Millfield Pre-School

Millfield Pre-School South Rise, NORTH WALSHAM, Norfolk, NR28 0EE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/11/2013 02/03/2012

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Children achieve very rapid gains in their learning because they are supported by extremely skilled practitioners who have high expectations of them. As a result, stimulating and innovative teaching activities challenge children's thinking and help them to develop their ideas.  An effective key person system enables staff to form secure and trusting relationships with children and parents. This empowers parents to contribute to children's learning and ensures that children's individual needs are met.  The management team are highly committed to ensure that any additional support individual children may need is accessed through well-established partnerships with parents and other agencies. This means that all children make rapid progress in their learning and development.  The safeguarding and welfare requirements are very well understood by the management team who ensure that members of staff are able to recognise and report

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to develop the already well-established partnerships with parents, by providing regular opportunities for staff to share their exemplary teaching skills, helping parents to continue to support their child's learning at home.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager and the deputy manager of the provision.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children, the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day and from information included in the setting's own parent feedback.

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Information about the setting

Millfield Pre-School opened in 1975 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a mobile building in the grounds of Millfield Primary School, on the outskirts of North Walsham. It is run by a voluntary committee and has charitable status. Sessions operate each weekday from 8.30am until 11.30am and from 12.30pm until 3.30pm during term time. A lunch club operates daily from 11.30am until 12.30pm. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The group also has access to the school playing field and 'jungle gym'.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 39 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children for whom English is an additional language. There are currently eight members of staff working directly with the children, seven of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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

 plan regular opportunities to share staff knowledge and skills with parents, for example, by providing workshops to help parents understand how to continue to effectively support their child's learning at home.

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who attend

Children attending Millfield Pre-School access a welcoming, friendly and vibrant environment. The meticulous organisation of the indoor area enables children to access a wealth of resources which are clearly labelled and displayed at a low level, inspiring children to make their own choices and follow their own ideas. Expert teaching focuses on encouraging children to try new things and gain new skills. Staff support children extremely well to think of their own ideas and explanations. For example, when children show an interest in the roof of the insect house during their winter walk, they are very effectively questioned by the member of staff who bends down to look with the children, asking them why the house needs a roof and what would happen to the creatures if it did not have one. This leads to the children extending their learning by explaining their own ideas about what might live in the tower and how the weather would affect them. This

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who attend

approach ensures that children are developing strong skills for the future as they are highly motivated to become confident communicators. The setting is participating in the programme 'Every Child a Talker' and through this have identified and targeted those children who need extra support to develop age-appropriate language skills. The programme has enhanced staff knowledge and, as a result, their exceptional ability to develop children's speech. For instance, staff members use every opportunity to ask children about their ideas, giving them time to talk and carefully asking questions to help them extend their sentences. This helps all children to communicate very effectively, including those who speak English as an additional language.

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who attend

The excellent educational programmes provided are highly comprehensive at meeting the needs of all children. Staff regularly meet as a team to discuss individual children's needs; this collaborative approach enables staff to plan for innovative learning opportunities that help all children to achieve the next steps in their development. Staff are very skilled at spontaneously developing children's interests to maximise their learning. For example, children's interest in delivering presents for Christmas is fostered by staff members who provide children with a range of materials, such as twigs, hay and tinsel; this enthuses the children to develop their imagination as they use the tinsel to make a sleigh, twigs to create antlers, and hay to feed the reindeer. As a result, children are highly engaged in their play and consistently motivated to develop their creativity. Children are exceedingly well prepared for the next stage in their learning as they take part in age-appropriate

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who attend

group activities that help them to develop the necessary skills for when they start school. They attentively participate in planned activities which support the development of essential literacy skills. For instance, a range of activities to develop children's hand-eye coordination are consistently offered, such as threading beads and moulding dough. These experiences help children to gain the control needed to develop their early writing skills. The development of a well-planned book corner enables children to develop their interest in books by selecting stories to share with their key person. Provision for mathematical development is rich, varied and imaginative, as children have many opportunities to count reliably and say numbers in order during their play. The development of problem-solving skills is actively encouraged by staff members who effectively question children's understanding during their self-chosen activities. This approach supports children to

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who attend

develop secure levels of mathematical understanding as they have plentiful opportunities to develop their thinking skills within the context of their play.

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who attend

The staff team work extremely well together to monitor children's progress. A comprehensive system for observing children's current stage of development enables staff to effectively identify any areas where a child requires additional support. Individual 'learning journeys' provide a detailed ongoing record of children's interests and skills. This means practitioners have an exemplary understanding of each child's needs and therefore, they can develop individual learning plans that are tailored to target the needs of each child and focus on the skills they have already gained. As a result, children are provided with imaginative adult-led activities that consistently challenge their thinking and help them to extend their skills. The progress checks at age two are highly comprehensive, involving contributions by all members of the staff team and the child's parents to review children's achievements and identify required areas of development. These partnerships

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who attend

are beneficial for all children but particularly support those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Parents are invited to regular drop-in sessions and termly meetings with their child's key person where they discuss their child's progress and share their learning needs. This collaborative approach results in a shared understanding of each child's development. As a result, parents speak exceedingly well of the setting, describing the huge gains their child has made in their development since attending the pre-school.

