Old Hall Pre- School & Link Club

Old Hall Pre-School Old Hall Community Centre, Old Hall Road, WARRINGTON, WA5 9QA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/03/2014 02/04/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Partnerships with parents are strong and as a result, this provides extensive opportunities to exchange information about children's care, welfare and learning and development on a daily basis.  Teaching and learning is good as staff have a clear understanding of how children develop. Children are provided with a wide range of resources, indoors and outdoors, offering a variety of stimulating experiences and activities to support their development across all areas of learning.  Staff have a good knowledge of the safeguarding policy and procedures. As a result, children are well protected and safeguarded in the setting.  Leadership and management is good as robust monitoring systems are in place. As a result, the manager has a secure overview of children's progress and has clear development plans in place.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to improve the current induction processes for new staff to continually review the progress made and provide targeted support.  Staff do not always make full use of everyday opportunities to promote children's growing independence skills.

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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 carried out a tour of the setting.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playroom and in the outside learning environment.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager, looked at and discussed a sample of policies and procedures.  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 inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Old Hall Pre-School opened in 1985. It operates from the community room attached to the local primary school in the Old Hall area of Warrington. It is situated in close proximity to a residential area. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. There are currently 50 children from two to five years on roll. Currently all children attending receive nursery funding. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The pre-school opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 9am until 11.30am and from 12.30pm until 3pm, Monday to Friday. There are currently seven staff who work directly with the children, of these, five have an early years qualification at level 3, one has a qualification at level 2 and one is unqualified. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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

 enhance the opportunities available for children to develop their independence as they learn to do things for themselves during daily routines

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

 build on the induction process for new staff, by having regular reviews within the induction period, in order to provide opportunities of support, identify training needed and to acquire a higher level of knowledge and understanding of systems already in place.

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who attend

Teaching and learning is good as staff have high levels of understanding of how to promote young children's learning and development. As a result, children make good progress. Children access a wide range of resources and equipment, indoors and outdoors. This offers children a choice of a variety of different activities and experiences supporting their development across all seven areas of learning. Children are encouraged to lead in their own play and are free to learn in an enriched environment. Children take part in activities which are supported by adults, which enable them to explore, investigate and learn. For example, children use their imagination with junk modelling equipment, as cardboard toilet roll tubes become telescopes, while some children play with dinosaurs and others enjoy painting. Children happily explore water outdoors as they splash and swish water with their wellington boots. They use large brushes to make different patterns and

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who attend

work together to brush the water to one side of the tray and then watch the water spread back across. Staff take into account the individual children's needs and interests when planning. As a result, activities presented to children are of a good level of challenge, engaging and are appropriate to their stage of development. Therefore, children stay engaged for longer periods of time and have a deeper level of learning.

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who attend

Children are effectively supported in the acquisition of communication and language skills through the successful implementation of the Every Child a Talker programme. Key persons focus upon this area of each child's development by further tracking children's progress in relation to the 'look and listen' principles, therefore children make the best possible progress in this area. Staff support children well as they play alongside them as they stack bricks and make marks with chalk outside. Staff use language, including open questions, to extend children's thinking and prepare them for the next stage in their learning. For example, while children complete their paintings and make comments about the dark, staff ask 'I wonder what things happen in the dark?'.

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who attend

Good partnerships with parents are embedded in practice. Parents are regularly informed about their child's progression and achievements. They have various ways of communicating with parents through the parent notice board, daily verbal feedback and using a 'sharing book'. Staff and parents write comments in the 'sharing book' which encourages parents to share what they know about their child and for staff to share what they have been doing while at pre-school. This approach provides parents with the information needed in order to help them to support their children's learning at home and build on what they have recently learnt or achieved. Staff have high expectations of all children as they complete a range of good quality assessments, using guidance, such as 'Early years outcomes'. This information is tracked on a progress tracker to show progress over time and is used well to identify children's individual strengths and weaknesses.

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

Staff have a very good awareness of supporting children's emotional and physical well- being. Effective relationships are in place with children and their key person and other staff in the pre-school. As a result, all children make secure emotional attachments and their confidence is built. This supports them in preparing for when they go to school. Effective settling-in procedures are in place and children and their parents are well supported emotionally when they first begin attending the pre-school. Children make a number of visits, based on their individual needs, before staying for the whole session. Good quality information is shared between the pre-school and parents to ensure continuity in children's emotional and physical well-being.

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

The pre-school is stimulating and well resourced, both indoors and outdoors, which supports children's independence well in accessing where they play and what they do. However, at times staff do not fully encourage children to develop their independence skills in routine tasks. For example, children are not always encouraged to put their own wet suits on when outdoors, pour their own water at snack time or collect their own paper, as staff do these tasks for them. Children demonstrate they feel safe in the pre- school as they move freely between the indoor and outdoor environment. They take appropriate risks in their play and take care when running outdoors, negotiating space and ensuring they do not collide with other children. Children's behaviour is good and staff demonstrate a range of skills to manage behaviour. Children are fully aware of staff expectations and actively take part in recalling the rules for pre-school, for example, how

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

many children are allowed in each area at any one time.

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

Children benefit from being active and the outdoor area offers opportunities for children to enjoy fresh air and take part in physical activities. For example, children enjoy playing with the hula hoops and build constructions using the large foam bricks. Staff ensure children have a good understanding of the need for physical exercise. This is further supported as children join in with discussions with staff about ways to keep warm when outdoors, such as hopping, jumping and running around. Routines are in place to support children's understanding of hygiene practices. Tissues are readily available for children to blow their noses and they wash their hands after using the toilet, after painting and before eating.

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provision

Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of their role in safeguarding children. They recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and know who to contact if they ever have concerns about a child. Children are protected further as a thorough recruitment process is in place and as a result, all staff have Disclosure and Barring Service checks carried out and are suitable to work with children. The manager and her staff team carry out ongoing risk assessments in the indoor and outdoor areas of the pre-school. Effective procedures are in place to record accidents and incidents, including any accidents or incidents that occur at home.

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provision

Secure monitoring systems are in place for observation, assessment and planning documentation. These are analysed to make sure that they are consistent, precise and display an accurate understanding of all children's skills, abilities and progress. The manager maintains a clear overview of the progress children make using the tracking documentation. This ensures children's needs are quickly identified and well met through strong partnerships between the pre-school, parents and, when needed, outside agencies. Effective supervision and coaching methods identify training needs for the staff team and allows them to discuss any issues concerning individual children's development or well- being. However, this is less effective for new staff as the induction process is not sufficiently detailed to include regular reviews, in order to identify specific staff training needs and monitor their progress. The manager is committed to building on their already

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provision

good practice and is able to confidently talk about the plans she has to improve the pre- school. She identifies, through consultation with staff and parents, the improvements required that will have the biggest impact for children and has a clear action plan in place.

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provision

The manager has a good knowledge and understanding of the importance of working with parents. A number of initiatives have been introduced to ensure parents receive good quality information about their child's day in pre-school. For example, the 'sharing book' ensures that comments made from parents are acted upon to enhance practice in the pre- school. As a result, a notice board is now placed outside the setting for parents to read. Partnerships with external agencies and services are well established and staff know how to refer to the relevant professionals when needed, for example, speech and language therapists. This strongly contributes to meeting children's needs and ensures that they get the required level of help and support.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 315229 Local authority Warrington Inspection number 868286

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 28 Number of children on roll 50 Name of provider Little Learners Pre-Schools Date of previous inspection 02/04/2009 Telephone number 01925 635 903

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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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