Randlay Roundabouts Pre-School

Randlay Roundabouts Pre-School Randlay Community Centre, RANDLAY, Telford, Shropshire, TF3 2LR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/03/2014 11/07/2012

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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

 Children form strong bonds with staff and peers and thoroughly enjoy their time at pre- school. Therefore, children's personal, social and emotional attachments are secure and children are confident learners.  Children are happy, motivated and eager to learn. They show good levels of independence and confidently explore a stimulating, well-resourced learning environment, which successfully promotes independent learning.  Staff keep parents well-informed of their children's progress and parents have good opportunities to contribute to their children's learning.  Children are effectively safeguarded. This is because all staff have had suitable checks completed and have a very good understanding of their role and responsibility in keeping children safe from harm.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to improve the depth of information gained from parents within initial assessments of children's starting points on entry.  There is scope to enhance opportunities for children to routinely access opportunities to enhance learning in mathematics and literacy in the outdoor area.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff and children's interactions in a wide range of both adult-led and child-initiated play experiences, within the main playroom and outdoor play area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager, talked to staff and carried out a joint observation with the manager during an adult-led activity.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at various documents, including policies and procedures, children's records, planning and evidence of the suitability of practitioners and safeguarding procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Randlay Roundabouts Pre-school was registered in 2012 and is on the Early Years Register. It operates from rooms within Randlay Community centre in the Telford area of Shropshire and is a committee led group. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from one main playroom and there is an enclosed area for outdoor play. The pre-school employs six members of childcare staff. Of these, four hold appropriate early years qualifications one at level 5, one at level 4 and two at level 3. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday during school term times. Sessions are from 8.45am until 3.15pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 48 children attending who are in the early years age group. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 enhance opportunities for parents to be involved in children's learning by encouraging them to contribute even greater information to initial assessments of children's starting points on entry

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

 increase opportunities to extend children's learning in the areas of mathematics and literacy routinely within the outdoor area.

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who attend

Children are happy and contented in this friendly, welcoming pre-school. Staff provide a wide variety of interesting and challenging activities and experiences to promote their learning and development. They provide free choices in the activities children take part in, to enable them to develop their play and support their varying interests effectively. They confidently move between the resources and activities provided for them. Staff know children well and have a good knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They understand that children learn best through play. As a result, children make good progress in their learning and development. The routine is very flexible to enable children, including those who are new to the pre-school, to follow their own interests. As a result, they enjoy the freedom to explore and become deeply involved in activities of their choice. For example, children use their imagination well within a varied

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who attend

range of activities, such as role play, within art and craft activities and while playing with the cars. Children have opportunities to participate in an appropriate balance of both adult-led and child-initiated play experiences. Staff confidently talk about children's skills and abilities and explain how they provide experiences to support and extend individual learning and development. Good quality teaching takes place as staff are well-deployed. For example, they position themselves in busy areas, such as the construction area and the book corner. They follow children's lead showing interest in everything they say and do. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have a high level of support, which ensures that those children who are or could possibly fall below their expected levels of development receive targeted and individually tailored support. As a result, they make good progress, given their starting points.

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who attend

Staff are confident in observing children's progress and their developing interests. They effectively identify the correct developmental age bands that children are working within and subsequently their next steps in learning. They use this information very well to plan for children's individual learning needs. Each child has a learning journal with lots of photographs of activities they engage in and their own creative work. Parents contribute to their children's progress records by sharing what their children are learning at home. They know who their child's key person is from the initial visits that take place, in addition to attending parents' evenings and daily discussions with staff about their child's development and what they are learning. Older children also have homework book with activities for them to complete with parents at home. This helps them to support their children's learning at home and their continued progress towards the early learning goals.

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who attend

However, opportunities for parents to be involved in children's learning by encouraging them to contribute to initial assessments of children's starting points on entry are not fully embraced. Staff complete termly summaries to monitor children's progress, this includes a progress check at age two years. These are shared with parents and health visitors and identify individual children's stages of development, particularly in the prime areas of learning. They highlight any areas of concern or particular areas of strength, enabling staff to provide appropriate support.

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who attend

Staff ably foster children's communication skills. There is a consistent buzz of conversation and staff chat easily to children, helping them to be increasingly confident and articulate. For example, during snack-time, children and staff sit together and their discussions include events at home. Children have opportunities to access outdoor play at different times during the day. They use their physical skills to climb up the climbing wall, balance across the stepping-stones and make patterns using the ribbons as they twirl them around. Books are easily available and children confidently sit in the cosy area sharing these with their friends. Good provision is made to encourage children's writing skills. For example, chalks are available indoors and children enjoy making marks in a variety of media, such as flour mixed and dough. Older children are encouraged to write their names on their artwork. Staff take the opportunity to sound out letters and identify letter shapes

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who attend

within circle time and routinely within the session. This helps children make further connections in their learning. Children show characteristics of effective learning when they explore the play dough they helped to make. They concentrate for long periods creating models of their choice and enjoy the sensual activity, as they smell the dough that is scented with strawberries. Good interactions from staff mean that children learn how to safely use tools, such as, cutters and rollers. Children develop good mathematical skills as they recognise numbers included in the date count the number of children present during circle time registration. Older children were also able to recognise the number 24. Additional opportunities to extend children's understanding are incorporated routinely for example counting how many bricks there are in towers children build and singing number rhymes with children. However, there is scope to enhance opportunities for children to

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who attend

routinely extend learning in mathematics and literacy in the outdoor area.

