Melrose Pre-school Playgroup

Melrose Pre-school Playgroup Frank Moran Centre, Melrose Avenue, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK3 6PA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/05/2014 23/03/2011

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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

 Staff demonstrate strong teaching skills; their records show a secure understanding of children's abilities and planning takes account of children's individual learning needs.  The strong key-person system ensures partnerships with parents are secure and promotes children's well-being, learning and development, both during pre-school and at home.  Staff promote and model social skills, teaching children how to behave towards each other and the value of other people in their community. They build children's self- esteem and confidence enabling them to develop independence in all that they do.  There are good organisational skills within the leadership and management team which ensure the effectiveness of the staff team through good monitoring and supervision systems. This has a positive impact on the quality of the service children receive.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The home corner and role-play areas are not inviting or stimulating, resulting in children not using them to explore and engage in imaginative play.

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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 undertaken by the children and staff and conducted a joint observation with the play leader.  The inspector discussed practice with the staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documents in relation to children's learning and development, safeguarding, safe recruitment, behaviour management and those relating to staff training, support and skills.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of parents' views through their verbal and written comments on feedback information.  The inspector took account of the provision's self-evaluation.

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Information about the setting

Melrose Pre-School opened in 1976, and registered in 1997. It is one of two pre-schools run by a committee. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The pre-school operates from a large room in a local community centre and is situated in a residential area of West Bletchley, south of Milton Keynes. The pre-school is open each weekday from 9 am to 12 noon and 12.30pm to 3.30pm during term times. All children share access to a fully enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 75 children aged from two to under five years on roll. Children attend from the local community and surrounding areas. The pre- school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school currently employs nine staff. All staff including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications. Two members

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Information about the setting

of staff are working towards higher professional qualifications. The pre-school receive support from the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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

 re-assess the value of the home corner and role-play area to create a welcoming space which encourages children to engage in imaginative play, mimic home life and practise language skills

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who attend

The provision is good because the learning environment and teaching skills of the staff enable children to successfully move forward in their development. Staff plan the environment to ensure children can move between inside and outside spaces easily. The environment is planned into zoned areas to encourage the children to lead their own learning. Staff are well deployed around the pre-school to support learning effectively. They show children happy dispositions, enthusiasm and ensure they are all engaged. They have a secure understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and are consistent in delivering learning experiences under the seven areas of learning. Good flexible planning ensures most learning is led by children's interests and they show independence in their choice making.

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who attend

Staff are confident in their teaching of communication and language skills. They use ongoing descriptive commentary which supports children's understanding of mathematical concepts as well as the natural and wider world. Staff are consistent in modelling thinking to find solutions and encourage children to resolve problems through using open-ended questioning. There is good use of songs, rhymes and poetry to support the children using language in various ways. Staff encourage parents to share home languages in order to help children communicate their needs. There are quiet places for children to sit and look at books and staff are on hand to engage them in storytelling. Storytelling is extended purposefully to incorporate physical play opportunities. Children have opportunities to be physically active on large climbing equipment or digging in the soil for treasure. In addition, staff also plan opportunities for them to practise their hand-eye coordination

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who attend

using tools such as scissors, rolling pins and cutters safely. There are lots of opportunities to practise early writing skills. Staff plan opportunities for children to identify and recognise their own names written down. Some children are able to form and write letters of the alphabet. The good use of labelling helps them blend sounds together to form words to develop their literacy skills. Staff plan a lot of good activities to encourage children's learning outside. Children particularly enjoy the forest garden where they look for mini beasts and compare patterns and colours to photographic pictures of mini beasts.

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who attend

Staff build secure engagements with parents by visiting children and parents at home. These early interactions enable them to collect information to support their baseline assessments of each child. Staff track children's development regularly using their observations to assess each child's abilities and skills against current developmental guidance. They evaluate activities ensuring that children's needs are being met. Staff plan relevant activities to further encourage development. They monitor children's well-being, enthusiasm and engagement in activities to ensure they make the most of learning experiences. Staff complete the required progress checks for two-year-olds with parents. They identify if children are meeting expected levels for their age and suggest future learning goals to help children make good progress. Good communication between key people and parents ensure that parents feel fully informed about the curriculum and how

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who attend

their children are doing. Staff encourage learning to take place at home and provide ideas for parents to support this. They invite parents to complete comment cards for children to share at circle time. This encourages them to be more confident in speaking in front of bigger groups of children. Staff are fully supported in identifying and working with different groups of children and their systems enable them to ensure all children are given equal opportunities to make progress. Overall, most children are working within expected levels for their age and some do exceptionally well.

