St.Wulstan's Pre-School

St.Wulstan's Pre-School St. Wulstans RC School, Rushton Street, Great Harwood, BLACKBURN, BB6 7JQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/06/2014 19/01/2009

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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

 There are strong relationships between children, staff and parents. This means children's emotional well-being is supported, so they are happy and confident to explore their surroundings.  Children learn to think critically due to the effective questioning used by staff to extend their knowledge.  Children are well safeguarded due to robust recruitment and vetting procedures and staff's understanding of their roles and responsibilities in protecting children in their care.  There is a strong, well-organised staff team, who have a shared vision for driving improvement and who work well together to achieve targets.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The resources and learning areas within the continuous provision do not consistently offer opportunities to enhance children's independent critical and creative thinking skills, in order to extend their learning and maximise progress during free play.  There is room to extend supervision arrangements to review and monitor staff performance to further promote the already good reflective practice in the setting. This will help support staff to identify where intervention is required to support children or improve practice.

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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 staff engaging in a range of indoor and outdoor learning activities, play and daily care routines with children.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the manager, staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, the planning documentation and a selection of policies and children's records.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

St. Wulstan's Pre-School was registered in 2008 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in St Wulstan's Roman Catholic Primary School in Great Harwood in the Blackburn area of Lancashire, and is managed by The Salford Roman Catholic Diocese. Children have access to the main pre- school room, the school hall, outdoor play areas and bathroom facilities, which are all on the ground floor with access through the small rear playground. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. The pre-school is open Monday to Friday, 8.45am to 11.45am and 12.45pm to 3.45pm, term time only. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 39 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The pre-school supports a number of children who speak English as an additional

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Information about the setting

language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The pre-school employs five members of childcare staff. Of these, all staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and above. The setting is a member of the Pre-School Learning Alliance.

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

 enhance opportunities for children to think critically and creatively, when taking part in child-led activities, for example, by providing literacy and numeracy opportunities in the role play and construction areas so that they can develop their thoughts and ideas

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

 enhance further the already good programme of professional development by having rigorous and effective systems for the supervision of staff by providing times for one-to-one discussion to further review and improve practice.

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who attend

Children settle quickly because they are warmly greeted by staff, who are kind and friendly, when they arrive at the setting. As a result, children separate from their parents and carers with confidence and are ready to learn. This demonstrates their sense of belonging within the setting. Staff are skilful practitioners, who have a good knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage, which ensures that children make good progress towards the early learning goals. Regular, accurate assessment of children's development results in the identification of any gaps in learning or emerging needs of individual children. This enables staff to organise specific learning activities to best support individual children's learning and development.

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who attend

Children are keen learners who are well prepared for school. Staff expertly follow children's lead, for example, they delight in experimenting with gloop. Staff support children's communication and language by extending children's vocabulary and valuing their responses. Staff use further opportunities in the group activity to develop literacy skills. For example, children are encouraged to make marks for a purpose in the gloop, and the boys in particular enjoy writing their name. Although the staff create areas with resources that are inviting to children's imagination and allow space for them to play on the floor or tables, the resources are not open ended so children cannot build on their own independent creative and critical thinking skills during free play. Outdoors, children demonstrate their good physical skills as they climb, run and balance confidently and safely. They enjoy categorising blocks into colours with the support of staff contributions

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who attend

before building three dimensional structures. Children proudly hold up their chosen items for everyone to see and enjoy the warm recognition they receive from staff for their achievement. Staff skilfully use resources, such as picture cards and mirrors to help children understand how to manage their feelings. Children start to understand that words have meanings as props are introduced for characters in the book, such as a duck. They enjoy talking about the different illustrations in the book and retell the story to the practitioner. This means that children remain interested and focused on the activity. Older children have access to a computer and they use this confidently with support from staff.

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who attend

Parents are involved in their child's learning and development from the start through baseline assessments and receive regular information about their child's progress. For example, the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years, transition reports before school and termly parents' evenings. This helps parents to support their child's learning at home. Good relationships with other professionals ensure that staff are able to effectively meet the needs of individual children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children who speak English as an additional language are supported well, with a strong, positive reflection of their home language and good levels of support in their speech and language skills. As a result, all children are cared for in a fully inclusive environment and make good progress.

