Ramsey Pre-School

Ramsey Pre-School School Lane, Ramsey, HUNTINGDON, PE26 1AF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/06/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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 and child protection are given the highest priority and the whole team take responsibility for ensuring children's safety and well-being through regular update training.  Children are offered good and improving learning opportunities, closely aligned to their interests and next steps. Practitioners offer good teaching while allowing children freedom to explore and find things out for themselves.  Children learn to manage their emotions, feelings and how to relate to others as practitioners teach them using effective, sensitive strategies which help them behave well.  The insightful committee and manager have made impressive improvements to quality and practice at the pre-school. Through effective mentoring received, the manager has developed a strong vision for the future.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 At times, unqualified staff brought in to support practitioners do not take every opportunity to further children's understanding by offering them new language or explanations to support their learning.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the pre-school and talked with practitioners.  The inspector viewed the indoor and outdoor learning environments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of practitioners and a range of other documentation, including safeguarding procedures.  The inspector took account of the views of parents, by speaking with them.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed the provider's hardcopy self-evaluation form handed to the inspector at the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Ramsey Pre-School is an existing provision that was registered again in 2013 and is on the Early Years Register. It is situated in converted premises in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire and is managed by a committee. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.The pre-school opens Monday to Friday during term time. Sessions are from 8.50am until 2.50pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 39 children attending who are in the early years age group. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. They support a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The pre-school employs six members of childcare staff. Of these, five hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3.

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

 extend opportunities for children to enhance their understanding and thinking skills by offering them explanations and additional dialogue when supporting their play.

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who attend

Children have fun at this stimulating pre-school where they eagerly explore the high quality resources and activities provided. They display the characteristics of effective learners and are developing skills needed to help in the next steps in their learning. Practitioners observe children and assess their progress as they play; they use this information effectively to plan individualised, challenging activities based securely on children's next steps. Children are respected as autonomous, independent learners and practitioners value the voice of the child and competently develop their interests. For example, practitioners plan to offer children wild animal figures to play with, but children request the dinosaurs which are willingly provided instead. Practitioners revise water play to incorporate the dinosaurs and adjust other activities to follow this interest. Later, children decide to play with the wild animals and introduce them into their play in the peat

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who attend

tray, water tray and inside. Practitioners offer new vocabulary to children as they name different animals and make the associated animal sounds. They link children's learning when a new pirate play ship is introduced into the outdoor area, creating an ark out of cardboard as part of a wall display. Children paint different animals to go it and practitioners mount their photographs on them. Children develop a strong sense of belonging as practitioners work hard to introduce added relevance to learning opportunities. For example, they sing related animal rhymes and read stories. This effectively enhances children's understanding across different areas of learning.

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who attend

Practitioners help children develop language for communication through their ongoing discussions and interactions with them and as a result, children communicate with growing confidence. However, occasionally, some unqualified practitioners allow opportunities to pass without supporting children with explanations or dialogue to further develop their understanding and thinking skills. Children respond readily to practitioners and each other, learning the art of how to hold a conservation and use language to share their feelings, experiences and thoughts. Those children who speak English as an additional language are offered good opportunities to increase their use of English. Practitioners carefully and clearly pronounce words and phrases as they introduce the English language in the context of children's play. This is further developed through the use of visual timetables and consistent daily routines, which help children make links in

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who attend

their learning. Close partnerships with children's parents ensures practitioners are aware of key words in children's home languages to further ensure children receive a consistent learning experience. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities also receive sensitive, targeted support, as practitioners work with families and any professionals involved.

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who attend

Through the use of individual education plans they ensure children make good progress from their initial starting points. Practitioners select interesting stories to read to children, encouraging them to contribute and express their excitement as the tale unfolds. This helps to develop children's interest in reading as a pastime and their understanding that written words carry meaning. Practitioners work sensitively with each child, targeting their next steps according to their specific learning style. There is a strong focus on children's active learning and, with this in mind, much attention has been given to the development of the outdoor learning environment. This reflects the learning opportunities offered inside and children make good use of the interesting and stimulating activities on offer. For example, they relax, read and converse with one another in a shaded area, inside willow wigwams. Children shout 'Ahoy there!' to their friends as they look out for other ships

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who attend

from the upper deck of the pirate ship and wave to their friends inside that they can see through the pre-school windows. Friendships are successfully fostered as young children invent and extend play ideas together during role play, such as when acting as superheroes.