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

The provision is good because the pre-school is particularly strong in promoting children's feelings of emotional well-being. Key people are clearly identified to parents through home visits, the use of photographic notice boards and colour-coordinated uniforms. Key people ensure they speak regularly to parents about children's well-being, learning and development. The skills they show in partnership working enable trusting relationships to build between home and the pre-school. They work in partnership with parents to enable children to settle well into the pre-school environment. This enables children to build secure and trusting relationships with a special person. Staff are committed to providing children with positive experiences while at the pre-school to support their readiness for school. They model enthusiasm and use positive language around children, encouraging and praising them for small and large achievements to foster their self-confidence. Their

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

strategies for managing behaviour build children's self-esteem and encourage them to understand their own and others' feelings. The children respond to this by seeking the approval of staff. Children who are particularly helpful or kind to another child receive a sticker or certificate and are acknowledged by the whole group. This successfully engages those who show challenging behaviour and helps them conform to the pre-school's high expectation of behaviour. Staff value children's ethnicity, home cultures and lifestyles. They actively promote children's sense of self-worth through acknowledgement of their differences and similarities.

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

Children learn about healthy lifestyles. They grow vegetables and fruits from seed within a greenhouse and plant these out in their vegetable patch. They are introduced to fresh fruits and vegetables from the vegetable patch during snack time where they are able to taste new foods. They have many opportunities for developing good self-care skills. They learn to carry out tasks for themselves. These include managing clothing, hand-washing routines and peeling fruit or pouring their own drinks during snack time. Staff help children to understand that eating healthily builds their muscle strength and helps them have the energy to play and learn.

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

The environment is welcoming and provides some children with their first experience of playing outside in a safe environment. Overall, the pre-school is imaginative in the way they use their resources, making good use of recycled materials. Most areas of learning are well resourced and enable children to be explorative and investigate their learning. However, the home corner lacks attention and is not inviting to children to stimulate their imaginative play. This area is therefore not particularly well used by children who seek more interesting activities. The premises is secure; use of closed-circuit television enables the leadership and management team to see all areas of the pre-school to help them safeguard children. Furniture, toys and resources are safe and appropriate to the age of children.

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

Staff demonstrate a secure understanding of safeguarding arrangements including whistle blowing, the use of mobile phones and other electronic gadgets in the pre-school. They act appropriately and swiftly to safeguard children by reporting concerns to their designated person and other agencies where appropriate. This ensures children's safety remains a high priority.

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

The pre-school works hard to ensure children are emotionally secure, able to cope with change and ready for the next stage in their learning. They do this by providing them with a safe environment and trusting relationships.

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provision

This provision has effective leadership and management and ensures the systems to monitor and organise the provision are well developed. Staff are regularly monitored to make sure they have a good understanding of children's individual needs and the curriculum. The leadership and management team make certain that staff plan educational programmes successfully and link them to children's individual learning goals. Documentation related to children's learning and development are accurate and clearly record their current development levels. Children's learning is tracked against current guidance to help staff to monitor if they are meeting expected levels for their age. Information related to children's learning is shared regularly with parents and they report that they feel informed about the curriculum and how well their children are doing.

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provision

The leadership and management team monitors and supervises staff. Safe recruitment measures are taken to help to ensure staff are suitable to work with children. New members of staff are mentored and underperformance is quickly identified and tackled efficiently to minimise the impact on children. Children remain safe due to the prompt response to poor practice. Staff are encouraged to develop professionally through an effective and well-established programme of further training. Additional training is sought to support staff in developing their knowledge and skills and, to some degree, their practice shows innovative thinking. The staff team are well established and show commitment to further improving practice. They are enthusiastic, caring and welcoming towards children and families regardless of other circumstances.

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provision

The pre-school actively seeks the views of parents, children and staff in order to evaluate their provision, drive improvement and ensure they are meeting the community's needs. They are confident and have many strengths in their practice. They are also able to recognise where weaknesses have an impact on their service and take appropriate steps to develop these areas. They work hand-in-hand with parents and other early years agencies to sensitively help children experience good learning opportunities. They seek appropriate interventions when necessary to support children's specific needs and, consequently, children make the best possible progress to be successful learners.

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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 141755 Local authority Milton Keynes Inspection number 968618 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 43 Number of children on roll 75 Name of provider Melrose Pre-school Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 23/03/2011 Telephone number 01908 642728

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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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