Fontmell Magna Under Fives

Fontmell Magna Under Fives Blandfords Farmhouse, West Street, Fontmell Magna, SHAFTESBURY, Dorset, SP7 0PF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/11/2013 28/03/2011

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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's personal, social and emotional development is promoted well as staff encourage their independence through the activities and their personal care.  Effective two-way sharing of information means that parents are kept well informed about their child's care, learning and development.  Staff provide consistent messages to help children learn about what is acceptable behaviour. As a result, children show a developing understanding of the boundaries and are developing friendships as they play together.

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It is not yet good because

 The provider does not make sure that the procedures to check that all persons on the committee are suitable are always followed through effectively.  The management do not make sure that pre-school safeguarding practices are effectively followed by any volunteers with regard to storage of their mobile phones.  Staff do not always extend the children's learning experiences to help them move on to the next steps in their learning.

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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 compulsory part 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 children's play and staff interaction, indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation including a sample of children's records, planning and records to check staff and the committee's suitability.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector spoke to staff and parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the systems used by the staff to evaluate the provision.

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Information about the setting

Fontmell Magna Under Fives originally registered in 1983 and re-registered at the current premises in 2010. It operates from a converted farm building in the village of Fontmell Magna, in Dorset. Children have use of a central playroom, dining room and an enclosed outdoor play area. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. The pre-school is open every weekday, from 8.45am until 2.45pm, term time only. The pre-school provides funded early education for children aged three and four years. There are currently 49 children on roll, of whom 44 are in the early years age group. The pre-school supports children who are learning English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The pre-school employs six staff including the manager; of these five hold appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff is in training for an early years

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must:

 make sure that any adults likely to have regular contact with children have the necessary checks completed, including checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service

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must:

 make sure that all adults working with the children understand and follow the pre- school's safeguarding policies and practices in relation to the storage of their mobile phones.

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

 provide more challenge and extension through the activities to help children move on to the next steps in their learning.

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who attend

Children enjoy coming to the pre-school and happily engage in the play activities. The warm and friendly welcome from the staff means that children settle quickly. Children take part in a broad range of motivating play activities and experiences, both indoors and outside, that support their learning and development. Key staff link with parents to gain information about the children's individual abilities, enabling them to support children from the start. The staff complete regular observations of the children in their play to help them monitor and assess children's progress effectively. They use this information to tailor the fortnightly planning and help staff support children's learning appropriately. As a result, children are making steady progress in their learning and development in relation to their starting points. Parents receive regular updates about their child's care and learning as familiar staff share information about the children's experiences at pre-school at handover

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who attend

times. Parents are aware how staff monitor the children's learning and achievements as the 'All about me learning journal' records are regularly shared with parents. Staff have implemented systems to complete the progress check for two-year-old children, which are shared with parents so they are aware of their children's early learning. Children are acquiring skills for the future as staff encourage them to become independent learners. They show confidence as they find their name card, select a dish of fruit and pour their own drinks at snack time. Children have regular access to books and enjoy looking at books individually or cuddling up with a member of staff to listen to a story. This helps children to develop a love of books. Children see words and labels, including some words in different languages, displayed around the room, helping them learn that print carries meaning. Staff get involved in children's play, promoting conversation and

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who attend

asking questions to support children's communication appropriately. Children use technology equipment such as ipads with ease and talk with each other about what they are doing. However, staff do not always monitor use of the ipads sufficiently, and, as a result, some children spend considerable amounts of time playing on them. This means that, at times, staff do not always encourage children to join in the full range of activities to support their learning in all areas. Children have fun using the various tools, materials and boxes to create their models. They proudly tell others what they are making, such as 'a robot' or a 'space-rocket'. Staff introduce some counting through both planned and spontaneous opportunities, which helps to raise children's understanding of number. However, as children build and fix construction bricks the staff do not make the most of opportunities to develop children's problem-solving skills and extend their learning through

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who attend

their questioning and interaction with the children.

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who attend

Effective use is made of the interesting and stimulating outdoor play environment. The children are able to move freely between the indoor and outdoor play space to follow their interests. Children use their imagination well as they play in the wooden hut and use the various tools as they pretend to be builders. They show control as they fill the small water containers then add the water to the sand to create their own 'potions'. This adds to their enjoyment and effectively promotes their physical development. Generally, the clean and age appropriate resources are positioned in low-level storage units. This encourages children's independence, as they are easily accessible allowing children to make choices about their play activities.

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

Children have trusting relationships with staff and other children. The key person system means that staff know children well and they recognise when new or less confident children need reassurance and support. This promotes children's emotional well-being and as a result, children feel settled and secure. The effective use of a home-school book between the staff and parents means that there is a regular two-way exchange of information. Parents comment positively about using the book to share children's achievements at home. Staff manage children and their behaviour positively. They provide clear, consistent messages to help children learn to play together well. For example, staff make effective use of an egg timer to help children understand about sharing and taking turns with the popular toys. At tidy up time, children know the routine as staff put on music and the children cooperate and quickly find a job to do. This means that children

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

are beginning to take responsibility for their own behaviour.

