Happy Tykes Preschool Ltd

Happy Tykes Preschool Ltd Race Leys First School, Hurst Road, Bedworth, Warwickshire, CV12 8AD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/05/2014 03/10/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 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 knowledge of how young children learn. They hold recognised childcare qualifications and are experienced in caring for children. Consequently, children are provided with a very good range of stimulating, challenging and fun activities, supporting them to make good progress in their learning.  Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff work hard to ensure there is a joint approach to children's care and learning. Children are well supported enabling them to be happy and enjoy the time they spend at the pre-school.  All staff fully understand their role in safeguarding children. They provide a high quality early years provision, which is welcoming, stimulating and safe where all necessary steps are taken to protect children's welfare.  The manager and staff make good use of ongoing training to build upon their good practice and ensure that children continue to benefit from improvements made at the

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Less confident staff do not always fully challenge children's thinking skills by consistently using open-ended questions during play.  There is further scope to develop regular reflective practice in order to further enhance individual staff personal development.

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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 was given a tour of the two buildings of the pre-school.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children and the manager's self-evaluation form.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed teaching and learning activities in all pre-school rooms, including the outdoor environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.  The inspector carried joint observations with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a number of policies and procedures and discussed progress tracking documentation.

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Information about the setting

Happy Tykes Preschool opened in 1998. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from two buildings on the site of Race Leys Infant School in Bedworth, Warwickshire. Children have access to four playrooms and a secure outdoor play area. The pre-school is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6pm for 49 weeks of the year. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 112 children on roll, of these 74 are in the early years age group. Before and after school and holiday care is offered to children who attend Race Leys Infant and Junior schools. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. There are 11 members of staff who work with the children, three of whom hold an appropriate early years qualification at level 5 and seven hold an appropriate early years qualification at level 3. The pre-school receives support

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

 enhance children's thinking skills further by supporting less confident staff to make more frequent use of open-ended questions during activities

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

 reflect on and develop practices to ensure staff have even more opportunities to enhance their skills and personal development, for example, by using peer observations so that children make the best possible progress.

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who attend

The pre-school is a friendly, welcoming and lively setting. Staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use this to support children's learning and development. They observe children and plan a balance of adult-led and child-initiated learning opportunities and experiences, which are based on children's interests. Staff complete observations on their key children and others in the pre-school to ensure all children's achievements are captured. Children identified working at lower levels than expected for their ages are well supported through additional activities. For example, staff develop strategies in partnership with the other agencies to enhance childrens speech and language development. As a result, children are gaining the required skills to prepare them for the next stage in their learning. The progress check at age two is completed and shared with all relevant partners. This ensures early intervention services for children who

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who attend

might need additional support are engaged swiftly and effectively. Staff complete a regular summative assessment for each of their key children and any gaps in learning are quickly identified and supported.

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who attend

The breadth and depth of the educational programmes ensure children make good progress through interesting and challenging activities and experiences. Throughout the pre-school, children's communication and language abilities are developing well. This is because all staff are beginning to implement the 'Time to Talk' strategies in their conversations with the children. Staff are particularly skilled at developing communication and language is skilfully supported. For example, children share with others their story about their bean plant, listening and taking turns in a smaller group and making the connection with a popular story about the bean stalk. Skilled staff use open-ended questions to support childrens language skills and develop their creative and thinking skills as they confidently anticipate the flow of the story. However, where staff are less confident, there are sometimes missed opportunities for effective use of open-ended

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who attend

questions to engage children during conversations. Children are provided with good opportunities to develop their mathematical skills. For example, staff count at singing time and as children line up to come inside following a fire evacuation exercise. As a result, children incorporate early counting and mathematical vocabulary into their everyday play- based learning, preparing them very well for school. Staff provide children with a good range of appropriate reading materials, which help them to become familiar with written words. Children listen carefully to stories and answer related questions appropriately. Staff provide good opportunities for older children to link letters and sounds in a variety of ways. For example, children find their individual name cards when they arrive at the pre- school. This enables children to recognise their own name, supporting their literacy development well. Further to that, children take home a book of their choice to read with

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who attend

their parents. This develops their interest in books and promotes future practices in readiness for school. Children enjoy exploring a variety of different media. For example, younger children enjoy exploring with making marks in paint trays with a range of vehicles, while older children start to write letters.

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who attend

Staff understand their role in ensuring that every child's learning and care is tailored to meet their individual needs. They effectively seek to engage and support parents in guiding their child's development at home. Parents contribute to their children's starting points by completing information about their children's interests and they look at their child's learning journey records in the pre-school. They benefit from regular discussions at the end of sessions, the use of newsletters and regular updates following the pre-school's assessment process. Parents are encouraged to attend 'come and play' sessions with their children where they take part and see their children enjoying activities. Parents feel welcomed and well-informed about their children's progress in a variety of ways. This means that parents are fully and effectively involved in their children's learning.

