Compton Pre-School

Compton Pre-School Burrell Road, Compton, Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 6NP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/07/2014 11/01/2012

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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

 Staff have good skills in supporting children's communication. As a result, children are confident talkers and can express their ideas with ease.  The manager works proactively to make improvements that directly benefit children.  Children develop secure attachments with their key person, which helps children to be confident and sociable.  Children enjoy self-directed and open-ended play. Consequently, children are independent and active learners.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not consistently provide activities to fully challenge older children as they prepare to go to school.  The range of technological resources to extend children's learning is not extensive.

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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 teaching, learning and care practices in the playroom and outdoor area.  The inspector and manager carried out a joint observation of teaching practice.  The inspector took account of the views of parents who were spoken to on the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation, including evidence of suitability checks, staff qualifications, the nursery's self-evaluation form and assessments of children's learning and development.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager to discuss leadership and management practice.

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Information about the setting

Compton Pre-school opened in 1968. It is operated by a parent committee. The pre-school uses the Coronation Hall in the village of Compton, near Newbury, Berkshire. There is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 33 children on roll in the early years age group. The pre-school is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The pre- school is open during term time only, on each weekday mornings from 9.15am to 12 noon. On Monday, Wednesday and Thursday there is an extended session available until 2.30pm. There are four members of staff who work with the children. Of these, one holds a degree level qualification and remaining staff hold level qualifications to level 3.

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

 increase opportunities for older more able children to be consistently challenged as they prepare for school

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

 enhance the range of technological resources to extend children's learning experiences in this area.

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who attend

The manager and staff work effectively together using strong communication skills and a shared vision for progress. Consequently, their ideas, resources, and enthusiasm for the pre-school promote children's interests across all areas of learning and development. Staff support children's self-directed play. Children have a free choice of activities across the pre-school. Staff provide sessions of adult-directed activities and routines to help prepare children for their next move to school. For example, children begin the day with an adult- led circle time session. The clear routine includes taking the register, counting the number of children present, and completing the weather chart. Children eagerly find the correct the day, date, and time. Staff promote children's developing literacy skills as they are encouraged to recognise their name cards that they hang on the 'registration tree'. As a result, staff prepare children for school by recognising their names and the letters in the

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who attend

Children show they can listen attentively, follow conversations in a group, and take turns to speak. Staff give children plenty of time to play and explore freely inside the pre-school and in the garden. Attentive staff, observe children as they immerse themselves in adventure and investigation with water, sand, pretend cooking and planting. For example, children harvest the potatoes and carrots they have been growing to use in the mud kitchen. Staff sensitively support children and participate in their play as required, or when children invite them to do so. Staff are equally skilled and stepping back to allow children to make their own decisions and set their own challenges. Children enthusiastically dig and count out the number of vegetables they find. They talk excitedly about the texture of the compost and compare shapes, sizes, and colours of carrots. As a result, children are developing their skills in early mathematics.

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who attend

There is a good range of resources that cover all areas of learning. For example, a cosy library and reading corner to help develop early reading and literacy. There is a large map of the world. This sparks conversations about places children have visited and the different cultures and cuisine around the world. There are some programmable music toys to encourage movement and exploration and to enable children to discover 'cause and effect'. However, resources to help children engage with technology are not extensive. As a result, children have fewer opportunities to explore and investigate technology.

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who attend

Staff enable children to use their imaginations. For example, children bake mud pies and make carrot and potato soup in the mud kitchen. As they do so they demonstrate good social skills as they confidently negotiate rules of play with each other.They discuss the ingredients they need and help each other to gather bits of grass, leaves and loose compost as pretend herbs and vegetables. Children communicate their ideas well as they discuss how the vegetables grow. Staff model language and extend learning about why plants and vegetable need sunlight and water. Children have time to explore, make their own decisions, solve problems, and learn skills through self-initiated play. As a result, children make good progress in their learning and development in this pre-school. However, staff do not always consider activities to fully challenge older or more able children who are ready to go to school.

