Honeybees Pre-School

Honeybees Preschool The Pavillion, King George V Playing Fields, Station Road, Plumpton Green, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 3DP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/03/2014 30/09/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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 create a caring and friendly atmosphere where children soon settle and feel at home.  Staff provide a variety of interesting and stimulating activities for children that cover all areas of learning.  Staff form positive relationships with parents and involve them in children's learning.

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It is not yet good because

 The provider does not always ensure there are enough qualified staff to meet requirements and children's learning needs.  The quality of teaching is not consistent and this means that sometimes staff are not challenging children sufficiently well.  The larger room is not always suitable for use when needed. This has a negative impact on some planned learning experiences.

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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 one of the play rooms and the outside learning environment.  The inspector held meetings with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled children's learning records and other relevant documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff, the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plans.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Honeybees Pre-School opened in 1972. It operates from two rooms in a sports pavilion in Plumpton Green, East Sussex. The group opens five days a week during school term times. Opening times are from 9am to 5pm. All children have daily access to an adjoining playing field.

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Information about the setting

The group is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary Childcare Register. They operate an after school club and some holiday sessions. There are currently 35 children on roll in the early years age range. The group is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. Children come from a wide catchment area. The group currently supports a number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The group employs 10 staff. There are six staff, including the manager, who hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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must:

 maintain the correct staffing qualifications at all times with regard to having a manager with at least a full and relevant level 3 qualification and at least half of all other staff holding at least a full and relevant level 2 qualification

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must:

 monitor the quality of teaching and the training and development needs of all staff to ensure they offer a consistently high quality learning experience that offers challenge and extends children's learning and development

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

 review the use of the larger room to make sure it can be used to carry out planned activities effectively and support children's learning needs.

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who attend

Staff have suitable systems for settling children in and establishing their starting points. They gain useful information from parents about individual children. For example, they find out about children's abilities and their favourite activities. Staff make sound use of this information to help support new children. They also make sure all parents keep them up to date with events at home and children's changing interests. This enables staff to continue to provide activities that reflect children's interests and engage them. As a result, children enjoy learning experiences such as the music activities. Children have fun as they develop their creative skills by playing with instruments and exploring sounds.

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who attend

Staff regularly observe and assess their key children. They plan appropriately, as they focus on the identified learning priorities for individual children. Most staff help children build on their learning as they play. They move children on by joining in and asking them questions. However, a few staff are less skilled at interacting with children at free play activities. They do not always use the opportunities that arise to challenge children and extend their thinking. For example, some staff interact with children and extend their sorting and counting skills at a mathematical activity. However, later in the session other staff do not fully engage with children and challenge them at the same activity. This results in children losing interest and moving away. Despite this, overall, children make sound progress in their learning and development. Children are generally working within their expected level in relation to their starting points. Staff provide additional support for

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who attend

children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They adapt activities to meet their learning needs and this helps all children achieve.

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who attend

In general, staff promote children's communication skills as they encourage children to share their ideas and experiences. As a result, children are becoming confident speakers. However, not all staff take advantage of the opportunities to talk with children about what they are doing and develop their language skills. Staff sit with children and look at books together. This helps develop children's literacy skills and a love of books. Staff reinforce children's awareness of letter sounds at circle times. Children are keen to join in and concentrate well at activities. They show increasing skills in listening as they take turns in talking. Children are developing the skills they need to support a positive move to school.

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

Staff are positive role models who are kind and caring. They form sound emotional bonds with children. This is evident when children go to their key person for a cuddle. The key person system helps children feel safe and secure. The deployment of staff is appropriate and helps promote children's safety. This results in children showing increasing confidence and independence. For example, children learn to take on responsibilities such as sweeping up and laying the tables for snack time. Children play happily with others and learn to share and take turns. Staff teach children to care for others, for example, as they encourage them to help get ready to play outside. Staff implement sound behaviour management strategies. This helps children develop a satisfactory understanding of what is acceptable behaviour. Staff help children to value and respect others as they share in different festivals and traditions.

