Brington & Whilton Pre-School

Brington & Whilton Pre-School Whilton Village Hall, Whilton, DAVENTRY, Northamptonshire, NN11 2QP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/03/2014 15/07/2009

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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

 Staff are welcoming to both children and parents. This leads to children settling quickly into their environment and engaging in learning activities.  The small staff team are committed to providing a good service which meets children and parents' needs. They have a clear understanding of safeguarding issues and are confident about how to manage any concerns they may identify.  Partnerships with parents are strong and supportive, leading to effective key person relationships. Therefore, children feel comfortable and happy to attend.  Children are supported and encouraged to carry out task for themselves. As a result, children learn to become confident and independent.

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It is not yet good because

 The educational programme does not provide children with daily access to outdoor play. Consequently, a legal requirement is not met.  Appropriate arrangements for regular appraisals for staff and the manager, to provide support to discuss continuous improvement and training needs, are not in place.  Existing evaluation of the learning environment does not effectively identify ways to improve children's learning across all areas.  Daily activities do not consistently include opportunities to support children's learning in mathematics and some aspects of literacy.

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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 village hall and accompanied children walking with staff to the local spinney.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager/ nominated person and spoke to two members of staff throughout the inspection when appropriate. The inspector spoke with the chairperson of the committee.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked the suitability and qualifications of staff working with the children.  The inspector spoke with parents to gain their views on the day.

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Information about the setting

Brington and Whilton Pre-School registered in 1980. It operates from the village hall in the village of Whilton, Northamptonshire. The pre-school group serves the local area and has strong links with the school. All children attending are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. This provision is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Access to the setting is via a short path which leads to two low steps. There is no outdoor area at the building itself but the pre-school has secured use of a small piece of land called the 'Spinney' which is a short walk away. The pre-school opens three days a week during school term times.Session are from Monday 9.30am - 1.00pm, Wednesday 9.30am - 3.00pm and Friday 9.30am - 1.00pm. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. The setting has funded places for children aged three and four-years-old. There are currently 15 children on roll. The setting

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Information about the setting

employs four members of childcare staff. The manager holds Early Years Professional status and the other three staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The pre-school receives support from the local authority and is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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must:

 plan and provide children with daily opportunities to enjoy outdoor activities within the pre-school session

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must:

 ensure regular supervision of staff to foster a culture of continuous improvement, to identify training needs to promote the interests of the children and to monitor and improve the quality of teaching.

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

 build on evaluation of the learning environment to improve the opportunity for children's learning across the learning areas

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

 develop further the activities provided to support children's learning in mathematics and literacy.

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who attend

Children and parents are given a warm welcome by practitioners on arrival. Children settle with ease and engage themselves with others in their self-chosen games, activities and imaginative play without needing too much support from the adults. This is attributable to the positive relationships children have formed with the small team of practitioners.

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who attend

The pre-school has an effective approach to engaging parents in children's learning. Practitioners gain understanding of the children's needs and interests of the children when they start from parents and initial assessments. Practitioners value children's family culture and incorporate this into children's learning. For example, the pre-school are taking a themed approach to introducing the world to the children based on children's family connections to Australia, Africa and Italy. Parent's skills and knowledge are highly valued and as such, they have been involved in group activities sharing their experience of different cultures with the children. Practitioners have further supported children's learning by providing resources, such as, boomerangs and fruit grown in Australia.

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who attend

Practitioners carry out regular assessments, which are then matched to age related expectations across the learning areas. This means that they have a good understanding of children's achievements and how they can support them further in their learning. Practitioners consider the characteristics of effective learning and record these on progress reports for parents. Ongoing observations are used effectively to plan the next steps in learning for individual children. The progress check at age two is completed at an appropriate time for early identification of any areas of concern and the manager liaises with other professionals as appropriate. The activities provided for the children are broadly covering all learning areas. Although the manager has identified that mathematical development is an area for improvement and incorporated this into focussed activities last term, there are no mathematical activities on offer at free play for children to practice

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who attend

their skills and knowledge in the morning session. When mathematical activities are provided in the afternoon, children show interest and concentration for an extended period of time. This learning is further developed by a practitioner who encourages a child to count the beads.

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who attend

Practitioners develop children's literacy skills by role modelling writing for purpose to a younger child by writing her name on her picture, then encouraging an older child to write their name on theirs and offering praise for their efforts. There is scope to develop children's learning by reading stories daily to children and providing mark making available equipment for self-chosen activities. Children are given opportunities to become independent and increase their confidence by carrying out tasks, such as, giving out plates and cups at snack time. Practitioners assist the children in their problem solving and think skills by helping them to identify who needed cups. Snack time provides a time where children learned to form positive relationship with peers.

