Mudeford Pre-School

Mudeford Pre-School Methodist Church Hall, Christchurch, Dorset, BH23 3HQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13/05/2014 01/03/2011

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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

 Staff work successfully with parents to plan, assess and meet children's individual needs effectively. As a result, children make good progress in their learning.  Staff create lively and exciting indoor and outside play environment in which children explore with interest and enthusiasm.  Staff provide lots of interesting writing opportunities for children and a welcoming book corner with captivating story times. As a result, children are developing excellent early literacy skills.  Management and staff are all driven to maintaining continuous improvements, which has improved the standard of children's care and learning experiences.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff miss some opportunities to talk about and name shapes with children in their play, to help them develop further their interest and understanding of this mathematical concept.  Staff miss some opportunities to further promote children's understanding of the world to help them learn about people and communities.

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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 activities and the quality of teaching in the hall and outdoor play area.  The inspector sampled children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the registered person to assess the suitability and qualifications of staff and management's knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements.  The inspector took account of the views of parents.  The inspected invited the manager to take part in a joint observation.

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Information about the setting

Mudeford Pre-School registered under the current private ownership in 1999. It operates from the Methodist community hall, adjacent to the local infant school, in Mudeford, near Christchurch, Dorset. Children have access to the hall and an outdoor area. Children attend from the local surrounding areas. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 58 children on roll in the early years age group. The pre- school is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. The pre-school supports children who learn English as an additional language. The pre-school is open five days a week during term time only, from 9am to 12pm and offers afternoon sessions from 12pm to 3pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It provides a breakfast club from 8.30am. The owner also works as overall manager in the pre-school and employs four staff members to work directly with the

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Information about the setting

children, all of whom hold or are working towards relevant early years qualifications.

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

 develop children's interest and understanding of shape further, for example by providing more opportunities to talk about and name shapes around them

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

 develop children's understanding of people and communities further by, for example, looking at photographs of their families and those important to them.

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who attend

Staff work in close partnership with parents from the start to plan and assess children's learning accurately. They obtain information about each child from parents to help them settle children in well. Staff continue to work with parents as they observe children and plan activities to promote their next steps of learning. Parents actively contribute to their child's 'proud book' assessments by completing observations of what their child has been learning at home. Staff keep parents closely informed every term with a summary of their child's progress, achievements and planned next learning targets. They also provide parents with the required progress check for two-year-olds. As a result, children are making good progress in all areas of their learning in relation to their starting points.

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who attend

Children arrive happy and eager to get involved. They are developing good independence by managing tasks for themselves and taking on responsible roles throughout the day, such as helping at snack time. Children benefit from enthusiastic staff that encourage their ideas and help bring their learning to life. For example, staff get involved in constructing the 'monster trap', which children create with large-scale blocks to protect them from monsters. Staff promote children's communication and language skills well. They use gentle sounding bells to gain children's attention and as a signal to stop and listen. They instigate lots of discussion in which they encourage children to talk about home life, what they are doing in their play and to contribute to stories. Staff support children who learn English as an additional language through responding to their quiet words and gestures and repeating words back to promote their language development. This all helps to

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who attend

develop children's skills for the future, in readiness for school.

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who attend

Staff challenge children well by asking them questions to encourage them to think, share their ideas and recall events. They adapt and extend these to include all children. For example, they ask the younger children to name the colours of road signs and extend this for older children asking them what the signs might mean. Staff count with children in activities to help them learn about numbers, such as counting the blocks in the tall towers they construct, and then comparing the sizes and heights. Younger children count out the plates for snack time and staff extend the challenge for older children who then count how many spaces are left as each child arrives and leaves. This helps children to calculate well. However, staff do not regularly talk about and name shapes with children in their play to further develop their interest and understanding of shape.

