensure each child continues to make progress and does not get left behind.

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who attend

There are friendly and trusting relationships with parents in place. Parents are encouraged to provide information about their child on entry into the pre-school and on an on-going basis, so that key people can respond to children's specific needs. This helps children to form secure attachments with their key person and builds their confidence. However, there are too few opportunities for staff to effectively engage with all parents, to help them be more actively involved in supporting their child's learning and development at home. Staff support children to develop their communication and language skills and their physical, personal, social and emotional development. These are known as the prime areas for learning and provide children with the basic skills needed in readiness for school.

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

Staff generally support children well to play and learn together in a friendly environment. Some staff are very competent and capable at talking to children and encouraging them to speak confidently about their thoughts and ideas. The majority of children enter the pre- school confidently and find their name card displayed on the wall. They know to find the 'How do you feel today' display which has five clear pictures of a tired, sad, happy, worried and angry face. Children choose where to place their name card according to how they are feeling and often parents get involved with this. Staff use this as a valuable indicator to find out how each child present is feeling, so they can talk to them or their parents to offer help or support if needed. This shows that staff recognise that children's emotional well-being is vital towards helping them learn, progress and achieve.

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

The well established key person system helps children to feel safe and secure because they form close attachments to a special adult. Children approach all adults easily, which shows they are developing appropriate social skills. On a regular basis children spend time in the local school that the majority will attend. This supports how they develop relationships with others, including teachers, in readiness for when they transfer to school. Children are helped to understand basic health and safety by regularly washing their hands as part of the routine and learning about road safety and how to leave the pre- school responsibly in the event of an emergency. Staff remind children about the dangers of fire and being burnt through spontaneous conversations, such as following a Bonfire party. This helps them to understand about keeping themselves safe. Children are provided with healthy snacks alongside a packed lunch that is provided by parents. The

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

outdoor environment is used frequently by children and they move between inside and outside as they wish. This shows that staff value the importance of children learning through being physical, active and involved in outdoor play and the impact this has on supporting them to adopt a healthy lifestyle. The wide and exciting range of activities provided outdoors encourages children to explore their surroundings, experiment and investigate. For example, they observe insects and plants closely, experiment with mud, investigate how to use crates, pipes, tyres and household equipment outdoors and in different ways.

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

The playroom is safe and adequately resourced and organised. Staff provide many resources in ways that help children make independent choices and decisions, although, the organisation of space and some routines occasionally impacts on children's behaviour. For instance, when there is not enough space for all children to sit comfortably to help them to listen and remain focussed, or when activities are not well led by staff and children quickly lose interest. The result is, children are not consistently provided with good quality learning experiences to keep them highly motivated, engaged and challenged.

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provision

Effective safeguarding arrangements are in place. All staff have access to safeguarding training and confidently know the action to take and whom to contact if they have any concerns about a child's welfare or well-being. All required policies and procedures, that support the effective operation and management of the pre-school, are in place and are currently being reviewed and updated. This includes written safeguarding and risk assessment procedures. Safe recruitment procedures are in place, including the checking of staff's suitability to work with children. The manager understands her responsibility to meet the learning and development requirements and the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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provision

The manager has recruited and retained a well-qualified staff team. She actively encourages staff to attend training to enhance their professional development. This helps them to keep updated, in order to help children learn and make progress. The manager regularly works alongside her staff, enabling her to assess their performance and monitor the educational provision for children. This includes identifying groups of children who need extra support to close gaps in learning, such as two year olds and children with additional needs. She is proactive and resourceful in identifying and acting upon areas that she feels unsure about and requires improvement. For example, she is currently recruiting additional staff to be able to meet the varying needs of children more effectively. However, monitoring of the delivery of the educational programme for children's learning and the quality of teaching is not thorough enough to ensure that all children are making

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provision

good progress in their learning. A recommendation raised at the previous inspection regarding planning, observation and assessment leading to identifying children's next steps in their learning and sharing information with parents, remains an area for further improvement.

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provision

Links with a range of agencies, partners and providers are in place. In particular, the pre- school has a close working partnership with the local school and plans are in place to develop this further, by working cohesively to improve children's literacy development. In general, information is exchanged between staff and parents verbally. Parents have access to their children's assessment files and some have included their written comments. Staff talk to parents and children to find out their views and opinions about the pre-school and have, in the past, conducted written surveys by means of a questionnaire, which has contributed towards the pre-schools self-evaluation record.

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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 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. 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

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. 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 EY412145 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 874271

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 14 Number of children on roll 24 Name of provider Cliffe Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 13/06/2011 Telephone number 01757630930

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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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