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

Staff place a strong emphasis on supporting children's emotional and physical well-being. A highly effective key-person system is in place and this ensures all children, especially those in need of additional support, make secure emotional attachments. There is a thorough, well-established settling-in process in place, which is flexible and meets the needs of individual children attending the pre-school. Consequently, children are well settled and emotionally secure. Good quality information is shared with parents to ensure continuity in children's emotional and physical well-being. Parents are able to view learning journals devised specifically to support them in leaving their child for the first time. This reassures them and further supports children emotionally during times of transition.

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

There are good opportunities for children to develop their understanding of a healthy lifestyle and the importance of fresh air and exercise. Children are provided with healthy snacks, and drinks are available throughout the day. They enjoy playing and learning in all weathers in a well-resourced outdoor play area. Staff talk to children about the benefits of being active. This means that children develop their physical skills, while learning how exercise supports their overall health and well-being. Healthy lifestyles are further promoted as staff discuss with children the importance of eating fresh food at meal times. Staff encourage children to become independent in managing their self-care and personal needs. Consequently, children learn positive messages about sensible hygiene routines.

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

Children's behaviour is good. Distraction techniques are used effectively by staff to avoid an escalation of conflict between children. As a result, children are aware of the boundaries set and the behavioural expectations of the pre-school. Children are encouraged to keep each other and themselves safe and demonstrate a clear understanding of the safety rules and routines of the pre-school. The result is a positive atmosphere of mutual respect and trust between children and staff.

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provision

The manager has a good understanding of her responsibility to ensure the pre-school meets the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and has systems in place to monitor their implementation. This is because the manager fully understands her responsibility for keeping children safe. There are clear well-written policies for safeguarding, the use of mobile telephones and cameras and what to do if an allegation is made against a member of staff. These are fully understood and effectively implemented by staff. All staff have a good understanding of safeguarding procedures. They have all recently attended safeguarding training and confidently talk about early possible signs of abuse. Further to that, all staff confidently talk about their responsibilities to report further concerns to the Local Children Safeguarding Board. Appropriate checks on adults are carried out to be sure of their suitability. This means that children's welfare

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provision

is promoted well. There are effective risk assessment procedures for both indoors and outdoors. Daily checks identify any potential hazards as they are found and staff effectively take action to remove them. For example, leaves fallen from the surrounding trees in the outdoor play area are swept daily to minimise potential health and safety risks. First aid requirements are met and staff have up-to-date paediatric first aid training. Documentation is well kept, such as the attendance records and the administration of medicines. As a result, children's welfare and safety are promoted well.

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provision

The manager leads a well-qualified and experienced staff team. They use their skills and expertise to effectively support children's learning and development. Staff feel supported by the manager and the deputy manager to improve their knowledge, understanding and practice. Staff have an annual appraisal with the manager that includes discussions on strengths and areas of improvement. Staff also make use of weekly team meetings to discuss any arising situations. However, there are fewer opportunities for further professional development, such as time for staff to reflect on their practice or for peer observations. This is in order to allow for even more professional development to raise the quality of practice to the highest level. Robust systems are in place to ensure staff are deployed effectively at all times, to meet the needs of children. As a result, children are well supervised and ratios are maintained at all times. The manager is well supported by

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provision

her deputy to maintain an overview of the quality of teaching and learning provided. Observation, assessment and planning documentation is monitored to make sure it is consistent and displays an accurate understanding of all children's skills, abilities and progress. The monitoring of children's progress is strengthened by the use of a local authority computer programme assessment tool. Graphs showing children's good progress are shared with parents termly. The manager and staff use their secure knowledge about how children learn to plan activities to support individual children's progress. Self- evaluation is good and the views of staff, parents and children are used to secure continuous improvement. The staff team have extremely effective working relationships with each other, parents and other professionals. This promotes a collaborative approach towards ensuring that all children achieve their full potential. Feedback from parents is

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provision

positive, confirming the very good relationship that the pre-school team strive to create. Relationships are a definite strength of the pre-school resulting in children achieving highly in personal, social and emotional development.

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provision

Staff have good relationships with early years staff in the school and summaries of learning and development are shared. This helps to improve communication and coordination between professionals, practitioners and families. Partnerships with parents are good. They take an active part in their child's learning and attend the pre-school to be involved in various sessions and activities. The management team demonstrates a strong drive to improve the pre-school and responds to areas identified for improvement by parents, along with collecting the views of staff and children to improve practice and provision. Parents use words, such as 'flexible' and 'brilliant staff' to describe their satisfaction with the level of service provided.

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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. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of 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

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Grade Judgement Description

is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. 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 200612 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 871025

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 47 Number of children on roll 112 Name of provider Happy Tykes Preschool Ltd Date of previous inspection 03/10/2011 Telephone number 02476 312 200

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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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