Jack n Jill Preschool

Jack 'n' Jill Pre-School & Nursery Stonelodge Community Centre, Hawthorn Drive (South West), Ipswich, Suffolk, IP2 0QY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13/05/2014 04/06/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children are happy, confident and keen to attend. They take the lead in their play and skilled staff support and extend their learning, enabling them to make good progress in all areas.  Effective partnership working with parents and other professionals results in children's needs being quickly identified and consistently met.  Children are safeguarded through staff implementing the pre-school's clear policies and procedures. Children are also provided with valuable opportunities to take appropriate risks and to learn about how to keep themselves safe.  Children form strong attachments with their key person, who gets to know them very well and plans stimulating activities to enrich their learning experiences.  Staff are passionate about delivering a high quality service to ensure that children have the best start in life. They have a positive attitude to improvement and embrace the culture of reflective practice and monitoring.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to fully embed the new systems that have been recently introduced, to further aid children's already good transitions to the pre-school and also when moving to school.  There is scope to further promote children's independence, with particular regard to their access to the toilet area.

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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 the main hall and the outdoor learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager of the provision, spoke to staff and interacted with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working within the setting, the provider's self- evaluation and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of inspection.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Jack 'n' Jill Pre-School and Nursery was registered in 1980 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in Stonelodge Community Centre in Ipswich, Suffolk, and is managed by a committee. The pre-school serves the local and wider area. It operates from the main hall and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday during term time only. Sessions are from 9.15am until 3.30pm with a breakfast club from 8.30am to 9.15am. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 80 children on roll who are in the early years age group. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. It supports children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school employs ten members of childcare staff. Of these, the manager holds Early Years Professional Status, one member of staff holds an appropriate early

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Information about the setting

years qualifications at level 5, one holds level 4, six hold level 3 and one holds level 2.

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

 embed fully the new systems that have been recently introduced to further aid children's already good transitions into the pre-school and also on to school

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

 extend opportunities to further promote children's independence, with particular regard to their access to the toilet.

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who attend

Children play in a bright and imaginative learning environment. They are eager to learn and show high levels of involvement in the wide range of activities and learning experiences provided. The quality of teaching is consistently good and occasionally outstanding. Staff have high expectations of the children and are skilled in identifying when to get involved to stretch and support children's learning. Children are making good progress in all areas, especially in their communication and language. This is because staff use questions to encourage them to talk about what they are doing. They introduce them to new words to enrich their vocabulary. For example, when they use the range of real tools provided in the building area, staff use the correct words to describe these, such as adjustable spanners, allen keys and ratchet sets. Younger children and children who speak English as an additional language are supported to understand and communicate with the

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who attend

use of visual timetables, photos, labels, gestures and simple signing. Staff effectively manage the mixed age range and varying abilities of children during whole group time activities. This is because the manager monitors these sessions and uses a range of props and visual aids to engage all children. Children are creative and express themselves in their play as they explore a range of textures. For example, they mix paint with spaghetti as they explore colour mixing and soil with water to make mud pies in the mud kitchen. They also use a range of natural resources as they dig for dinosaurs in the sand and use shells, leaves, twigs, pebbles and shells with the animals.

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who attend

Staff support children to acquire key skills and positive attitudes towards learning, so that they are ready for their next stage in learning and their eventual move into school. Children happily explore all areas of the pre-school and are inquisitive and curious as they experience the natural world. For example, they ask questions about life cycles of butterflies and frogs. They have opportunities to learn about a range of people from the community, including visits from the dentist, fire officers and a local petting zoo. Valuable skills develop as they find and put on their own coats and independently access resources from low-level storage units.

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who attend

Staff successfully gather information from parents regarding children's interests and learning at home. They are also encouraged to add their own comments to their child's developmental records. Staff use these and their own observations to plan exciting and stimulating activities for children to take part in, which follow their interests and challenge their abilities. Staff share information daily with parents about activities that their children take part in. This information is displayed, both within the pre-school and on the setting's social networking page. This two-way flow of information means that parents take an active role in their child's development in the setting.

