Little Lambs Pre-school

Little Lambs Pre-school Middlesykes Lane, GRIMOLDBY, Nr Louth, Lincolnsire, LN11 8TE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/03/2014 04/05/2009

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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

 The educational programme focuses on children's individual learning needs and dispositions. Therefore, children are motivated to learn and develop school readiness.  Key persons are skilled in teaching children and make accurate observations and assessments of their progress. Consequently, all children make good progress in relation to their starting points.  Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents have good levels of information about their child's day and progress and feel that the knowledge they have of their own children is sought and valued.  Staff inductions into their role and responsibilities and ongoing training are robust in ensuring all staff have a good knowledge of how the safeguard children's welfare.  Managers have a secure understanding of the requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and ensure that these are implemented within staff practice.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The deployment of staff does not consistently take into consideration their qualifications and skills. Therefore, on occasions, children's learning and development is slightly less well-promoted.  Children's opportunities to develop early writing and refer to books for play ideas are slightly reduced because materials are not as accessible in all areas.

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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 viewed samples of documentation, including evidence of suitability checks carried out on staff, staff qualifications and assessments of children's learning and development.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed teaching, learning and care practices in the playroom and garden.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector and assistant manager undertook a joint observation of teaching practice and discussed this.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents who were spoken to on the day of inspection.

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Information about the setting

Little Lambs Pre-school was registered in 2008 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It is situated in converted premises in the Grimoldy area of Lincolnshire, and is privately managed by the owner. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from a single playroom with a toilet area and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The pre-school employs six members of childcare staff. Of these, four hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 8am until 4pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 28 children attending who are in the early years age group. The pre-school provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of 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 the already good learning experiences of children by consistently considering skills and qualifications when deploying staff

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

 extend children's use of books as a source of information and opportunities to develop early writing, by including these resources in all areas of the provision, including outside.

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who attend

Children are confident and settled in the pre-school, which provides them with a good foundation for learning. Staff know children's individual learning needs, interests and dispositions well. Therefore, they adapt their teaching accordingly. For example, a member of staff demonstrating to children how to make paper flowers uses consistent vocabulary to describe her actions to 'pinch' and 'squeeze' the tissue paper. This then makes it easy for younger children to follow her guidance when they make their own flowers. A child demonstrates creative thinking when she decides to use her new skills to make a flower picture and carefully chooses her resources. When the member of staff encourages a younger child to bend a pipe cleaner stem to make another flower, the child considers this and replies, 'no'. This shows the child can make their own decisions and plans and is developing good social skills as the child asserts their ideas confidently.

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who attend

Children's own ideas are utilised well to promote creative and critical thinking because they are motivated by staff to plan, experiment and develop their ideas. A child digging in the garden becomes fascinated in how water runs into the hole they have made. Staff encourage and extend this by asking what the child wants to do and how the child plans to achieve this. The child experiments with methods until the child successfully develops this to make and pond and, later on, a waterfall. Other children become involved in fetching water, introducing 'fish' and rescuing a stranded dolphin. Children are motivated to learn and make good progress towards the early learning goals. They develop good skills to support their future learning in readiness for when they move onto school.

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who attend

The majority of staff are qualified at level 3 and have developed very good teaching skills. However, on a few occasions, the deployment of staff does not take these qualifications and skills fully into account, which results in children's learning being slightly less well- promoted at these times. Staff are skilled in knowing when to intervene in children's play to extend and challenge and when their intervention would interfere with children's own learning. By involving themselves in children's own play staff are able to make good use of the opportunities for learning that occur naturally. A member of staff in the home corner helps children to add up the number of pancakes each person wants to eat by using her fingers. Children follow this simple addition and soon establish that they need to cook five pancakes. Children benefit from a wide range of resources to support their learning. However, although there is a good range of books and writing materials, these are not

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who attend

fully available in all areas of the pre-school. This slightly lessens children's opportunities to refer to books to gain information and opportunities to plan and record their ideas.

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who attend

Staff make regular observations of children's learning and accurately assess their level of achievement across all areas of development. This means that any gaps are identified promptly and targeted effectively through sensitive teaching and relevant activities. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well- supported. Starting points are established when children first start at the pre-school in consultation with their parents. Staff are aware that children need time to settle and may not demonstrate their full potential during their initial time at the pre-school. Therefore, they take their time in getting to know children well and build up a secure understanding of them as individuals. The next steps in children's learning are clearly identified, documented and shared with parents. Parents feel they have a secure understanding of their children's progress and learning. They are helped through discussion with their key person to support their

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who attend

children effectively at home. This consistent approach ensures children's stability and progress. Children are very much included in planning and reviewing their own learning. A child looking at her learning journal describes the activities and events she sees recorded there and articulately explains what was happening and how she felt about it.

