Hope Pre-School Ltd

Hope Pre-School LTD Loxley Hall, Market Place, Hope, HOPE VALLEY, Derbyshire, S33 6RH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/11/2013 10/02/2010

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Teaching is good because staff understand how to promote children's learning and support their development across all areas. Consequently, children make very good progress given their starting points.  Partnerships with parents, other providers, local schools and the community are well established and make a strong contribution to meeting children's needs.  The welcoming, stimulating learning environment and good relationships between children and staff ensure they are happy and confident.  Staff are skilful in promoting language acquisition through modelling words and the use of open-ended questions. As a result, children are becoming confident and articulate.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The organisation of group times does not always ensure the youngest children's needs, interests and abilities are as highly promoted as at all other times.

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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 held meetings with the nursery manager and other members of staff and the local authority Early Years Improvement Officer.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's development files, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working in the setting and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children during their play and group activities, and at snack time.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the nursery manager.

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Information about the setting

Hope Pre-School first registered in 1982 and was registered again in 2009 under the ownership of a non-profit making limited company. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and operates from the village hall which is centrally situated in Hope, Derbyshire. The pre-school serves families who live in the village and surrounding areas. The pre-school has the use of the main hall, a smaller room, toilets and kitchen facilities, all located on the ground floor. There is an area available for outdoor play. One session per week is a 'forest fun' session held in nearby woodlands.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school employs five members of childcare staff. Of these, one holds Qualified Teacher Status, three hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, a further member of staff is qualified at level 3 in Health and Social Care. The pre-school is open every weekday morning during term time between the hours of 9.15am and 12.15pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 18 children attending who are in the early years age group. The pre-school is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The pre-school is a member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance and is supported by the local authority.

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

 review group times to ensure they are highly effective in meeting the needs of younger children, for example, by dividing the children into smaller groups more regularly so that all activities are consistently and precisely matched to their needs.

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who attend

The educational programmes provide a good range of interesting and challenging experiences and staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of the needs of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The teaching is very effective because staff support children's learning and development in all areas. For example, they take part in children's imaginative play and become the bus driver, collecting fares and driving to the next village. When a child pretends that they do not have any money for their fare, another child immediately gives them some, demonstrating care and concern for others. Talking is a consistently strong aspect of the provision and staff model younger children's language, repeating it back to them. They also effectively use the 'Every Child a Talker' programme to enhance children's knowledge of letters and sounds and make good use of open-ended questions to encourage children to think. This has a positive impact on

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who attend

children's learning and development and, consequently, children make very good progress relative to their starting points. Circle time actively supports children's developing language skills as they acknowledge each other and staff by name. Children are effectively split into groups for appropriate letters and sounds and rhyme times. This ensures children develop good skills in communication and children who are behind on entry make rapid progress and begin to close the gap. However, this approach is not taken in other group situations and so some, such as the action time session, are not precisely matched to younger children's needs in particular.

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who attend

The layout of the room is carefully planned and resources are of a high quality. The pre- school is well resourced and all areas are frequently updated to ensure they offer sufficient challenge to children. The rich, varied environment wholeheartedly supports children's learning and development. Children effectively acquire the skills, attitudes and dispositions, which they need to support them in their transitions through the pre-school and beyond. This is because staff provide relevant, developmentally appropriate activities based around children's interests. Therefore, children remain motivated and interested as their learning reflects their wide-ranging interests, ages and stages of development. Children are happy, play well together and form friendships with other children. They learn about sensible risk taking and keeping safe. For example, they know to take care and hold hands when walking to the woods and confidently demonstrate how to hold scissors when

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who attend

cutting. Children have opportunities to attend 'forest fun' sessions each week where they enjoy making dens, hunting for mini beasts and enjoy swinging from the tall tree. Children talk about visiting the woods with their parents and making a dam for the river and showing them their den. The organisation of the pre-school and the routines help children to settle quickly and grow in confidence. Staff know individual children well and recognise the importance of children making relationships and feeling secure. They are skilful in gently settling younger children who may be upset on arrival, to join in. For example, they give a quick cuddle and warm words of reassurance before engaging the children in an activity, such as completing a jigsaw or playing with the cars and garage. Their key person stays close at hand to provide additional words of comfort if necessary. A picture timetable showing the days routine helps children understand what is next. Staff have very positive

