Mansel Minis Community Pre-School

Mansel Minis Community Pre- School Mansel Park Primary School, Culver Close, Southampton, Hampshire, SO16 9HZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21/01/2014 20/01/2011

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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 progress is effectively tracked giving staff clear knowledge of the different stages the children are at. Staff support children's language development well.  Staff make suitable use of their observations of children. Their planning incorporates the children's own interests in the provision of resources, so that children are keen to participate, particularly in their freely chosen play.  The staff team's relationships with parents are strong and worthwhile, so that these support children's development and care.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff do not help children to develop their early writing skills well in the programme for literacy.  Staff do not always organise sessions well. Children sit waiting for long periods and group times do not consistently meet their needs, so their behaviour deteriorates.  Staff miss opportunities to promote children's personal independence.  The pre-school's self-evaluation has not taken account of the views of staff, parents or children in order to drive improvement well.

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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 the interaction between the staff and children.  The inspector sampled documents linked to the children progress.  The inspector talked to some of the children, staff and parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had discussions with the senior staff about different aspects of the pre-school.  The inspector observed the children playing indoors and in the garden.

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Information about the setting

Mansel Minis Community Pre-School is run by a committee. It opened in 1997 and registered with Ofsted in 2001. The pre-school operates from a room on the site of Mansel Primary School in the Millbrook area of Southampton. All children share access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 48 children on roll aged from two to under five years. The pre-school receives funding for the provision for free early education to children aged three and four years. The pre-school is open each weekday from 8.45 am to 3.15 pm during school term times. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and supports children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school employs eight members of staff; all staff hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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must:

 review the organisation of sessions so that children do not spend long periods sitting waiting for something to happen and so that group times are well suited to the children's needs, in order to keep all children purposefully engaged and behaving well

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must:

 develop the programme for literacy in regard to children's early writing skills by taking opportunities to model writing to children, encouraging them to 'sign' their work and by teaching them correct letter formation when appropriate, in order to prepare children well for the eventual move to school.

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

 provide further opportunities for moving children towards personal independence by encouraging them to take on a range of responsibilities, such as pouring their own drinks, serving themselves and preparing their own food

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

 develop the evaluation system so that it incorporates the views of all concerned with the pre-school, such as by seeking the views of staff, parents and children.

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who attend

Children of all abilities are offered a wide range of activities that help promote their learning. Staff organise and plan the majority of the session to offer children an environment where they choose what they wish to play with. This approach supports learning through exploratory play and helps children become independent learners in preparation for their eventual move to school.

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who attend

Staff observe and assess the children's play regularly and use the information gained to plan a range of activities that help children make steady progress in their learning. Resources reflect children's interests so they want to play with them. Each child has an individual learning plan and staff plan particular activities each day to promote their next stage of learning. They plan such activities across all the required areas of learning. Staff carry out additional assessments on children whilst they are two-years-old which are shared with their parents. These progress checks keep parents aware of what their children can do and need to learn next.

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who attend

Staff embrace the 'every child a talker' scheme and they use other methods such as interactive books to help children develop their vocabularies and pronounce words correctly. This has a positive effect on developing children's language skills in which many children make good progress from their starting points, including those learning English as an additional language.

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who attend

Staff sit with the children using suitable questions to encourage children to talk about what they are doing. This approach helps children develop their communication and language skills in readiness for school. Staff describe children's actions during play to extend vocabulary. For example, while children try to blow paint across paper, staff talk about the different shapes created. Staff develop children's early mathematical language when children enjoy using different sizes and shaped of bricks. Staff encourage children to talk about what they have made which includes discussions about shape and size.

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who attend

Not all children are always actively engaged in such purposeful learning, however. This is because of the way in which staff organise the session and group times in particular. When together in their 'key groups', staff do not plan activities that engage all children well, owing to different abilities within the group. This results in some children having little benefit from these activities. Towards the end of the morning children spend too long in successive group activities or have to sit around waiting for something to happen, which means that some become bored and behaviour deteriorates, which affects the quality of learning.

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who attend

Overall, staff promote children's literacy development. They read stories to children that they enjoy and which help children to hear words that rhyme, such as 'shark' and 'dark'. Staff provide children with a range of writing materials with which they enjoy creating pictures, demonstrating their developing hand control. However, staff do not seize such opportunities to encourage children to 'sign' their creations or teach the older and more capable children to write their names, in preparation for their eventual move to school.