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

The pre-school puts a high emphasis on supporting children to develop a sense of security and well-being in the pre-school. Key persons build secure attachments with children and their families. Consequently, children are very secure and settled. They move about freely, help themselves to resources and confidently ask staff for help when they need to. Children approach visitors readily and include them in their play ideas. Children demonstrate a secure sense of belonging and feel 'at home' in the pre-school environment. This is because they develop confidence in themselves and their abilities, which makes them emotionally strong. As a result, children are well-prepared for any changes that occur in their lives, for example, when they make the move onto school. Behaviour in the pre-school is handled effectively, with sensitivity to children's age and understanding. The pre-school has a designated person who coordinates behaviour

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

strategies. This means all staff have a consistent approach which benefits children in knowing what is expected of them and why. Children demonstrate their social skills are developing well as they share ideas, plan activities together and negotiate play and sharing. The secure understanding that staff have of each child as an individual means they observe effectively and have developed expertise in identifying situations that may trigger lapses in good behaviour. This means they can intervene promptly to distract and re-direct children's energies into positive play.

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

Children's health is promoted well. A healthy snack of fruit is available to children for a set period of time. Therefore, they are able to make their own minds up when they want to access this and begin to understand when they are hungry or thirsty. In this way children begin to recognise and meet their own self-care needs. They demonstrate their growing competence in this area as they help themselves to bowls and cups, wash their own hands and spend a lovely, social time chatting to each other and a member of staff. They learn about healthy eating as they discuss the fruit and decide what they like and dislike and what they have eaten in their own homes. Staff make use of children's play to teach them about the importance of exercise and the effect is has on their bodies. When children are jumping up and down in the playroom staff encourage them to feel their heartbeats and ask whether the exercise has made them hot. Children notice that their hearts beat faster

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

and help themselves to a drink of water. Two children explain that they are thirsty because they have been exercising.

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

Children benefit from a well-organised and stimulating environment, where they are consistently engaged in purposeful play. Their needs to rest are provided for with a cosy book area and large settee, where they can rest, relax and chat with friends. This gives balance to children's play and develops their understanding of their physical needs. Robust systems for the administration and recording of any medication given are securely documented. Children's safety is promoted well. A written risk assessment covers all aspects of the environment. Staff add to this by their daily checks on the premises, both indoors and outside, to ensure that hazards to children's safety are identified and minimised. Staff offer children simple explanations that support their understanding of how to keep safe, and offer positive alternatives. For example, a member of staff directs a child to sit down with the scissors they are carrying, explaining that if the child trips up

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provision

The safeguarding of children's welfare is given a high priority in the pre-school. Managers demonstrate a secure knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This includes ensuring that vetting procedures are pursued when recruiting new staff to ensure they are suitable to work with children. Staff are confident in describing the signs and symptoms that would alert child protection concerns and clearly state the procedures they need to follow in reporting these. This includes a robust knowledge of how to take action themselves should they feel this is appropriate. The safeguarding policy includes action to be taken by the provider if an allegation is made about a member of staff's conduct. Managers demonstrate a secure understanding of the information that needs to be passed on to Ofsted.

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provision

The provider and assistant manager demonstrate a secure understanding of their responsibility to meet the learning and development requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Effective systems are in place for managers to monitor the quality of the educational programme. Children's learning journals are checked regularly to ensure that these are kept up-to-date and that the assessments and planning key persons put in place for their children are accurate and well-targeted. The provider has recently introduced a system of recording and analysing all the assessments made of children's progress in age-appropriate cohorts. This enables her to identify gaps in children's development in relation to their peers. This is also utilised to identify where staff need additional training to develop their expertise further. Where children have identified special educational needs and/or disabilities two members of staff

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provision

make the assessments of learning together, to ensure a high degree of precision. Consequently, teaching and planning for these children is highly effective in closing gaps in learning and development. Staff benefit from regular and effective supervision. This enables managers to clearly identify the training needs and interests of the staff team. Managers are committed to developing their own practice and have recently attended training specifically aimed at strategies to develop their expertise in extending boys' learning through purposeful play.

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provision

The provider ensures that staff, parents and children are included in the process of evaluating the quality of the provision and making plans for ongoing development. After recent maintenance work to the fabric of the building children decided the home play area looked better by the window because the window made it look more like a home. Parents are offered surveys to express their thoughts and ideas on the pre-school. All parents spoken to at inspection expressed that they felt they could talk to the managers at any time and were always listened to. The pre-school has recently introduced a 'Wow board' to celebrate and share children's achievements with parents. Parents are encouraged to add their own observations and information to this. Partnerships with other professionals are strong. The pre-school works with supporting professionals for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, this ensures continuity and a shared understanding

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provision

of the child's needs. The views and support of the local authority are sought and valued by the managers. This objective view helps establish the strengths of the pre-school and focusses managers to prioritise the key areas for development. Plans for future development confirm that the pre-school has a clear and shared vision to bring about continuous improvement.

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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 EY385454 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 821671

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 16 Number of children on roll 28 Name of provider Kathryn Elizabeth Axton Date of previous inspection 04/05/2009 Telephone number 07783 249245

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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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