Benger Bears Pre-School

Benger Bears Village Hall, Chestnut Road,Sutton Benger,, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 4RP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/04/2014 10/12/2009

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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

 The high quality of teaching from the whole staff team means that children make very good progress, especially in language and communication development.  Staff plan interesting and exciting activities that motivate children and make them eager to join in and develop their own ideas.  The kind, consistent and caring approach of the staff help children develop very good social skills. Their behaviour is exemplary and they are exceptionally well prepared for school.  Staff develop effective relationships with parents and others involved in the children's care and learning. This ensures important information is shared to provide a consistent approach that benefits each child.  The management and staff team are highly reflective. They clearly focus staff development and other improvements, to try and achieve the best possible outcomes for children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff sometimes interrupt children who are engrossed in valuable play and learning to go and eat their snack.  Staff do not fully develop children's early literacy skills by modelling writing clearly in a consistent way and taking every opportunity with more reluctant children to develop a love of books.

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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, during a morning and afternoon session, indoors and in the outdoor play area and talked to them throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had a meeting with the chairperson and discussed the role of the committee in meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation, including children's records and assessments, policies and procedures, evidence of staff suitability checks, risk assessments and the pre-school's self-evaluation form.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with several parents and took their views, including feedback from a pre-school questionnaire, into account.

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Information about the setting

Benger Bears Pre-school opened in 1978 and operates from Sutton Benger village hall. It is a registered charity and is managed by a voluntary committee of parents and members of the community. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The pre-school is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am to 3pm and children may attend the lunch club on each day if they wish. The pre-school is open term time only. There are currently 27 children from two to four years on roll. The pre-school supports a small number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are four members of staff who work directly with the children. The supervisor and deputy both hold early years qualifications at level 4. One member of staff has a degree and Early years professional status and the other member of staff holds early years qualifications at level 3.

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

 review the organisation of snack time to avoid interrupting children's play and learning

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

 enhance the programme for literacy by encouraging a love of books in more reluctant children, and developing a consistent approach to letter formation within the staff team.

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who attend

Staff have a very good understanding of how young children learn and develop. They plan imaginatively and provide a varied and stimulating range of experiences, including activities outside the setting, such as walks, trips and outings. They also invite visitors to share special knowledge, which adds depth to children's learning and enjoyment. Staff give children plenty of opportunities to develop their own play independently by choosing what they want to do and selecting their own resources. As a result, all children are making good progress towards the early learning goals.

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who attend

Staff are highly skilled at extending the children's learning, not only through planned activities but also by making excellent use of incidental opportunities. For example, during a recent foggy morning, staff took children for a walk in the playing field. Other staff went ahead with torches and whistles and the children were excited to use all their senses to try and find them. Staff stimulate children's natural curiosity by encouraging them to explore and investigate. For example, staff encourage children to predict what will happen if they add coffee, salt, glitter or flour to ice. Staff extend children's learning well. Once children have discovered how salt will melt ice, staff talk to them about gritting roads in winter and introduce safety topics.

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who attend

Staff support children's language development very well. All staff have received specialist training in this area to enable them to assess children's speech and offer additional support if needed, including from external professionals. Staff encourage children to share their ideas through holding lively conversations. Children confidently share their thoughts during well planned circle times because they know other children and adults are interested in what they have to say. Staff share information with parents to help them support their children's speech at home. Staff use every opportunity to encourage children to listen and distinguish sounds. They use a structured programme to introduce children to phonics, in readiness for learning to read. They use the same programme as the adjacent school, where the majority of children move on to, which gives them a head start in literacy. Children enjoy painting, drawing and making marks in different ways, such as

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who attend

running cars through paint and these develop the skills they need to start writing. Many children begin to recognise familiar written words and attempt to write their own names. Staff do not develop this interest fully by encouraging and helping children to make and illustrate their own books. Staff often scribe for children but they do not use a clear and consistent way of writing to help children see how to form letters correctly.

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who attend

Staff monitor children's progress closely. They make frequent observations and compile individual 'learning journals', which they illustrate richly with photographs and examples of children's work. They share these regularly with parents to keep them well informed about their children's progress. Staff know the children exceptionally well and use this information to plan activities based on children's interests and what they need to learn next. For example, a member of staff knows a group of boys are very interested in superhero play. She suggests they make a climbing wall for their model figures. They discuss this enthusiastically, suggesting what resources they will need and how they can make it stronger. They listen carefully to each other's ideas. However, their plans are interrupted when some of the group are asked to go and sit for snack.