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who attend

The staff team has good relationships with the parents. Staff collect relevant information from the parents as the children start playgroup from which staff create plans to meet the child's care and learning needs. Regular information is shared with the parents keeping them informed of the experiences their children are having. Staff encourage parents to extend children's learning at home.

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

Children enjoy coming to pre-school, excited to see what they can play with and engage in a range of activities. The key person and buddy system generally works well to help staff get to know the children and help them settle in when they first attend. This means that overall the children feel secure within the pre-school because they have a special adult to provide them with support.

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

Overall, staff support children in their play, encouraging them to play together when appropriate. However, the staff organisation of some parts of the day results in children having to sit in large groups waiting for an event to happen. This has a negative impact on some of the children's behaviour because they become bored whilst waiting. When children do not behave as expected, they feel less emotionally secure.

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

All staff have a clear understanding of how to safeguard children and promote their welfare. They all undertake training to underpin their knowledge of procedures to follow if they had a concern about a child. They ensure the environments the children use are safe for the children to use before they arrive for their session.

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

Staff help children to recognise when they are hungry by allowing them to choose when to have their snack. They sit with a member of staff after washing their hands. They sit together making it a social occasion where they can talk about their day, which encourages conversation skills in preparation for their move to school. However, staff do not take the opportunity to allow children to help prepare their snack or pour their own drinks. This means child miss the chance to take on such small responsibilities and to practice these important everyday skills ready for the next stage of their learning.

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

Staff provide an environment that is both safe and welcoming for children. They provide sufficient resources to support children's learning in all areas. Staff arrange the main playroom so that children select what they want to play with from the good quality resources, which means these are used effectively during freely chosen play. Staff make appropriate use of technology to promote children's learning, helping them gain computer skills in readiness for school.

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

Staff make good use of the outdoor play area. Here, children undertake a range of different activities that help promote their physical development in particular. They also enjoy looking at features of the world around them. Staff encourage them to dig, so they find bugs and insects and proudly show off their collection. The provision of a large climbing and slide structure offers children a range of different physical challenges. Children develop their physical skills while staff take the opportunity to promote children's understanding of taking turns and teaching them to play safely too. These skills help children be ready for the next stage in their learning.

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provision

The management have systems in place which give an overview of the educational programmes and children's progress. The information gained through these termly audits has helped to identify any children that need extra help or support. Links with other professionals are positive resulting in children getting extra support where needed. This enables staff to plan activities using additional help if needed from outside agencies to ensure children's learning needs are fully promoted. The information is used in the pre- school's overall planning to ensure that children are having a broad range of experiences that cover all the areas of learning.

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provision

The management team has a secure understanding of their responsibilities to ensure that all requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are being met including those for safeguarding and welfare, and learning and development. The inspection took place following a notification from the pre-school about a safeguarding incident in which a child left the pre-school at the end of a session without staff realising. The pre-school management acted correctly in reporting this incident. The management team has investigated and evaluated this incident thoroughly. As a result, several sensible changes have been introduced to ensure such an incident does not reoccur. The provider has robust recruitment procedures to ensure only suitable staff are appointed to work with children. As a result, children's well-being is promoted effectively.

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provision

The senior staff have evaluated the pre-school provision and identified some areas for improvement, many of which they have already addressed, so demonstrating their desire and ability to improve what they offer the children. Changes made have had a beneficial impact on the outcomes for children, including those made following the previous inspection.. However, the senior staff do not seek the views of other staff, the parents or children when undertaking this assessment, in order to gain a full range of opinions.

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provision

Day-to-day relationships with parents are strong and worthwhile, however. Staff keep parents fully aware of their children's progress and of how to extend their learning at home. For example, staff hold termly meetings with parents where they discuss progress and 'What's next?'. Parents state that they are very happy with the pre-school. They report that they can see the progress children make and state that their children enjoy attending.

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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 131545 Local authority Southampton Inspection number 949204 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 35 Number of children on roll 48 Name of provider Mansel Mini Community Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 20/01/2011 Telephone number 023 8070 1546

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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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