Our Lady of Ransom Preschool

Our Lady of Ransom Pre-school Pope John Paul Hall, London Road, RAYLEIGH, Essex, SS6 9DT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/04/2014 14/05/2013

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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

 Safeguarding is given top priority and staff provide a safe, warm and secure environment in which children move around freely and play safely and confidently.  Children's learning is very well supported ensuring they are able to become active learners.  Staff support children's individual development very well, ensuring different and additional needs are carefully and sensitively met.  Staff work very well with parents and ensure that they are kept well informed of their child's progress at all stages.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There are opportunities to extend the children's independence in supporting them to take part in preparing snacks for themselves.  There is scope to extend the range of activities in the garden to encourage children's exploration in this 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 and staff interactions in the playroom and outdoor play area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled children's learning journey records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector met with the registered person and manager to assess their knowledge and understanding of requirements.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed staff training records and qualifications, the self-evaluation form and improvement plan, the policies and procedures and children's information records.

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Information about the setting

Our Lady of Ransom Pre-school was registered in 1992 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a local parish hall, in Rayleigh, Essex. The pre-school is managed by a parent management committee. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from one large hall and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of these, nine hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and two hold qualifications at level 4. The pre-school opens Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday mornings between 9.15am until 11.45am and afternoons from 12 noon until 3pm, during term time. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 69 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. It

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Information about the setting

supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 support children's growing independence, for example, by providing them with opportunities to take part in the preparation of snack

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

 enhance the outdoor area to provide children with an even wider range of opportunities to explore, experiment and investigate.

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who attend

The manager ensures the ongoing development of the staff team which supports their knowledge and understanding of child development and the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff have developed and implemented good secure systems to monitor children's learning and development. The key persons carry out and record observations of children and use this information to identify children's interests and to assess their ongoing learning. Staff use the information to effectively plan for each child's next steps and support them to progress securely in all areas of learning. Staff show a clear understanding of children's development, and work as a team to adapt and shape activities to meet their individual learning needs. This supports every child to make good progress from their individual starting points. Staff interact with interest and enthusiasm in children's play, providing them with support and praising their efforts and achievements. This supports the children

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who attend

to settle well and feel secure and confident, to move around in the indoor and outdoor play space, exploring and discovering through play. Staff respond positively to children's interests and choices in play. For example, staff join in the role-play game, as the children use the dressing-up clothes to become characters and tell a developing story as part of their play and exploration. Children are developing good skills for both language and literacy. For example, children are practising writing at different activities. They ask the other children and staff what they want at the shop and use the notebook and pencils to write the list. Children are encouraged to recognise their names at self-registration and to practise writing their names on their work. Staff promote children's communication skills through lots of conversation at activities and asking open questions. At the windmill activity, the children and staff talk about words that begin with

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who attend

'W' and children are able to identify these and talk about the sound represented by 'W'. Children freely access the books and take them outside in the garden for a spontaneous story. Children's interest and excitement is thoroughly engaged at story time, as children take an active part in telling the story through the use of puppets and objects from the story, so that children act out the parts. Children are supported to learn mathematical concepts, as staff count with the children both spontaneously and at focused activities. At registration, the children count how many are present and they count confidently to 30. Staff help children to learn about shape and size by identifying and naming shapes around them or talking about the size of objects at different activities.

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who attend

Staff carefully and sensitively encourage children to manage personal tasks for themselves, such as putting on their coats for outdoor play, managing the toilet, washing their hands and putting on aprons. This is supporting children's independence and helping them to prepare for the next stage in their learning and for moving on to school. Staff provide children with a secure, interesting and enabling environment within which they can freely explore and develop complex games using a wide range of resources. Good planning ensures activities are successfully balanced to provide an appropriate amount of time and space for child-led play and adult-focused activities. Children enjoy the resources staff set out, which spark their imaginations to act out their ideas. For example, children play in the role-play area. They continue to develop the play as they move around the room with the resources, taking their picnic to the book corner where they continue to

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who attend

develop the game. Children are able to move freely out into the garden where they clearly enjoy riding on the bikes and scooters. Children can play in the playhouse and play ball games. Staff encourage the children to make good use of this area. However, there is scope to extend opportunities for children's learning in all areas of the garden.

