Asha Preschool

The Asha Preschool 43 Stratford Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS11 6JG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/03/2014 09/06/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children make good progress because the manager and staff are well qualified and committed to providing children with the skills and knowledge that will help them do well when they start school. This is further supported because they work in partnership with parents.  Staff closely match activities and resources to children's individual interests and stage of development. This means that children make good progress in their learning.  Daily trips to the shops, woods, parks and visits to the art gallery or library ensure children have a wide range of experiences that promote all areas of learning.  Children learn how to stay safe and remain healthy because staff teach them the importance of exercise, how to stay safe near traffic and about healthy foods.  The manager has completed courses in safer recruitment and in child protection. This helps to keep children safe and helps ensure all staff working with children are suitable

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children's language development is less well promoted at times because staff are over eager during activities, so children have limited time to respond to comments and questions during activities and discussions.  Children are not always encouraged to be more self-reliant in knowing when they want a drink by allowing them to access water independently.

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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 indoors and accompanied staff and children on a visit to a local shop.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the 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 staff working with children, the provider's self-evaluation form and discussed the provision's improvement plan.  The inspector checked a range of other documentation.

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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 parents' comments book.

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Information about the setting

The Asha Preschool was registered in 2001 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in converted residential premises in the Beeston area of Leeds and is part of the neighbourhood community centre. This is run by a voluntary organisation, Asha Neighbourhood Project, which has charitable status. This manager of the pre-school also runs the Asha Neighbourhood Project Play Scheme. The management committee of the Asha Neighbourhood Project consists of members from local community, outside organisations and a manager from the Building Blocks Centre. The project provides opportunities for local women to access training and support sessions. The pre-school serves the local area. It operates from two adjoining ground floor rooms in the community centre.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school employs four members of childcare staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications, including three at level 3. Two volunteers from the local community also work at the pre-school. The pre-school opens Tuesday to Thursday 9.30am to 2.30pm. There are currently nine children attending who are all in the early years age group. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. All children attending the pre-school speak English as an additional language and receive the funded early education.

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

 monitor teaching and activities to maximise opportunities for children to develop their communication and language and develop their own ideas, for example, by encouraging staff to allow children more time to respond during discussions

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

 encourage children's independence by allowing them independent access to drinks of water at all times, for example, by providing named beakers of water.

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who attend

Staff are experienced and committed to providing children with the skills and knowledge that will help them to do well when they start school. They closely match activities to children's individual interests and stage of development. Staff can do this because they know the children well. This is because they are perceptive and they observe and assess children closely. They also work closely with parents and carers. They use a range of methods to gain information about the children from parents and carers when they start at the pre-school and continue to exchange information about the children's learning on a regular basis. As a result, children are self-motivated, eager to learn and make good progress in their learning and development. For example, children play with a construction toy. A member of staff joins them. She models fitting the pieces together and children copy her. This encourages children to develop physical skills. She describes what she is

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who attend

doing in both English and the children's home language. This encourages children's communication skills and helps them to learn English. She also supports children to share and cooperate as others join the activity. This helps them to develop good social skills. She does this very effectively because she knows the children well and understands their stage of development in each area of learning. However, during activities and discussions, staff in their eagerness, sometimes leave children too little time to express their own ideas. This occasionally reduces children's opportunities to develop their communication and language skills.

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who attend

The pre-school provides a wide range of learning opportunities in the relatively small area. The resources are carefully chosen, both to meet the children's specific needs and promote all areas of learning and development. For example, some children are fascinated by ballet, so staff have planned activities and provide books and other resources to support this interest. There are also many resources that promote language development. For example, children independently use small portable devices that record their speech and play it back. This particularly encourages children who are learning English as an additional language to develop their vocabulary and pronunciation skills. This means that, although, some children have no English when they start attending the pre-school, they make very rapid progress and most children speak English well when they leave to start school. Understanding of the world is also promoted well. Staff use a computer to teach

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who attend

children skills in information and communication technology. Children explore interesting collections of items, such as translucent glass pebbles and numerals filled with coloured sparkly liquids, using a light box. This allows children to investigate properties of light and colour as well as develop their mathematical skills as they count and sort items into groups and become familiar with numerals. Although, the pre-school has no outdoor play space, they use the outdoor environment very well to promote all areas of learning and development. They make regular trips to the shops where they practise counting, begin to recognise words and begin to gain an understanding about currency. They also regularly visit the art gallery, which stimulates the children's interest in art and design, library which helps them to develop literacy skills and the woods where they develop physical skills and learn to solve problems.

