Sandymoor Pre-School

Moore Pre-School Nursery Sandymoor Hall, Pitts Heath Lane, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7 1XA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/03/2014 16/11/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Staff deployment is very effective allowing for children to move freely between indoors and the good outdoor environment. This means children access a wide range of activities across all areas of learning.  Partnerships with parents are good and information is shared about the children's progress to keep them well informed.  Children develop independence and learn to care for themselves as they serve their own food and clear the table after eating.

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It is not yet good because

 Some children's behaviour deteriorates because the planning does not target their individual needs and interests. Therefore, children have fewer opportunities to become involved in learning that motivates and challenges them.  Staff do not always teach children successfully when they are together in a large group  Staff supervision, appraisals and professional development arrangements are not yet effective enough to have a positive impact on children's care and learning.  The links with other early years setting are not yet fully established and so children do not always receive effective continuity in their learning and care.

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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 and children at play throughout the session.  The inspector spoke with children and staff throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation to ascertain children's progress towards the early learning goals.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the pre-school's self-evaluation processes, ensured appropriate suitability checks were in place for all staff and undertook a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

The Moore Pre-school nursery has been operating for over 30 years and was registered in 2003. It is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in Sandymoor Hall Community Centre in Runcorn, Cheshire, and is managed by committee. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from a large hall within the centre and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The pre-school employs nine members of childcare staff. Of these, eight hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and level 3, including the new manager and deputy manager who hold relevant degrees. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday during term times. Sessions are from 9.15am until 12.15pm Monday to Friday. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 33 children attending who are in the early years age group. The pre-school provides

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Information about the setting

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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must:

 improve the staff team's teaching skills, so that group activities are carefully planned to capture the interest of all those taking part, and to provide different activities for different groups as required

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must:

 improve children's learning and behaviour by using what is known about a child's abilities and interests to tailor activities and the environment so that children engage more readily and are suitably challenged by what is offered

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must:

 put into place clear systems for the appraisal, coaching and supervision of staff, so that this has a positive impact on children's care and learning.

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

 strengthen the two-way flow of information with other early years settings to share information about children's progress and achievements, to help ensure the child's needs are met and to provide continuity of their learning and development.

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who attend

Staff have a satisfactory knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and activities are generally planned around a current theme. Educational programmes cover the seven areas of learning, as a result, most children satisfactorily gain the necessary skills in readiness for school. They regularly observe children as they play, which allows them to become aware of children's likes and dislikes, to identify areas of development which require additional support. However, this does not consistently translate into two targeted next steps in learning which appeal to children's current interests. Therefore, planned activities do not always reflect or shape challenging learning experiences for all children. This results in learning experiences that sometimes lack consistent challenge and are not always precisely matched to children's individual learning needs. Staff do not take sufficient account of the needs of different groups of children, particularly in large group

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who attend

activities. Consequently, not all children are interested and engaged in activities and sometimes distract other children from learning. For example, during story time the mixed age range of children meant that older children who were not interested in the story became bored and restless and distracted the younger children. As a result, children make satisfactory, rather than good progress.

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who attend

Learning and teaching is satisfactory. Children access resources independently and initiate their own play. For example, They learn about their community and practise the skills required for later learning through role play. For example, they wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen area with soapy water. Staff have a sound knowledge of children's home life and use this information to extend opportunities for them to communicate. Vocabulary is extended as staff talk about cleaning up at home, adding words, such as 'soapy' and 'rinse'. Staff support children through role modelling resources, and providing hands-on support when required. For example, children who are struggling with the large outdoor construction blocks are shown how to build with them. They also develop their language to describe what they see and do, as staff use words, such as 'bigger', 'smaller' and 'thin' as children create with play dough.

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who attend

Staff have strong partnerships with parents and have worked hard to strengthen these links further under the new manager. The parents' notice board contains a range of useful information about the pre-school through posters and newsletters. Parents also have access to more personalised information in the foyer where they can access a file for their own child to exchange information during busy pick up and drop off times. The manager is introducing a parents' evening and parents have been allocated specific one to one time slots to get to know the new management team and to discuss children's individual learning. Staff work with parents to offer a consistent approach to support children's needs, for example, by providing ideas for continuing children's learning at home. Parents are invited to be part of the assessment process. For example, parents contribute to baseline assessments and the progress check at age two.