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who attend

Practitioners do support children to persist when an activity becomes challenging and, therefore, the children are developing some of the characteristics of effective learning. For example, when a young child struggles to get a train to fit through a tunnel, he is encouraged to keep trying in different ways until he is successful. Children are motivated to continue with their effort through praise and encouragement. Parents are kept well informed of their child's progress information and planned activities for the week are shared on a notice in the arrival area. Suggestions on how parents can continue their child's learning at home are made in progress reports and in weekly planning.

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

There is an effective settling-in process in place for children new to the pre-school and practitioners engage with parents to understand children's needs on entry, by completing an 'All about me' form. The pre-school has a good key person system that works well. Children feel secure and parents feel well informed about their child's progress at the setting. Practitioners respond well to children's emotional needs when they need comfort and support. For example, when a child hurts themselves, they are immediately comforted until they are ready to go back to play.

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

Practitioners teach children to keep safe. For example, before leaving the pre-school to walk the outdoor area, the practitioners remind children that they should walk, hold hands and stay between the adults. Throughout the walk children abide by the rules. Practitioner's behave as good role models and encourage children to wait at the kerb and listen for cars to keep safe. Children behaviour is generally good because practitioners provide clear guidance for children regarding acceptable behaviour. On occasion, unwanted behaviour is displayed this is managed well and children are asked to apologise and consider each other's feelings. Therefore, children learn to respect and have tolerance for each other. Practitioners support children to solve disputes over toys by introducing strategies such as a sand timer encouraging children to manage their own conflicts and solve problems. Practitioners also promote good manners by reminding children to say

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

'please' and 'thank you'. As a result, children demonstrate good manners throughout snack time. Older children competently manage their personal hygiene, such as, washing their hands before meals and visiting the toilet. Practitioners support younger children according to their needs. Children are offered a healthy snack of fruit mid-morning and are encouraged to try new foods if they are reluctant to eat it. Consequently, children begin to learn about a healthy diet.

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

The setting has access to a 'Spinney' which is a short walk away from the setting which is a gated field with trees. Practitioners ensure the children are appropriately dressed and the children very excited about their visit. They take a tent for camping and a boomerang. Children have weekly access to this area or a parent's garden. However, the pre-school is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage by providing outdoor play for children on a daily basis. This has a negative impact on children's learning opportunities, particularly their physical development and those children who learn best in the outdoor environment, do not have sufficient opportunities to do so.

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provision

The partnership with parents is strong. Practitioners are aware of the importance of obtaining as much information as possible about each child's individual needs from parents and agreeing with them how they can work together to meet children's needs. Good communication between staff and parents means that children's care and learning needs are met well. Information is provided for parents in a variety of ways, such as, through newsletters and notices. The information on the website is thorough and includes a full range of policies that successfully reflect staff practice. Additionally, several parents are committee members and have an opportunity to give their views of pre-school at committee meetings.

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provision

Practitioners have a good knowledge of safeguarding issues. There are written policies and risk assessments in place, children, therefore, feel safe and secure at the setting. There is a safeguarding and mobile phone policy in place and practitioners are fully aware of their responsibilities on how to safeguard children. The pre-school is well staffed and practitioners have been working at the pre-school for many years providing continuity for both children and parents. Practitioners are all first aid trained. Although there has been no requirement to recruit recently, there is an effective recruitment process in place, which includes vetting to meet legal requirements.

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provision

The team is led by an Early Years Professional who mentors for the local university. She has established good links with the local health visitor to support the management of the progress check at age two. Additionally, she engages with the local educational authority to gain support to improve the pre-school processes. They hold regular staff meetings. The manager aspires to improve and has put in place some self-evaluation of the pre- school. There are systems in place to monitor and evaluate educational programmes for children, although these are not fully effective. For example, it identifies a weakness in children's progress for mathematical development. However, although there has been a focus on shapes and numbers in planning, the learning environment has not been evaluated to support practice and mathematical activities are not consistently offered. Consequently, children do not have regular opportunities to consolidate their learning in

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provision

The manager oversees all learning journeys, progress reports and planning. The manager holds informal performance chats with practitioners and has successfully encouraged the latest member of the team to gain her level 3 qualification. An arrangement for performance management of practitioners is in place with an annual appraisal focussing on how staff would like to develop and train. However, the process does not have a focus on improving the quality of teaching for children in the early years.

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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 219932 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 864218

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 15 Name of provider Brington and Whilton Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 15/07/2009 Telephone number 01604770083

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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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