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

Children thrive in the warm and caring environment created by the sensitive staff. Staff take time to get to know each child and their family circumstances and everyone is made to feel very welcome and a valued member of the group. Children form especially close bonds with their 'key' person, who has overall responsibility for ensuring children are happy, settled and making good progress. The caring and highly attentive staff take note of children's emotional well-being and plan for this. When children are new or less confident, staff help them form friendships by arranging who they sit next to at mealtimes. They plan adult led role-play games, to encourage children to join in. At circle times, staff sit beside new children and gently help them to join in the discussions. This excellent practice helps children become confident and independent individuals. Children's behaviour is exemplary. They demonstrate high levels of self-control as they

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

play and are usually able to resolve minor disputes amicably without adult help. This is because staff clearly and consistently explain the consequences of unwanted behaviour. They use innovative methods to help children learn boundaries, such as creating a sliding scale for how loud the children may be. The children decide themselves the arrow must be on one as they need to be quiet and listen at circle time. Children help to draw up the 'golden rules' so they understand and agree with them. Staff frequently discuss kind and thoughtful behaviour with the children, who add their own rules, such 'no pushing other children off the scooter'. Staff recognise the value of boisterous play, which frequently involves pretend weapons. They help children to play safely, without squashing their imagination and enthusiasm. For example, when a group of boys were repeatedly playing a game that involved shooting 'baddies', the staff suggested making targets. The children

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

loved this game, which had the added benefit of encouraging them to write numbers and see what score they could achieve.

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

Children become highly independent in managing their personal care. They can clearly explain why and when they must wash their hands and older children do so without needing reminding. Staff are excellent role models and take every opportunity to explain what they are doing to the children so that children learn why the table is wiped or why they wear clean aprons to cook. Children benefit from a range of healthy and nutritious snacks and staff offer guidance to parents on healthy eating for children. Children enjoy regular cooking activities. Staff use these to provide many learning opportunities as well as helping children learn more about healthy eating. Staff encourage children to be physically active every day. As well as the adjacent playground, they frequently use a playing field and play park with larger equipment. The supervisor has arranged for a 'forest school' advisor to visit to help staff plan more exciting experiences for the children

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

Staff work exceptionally hard to successfully create a highly stimulating environment, especially as they have to pack away at the end of every session, in this shared community venue. They have managed to turn this to their advantage indoors, by making sure that there is always something fresh and exciting for the children to explore, as well as their familiar favourite resources. Children are able to choose what they want from low level storage units which staff clearly label with words and pictures. This first-rate practice in supporting children's well-being prepares them exceptionally well for school. They learn to behave well, play cooperatively, become highly independent and talk confidently with others.

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provision

The management team have a good understanding of their legal responsibilities to meet the welfare, learning, development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They ensure all adults follow effective policies and procedures to help safeguard children and promote their welfare. The management follow robust procedures to ensure they recruit suitable staff. Staff have attended child protection training and have a clear understanding of what they must do if they have concerns, including liaising with other agencies. Staff make children's safety at pre-school a high priority. They conduct thorough risk assessments of the premises, including any impact from other users of the village hall. They take positive action to minimise risks, such as seeking advice from the fire services. They are highly effective in teaching children how to keep themselves safe.

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provision

The staff and committee have devised a mission statement that includes 'children are inspired to learn through play to reach their full potential". They successfully achieve their aim overall. This is because the staff have a good understanding of what children need to learn and how to support their progress. There is an effective system of staff appraisal and the pre-school support staff's ongoing professional development. Training and coaching is given a high priority and staff are always eager to improve their practice. They value feedback from colleagues and outside professionals and this leads to well-qualified and knowledgeable staff who provide high quality teaching.

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provision

The staff and management team demonstrate a strong commitment to ongoing improvement. They seek the views of all involved with the pre-school to help pinpoint areas for development. They have addressed recommendations from the last inspection and children now listen extremely well, including during large group activities. They encourage parents to be involved at all levels by serving on the management committee or helping out at sessions. Parents have responded positively through questionnaires and they spoke very highly of the pre-school to the inspector. Staff make time to talk with parents and carers at the start and end of sessions. They produce newsletters and have informative displays. Parents are invited to look through their child's learning journal and discuss their progress with their child's key person. Parents comment that they feel fully included in their children's learning. Staff effectively share information with other carers

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provision

and settings that children attend through a 'communication book'. The pre-school has established strong links with the adjacent primary school and the head teacher comments that children from Benger Bears are extremely well prepared for starting school.

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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 199414 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 899618 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 27 Name of provider Benger Bears Committee Date of previous inspection 10/12/2009 Telephone number 07791 896683

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Setting details

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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