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who attend

Children learn to follow instructions as they take part in regular song and dance sessions in the fresh air. They copy practitioners who enthusiastically demonstrate the actions to familiar rhymes, developing their physical and attention skills. Free access to a good variety of art and craft resources supports children's spontaneous creative activities. Young children make marks as they use chalks on cardboard in the outdoor area and become deeply involved as they immerse themselves in a painting activity. They explore the paints with their hands, mixing colours and creating handprints as practitioners join in with their enthusiastic comments. Older children are successfully developing their early writing and literacy skills. For example, they are offered frequent opportunities to write their names, such as on the individually planted pots containing edible flowers and vegetables. They begin to link sounds to letters by sounding out the letters in their names.

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who attend

Children enjoy looking at books together for enjoyment in the cosy, welcoming literacy area and enjoy listening to stories. The pre-school room is also rich in text; for example, clear labelling is visible within specific areas, helping children learn that words have a purpose. Children are supported to develop their mathematical knowledge as practitioners actively encourage them to count as they play. Thought is given to exciting ways to introduce number, shape, pattern, ordering and sorting resources. For example, children count the number of children present each day and learn new shape names as they see the willow arch being formed.

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who attend

Children learn a range of skills and enjoy using their senses as they explore the interactive whiteboard. They skilfully use the buttons and create patterns using their fingers which they print off, receiving praise and enthusiastic responses from practitioners. This successfully supports children's early understanding of technology. They run freely on the adjacent school field and delight in using the trim trail, manoeuvre wheeled toys and use their legs and bodies to climb, balance, dance, skip and hop. Consequently, children are developing skills in coordination, control and movement. Parents are valued as active contributors to their child's learning and development. Much useful information is gathered as children's begin attending to assess their learning and development to date. Practitioners use this information to help children settle and to complete their initial assessment process. Communication throughout the pre-school is good. Parents know that

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who attend

they can access and view their child's learning journal at any time and daily verbal exchanges of information ensure that parents remain abreast of their children's activities and development. Parents are invited to regular consultation evenings to discuss their child's progress and are encouraged to share comments about children's achievements at home through a variety of means. They are fully involved in the progress check for children aged two to three years which is securely embedded within practice in the pre- school, and are encouraged to support their child's learning at home.

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

All children are warmly welcomed and fully included in the life of the pre-school. Practitioners respect them as individuals, are kind and actively promote their emotional security. Consequently, children form strong attachments with all practitioners and display a strong sense of belonging as they confidently move around the pre-school. Children independently use the identified play areas freely selecting resources to support their play and learning. They seek reassurance if required and naturally include practitioners and their peers in their play and discussions. New children are offered particularly sensitive support by all practitioners to help them settle. Detailed information is gathered about each child's individual needs, background and culture. Those children who need individual educational or care plans receive very good, targeted care and support, as do their parents, with whom there is close partnership working. This helps to ensure continuous

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

and consistent care for all children and effectively supports transitions from home into the pre-school for them. Older children make successful transitions to and from other childcare provisions because practitioners share information about their learning and development with them.

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

Children are cared for in a carefully considered, welcoming learning environment. For example, they freely access resources from labelled, well-equipped designated areas and they see their names and photographs displayed. Consequently, they become resourceful, independent learners who experience a strong sense of belonging. Practitioners encourage children to know themselves and understand their feelings and emotions. Children place their names on the emotions board each day, denoting whether they are 'happy', 'sad' or 'angry'. Practitioners take time to talk to them about their choices helping them develop strategies to manage any negative feelings. This helps children learn to behave well, think for themselves and learn to consider others. Practitioners take time to listen to children and help them understand why certain behaviour is unacceptable. Age-appropriate techniques are used to manage behaviour and, as children grow older, practitioners

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

support them to self-manage when things may have gone wrong, helping them arrive at the correct decisions. Children are routinely encouraged to share, take turns and be kind to one another and practitioners offer them regular praise for their achievements. They learn about personal safety as they master use of the trim trail and learn why they sit down to eat. Topics covered further support their awareness, for example, they discuss 'people who help us' and learn what they can do to help themselves.