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who attend

Staff are successful in engaging all parents to contribute information about their child's home learning and ongoing achievements. Parents speak to staff daily exchanging information and provide comments on children's end of term summaries. Staff provide parents with good opportunities to get involved in their child's learning and share information with parents for the progress check for two-year-olds. Parents make very positive comments about the children's time at the pre-school, showing how well children are progressing in the setting.

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

Staff take particular care to ensure all children are well supported and have their personal, social and emotional needs met at all times. This includes providing individual one-to-one support where necessary. Settling-in procedures are sensitive to the individual needs of the children and their families. Staff build warm nurturing relationships with the children which help them feel secure and settled, enabling them to thrive. The key person system is effectively implemented by the staff team who know the children well and ensure they are successfully supported. Key persons gather information from parents about children's learning, their interests and how to ensure they feel comfortable. Children's growing confidence supports them to be well prepared for the next stage in their learning.

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

Staff help children to develop positive attitudes and good behaviour through calm and consistent messages and support. As a result, children learn to share and take turns. For example, children understand about sharing the bikes in the garden and know that they have to wait for a turn. Staff maintain a safe and secure environment for children through checking all areas of the premises each day before children arrive and closely monitoring access to the premises. Children benefit from a well-organised and enabling play environment in which they choose toys and resources easily for themselves. This allows children to explore freely and take part in the wide range of activities and experiences that engage their interest.

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

Staff promote children's healthy lifestyles and children enjoy snacks and drinks which are available throughout the session. Although children serve themselves at snack times, opportunities are missed to further develop children's independence in helping to prepare the snacks. Children benefit from free flow to the outdoor play area where they are able to fully practise and develop their physical skills. Staff discuss safe play rules, such as how to be safe on the bikes and how to use the slide safely. This support helps children to develop skills to risk assess for themselves.

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provision

Management and staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements as set out in the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. They have a clear knowledge of the correct procedures to follow if they have a concern about a child and their responsibilities to safeguard and protect children. The manager ensures staff are able to access ongoing safeguarding training. Ongoing risk assessments ensure that children's daily safety is very well supported and good security systems are in place.

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provision

The manager is a motivated and knowledgeable leader who works closely alongside the staff team. The manager has developed effective systems to support and develop the team's practice through regular monitoring, supervisions and appraisal. The manager and staff all hold or are completing recognised childcare qualifications and regularly attend further training to continue their professional development. This close knit staff team have knowledge, skills and experience which very effectively supports them to be well motivated and to work very well together. This ensures that they share ideas and skills to plan and provide a wide range of learning experiences. Secure arrangements have been established to promote fully inclusive practice, including support for children with differing needs. The management team have developed secure vetting procedures to help ensure staff remain suitable to work with children. Staff systems ensure that they are very well

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provision

deployed throughout the indoor and outdoor play areas supporting children's safety. The staff team have built a welcoming atmosphere for parents and carers which supports them to feel confident about their children's care. Information is provided to ensure parents are fully informed through face-to-face communication, displays on the parent board, the nursery social media page and e-mailed newsletters. The manager has developed very effective systems to share information about children's development and the planning for their next steps. Parents are happy and very positive about the pre-school. They feel the staff team are friendly and their children are happy and confident here.

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provision

The manager and staff team use their knowledge of the children and their skills to ensure observations and assessments are effectively used to plan individual learning. This ensures that children's care and learning needs are well met and the educational programmes are successfully supporting good progress. The manager involves the staff team, parents and children in the self-evaluation as an ongoing process. She uses the parents' questionnaires, and support from the parent committee to make changes for improvement. The manager clearly sees planning for the future as an ongoing process that she is continually updating and building on. Any changes made are done so with the individual needs of the children and their families in mind. Since the last inspection, the pre-school has made good progress and has met the previous recommendation.

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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 203840 Local authority Essex Inspection number 967479

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 31 Number of children on roll 69 Name of provider Our Lady of Ransom Pre School Committee Date of previous inspection 14/05/2013 Telephone number 01268 780050

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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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