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who attend

relationships with the children and expectations are high. They are very enthusiastic, give frequent praise and use a broad range of teaching techniques to engage children in the wealth of activities available. Children are happy and confident learners and behave very well. They enjoy the mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities and display high levels of motivation. Children freely select from the very good range of activities and enjoy their learning in a rich, stimulating environment. For example, children paint, draw, stick and cut with a wide range of available materials and display pre-writing skills as they write their name. Imaginative activities are well supported as children make beds for a sleep over, play in the home corner using open-ended resources, such as fir cones, to cook dinner. There are number displays around the room and children are encouraged to count and recognise numbers at every opportunity. For example, they are supported to think

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who attend

how many beads are left if they move two along the wire and how many more they need to make ten.

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who attend

Children's starting points are gained from parents before they start pre-school. The detailed 'Child preference form' gives the pre-school staff a good understanding of each child's capabilities on entry. This is linked into the baseline assessment. Regular observations are undertaken and together with children's individual next steps in their learning, feed into the planning. This ensures that planned activities help children to make good progress because most are planned to precisely meet their needs. 'Trackers' are maintained to enable key persons to monitor their key children and plan for their future individual learning and development needs and ensures any gaps in learning are targeted. The files contain a range of short observations, photographs and termly summaries which show the next steps in learning. Parents were very pleased with the information they receive about their child's learning, they know their child's next steps and key persons talk

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who attend

to them at the end of the session and tell them what they can do help their child move on in their learning. This shows parents what their children have been doing while at pre- school and enables them to further support their learning at home.

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

Children are forming warm and secure attachments with staff and each other. They are happy and engaged in their play. Children quickly settle on arrival to the nursery because the staff are warm and welcoming. The key person system works effectively to ensure all children's care and learning needs are fully identified and met. As a result, children settle quickly because of the pertinent care given by the key person and other members of staff. Children feel safe and start to become aware of others around them. Parents are kept up to date with their child's progress and care needs through discussions. This two-way flow of information helps staff be aware of children's interests at home. Staff work closely with parents and teachers in preparing children to be emotionally ready for their move on to school. For example, children visit their new school and teachers visit the pre-school to share information to help the children become familiar with their new surroundings and

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

help them settle and be ready for their move on to school. The school is provided with up- to-date information and the child's development record to enable them to become familiar with the child's capabilities and interests. The pre-school also joins in activities with the reception class of the local school when they join together for 'forest fun' sessions and visit the school's 'conservation area' where children work together with reception children and teachers to build good relationships. This positively enhances the transition process.

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

Children enjoy a range of visits into the local community. For example, they have visited the local farm and watched lambs being born and visited the local dental clinic during a project on teeth. The behaviour of children is good and they are reminded to say 'please' and 'thank you' at snack time where they serve themselves from a range of healthy snacks, carefully pouring their own drink and choosing to eat either a piece of apple or banana. This promotes their independence. Children's independent skills are further developed as they are encouraged to put on their coat before going outside. Children are praised for the smallest of achievements, promoting their self-esteem. For example, when they share toys and take turns in games, such as being the referee and blowing the whistle in a game of football, the staff say 'well done' or 'good sharing'. Children are confident and make independent choices in their play. This is because staff place toys and

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

resources on the floor and on low-level shelving and easy access drawer units. They actively encourage children to choose what they want to play. Staff quickly provide additional resources on request, such as a whistle for the referee or more blankets for the 'sleep over'. The outdoor play area is used well, which is incorporated into children's daily routine. This helps children enhance their physical skills and enjoy time outside in the fresh air while exercising.