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

The effective security procedures followed by staff help to keep children safe. This is through the provision of secure exit doors and staff monitoring the arrival and collection of children. Staff complete annual risk assessments, and this, alongside ongoing visual checks, enable them to identify and minimise risks to children appropriately. For example, staff ask children to collect water in their containers to use in the sand from the outside tap rather than carrying it from indoors to prevent them from spilling it where others are playing. This helps children to keep themselves and others safe. Staff maintain suitable supervision and talk with children to raise their awareness of risks. For example, they explain to children how to use scissors safely while allowing children to learn to do it for themselves. This helps build children's confidence as they acquire new skills.

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

Children's health is suitably promoted. They are familiar with the daily routines to wash hands before eating and after using the toilet. Staff provide gentle reminders if they notice that some children forget, explaining the importance of washing hands to get rid of germs. This teaches children about how to care for their own personal hygiene. Children take part in growing and planting activities and they have used the vegetables they have grown to make their soup. This helps them to learn where food comes from. Children benefit from being provided with healthy snacks. Staff gain clear information from parents about any food allergies so that all children's individual dietary and medical needs are followed. They maintain appropriate records, signed by parents, to help them support children's medical needs.

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provision

The inspection was brought forward following a concern raised to Ofsted relating to the staff's knowledge of safeguarding issues. Ofsted visited the pre-school and found that they were in breach of a welfare requirement with regard to safeguarding. Ofsted set a Notice to Improve to ensure the safeguarding policy is in line with the Local Safeguarding Children Board. The inspection found that new systems have been implemented to make sure that all staff are clear about their responsibilities to safeguard the children's welfare. The pre-school has updated their safeguarding policy to include all the required elements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Two members of staff have lead responsibility for safeguarding and one of these has recently attended a two- day safeguarding course to increase their understanding of how to protect children. All staff complete safeguarding training which has helped them gain a clear understanding of

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provision

procedures to follow if they have a concern about a child in their care. However, the management team do not make sure that all adults who work with children completely follow the pre-school's safeguarding policy, as some adults who work as volunteers have access to their mobile phones during the session. This practice does not follow the pre- school's safeguarding arrangements to help promote children's safety. Though the volunteers only work with the children occasionally, the manager knows the action she needs to take to remedy this immediately. There are clear policies and procedures, including safeguarding, in place to support the running of the pre-school. This includes appropriate recruitment and vetting procedures to check the suitability of staff to work with children. However, the management team has not made sure that all committee members have had suitability checks completed to ascertain their suitability. This is a

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provision

breach of a requirement of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and a breach of a requirement of the Childcare Register though it has a small impact on the children's welfare.

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provision

Staff work together well as a team, regularly sharing information to help support children's developing needs. There are some informal induction procedures and this alongside weekly staff meetings means that staff are familiar with their roles and responsibilities. Some staff have specific roles, such as liaising with staff and organising the fortnightly planning. All staff contribute towards evaluating the success of planned activities and discuss what children gained, to aid them with future planning. Staff are encouraged to attend regular training to help them continue to develop their knowledge and skills. Overall, systems to review the provision are suitably in place. For example, staff are currently reviewing the planning systems to incorporate the characteristics of effective learning to enhance the educational programmes for children. There are some steps to monitor staff performance through the staff supervisions and annual appraisals. The pre-

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provision

school gains parental feedback through informal discussion and annual questionnaires with any suggestions and ideas welcomed to drive improvement. For example, story sacks were recently introduced for parents to take home and share books with their children to support each child's early literacy skills. The manager and staff have a positive attitude to the ongoing development of the pre-school and know there are areas in the provision where they need to develop further to improve the quality of the provision and outcomes for children.

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provision

Staff support children with additional needs well, devising individual education plans and linking with external agencies, such as Portage to promote the children's inclusion. They have established links with other early years providers caring for children to help them provide continuity for children's care and development. The pre-school has firm connections with the local school and takes children to visit for special events, such as the teddy bears picnic. Teachers from the local school visit the pre-school to meet children before they start which helps to make the move on to school an easier one. Parents receive clear information about the pre-school through the website, the parent information pack, and the notice board so they are aware of the care their children receive.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 make sure effective systems are in place to ensure any adult in regular contact with children has obtained a check by the Disclosure and Barring Service.

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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 EY413949 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 939532 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 49 Name of provider Fontmell Magna Under Fives Committee Date of previous inspection 28/03/2011 Telephone number 07765810378

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Setting details

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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