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

Children form close bonds with the attentive staff, who know children and their families well. The key person system is well-embedded and this contributes to children feeling settled. Children, who are new to the pre-school, are particularly well-supported so that they feel settled and secure. For example, comforters are easily available, children are phased in gently and parents offered reassurance. Staff work closely with parents to discuss children's routines and care needs, so that individual needs are met. This means that there is an effective continuity of care and children remain settled and happy. Parents are complimentary about the bonds their children have with staff, for example, they say 'my child loves coming to pre-school'. Children are confident and happily explore the interesting play environment to engage in active learning. Children's self-help skills are appropriately fostered as older children use the bathroom independently and staff support

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

younger children to develop self-care skills. Staff change small children's nappies in private, clean and comfortable areas and wear protective clothes to help reduce risks of cross-infection.

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

Staff work closely together and adopt a consistent approach to manage a range of children's behaviour. They praise children for their achievements, however small. They help children resolve their own issues, such as slight squabbles by discussing the consequences of their actions and encouraging children to say sorry and give each other a hug to reconcile their differences. This promotes good levels of self-esteem and helps children to resolve their own difficulties. This contributes effectively to preparing children for the next stage in their learning, such as mixing with others when they start nursery or school. Children are helped to learn right from wrong through close supervision, calm interaction, good deployment, discussions with parents and consistent messages. Any behaviour issues causing concerns are sensitively managed and parents are involved in the process of helping children learn acceptable behaviour. Children's safety is promoted

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

during the routine of the day. For example, they tidy up resources when they are finished playing with them. Outdoors children are able to safely negotiate space and are supported to use large climbing equipment safely. The good staff deployment ensures younger children also learn how to take responsibility for their own safety and that of their friends.

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

Children's health and well-being is effectively promoted as staff talk to them about eating healthily and encourage children to adopt a healthy lifestyle. For example, children have access to fresh air on a daily basis, a range of healthy snacks is provided and parents are encouraged to provide children with healthy packed lunches. Children excitedly put on their own coats, with little or no help, before going outside. They run energetically and exercise to develop their physical skills a variety of outdoor equipment. Children learn good hygiene habits through regular routines and reminders, for example, washing their hands after toileting and before eating. Staff talk to children about starting school and read books on this area to help children prepare for their move. In addition, staff help to foster children's independence so they grow in confidence and are outgoing, sociable and very self-assured. Children demonstrate that they are developing good skills to aid their

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

readiness for school. For example, personal independence, the ability to share and to make friendships with their peers.

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provision

The manager and her staff team are effective in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements and they demonstrate a good understanding of how to protect the children in their care. Daily safety checks are carried out in all areas used by children within the community centre and routine risk assessments, to ensure that children can play safely. All staff have completed safeguarding training and they are familiar with the procedures to be followed in the event of a concern related to child protection. Additionally, the manager and pre-school committee carry out robust checks to ensure that all staff are safe and suitable to work with children. Robust recruitment and induction procedures ensure that staff are suitably qualified and experienced. Staff display a clear understanding of their individual responsibilities. This ensures that children are effectively safeguarded. All staff are informed about the care needs of children with medical conditions or dietary needs,

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provision

with detailed information recorded for their guidance. Documentation is efficiently organised. Detailed policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and shared with staff and parents to ensure the safe and efficient management of the pre-school.

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provision

The manager provides skilful leadership and the staff team are dedicated and work extremely well together. The manager with the support of the committee regularly monitors all aspects of the provision and ensures the children are offered a wide range of experiences across all areas of learning. This ensures the relevant learning and development requirements are met. There are effective staff monitoring systems in place, which means that staff are well-supported and they are encouraged to further develop their professional qualifications. The staff regularly access additional training opportunities to enrich their qualifications and experience. The regular staff meetings are used effectively to discuss any issues that arise, share practice and monitor the educational programmes for groups or individual children. The manager and the committee are keen to make a difference to children who attend; they continue to seek opportunities to

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provision

evaluate and enhance the provision for children through self-evaluation processes they undertake. The manager is actively involved in the daily practice of the group, spending time observing and monitoring the quality of teaching. Staff reflect on their practice and appropriate changes are made as a result. They have a clear drive for positive improvement to enhance the provision for children. The manager and staff work well together as a team, creating a welcoming environment. Parental input is sought within questionnaires and discussions held at regular review meetings. In addition to this, discussions are undertaken with children to gain their input within the self-evaluation process and support the drive for improvement.

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provision

Staff are committed to working together with parents and other settings children attend, to promote continuity of care and learning for the children. For example, staff share information with parents and key staff, share progress reports, hold meetings and share children's assessment reports. Staff actively engage parents in supporting their child's learning at home and contributing to the assessment processes. For example, they take home activities they can do at home with their parents within their homework books and parents are encouraged to write comments and also verbally share children's achievements at home with children's key persons. As a result, parents know what their child is doing at pre-school and how they are progressing. Parents spoken to at the time of the inspection feel that their children are progressing very well and are happy with the care and education they receive. The pre-school has close links with the local schools in

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provision

the area, which ensures children benefit from continuity in their care and learning.

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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 EY442287 Local authority Telford & Wrekin Inspection number 874683

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 28 Number of children on roll 48 Name of provider Randlay Roundabouts Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 11/07/2012 Telephone number 01926843731

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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