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

Children are valued and made to feel welcome, consequently, this is reflected in their high levels of confidence and self-esteem. The key-person system is well established and works well to ensure that there is an ongoing exchange of information between home and pre- school, to make sure children's individual needs are met. The staff team work effectively together and are committed to providing a secure and supportive environment for all children.

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

Staff teach children about staying healthy, with regular hand washing and keeping the environment clean. The pre-school actively encourages healthy eating during snack time. Children enjoy a range of fresh fruits with milk and water also readily available. The pre- school operates an open snack system and children are well supported by staff who use it as a social opportunity and encourage good manners, sharing and turn taking. Children are also encouraged to independently spread butter on their toast, in order to build their independence and coordination skills. Children's behaviour is good because staff provide them with clear and consistent guidance. Staff also act as good role models, sensitively giving reminders and age-appropriate explanations, which supports children's understanding of what acceptable behaviour is. Essential routines, such as the fire drill, promote children's safety well and support them to learn how to keep themselves safe.

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

Staff understand and promote the benefits of fresh air and exercise. There is daily access to the outdoor area, which includes an open, seated area with a shelter, a discovery wall and physical apparatus for climbing and balance. This means children can use the outdoor area in all weathers and develop their physical skills in an active and enjoyable manner. Children play and learn in a safe environment as staff complete a range of safety checks and risk assessments. Pre-school children show good levels of knowledge and understanding of the world around them. For example, they talk to them about people who help us when they run up to greet the road sweeper. This builds on their learning ready for school. Transitions into school are made easier for the children as the provision is located on the school site. They take advantage of opportunities to become involved in school events and are invited on occasions to have lunch in the school hall. This supports

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

children's emotional development and the ability to become familiar with the environment and routines.

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provision

The pre-school's leadership and management has a strong understanding about the safeguarding and welfare requirements, making sure that staff safeguard children's well- being. A comprehensive range of policies and procedures underpin staff practice and help to further ensure children's welfare. Reviews of all documentation are regular and the policies are distributed to parents for comments. Senior safeguarding staff have the relevant multi-agency training and all staff attend regular training updates. Staff clearly demonstrate their understanding of procedures to take should they have any concerns about children in their care. Staff supervise children well at all times and adult-to-child ratios are good. All required checks to ensure the suitability of adults working with children are completed and are updated accordingly to keep children protected. All staff receive good levels of induction training when they begin work at the pre-school. There is an

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provision

appraisal system in place with annual reviews that focus on staff targets for the future. Although, supervision is completed, this is by means of verbal exchanges when required or when deemed necessary by the management team. This results in some missed opportunity to effectively refine staff's already good practices and identify priorities for improvement which will have a positive outcome for the children. The manager works closely with the team and as a result, the nursery benefits from well qualified long serving members of staff.

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provision

The leadership and management places a high priority on the pre-school's continuous improvement. Thorough processes of self-evaluation include the views of staff and parents, enabling the clear identification of the provision's strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, all documentation has been reviewed, including observation and assessment. This ensures that children receive an enjoyable and challenging experience and make the best possible progress. Staff are enthusiastic about the training opportunities they receive through the Pre-school Learning Alliance and local authority, which has a positive impact on their professional development. The manager has clear development plans, which illustrates her strong commitment to future improvement. The setting works closely with their local authority to monitor and improve practice and are working towards a quality assurance award.

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provision

The pre-school has effective links with other early years settings and local primary schools. Teachers from the feeder schools are invited into the setting and the Reception teacher from the adjoining school holds circle time sessions in the final term. These processes help to ensure the smooth transfer for children as they move between their educational phases. Parents comment on the high-quality care that the staff provide, and the particular focus they place on preparing children for school. As a result of these strong partnerships, children benefit from a consistent approach that supports their development and contributes to the good progress they make.

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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 EY372899 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 878660

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 25 Number of children on roll 39 Name of provider Diocese Of Salford Date of previous inspection 19/01/2009 Telephone number 01254 884 533 ex 1

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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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