St Andrews Pre-School

St Andrews Pre-school St Andrews Road, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 3BJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/07/2014 23/03/2010

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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

 Children are happy, motivated and eager to learn because they are interested in the activities and resources provided by staff. As a result all children make good progress.  Staff are clear about the role of the key person and build strong bonds with children and parents.  The indoor and outdoor areas used by all children provide a rich and welcoming learning environment.  Children are safe and secure in the pre-school's care. They are welcomed warmly by staff and other children so they feel valued and part of the group.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The programme for understanding the world has not been fully extended to incorporate activities that help children learn about cultural diversity and the wider social world.

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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 a wide range of activities across all areas of the pre-school and talked with staff and children about what they were doing.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed documents and procedures relating to safeguarding, staffing, supervision, risk assessment and health and safety, and checked a selection of other policies.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled children's learning journeys, planning documentation and children's records.

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Information about the setting

St Andrew's Pre-school was first established in 1975 and has been in its current premises since 1997. It is managed by a committee of volunteers and operates from the old school house in the town of Bridport, in Dorset. The pre-school operates from two playrooms and there is also an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. There are currently 55 children on roll within the early years age group. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school opens during term time only. Sessions are from 8.45am to 11.45am and from 12.45pm to 3.15pm, Monday to Thursday and from 8.45am to 11.45pm on Friday. A one-hour lunch club is also offered each day.

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Information about the setting

There are nine staff employed plus an administrator. Of these, eight have appropriate childcare qualifications, with seven qualified at level 3 and one member of staff qualified at level 2. The group 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:

 extend the programme for understanding the world by providing further activities that help children learn about cultural diversity and the wider world.

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who attend

The pre-school offers a welcoming environment where children are eager to try the activities on offer and move around from activity to activity with good staff support to enhance their learning and development. Consequently children make good progress in their learning. Staff move around the playroom, providing individual attention as they get down to the children's level and join in with their play. They extend children's vocabulary and thinking as they ask open-ended questions and listen carefully to the children's responses. For example, when children made magic potions using a pestle and mortar to mix different leaves and flowers, staff told them the names of the flowers as the children picked them. Staff asked the children what their potions were for and listened intently as children explained that they were to change tomatoes into ice cream. Children explore the natural world at their Forest school as often as they can. Here they

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who attend

learn a very good range of skills while having lots of fun outdoors. For example, children collect branches and sticks and learn how to safely build campfires, scramble up hills and roll back down. They collect natural resources to make pictures and collages to express their creativity. Children learn how to take manageable risks and develop physical agility as they climb trees and balance between branches. Staff teach children how to use the natural environment to learn how to build dens and find different insects. Once they have examined the insects closely with magnifying glasses they discuss and chart which ones can and cannot fly. Children learn to appreciate nature and the wider natural environment through woodland walks and picnics. Staff enhance the learning experience by setting up a safari hunt. They hide soft toys in the woods and the children find them using the laminated information sheets that tell them facts about, for example elephants or giraffes.

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who attend

Staff are very supportive and ensure that children enjoy their activities. They work with the children, join in their conversation and share their thoughts and ideas. As a result, children's communication and language skills are very well supported. Many of the children are confident and articulate speakers; they express their views and engage in conversation with friends and adults. Children learn about how to care for animals and how they evolve through the provision of real animals in the pre-school. They have the large land snails which they help to wash and feed and learn about their habitat; they have newts that they are watching to see how they grow and they have just taken the tadpoles which changed into frogs back to the pond. Children enjoy outings into the locality to the shops and the library. These excursions help children learn about their local community. Children begin to value some aspects of the diversity of the world through positive images around the

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who attend

pre-school, books, some activities and some resources. Children learnt about Swedish traditions such as decorating twigs with feathers at Christmas and they tasted bread from different countries. However, the programme for understanding the world has not been fully extended to incorporate a range of activities that help children learn about a variety of different cultures within the wider world.

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who attend

Children make marks as they use tools in the play dough, cornflour and have access to crayons, pencils and paper. Older children are encouraged to write their names on their artwork and put it in their named tray ready to go home. A cosy and well-stocked reading area is available and children enjoy story times as staff use high quality picture books to read to them. Staff use story sacks to help children interact at story time and learn to sequence stories from the beginning to the middle and end. Staff extend children's recognition of number and counting in everyday play and through songs and rhymes. Children count and complete simple addition confidently, for example as they hooked the numbered ducks from the water tray and used shells and pine cones to sort, match and order. They talked about size using language, such as smallest and largest and happily built models with their friends, comparing them to see which was the tallest. A range of

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who attend

resources promotes future skills with children chatting on mobile phones and using a range of programmes on the computers which support their problem-solving skills. Children have great fun using the mud kitchen, spaghetti, shaving foam and sand pit to explore different textures.

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who attend

Staff find out children's starting points as they talk to parents and request information from when they first start. Children's individual needs and interests are taken into account as staff get together to complete their planning. Staff work extremely well together and combine their skills and knowledge effectively to plan an environment where all seven areas of learning are covered. Comprehensive observations and assessments, photographs and examples of children's work are included in records of development. These clearly identify next steps and staff discuss them with parents. Staff support children as they move to other settings and schools. For example, they have time in their daily routines to develop their independence, social and self-care skills. Overall, staff offer a fun play environment that provides many exciting learning opportunities for children.