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who attend

Staff observe children closely. They record these observations in children's 'memory books' using photographs and notes. Staff use these observations, together with guidance associated with the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, to assess children's learning and development and to plan further activities. This means that they provide children with opportunities that are tailored to their individual needs and they, consequently, make good progress. Staff track this progress using assessment forms that are also included in the memory books. Parents add comments and suggestions to these records. Staff summarise children's development in a clear and detailed way each term. This summary is in the form of the check for children age two years where appropriate. This helps staff and parents to track children's progress and allows them to support their future development well. These checks also allow staff and parents to identify children

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who attend

who may need further support from other agencies, for example, speech therapists, to make good progress. This means that all children benefit greatly from the free early education for two-, three- or four-year-old children provided by the pre-school.

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

Staff are friendly and caring and each child has an assigned key person who is responsible for ensuring children's needs are well met. This means that children are happy, confident and secure. The key person also develops strong supportive relationships with their key child's family. This helps children to develop a strong sense of belonging. The flexible induction procedures ensure children settle well. These allow children to have as many visits as they and their parents need, to ensure they feel comfortable and confident in the pre-school. The pre-school see parents as important partners in their children's learning, so they actively encourage parents to continue to spend time in the pre-school. This means that staff know children and their families well and can, therefore, meet children's needs effectively and means children have high levels of emotional well-being. Although, most children speak English as an additional language, staff are multi-lingual and there is

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

generally a member of staff who can communicate with children in their home language. This helps children to settle quickly and gain confidence.

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

All children are encouraged to develop healthy lifestyles. They have daily opportunities to take exercise and access fresh air through daily visits to shops, parks or other places of interest. Feedback from parents demonstrate that children understand and talk about healthy and unhealthy foods. Staff ensure all children have access to drinks throughout the day, however, there is scope to encourage children to be more self-reliant by allowing them to access water independently. For example, by providing children with easily accessible, named beakers of water.

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

The provision is well organised and children can easily access the resources. As a result, children are able to independently choose the toys and equipment they prefer to play with. This increases their sense of well-being. Children behave well because staff are good role models and have consistent expectations of behaviour. They encourage children to share and to look after the resources and equipment using clear and consistent guidance. They help them to take turns as they play alongside others. This means that children develop good social skills. Staff also teach all children what to do if the fire alarm rings and helps them to understand to be safe near traffic by using a pelican crossing. In these ways, children begin to learn to keep themselves safe. The pre-school has good links with other settings. Teachers from local schools visit the pre-school and have meetings with the pre-school manager. This means that children are confident and well-prepared when they

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

move onto the next stage in their learning.

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provision

The manager and staff have a good knowledge and understanding of how to protect and safeguard children. She has completed courses in safer recruitment and in child protection. Safeguarding children is discussed at all pre-school staff meetings and at whole centre meetings, which means that staff are aware of what to do and who to contact if they have any concerns about a child's safety. This helps keep children safe and helps ensure all staff working with children are suitable to do so. Policies and procedures are effective and understood by members of staff. This ensures children are safe and well cared for. Risks are managed effectively and daily checks of the environment ensure that children can learn and play in safety. Staff are vigilant and supervise children well. The pre-school ensures the premises are secure and access to both the building and to the pre-school room is restricted. This means that children are kept safe from unwanted

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provision

visitors and cannot leave the premises without an adult. Accidents and existing injuries are recorded in detail and shared with and signed by parents. These incidents are analysed by the manager to help reduce the chance of reoccurrence and to improve safety in the pre- school.

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provision

The manager has a very good understanding of her responsibility to ensure the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are met. She is passionate in ensuring that children are well prepared for their next stage of learning. In this respect, she places particular focus helping children to become confident in a learning environment. The manager reflects on the performance of the pre-school using information from children, staff, parents and other professions and addresses any identified weaknesses well. For example, in the Ofsted self-evaluation form, the manager identified that children would benefit from more opportunities to use technology, so they purchased a computer. She has also addressed recommendations made at the last inspection well. Teaching is good because the manager and staff are well qualified. In addition, the manager informally monitors the quality of teaching and carries out regular

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provision

staff supervision and appraisals. She ensures that all staff have opportunities for further training, for example, staff are shortly to attend training on teaching English as an additional language. This means that the pre-school has a good capacity to maintain improvement. However, there is scope to for the manager to enhance the quality of teaching further by encouraging staff to reflect on the time they allow children to respond during discussions. The manager takes responsibility for monitoring observation, assessment and planning. She holds weekly meetings with all staff to discuss children's progress and to plan for individual children's next steps in their learning. She analyses children's assessment records each term. This allows her to identify groups of children or areas of provision that would benefit from more attention to ensure any gaps in learning are reduced. Partnerships with parents, external agencies and other providers are good.

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provision

This makes a positive contribution to meeting children's needs. For example, reception teachers from local schools visit the pre-school and have meetings with the manager. This helps ensure that teachers are well prepared to support children effectively, when children start school.

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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 512696 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 877272

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 10 Number of children on roll 9 Name of provider Asha Neighbourhood Project Ltd Date of previous inspection 09/06/2009 Telephone number 0113 2704600

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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

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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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