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who attend

Each child's key person observes and records children's progress and interests on a regular basis. Staff use these observations to identify the next steps in children's learning and as a team they plan weekly activities for children. As a result, staff prepare meaningful activities to move children forward in their learning, overall. The manager and staff are currently looking at ways to show further details of individual children's needs and next steps within their broader planning. This shows the staff are actively committed to making changes in order to improve the learning experiences of children in their care. Staff are friendly and work well with parents to keep them informed of their children's progress for the day through verbal conversations. Parents take home their children's development records whenever they choose.

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

Staff provide good settling-in sessions to help children relax and become comfortable with the pre-school's everyday routines. The key person works effectively with parents to help settle children in by sharing their home routines, and their likes and dislikes. As a result, children develop secure relationships with the sensitive and friendly staff that care for them. Parents are content to leave children as they know staff gather all information possible to help tailor care to their individual needs. For example, they use a sticker chart to help children become familiar with different routines or achieve a specific behaviour. Staff and parents reward children's achievements with enthusiasm and praise. Consequently, this boosts children's confidence and self-esteem to learn and explore in the pre-school. Children's behaviour indicates they feel safe, secure and at ease in the presence of the pre-school staff.

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

There is a strong focus on developing children's personal, social, and emotional development and for developing positive behaviour. The deputy manager has attended training on behaviour management. She shares her knowledge and any strategies with staff and parents. Children's behaviour across the pre-school is good. Staff work consistently to establish clear boundaries so children know what to expect and how to behave and develop independent self-care skills. For example, at snack time children sit around the table well, they are encouraged to cut or peel their own fruit. This helps to promote children's independence in preparation for their move to school. The pre-school has a main playroom, which provides a range a stimulating activities and resources. The main door leads to a contained outdoor play area. Children grow vegetables from seeds and small plants. Staff use these projects to develop children's learning. For example, they

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

teach children how food is grown, what it looks like before it is prepared for meals, and why a healthy diet is important. Staff teach children how to safely pedal tricycles and manoeuvre different wheeled toy such as scooters and cars. This helps children to gain an understanding of managing risks. For example, they know they must wear a safety helmet when riding on bikes and trikes and also as they practise balancing and climbing on large apparatus.

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

Children have a secure awareness of hygiene and wash their hands independently before meals and after messy play and using the toilet. There is an effective key-person system in place, which is evident through the staff's secure knowledge of children's needs. Staff take children to the local primary school at various times through the year such as Christmas, Easter and sports' day. This helps staff to discuss changes that children will experience at school and help them become familiar with their new learning environment.

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provision

Management and staff clearly understand the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff have a secure understanding of safeguarding procedures. As a result, children are safe to learn and explore in the pre-school. Weekly staff meetings also include discussions about safeguarding issues. There is a robust risk assessment process across the pre-school with daily checklists to ensure all areas are safe. Staff monitor any accidents and review their risk assessment in conjunction with this. Staff maintain the security of the building and parents are happy in the knowledge that staff are vigilant to keep children as safe as possible. There are robust recruitment procedures in place and all staff undergo suitability checks.

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provision

The management team and staff are continually looking at effective ways to develop planning to meet the needs of all children. The manager has a proactive approach to the pre-school and has recently embarked on a training project, in partnership with the local council and other local pre-schools. The training is helping staff to refine planning and assessment processes to continually improve practice and outcomes for children. The self- evaluation is well targeted and there are plans to enhance the learning for boys, and to develop literacy and mathematics in a fun and active way.

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provision

The pre-school manager and her deputy have a good knowledge of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and implement them well. Staff are open to new approaches and eager to provide children with the best possible learning experiences. Overall, children make good progress in this welcoming learning environment.

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provision

Systems for performance management include ongoing appraisals and one-to-one meetings. Consequently, there are good systems to further support staff's professional development through training opportunities.

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provision

Parents and carers feel confident to communicate with the key person for their child. Staff work effectively with speech and language therapists and implement guidance from local authority training. They liaise with the nearby children's centre and have a wide network of local expertise they draw upon to support families. Children who need to receive additional support do so due to the diligent commitment of the manager and positive partnerships with parents. Partnerships with external professionals are effective in supporting the individual needs of children with different starting points. The manager communicates regularly with the local school to help ensure that all children are well prepared for their next steps at school and for their future learning.

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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 507897 Local authority West Berkshire (Newbury) Inspection number 845667

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 33 Number of children on roll 33 Name of provider Compton Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 11/01/2012 Telephone number 01635 579171

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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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