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

Staff are warm, welcoming and have an individual approach to settling new children. Parents talk about the friendly atmosphere and are keen to describe the many strengths of the setting. Parents and children are invited to attend settling sessions before they start, quickly building emotional attachments with their key person and small staff team. As a result, children settle very well into the setting and feel reassured by their strong relationships with staff, enabling them to make good progress in their learning. In addition, the setting has recently started visiting children and their parents in their own homes before they start at the setting. Staff are in the early stages of monitoring the affect of these visits on the child's well-being, however, they already positively comment on how these visits enable them to build relationships with parents by providing time to get to know each child's individual requirements. Children's needs are effectively met due

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

to the careful organisation of the sessions. Each week, older children participate in a 'Saplings' session where they access activities which focus on helping them develop essential skills required for when they start school. The setting regularly takes advantage of their location on the primary school site to help prepare children emotionally for school. They regularly use the school facilities, playing on the 'jungle gym', attending special events and meeting their new teachers. When children transfer to different primary schools, staff make contact with the new school to discuss the child's needs. These partnerships facilitate the effective transfer of information, ensuring a consistency in provision which meets the needs of all children.

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

A high priority is given to the development of children's social skills by members of staff who provide positive role models by demonstrating friendly behaviour and modelling ways for children to learn how to share with their peers in their play. As a consequence, children join in with activities very well together and quickly learn how to play cooperatively with their friends. Good behaviour is consistently promoted through clear rules and routines which ensure that all children are happy and able to enjoy their play. As a result, children behave very well and show consideration for their friends. Children confidently approach a member of staff if they are worried or concerned. Their worries are dealt with skilful consideration by staff who help them to solve their own problems. The positive role models provided by adults enable children to develop their emotional well-being as they recognise their own needs and begin to accept the needs of others. Health and physical

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

well-being is given a high priority. Children have planned opportunities to take part in physical activity on a daily basis, where they enjoy a wide range of activities to develop coordination and their large muscle control. Children benefit from the well-planned outdoor area, where they enthusiastically run, climb and slide. They learn to keep themselves safe through discussions with staff which help them learn to manage their own risks. For instance, they talk about what they need to do before using the slide if it is wet from the rain. Hygiene practices are thorough, with a clean and well-planned area where staff support children to develop independence with their personal needs. The introduction of a quiet room has provided the pre-school with a calm area where children can rest or sleep. This particularly supports the well-being of younger children who are able to follow their home routines. Snack time is a calm and positive experience for children. Staff

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

encourage children to try a range of different healthy foods by providing them with carefully designed place mats for them to use when selecting their snack. Children excitedly select different fruits to place on the shapes and numbers, helping them to learn to make healthy choices while extending their mathematical understanding.

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provision

The management team clearly understand their roles and responsibilities to meet the safeguarding and welfare and the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. As a result, appropriate systems are in place to meet requirements and support the welfare of children. This is reflected in the clear knowledge of all staff about how to keep children safe from harm. They attend regular training to ensure they are able to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and know how to report concerns. The manager works well in partnership with the local authority to report and address any incidents that arise. Clear recruitment procedures, induction systems and staff appraisals ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Staff are vigilant in making sure that the premises are safe and secure, regularly checking risk assessments to make sure the environment is suitable. Staff are very thorough in ensuring that children

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provision

are well supervised during indoor and outdoor play. As a consequence, any incidents are quickly addressed and children receive appropriate support and encouragement. All staff have undertaken first aid and food safety training, ensuring that children's health and safety is maintained. Clear policies and procedures are understood and implemented. This ensures that children are cared for in a safe environment. Regular fire drills are practised with the children so that they know what to do in an emergency.

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provision

Already very highly skilled staff are supported to consistently develop and share their skills. The manager regularly reviews the professional development of all staff and has comprehensive systems in place to ensure that practitioners attend essential training courses to develop their skills and share their knowledge with the team. As a result, the enthusiastic team of staff are continually enhancing their knowledge of how to skilfully enhance learning, which is evident in their exemplary everyday interactions with the children. The manager and deputy manager of the setting work cohesively together and are committed to continue to improve the quality of provision. The manager demonstrates a good capacity to improve the setting. Assessment of children's learning is carefully monitored through weekly meetings where staff evaluate the success of activities to ensure that children's individual needs are met through high quality teaching and effective

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provision

planning of the next steps in their learning. A good overview of the curriculum and understanding of how children learn is demonstrated through discussion with the management team who have developed the effectiveness of the self-evaluation process since the last inspection. Planned procedures ensure that parents, children and staff contribute to evaluating the quality of provision and resulting improvements. For example, parents are regularly asked to provide their views on strengths and weaknesses of the setting to help staff plan for improvements. As a result of parents' feedback, the current focus is to share the increased knowledge that staff have gained about how to effectively develop children's speech and language skills. However, there is room to develop partnerships with parents by providing regular learning opportunities for them to enable them to benefit from the extensive knowledge that staff have gained from their training

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provision

courses. This would help parents to continue to effectively support their child's development at home, therefore, providing a highly comprehensive approach to meeting each child's needs.

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provision

The pre-school staff understand the importance of partnership working with external agencies in order to secure appropriate support and interventions for individual children. They are skilled in identifying areas where children require additional support and quickly discuss these areas with parents, helping children to access the interventions they need to progress. The setting has well-established partnerships with their local authority support team and speech and language team which help them support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Advice from professionals is acted upon by the child's key person who quickly puts programmes of support into place where they work individually with children to help them learn essential skills. As a result, children are extremely well supported and make significant gains in their learning. The development of these working partnerships enable staff to regularly seek advice about how best to meet

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provision

the needs of all children. Consequently, the pre-school is very well prepared to meet the learning and development needs of all children, ensuring that every child is able to meet their full potential.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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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 254176 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 942099

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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 39 Name of provider Millfield Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 02/03/2012 Telephone number 01692 406 378

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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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