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

In general, staff make sound use of the environment and resources to support children's learning. They make the small room welcoming and attractive with interesting posters and pictures. Staff use some of the displays appropriately to support children's developing literacy and numeracy skills. However, the larger room is not always suitable for use. For example, it is sometimes too cold and this means that staff have to reorganise the activities and rooms at short notice. This results in some noisier activities impacting negatively on the enjoyment of other activities in the smaller room.

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

Staff promote children's health appropriately. They encourage healthy eating and make sure a variety of fruit is available for children at snack times. Children adopt sound personal hygiene practices and self-care skills as they wash their hands before eating. Staff provide appropriate care and support for children with specific health needs. They work closely with parents to meet these children's needs.

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

Staff plan and provide a suitable variety of daily outdoor play activities. They make sound use of the local community to extend children's outdoor learning experiences. For example, they learn about the wider world as they go on outings to shops, the racecourse and an agricultural college. Children show increasing physical skills and coordination as they move around safely. They are developing control of their bodies as they join in with action songs indoors. Children have some opportunities to learn to manage risks. Staff actively promote children's awareness of safety by everyday reminders of the safety rules and regular emergency evacuation practices.

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provision

This inspection took place as a result of concerns raised with Ofsted about staff supervision on outings and staffing qualifications. It was found at the inspection that there are sound procedures for escorting children from school to the premises. Staff implement a 'walking bus' and there are sufficient staff to supervise children. However, the leadership and management team do not have a complete grasp of the statutory requirements with regard to staffing qualifications. As a result, they have breached a legal requirement. This is because they do not always have, in addition to the manager, at least half of the staff qualified to at least level 2. This is also a breach of the Childcare Register. However, this does not have a significant impact on children's safety as they use regular staff and bank staff who are suitable to work with children.

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provision

The leadership and management team has sound recruitment and induction procedures. This enables them to make sure staff are suitable and children are safeguarded. Staff complete safeguarding training so know what to do if they have a child protection concern. There are some suitable systems for monitoring staff performance and developing their skills. These include regular staff appraisals and the recent introduction of staff supervision every six weeks. However, the monitoring systems are not sufficiently focused on improving the quality of teaching of some staff. At times, some of the teaching varies in quality but, despite this, children continue to make steady progress in their learning and development.

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provision

Key persons work closely with parents and agencies to provide consistent care and education for individual children. They also form positive links with other settings that help promote continuity in children's learning. Staff keep parents well informed about their children's welfare and achievements. They encourage parents to share what they know about their children. Staff meet regularly with parents to discuss children's progress and any concerns. Parents receive helpful weekly emails that invite them to continue learning at home and share in planned activities. For example, parents were recently encouraged to look at the night sky with children to help develop their understanding of the world. Parents give very positive feedback about the group and the communication with staff. They say they like the friendly and caring staff who promote children's social skills. Parents feel that staff are willing to listen to their concerns and help address them. They state that

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provision

staff prepare their children well for moving on to school.

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provision

Since the last inspection, the staff have improved their practices and addressed the actions satisfactorily. They are continuing to work closely with the local authority to evaluate and monitor their educational programme and the overall childcare provision. This is resulting in various improvements such as to the planning, observation and assessment systems. The required documents are in place and accessible to the relevant agencies.

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provision

Staff have completed a variety of training that has helped them develop their skills. For example, staff attended training that is now helping them develop children's literacy skills by promoting their awareness of letter sounds. The manager attended health and safety training and this has resulted in improved risk assessments that help promote children's safety. The leadership and staff team show a willingness and commitment to continue to maintain improvement in order to benefit children.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that the manager has a qualification at a minimum of level 3 in a relevant area of work, and that at least half of all persons caring for children have a qualification at level 2 (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)

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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 109441 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 955691

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 22 Number of children on roll 35 Name of provider Honey Bees Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 30/09/2013 Telephone number 07745 570882

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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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