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

Children are generally happy and settled in the pre-school. The key person system helps children form secure bonds with the staff, which builds their self-esteem and confidence. Younger children enjoy snuggling up to their key person for cuddles during large group activities demonstrating they feel emotionally secure and happy in their care. Resources are of reasonable quality and clearly promote the children's learning across the different areas of learning. They are set out so they can self-select activities, promoting their independence skills. Staff deploy themselves well, responding to children's movements allowing for seamless free flow play between indoors and outdoors.

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

Children generally learn how to keep safe as they receive gentle reminders about how to play and use the equipment safely, such as, how to lift the large wooden construction blocks carefully. Most staff are positive in their approach to behaviour management and deal with children's behaviour adequately. They get down to their level and talk to them about their behaviour and the importance of keeping each other safe. However, some children become bored or less engaged in activities because the planning does not target children's individual needs and current interests. Consequently, some children have fewer opportunities to become deeply involved in activities and this affects their ability to manage their own feelings and behaviour.

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

Staff teach children how to be independent and about healthy lifestyles by encouraging them to become involved in their own care through daily routines. All children wash their hands before eating and understand that this is to 'stop us getting poorly'. They choose their own food and portion sizes from snacks that are freshly prepared on site, helping children to make healthy lifestyle choices. They need little reminding to clear their cup and plate from the table to the trolley after they eat. Staff are good role models as they chat with them as they eat and praise their good manners. They also have daily opportunities for exercise in the fresh air as they have continuous opportunities to play outside in any weather. Such experiences promote the children's health and well-being and help them gain the skills necessary for their eventual move to school.

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provision

The new management team are very aware of how to meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. All necessary documents are in place for the smooth running of the setting. Staff have a secure knowledge of the safeguarding and child protection arrangements to follow in the event of a concern about a child. Risk assessments are in place to enable children to play in a safe, well organised and healthy learning environment both indoors and outside. The manager is fully aware of any changes that must be notified to Ofsted and immediately notified of a recent incident when a child was able to follow their parent out of the pre-school, without staff noticing. As a result of the incident, risk assessments have been reviewed and updated and effective changes have been made to arrival and departure procedures to prevent any recurrence and ensure children are accounted for at all times. Staff now position themselves at the hall door, and another at

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provision

the external door to prevent children leaving unaccompanied. The main gate to the premises is locked once the session starts and visitors need to ring the bell and wait to be admitted. As a result, children are safe and secure within the pre-school.

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provision

The required adult to child ratios are always met and sometimes exceeded. Robust recruitment procedures are in place to check the suitability of all staff working with the children. All staff are appropriately vetted and the relevant details are recorded and logged to show when checks were carried out. A comprehensive induction system is in place to support all new staff who work in the pre-school. However, the supervision and the appraisal system to identify staff development and training needs is in its infancy. As a result, this practice is not yet secure to fully support the children's learning and development.

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provision

The manager and deputy are both newly appointed. They are highly qualified and experienced, they have a clear vision for improvement in the pre-school. The manager can clearly identify areas that require improvement and is introducing new tools gradually, such as the cohort tracking to identify children's progress and areas for extra support. The pre-school's self-evaluation of their practice is good. The new management team is very reflective and accurately identifies areas for improvement. Along with support from the local authority, the manager has ambitious yet realistic development plans in place. Consequently, the setting has already made steady progress since the new manager took over and recommendations have been addressed. The pre-school works closely with professionals who support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, such as, speech and language therapists and educational psychologists. This ensures their

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provision

needs are met. The manager has plans in place to work with the local schools, to ease the transition as children move on to their next stage of learning. However, the links with other early years providers that children may attend, such as childminders or nurseries are not fully developed. Relationships are friendly and information is exchanged about children's welfare and activities. However, this does not extend to their learning and development needs to ensure they benefit from shared and continuous understanding of their individual needs.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary 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 EY273777 Local authority Halton Inspection number 953930

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 35 Number of children on roll 33 Name of provider Moore Pre-School Nursery Committee Date of previous inspection 16/11/2011 Telephone number 01928 597710

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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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