St. Osmund's Preschool

St. Osmunds Pre-School St. Osmonds School, Exeter Street, SALISBURY, SP1 2SG

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/05/2014 26/04/2011

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

p.1

This provision is outstanding

 Children are extremely well cared for by a team of staff who make their safety high priority and know them and their families exceptionally well as individuals.  Knowledgeable staff provide a stimulating environment, where children learn through play and meaningful experiences, both inside and out.  Regular visits to places in the local area provide children with interesting and additional life experiences.  Clear and consistent assessment methods, together with highly effective monitoring systems, enable staff to quickly identify any gaps in children's learning and development, and provide extra support.  Staff promote extremely effective partnerships with parents and other professionals, which contribute to helping them support each child to make rapid progress from their starting points.  Management and staff continually evaluate and reflect on their practice to provide high quality provision and maintain constant improvement in outcomes for children.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed and spoke to children during their activities, inside and outside.  The inspector carried out a joint observation as agreed with the manager.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector interviewed the manager and nominated person from the management committee.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled records and documentation, which included children's progress records, policies and records of communication with relevant organisations.  The inspector took account of parents' views obtained in person.

p.2

Information about the setting

St. Osmund's Pre-School registered in 1985 and is managed by a committee of parents. The pre-school and out-of-school club operate from a self-contained unit in the grounds of St Osmund's School in central Salisbury. The school playground provides space for outdoor play. Children attend from the local and wider community. The pre-school is open five days a week during school term times. Sessions run from 9am until 3pm, Monday to Thursday and 9am until 12noon on Fridays. The Sunshine Club operates from 7.30am until 8.50am and 3.15pm until 6.15pm Monday to Friday during term time. The Sunshine Club also operates during half-terms, the Easter holidays and the first three weeks of the summer holidays from 8.45am until 3.15pm.

p.3

Information about the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register There are currently 97 children on roll, of whom 63 are in the early years age group. The pre-school receives funding for free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who learn English as an additional language.

p.3

Information about the setting

There are 11 staff working with the children, all of whom hold relevant early years qualifications. These include two members of staff with qualifications at level 6.

p.3

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

 extend opportunities to further promote children's understanding of shape through everyday activities.

p.3

who attend

Children enjoy the time they spend at the pre-school. Management and staff have an excellent understanding of the learning and development requirements for the Early Years Foundation Stage. They provide a stimulating environment, which motivates children to eagerly learn through play and exploration, enjoying a good balance of self-chosen and adult-led activities. There is an extensive range of resources, which staff organise thoughtfully to enable children to select independently. For example, storage containers are labelled with words and pictures, and staff have compiled a 'choosing book', with pictures of other options available. This means that all children, including those who are learning English, can see what is available to play with. Staff plan a broad range of activities linked to children's interests and individual development and learning needs. They carry out activities in small groups on a daily basis,

p.3

who attend

which they focus on children's individual interests and development needs. For example, children concentrate on carefully transferring un-cooked rice to the person next to them, using plastic drinking cups. The member of staff explains clearly, what she wants them to do and they focus very well on the task so that they do not spill any rice. This type of activity helps develop children's listening skills and concentration, as well as providing opportunities for them to practise their co-ordination. Staff use precise and consistent assessment methods to plot children's stage of development and identify individual next steps. Close monitoring means that staff very quickly assess any gaps in children's learning, enabling them to provide focused interventions. Staff include parents' knowledge of their children in assessments and offer ideas for parents to extend their children's learning at home. This all leads to staff knowing children extremely well as individuals,

p.4

who attend

which helps them to provide the support children need to make rapid progress from their starting points.

p.4

who attend

Staff promote children's language skills extremely well. They use a variety of recognised initiatives, such as 'Every Child a Talker', to encourage children's communication skills. For example, some children lack confidence in talking when they start attending, or are learning English as an additional language. Staff use a scheme to boost children's language and social talking by way of an intensive programme over six weeks. This includes focussed daily activities with short stories to motivate children to speak in a small group. Staff talk with children as they join in their play, asking questions to encourage them to think and recall. They add to children's vocabulary as they describe what they are doing, name objects, actions and concepts. For example, as children enjoy making patterns in shaving foam, a member of staff talks about the pattern being 'symmetrical'. Staff use play and everyday situations to encourage children to count and understand

p.4

who attend

capacity. Children are enthusiastic as they experiment with water, using various containers to transfer the water to drainpipes. They are keen to learn about direction, and how water can power containers to move along. However, staff occasionally miss the opportunity to extend children's understanding of shape through everyday activities, For example, they omit to talk about the shapes of slices of fruit and equipment at snack times.