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who attend

Children benefit from lots of outdoor activities to play energetically and to learn about the environment. For example, they dig in pots of soil in which they find leaves and a 'dinosaur bone' and show staff the snails and shells they find in the grass. Children also learn about the world they live in through exploring different world celebrations and events. Children see some photographs of one another in the hall, but otherwise have fewer opportunities to learn about one another's lives to further promote their understanding of people and communities.

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who attend

Staff promote children's literacy very well. They provide children with many opportunities to write for a purpose. For example, boys and girls spontaneously choose paper and pens to drawn and write their names. Some extend this by choosing tools, such as scissors to snip edges to their drawings, or roll them up to make a spyglass, which they show others with pride. Children also write outside, such as using large brushes to paint the walls with water and painting at the easel. Children make excellent use of the books. This is because staff provide a welcoming book corner and respond to children's interests quickly, providing interactive and captivating story times. As a result, children read spontaneously, become absorbed in their books which they then put away carefully.

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

The key-person system successfully helps children to settle in well and enjoy their time at the pre-school. Children arrive happy and know where to find their own comforters and home possessions. Staff meet children's care routines consistently and share warm interactions with children throughout the day This helps to support children in the move between their home and the pre-school. Staff provide lively and vibrant indoor and outside play environments. They create defined areas of play with a good range of resources and space for children to play freely. As a result, children explore with interest, join in with enthusiasm and maintain attention well in their play. Children are developing positive attitudes and behave well. They share, help others and show good manners. This is because staff make their 'happy rules' clear to children and act as good role models. Staff support children well in learning to understand

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

these expectations. For example, they give children 'Tiny bear' to use as a prop to hold up when they want to speak as a way to promote polite communication skills at group times.

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

Children are cared for in a secure environment in which they learn how to keep themselves safe effectively. For example, children take turns every morning to be the child safety monitor and help staff to check the safety measures throughout the pre-school. Staff promote children's healthy lifestyles effectively. They involve children in preparing healthy snacks with a choice of fresh fruits and drinks of water or milk. Children benefit from lots of outdoor play time when they use the physical play activities, explore water, sand and digging activities, play music and run freely. Children also greatly enjoy the indoor developmental movement play area. Here, children join in parachute games, throwing and catching and music and movement games. This provides more active children with time to play energetically and develop their physical skills indoors throughout the sessions.

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provision

Management and staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They have a clear knowledge of the correct procedures to follow if they have a concern about the welfare of a child, and their responsibilities to safeguard children's welfare. Management implements secure vetting procedures to help ensure staff are suitable to work with children. In addition, staff implement daily checks and risk assessments to ensure children are kept safe and secure. This helps to ensure good standards of health and safety are maintained.

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provision

Management uses effective systems to monitor and evaluate the quality of the provision. Management records any issues observed in hall and garden in an operational plan book. This helps to monitor the environment and further ensure any potential hazards are reviewed. Staff complete a self-evaluation form. This identifies the strengths of the provision and prioritised areas for improvement, many of which have already being implemented. As a result, the pre-school has made several improvements since the last inspection. For example, children benefit from the well-resourced outdoor play area with activities to promote all aspects of their learning. Staff have also successfully introduced the developmental movement area to promote children's physical skills indoors. Management observes staff practice and interactions with the children and provides supervision sessions for all staff. In addition, they monitor children's assessment records

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provision

every term to ensure each child is making good progress. This helps to successfully evaluate the impact of staff practice on children's learning. Staff establish successful partnerships with parents who they provide with clear information about all aspects of the provision. Staff keep parents informed through face- to-face communication each day, displays and newsletters. Parents are encouraged to contribute their views of the pre-school, such as contributing to their child's assessment records and at the inspection. Parents state they are happy with all aspects of the pre- school which provides lots of staff to support children very well. They state staff keep them up to date with how children are developing and they are encouraged to contribute information about what their children are learning at home. Staff establish good links with the other early years settings children also attend. This helps to further promote children's

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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 144296 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 814074

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider Elaine Joan Salter Date of previous inspection 01/03/2011 Telephone number 01425 280 867 & 07443 433 359

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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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