Little Leaves Pre-School

Little Leaves Pre-School New Ash Green Youth Centre, Ash Road, New Ash Green, Longfield, Kent, DA3 8JY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/01/2014 09/12/2011

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early years provision

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

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This provision requires improvement

 Children play in a safe, welcoming, friendly environment, where they are able to select resources independently.  Staff work well in partnership with parents, sharing information regularly to support children's learning and development.  Children are confident and settled because they have established strong relationships with the staff and their friends.

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It is not yet good because

 The staff do not always adapt or provide different kinds of activities to fully meet the needs of the younger children when they are playing in a mixed age group.  The self-evaluation process is not fully effective in identifying the weaker areas of the pre-school. As a result, staff are not always successful in making changes to improve the outcomes for children further.  Some younger children new to the setting find it difficult to communicate and understand the routine of the day, as there are few visual prompts to support them.

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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 spent time observing staff and the children in the pre-school.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of documentation, including key policies and children's learning and development records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children.  Four parents were interviewed and their views taken into account.

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Information about the setting

Little Leaves Pre-School opened in 1988 and operates from one room in a youth centre. It is situated in the village of New Ash Green, Kent. The pre-school is open each weekday from 9am to 12 noon during term time. All children share access to an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 39 children on roll in the early years age range. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education. The pre-school currently supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

There are nine members of staff. Of these, six staff hold appropriate early years qualifications, including the manager, at National Vocational Qualification level 2 and 3.

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must:

 ensure learning opportunities meet the needs of all children by providing different types of activities when children are playing in a mixed age group.

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

 help younger children understand the routine of the day and to express their needs by, for example, using pictures and visual prompts to explain what is happening

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

 develop more rigorous and effective systems for self-evaluation through seeking the views of all staff, children and their parents to identify areas for improvement; and by devising a clear improvement plan to identify key priorities.

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who attend

Staff have a sound understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and plan regularly using children's next steps to inform the planning. The children are making reasonable progress towards the early learning goals and the quality of teaching is sound. Children's communication and language abilities are developing well. This is because staff engage in a wide range of conversations with children and use open-ended questions to support them to develop their vocabulary. However, this is less successful with those younger children who find it difficult to express their ideas or find it difficult to follow routines when new to the setting. Children spontaneously use mathematical language in a variety of activities. For example, they talk about adding 'more' pegs to threaded sticks to make it 'bigger'. Staff teach children to explore the environment by the use of small metal detectors, magnets and magnifying glasses. Children are animated by

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who attend

Staff promote children's communication skills. For example, children listen attentively to stories and thoroughly enjoy repeating phrases from their favourite stories. They join in with songs and rhymes and listen carefully to the actions and eagerly participate. Staff provide an adequate range of mark making materials and good support to enable children to practise writing letters and numbers. Children use their imaginations as they play with small world toys such as wild animals and enjoy setting out the train track. Staff encourage children to investigate natural materials such as sand and water. They create a picture with glue and different textures of paper, glitter and lolly pop sticks. Children use paints and crayons to create pictures; they enjoy dressing up with friends. They enjoy using a variety of construction kits but when children of mixed ages play together, the resources do not always meet the needs of the younger children. Staff do not adapt these

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who attend

activities so that all children are engaged and challenged according to their specific needs and interests.

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

Children move freely around each area of the pre-school, making choices from the resources staff provide. The key person system helps staff to form a sound relationship with the children attending. This provides a secure, familiar face to promote children's security. As a result, children feel comfortable, confident and behave well as most are able to follow the structure of the session. Children are familiar with the rules of the setting and show a caring approach to others. Children play in a safe environment because the staff carry out daily checks of the premises. Staff have put several measures in place to ensure children are safe. For example, although the main door is closed, gates are used to prevent free access to the lobby area. Children learn the importance of the emergency evacuation drill so they begin to understand more about keeping themselves safe. Staff protect the children from strangers through monitoring access to the pre-school and

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

through the safe arrival and collection processes in place.

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

Staff implement a key person system into the pre-school, which is becoming embedded into practice to support children's needs. Staff build harmonious relationships with the children, offering praise and encouragement to build children's self-esteem and confidence. As a result, children are confident individuals who make choices and develop their independence skills. For example, all children have opportunities to learn about living a healthy lifestyle. Older children are learning to pour their own drinks or peel their oranges at snack time, becoming more independent. They have a range of healthy snacks, such peppers, cucumber and independently choose from the fruit bowl. The indoor environment is generally organised and supports children's independence and cooperation skills. Resources are easily accessible to children and areas arranged to encourage children to play together. Children have the opportunity to access outdoor play

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

on a free-flow basis, benefiting from fresh air and exercise. Staff provide different resources outside to support children's learning and development appropriately. The staff work closely with parents and others to be sure that they effectively meet children's individual care needs. They use information from parents to support children when they start at the pre-school. There are links with the local school and the reception teacher plans visits, which ensure children are suitably prepared for their move into school.

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provision

The pre-school demonstrates a sound understanding of the learning and development and welfare requirements. Children play in a safe and secure environment, as regular assessments of the building and outside areas help staff to ensure that this is the case. Staff and committee members are checked to ensure their suitability to work with children and a record kept of the checks. The committee are secure in notifying Ofsted when a change of manager occurs. Staff participate in safeguarding training and are knowledgeable as to their role in protecting children. They are aware of the possible signs or symptoms of child abuse and the procedures to follow should they have any concerns about a child in their care. Policies and procedures are in the process of been reviewed by the new manager to ensure that they reflect the pre-school and parents are fully informed.

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provision

The new manager demonstrates a committed approach to improving opportunities for the children. She has development plans in place and works closely with the staff team. The pre-school receive additional support from the local authority improvement partner to address areas where improvement is needed to raise standards. The manager and the committee have started to look at the self-evaluation process, but these are not fully embedded to identify all the areas where development is needed to improve outcomes for children. Staff seek support for any individual children's needs through partnership working with other professionals and outside agencies. In addition, when children attend other settings delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage, key persons liaise with staff to ensure all adults are working together to support children's development.

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provision

Partnership with parents is a particular strength of the pre-school as parents describe the staff as 'very friendly and helpful'. Parents benefit from a variety of communication, such as newsletters, informative notice board, open days and daily verbal feedback. Parents express how much they value daily discussions with their child's key person and meetings where they look at children's learning journeys or unique stories and discuss children's progress. These positive strategies enable parents to share ideas and work with the key person to support their child's progress.

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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 127211 Local authority Kent Inspection number 945814 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 32 Number of children on roll 39 Name of provider Little Leaves Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 09/12/2011 Telephone number 01474 872 441

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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

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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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