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

Children develop an understanding of how to lead a healthy lifestyle through many different topics and activities. For example, they learn about how to care for their teeth, and why they should brush them properly. They are taught the value of regular exercise and discuss the effect of exercise on their bodies during regular dance and singing sessions, when they tell practitioners they are hot and 'very sweaty'. Practitioners are aware of children's individual dietary needs and any known allergies or preferences, and they take note of parental wishes. Children are encouraged to eat independently and snack and meal times are social occasions. Children and practitioners sit together to enjoy their food and one another's company and children are actively encouraged to use good manners. Children develop their independence as they watch practitioners carry full trays and after finishing their snack concentrate as they carefully carry a tray full of empty

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

beakers. Practitioners teach children how to dress themselves for outdoor play and they learn effective personal care routines. This means children develop useful skills for future learning and life.

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provision

The manager and her team demonstrate an exceptionally clear understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements. This offers children a welcoming, safe and secure environment. The rigorous approach taken to ongoing training ensures practitioner knowledge and practice in this area remains current. The new manager and committee have completely overhauled the documentation governing the running of the pre-school. Consequently, a comprehensive range of written policies and procedures now support the effective management of the pre-school. Recruitment, vetting and induction processes for all adults who work with the children, or come into contact with them, have also been substantially improved. For example, the manager has introduced a practical element to each interview to ensure that any new practitioners are of high quality and work well with the existing team. Practitioners also provide feedback

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provision

which creates a positive, enabling team ethos. All practitioners have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, ensuring that only those suitable to work directly with children do so. Children's safety is given extremely high priority. Regular risk assessments and daily checks are carried out to ensure that they are able to move around safely and independently. The premises are very secure and prevent the admission of any unwanted individuals. Children are closely escorted when walking to the school and within the local area. The identity of visitors is checked before admission to the pre-school and an appropriate record of visitors is kept, in which the times of arrival and departure are recorded. The significant amount of new resources and equipment recently purchased has all been checked for its suitability for the age of children being cared for. Consideration has also been given to the balance between offering children risk and challenge and

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provision

ensuring they remain safe. The high quality of resources further ensures their welfare and safety is superbly promoted.

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provision

The manager, her dedicated team and committee have all worked exceptionally hard to bring about significant improvements in the operation of the pre-school and the quality of care and learning offered. They have worked very closely with an existing outstanding provider, who has mentored the new manager to help ensure changes have been positive and of high quality. Her valuable advice and insight, together with the manager's vision for what she wants to see, has resulted in highly professional partnership working. Children are now offered a very good and improving learning experience, which closely reflects their needs, aptitudes and interests. This helps them make good progress towards the early learning goals The unquestionably considerable improvements have not been achieved without difficult decisions being taken. The manager, despite being new to the role, has dealt with such issues with a high degree of professionalism and diligence. She

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provision

demonstrates an unerring commitment to the continual development of the whole pre- school. While dealing with the detail of what has needed to improve, she has also kept her eye on the bigger picture. Despite the superb improvements made, there has not yet been sufficient time for these to show results throughout the pre-school. She has implemented thorough systems to monitor the overall quality of the provision, including the educational programmes. However, there are some minor inconsistencies in practice of unqualified staff members that are yet to be fully addressed. Practitioners are developing responsibility and ownership as they are now completing peer-on-peer observations to help increase the focus on the provision of high quality teaching and learning. All practitioners now have regular supervision and team meetings, with safeguarding a standing item on both agendas. Appraisals are closely targeted at achieving individual

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provision

improvement to ensure that, overall, a highly effective team offers high quality teaching. The manager actively encourages and expects her team to take advantage of professional development opportunities. For example, all practitioners have clear key objectives designed to enhance and build on their existing skills and eradicate any weaknesses. In addition, self-evaluation is used to highlight strengths and areas to further improve the quality of the provision; for example, management plans to further develop the outdoor play area.

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provision

Strong partnerships with parents ensure that children's care is consistent and their development is fostered highly effectively. Parents are very positive in their praise of the pre-school, the improvements made since the new manager started and the pre-school moved to their new premises. They state that children are 'very settled and comfortable', that the pre-school is like 'a second home' and that 'staff are approachable and that any concerns or worries are taken seriously'. Practitioners are alert to any early signs that some children may need additional support. They respond quickly and appropriately, involving other agencies as necessary. As a result, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive targeted support and make good progress in this fully inclusive pre-school. Partnerships with other providers who deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage have been effectively established. For example, information about the children's

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provision

care and learning needs is exchanged in order to provide continuity in the children's ongoing learning and development.

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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 EY466948 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 947897 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 35 Number of children on roll 39 Name of provider Ramsey Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 07831200385

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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

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’.

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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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