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

Children are settled and happy in the pre-school. The key-person system promotes the children's feelings of security and confidence consistently well. Staff are appropriately deployed to support children's learning and welfare. They promote inclusive practice through the activities, procedures and the use of appropriate resources. Children play in an attractive, child-friendly welcoming environment. Many dedicated areas provide children with an exciting play environment that is conducive to their all round learning. For example, the make-it area gives children the opportunity to learn how to experiment with mixing different coloured paints with their hands as well as using a range of materials to create their own unique pictures. Children have been doing observational painting of daffodils and Forget-me-knots so that they can learn about perspective in relation to objects.

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

Children enhance their knowledge and understanding of safety issues through many practical examples that staff incorporate into their daily routines. For example, the children have a growing understanding of how to keep themselves safe as they help to tidy away resources and are supported to use equipment safely. Children's education and awareness of how to keep themselves safe outside of the pre-school is taught through visitors such as the fire and ambulance crews. Staff also borrowed a street-wise activity set from the police to teach children about road safety. Children behave well as they learn to manage their own behaviour and feelings. The staff value the children and manage their behaviour well through clear and positive behaviour management strategies.

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

Children develop a sense of belonging as displays of their artwork and photographs of them participating in activities are put up on show throughout the pre-school. Individual coat pegs and their photograph for self-registration with their name written on help to enhance children's self-esteem while also helping them learn that print carries meaning. The digital photo display screen in the hall gives parents the opportunity to see their child enjoying a range of activities both in the classrooms and the outside area.

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

Children benefit from healthy eating and the pre-school provides nutritious snacks. Before the morning and afternoon snack, children take turns to help chop the fruit. Staff teach them the best way to do this so there is plenty for everyone. This is a useful future learning skill. Snack and lunch times are sociable occasions with children and staff sitting together. The pre-school meets individual dietary requirements and children are able to drink water at all times. Children are competent at pouring their own water when they are thirsty. Staff work well in partnership with parents to promote children's understanding of healthy eating; for example, parents are encouraged to provide healthy lunchboxes. The pre-school is clean and there are good hygiene procedures in place. Staff follow effective procedures to promote the good health of children. For example, a high number of staff hold first aid qualifications and children are becoming more aware of how to stay healthy

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

and about good personal care routines. The colourful numbered pictures of fruit on the wall help children learn to count how many different pieces of fruit they can have had at snack time.

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

Children have good opportunities to be physically active through daily opportunities to use small and large equipment, climbing and balancing. In the soft playroom they learn how to work as a team to stretch the lycra to make different shapes and ping together to make the foam balls fly in the air. At the end of this physical session staff make sure the children cool down by stretching slowly. Children learn about the effects exercise has on their bodies through talking about why they get hot during physical activities and about the different speed of their heart beats. Children particularly enjoy playing outside. They learn how to balance and bounce on the space hoppers and to plant, cultivate and harvest the vegetables in the garden area. There are also appropriate times during the day for quieter activities. For example after lunch when the children sit on the carpet and draw on large pieces of paper or listen to a story. All children have fun at this pre-school and enjoy the

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

freedom of choosing to play indoors or outdoors. Throughout the pre-school overall, children use a broad range of resources and equipment that encourages the development of their physical skills as well as other areas of learning.

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provision

The management and staff have a good understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff clearly understand how to safeguard children and implement their daily role with a secure understanding of how to keep children safe. All staff have attended safeguarding training to ensure that they are fully aware of how to report any concerns about a child in their care. All adults are vetted for suitability, visitors are monitored and levels of supervision are very good with staff caring and attentive at all times. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitors provide surveillance of the entrance to the pre-school so staff can see who is approaching the building. Children's safety is maximised further as the pre-school staff carefully monitor accident records and risk assessments. All of these measures allow children to play safely both indoors and outdoors, and move freely around all available space. As a result children gain confidence and soon become

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provision

used to making decisions about what they want to do.

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provision

Documentation is appropriately organised and is effective in supporting operational practice. All policies and procedures are readily available to staff and parents. They are clearly written and informative. This ensures that the setting is managed safely and efficiently. The pre-school understands the need to evaluate their practice. This is done in different ways, for example, through parent questionnaires, staff suggestions and ideas and observation of children's enjoyment and engagement in activities and resources. The manager is committed to raising standards in the pre-school and is very receptive to making future improvements. Staff contribute their ideas through regular staff meetings. The pre-school has made improvements with regards to the recommendation made at the last inspection. For example, staff have attended a large range of various courses covering different areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage to enhance their knowledge and

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provision

promote better outcomes for the children.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are very good as staff discuss every aspect of their child's learning and development with them on a daily basis. Parents are easily able to access information about the pre-school both within the setting via the notice board and on the website. This includes the policies and procedures, newsletters and information about the staff and committee members. Parents are highly appreciative of staff's work, praising the good communication they have and the regular information they receive. This keeps parents fully informed about their children and what is happening at the pre-school. Parents feel involved in their children's learning as the staff request that they complete wow cards about their child's learning at home. In the Autumn term staff will be introducing rhyme time bags for parents to borrow and they will be given suggestions about how they can use them at home.

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provision

Staff have excellent systems in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They work closely with parents, speech and language therapist and portage workers to devise Individualised Education Plans (IEPs) that ensure children's care, learning and development is tailored to their specific needs and abilities. Staff work well with other providers and agencies involved in children's care, which helps to support and close gaps in children's learning. These include childminders, health professionals and school staff which helps to provide a consistent and shared approach to children's learning. It also benefits children's transition through the education system to school.

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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 139362 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 843053 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 36 Number of children on roll 55 Name of provider St Andrews Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 23/03/2010 Telephone number 01308 458151

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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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