p.4

who attend

Staff plan weekly outings in the local environment to extend children's life experiences. For example, children can choose to go in the mini-bus to visit a local farm. They take part in collecting eggs and learn how to care for animals. Visits to the cathedral and local Children's Centre, mean that children learn to listen to instructions from different adults. Staff take children to a nearby woodland area where children enjoy using their senses as they make dens, climb trees and make mud pies. This extends children's understanding of the world around them and helps them develop skills they need for the future.

p.4

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

The very effective key person system enables children to develop trust and settle quickly in the friendly environment. Key persons use the detailed information they gain about children's interests and background to help them feel comfortable and secure. Children have a strong sense of belonging as they see pictures of themselves and their artwork displayed in the pre-school. Stay and play sessions, where parents bring their children to join the sessions prior to starting at the pre-school, help children become very confident in their surroundings. Therefore, they settle quickly and feel secure. Staff are proactive in supporting children as they move on to school. There are strong links with the school; staff regularly take children into the building, for example to visit the library, and organise shared activities throughout the year. Staff accompany children and their families as they visit other schools in the term before they start. This enables children to become familiar

p.4

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

with the building and people, developing their confidence in the new situation as they start school.

p.5

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

Staff are skilful at promoting children's awareness of their feelings and behaviour. They help children recognise their emotions through stories and discussion. Staff and children have developed a visual system with red and green cards to help all children communicate how they are feeling. Staff provide clear explanations for requests and provide familiar routines so that children know what staff expect of them. Consequently, children, behave very well. Staff frequently praise children for their effort and achievement, clearly stating what they have done well. This helps boost children's confidence and self-esteem. Staff regularly help children to remember rules that help keep them safe. For example, they teach children road safety and traffic awareness when on outings. Staff invite visitors in to reinforce children's knowledge and understanding about their own safety, these include fire and police officers.

p.5

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

Children confidently move around the pre-school making their own choices from an extensive range of resources, inside and out. Children practise excellent routines for personal hygiene as they use toilet and hand washing facilities independently. They make choices from healthy options at snack time, such as fresh fruit and vegetables. Children develop useful skills for the future by using tools to prepare their own food and managing their own clothes.

p.5

provision

The staff team works extremely well together to ensure that the setting is organised efficiently and operates smoothly on a day-to-day basis. They have an excellent understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the welfare and safeguarding, and learning and development requirements. Staff implement clear policies and procedures that promote children's welfare and safety exceptionally well. Children's safety is high priority. Staff have an extremely good understanding of how to protect children from harm. This includes recognising signs and symptoms that would cause concern, and being confident about the procedures to follow. They keep their knowledge up to date through regular training and discussion. There is a detailed policy for staff to refer to, which they share with parents. Thorough recruitment procedures mean that staff are checked for their suitability to work with children. The clear initial induction enables staff to be sure

p.5

provision

about their roles and responsibilities. There are effective systems in place to monitor staff's ongoing suitability. The provider is clear about their responsibilities in making sure staff are fit to work on a daily basis.

p.5

provision

Staff complete comprehensive risk assessments and daily checks so that they provide a safe environment for children to play. Monitoring accident and incident forms enable staff to identify any patterns so that they can take appropriate action in order to help protect children from harm. Extremely effective staff deployment means that children are very well supervised and effectively supported their learning.

p.6

provision

Staff establish excellent partnerships with parents and other professionals. They supply detailed information about the pre-school by way of written policies, regular newsletters and a wealth of displays. There is a comprehensive website, which enables parents to select their home language so that they can access important information. Parents support one another in communicating information, and are made to feel welcomed in the pre- school to share their knowledge and skills. Parents are encouraged to join the management committee, which enables them to have an active voice in their child's care and education. Staff are proactive in seeking information from parents when children start at pre-school that enables staff to meet children's individual needs exceptionally well. Parents say that their children are very happy and settled at the pre-school, and often speak fondly of their key person. Parents appreciate the support they receive in seeking

p.6

provision

extra support for their children's development. They appreciate the effective communication methods and find staff to be friendly and know their children extremely well. Partnerships with other professionals are exceptionally strong and particularly effective in supporting children who have specific needs. Staff are proactive in establishing dialogue to exchange useful information with other early years providers when children also attend other settings.

p.6

provision

The provider has effectively addressed the recommendations set at the last inspection. This has had a significant impact on identifying gaps in learning through rigorous tracking and monitoring. Management is dynamic and there are extremely successful systems for monitoring staff effectiveness. Frequent supervision and appraisals identify any training needs and enable staff to utilise their strengths and specific skills. Effective processes provide a clear overview of the assessment of children's progress, which enable staff to quickly identify any gaps in learning. Ongoing reflective practice based on views from staff, parents and children leads to clear targets for improvement which leads to high quality provision.

p.6

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

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number EY357437 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 968819 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 44 Number of children on roll 97 Name of provider St Osmunds Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 26/04/2011 Telephone number 01722 329238

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

Type of provision

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10