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

The well-designed, stimulating play environment promotes learning and challenge for children, both indoors and out. The key person system is robust and staff are sensitive and skilled in supporting children to form secure emotional attachments. Children attend a 'stay and play' session with their parents, where they are introduced to their key person, who takes time to get to know them and their families well. This helps staff to plan activities around children's interests and abilities. It also enables children to feel settled, safe and secure. Children learn how to become independent as they set the table, prepare snack and wash up afterwards. They access their own drinks throughout the session from a filtered water container, and there is a seating area where they chat to friends and look at posters of animals drinking. They learn to take turns and to share toys through games and through staff taking opportunities to remind them of the pre-school rules. The

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

atmosphere is busy and purposeful, and children move around freely. Children are actively engaged in their chosen activities. Staff show them respect and kindness and use simple explanations to remind them of right and wrong. As a result, children behave well.

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

Staff support children with their move into school as they meet with teachers and provide uniforms from the range of schools they feed into. Children role play going to school and dress the large doll, or themselves, in the uniforms and carry their book bags. Staff have requested transition books from the schools, which they plan to use to encourage further conversations and to help children to become familiar with the school environment. They have also made their own transition sheets to use with children who start at the pre- school, to further help them to settle well. However, these systems are not yet fully embedded in practice to ensure children more effectively benefit from this additional support.

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

Children learn a variety of ways to keep themselves safe and healthy. They have daily opportunities to play outdoors and experience all weathers. They develop their physical skills as they build with ramps, blocks and beams, and have many opportunities to manage risks as they balance on the beams and skilfully ride up the slope and scoot down. They choose healthy snacks of fruit and spread their crackers independently. All staff are aware of any allergies and food intolerances the children may have and work closely with parents to ensure dietary needs are met. Children take part in regular fire drills and understand the importance of walking in a group and staying together as this helps to keep them safe. Staff are vigilant about children's safety and escort them up the few stairs to the toilet. However, there is scope to maximise children's independence at this time, for example, by allowing them more freedom to access the toilet, especially

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

when there is already a member of staff in this area.

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provision

Children are protected because staff are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children from abuse and neglect. The majority of staff have attended recent safeguarding training and all know the course of action to take if they have a concern about a child's welfare or the behaviour of staff. All staff are subject to a rigorous recruitment selection procedure and have Disclosure and Barring Service checks in place. This results in children being cared for by suitable staff. Robust induction for staff, students and any volunteers ensures that they are fully aware and effectively implement the pre-school's policies and procedures. Thorough risk assessments are carried out daily to ensure that the premises and equipment are safe. Children are well supervised at all times and receive effective levels of care and attention to meet their needs. This is because required staff ratios are always met and extra staff also regularly work with the

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provision

children. Overall, the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are effectively met.

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provision

The manager, committee and staff have made significant improvements since the last inspection, where a number of actions were raised. They have attended a range of training, and as a result, have heightened their awareness of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The quality of teaching is now consistently good and occasionally outstanding. Staff effectively observe, assess and plan activities that follow individual children's interests and provide challenge. As a result, children make good progress in all areas of learning. The pre-school have embraced a strong culture of reflection and evaluation. The high quality monitoring of observation and assessment successfully identifies any groups of children who may need extra support and areas of the educational programme that need more attention. This ensures all areas of learning are effectively promoted. Under the strong leadership of the manager, the staff

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provision

are committed to ongoing improvement. They feel inspired and are keen to develop their practice even further. They bring a wealth of creative and imaginative ideas to the pre- school that they picked up through their training, resulting in everyone working closely together as they drive and secure continuous improvement. They have received a lot of support from the local authority over the last year and are confident that they now have the skills and dedication to sustain the improvements as they strive for excellence.

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provision

Partnership working with parents and other providers is a strength. Staff fully understand the benefits of working closely with parents and other professionals involved with the children. Successful links are built with all local schools and pre-schools to ensure children receive a consistent approach to their care and learning. Parents speak highly of the pre- school and of the secure, trusting relationships which have developed with the staff. Parents feel involved and value the daily information they receive about what their children have been doing in the pre-school. All parents spoken to report that their children are keen to attend, have gained confidence and are making very good progress, especially in their language and communication skills. Parents find the staff friendly and approachable and love the wealth of activities their children take part in.

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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 251534 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 927552

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 32 Number of children on roll 80 Name of provider Jack 'n' Jill Pre-School & Nursery Committee Date of previous inspection 04/06/2013 Telephone number 07837 411646

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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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