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

Staff are good role models, overseeing toileting activities and ensuring children wash their hands. Staff enhance children's awareness about keeping healthy. They talk to the children about the importance of washing hands to wash away the germs so they do not become poorly. Overall, staff effectively promote the good health of children and prevent the spread of infection. From a young age children are learning about keeping safe. All children regularly participate in emergency evacuation drills. This helps them understand what to do should they need to leave the pre-school quickly. Staff explain to children why it is important to help tidy away toys so that they do not fall over them and hurt themselves. This also helps children learn to take care of toys in the pre-school. Children's work is displayed throughout the room making them feel valued and acknowledged. The foyer contains information for parents, which helps all children and their families to have a

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provision

The manager and pre-school staff are highly focused on promoting quality in all aspects of the pre-school. A strong drive for improvement and the evident embracing of quality from staff demonstrates that they are fully committed to providing the best possible start for children in their early years. The manager and staff have a very good understanding of their responsibilities to safeguard children and promote their welfare. This is because they all have regular training in safeguarding and know when and how to seek advice and guidance. As a result, the staff's knowledge is current and ensures children are effectively protected from harm. Accidents are effectively recorded and parents know that they have to report accidents that occur at home. This all helps to ensure children's safety. The manager follows an effective recruitment procedure to appoint people who are suitable to work with children. These include references, qualifications, induction supervisions and

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provision

appraisal procedures, as well as Disclosure and Barring Service checks. In addition, a thorough induction procedure ensures that all staff have a secure knowledge of their roles. As a result, children receive a high level of care. Good security systems are in place to ensure that no unauthorised person enters the pre-school. For instance, entrance doors are locked and visitors are met at the door and their identity checked. Visitors are signed in and out. The fire alarm is tested regularly. All of this contributes to ensuring children's safety. Risk assessments are updated on a regular basis and include detailed risk assessments for outings and 'forest fun' sessions. Staff are well deployed to help keep children safe. Daily checks of the pre-school and outside play area further enhance children's safety. The pre-school has a broad range of policies and procedures which are available to parents and clearly understood by staff. These have recently been updated to

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provision

reflect changes in the welfare and safeguarding requirements.

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provision

The management team demonstrates a secure knowledge of the learning and development requirements. The children benefit from having a qualified teacher on the staff and the majority of staff qualified at level 3. This is obvious from the activities provided and the good interactions between staff and children. They track children's individual progress through the Early Years Outcomes document to ensure that children continue to make good progress and so that any areas of weakness can be tackled. They meet regularly to discuss the progress children are making and identify those who require interventions in their learning. This means gaps in learning are closing, especially in communication and language where the result of the 'Every Child a Talker' training recently undertaken by the pre-school staff team, is evident. Those in charge ensure key persons make accurate judgements on children's progress, which has led to all children

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provision

being well prepared for school. The pre-school has also established firm links with other agencies, such as the health visiting team where they work together with parents when undertaking the progress check at age two and speech and language therapists visit the pre-school to work with the staff and individual children when necessary.

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provision

The manager has high expectations for the development of the pre-school, which is evident in the progress made since their last inspection. The pre-school has acted on previous recommendations. For example, children's registration forms have been reviewed, policies updated and observations identify children's priorities and guide planning for the individual child. The pre-school has undertaken a range of audits to identify targets for improvement and uses action plans to identify areas for change and monitor their outcomes. The pre-school manager has recently undertaken self-evaluation training and is in the process of completing a draft self-evaluation form. The pre-school has the drive and commitment to sustain continued improvement. Effective partnerships are in place with parents. Parents receive good information about the pre-school and there is a two-way approach to caring for children. At the inspection, parents spoke highly of the

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provision

'excellent staff' and 'really good activities' and the confidence their children have when they leave to start school. The close partnership with parents enables the staff to meet the children's individual needs and maximise their learning.

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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 EY395513 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 879243

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 25 Number of children on roll 18 Name of provider Hope Pre-school Ltd Date of previous inspection 10/02/2010 Telephone number 07776 041 403

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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