Camel Pre-School

Camel Pre-School Stockham CP School, Stockham Way, Wantage, Oxfordshire, OX12 9HL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/09/2014 27/11/2008

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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

 Teaching is good. Staff provide a wide range of resources and experiences, which they base around children's interests and learning needs. As a result, children make good progress in all areas of their learning and development.  Staff are especially sensitive in recognising some children's fears and anxieties and successfully find ways to overcome them. They recognise and meet each child's unique care and learning needs effectively.  Staff work very closely with parents and other professionals, in particular the host school. This helps prepare children very well for their move into school.  Staff give children's safety a high priority. They create a safe environment, supervise children closely and teach them how to keep themselves safe.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Although management and staff reflect on their practice they do not fully use supervision meetings and peer observations to help all staff explore more effective teaching methods.  While staff provide parents with good information about their children's progress, they do not encourage them to routinely share details of children's achievements from home.

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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 morning and afternoon session in the two playrooms and the pre-school garden.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had discussions with the manager and a member of the committee. Safeguarding was discussed and the inspector viewed a sample of policies.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed a sample of children's personal and developmental records and discussed them with children's key member of staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with several parents on the day and took account of their comments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector and manager undertook a joint observation of an activity with the younger children.

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Information about the setting

The Camel Pre-school opened in 1969. The management is overseen by a voluntary committee of parents. The pre-school operates from its own building in the grounds of Stockham County Primary School, Wantage, Oxfordshire. There are two play rooms, with kitchen and toilet facilities. Children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area with the school reception class as well as having their own enclosed garden.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school is open Monday to Friday during term time between 8am and 6pm. A breakfast club is run between 8am and 9am and an after school club between 3pm and 6pm. Children aged over eight years also attend these sessions. In addition, the pre- school runs for three weeks during the Easter and summer school holidays, providing care for children aged from two to 11 years. There are currently 103 children on roll, of these, 56 are in the early years age range, between two and four years old. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are learning English as an additional language. The pre-school receives funding for free early years education for children aged two, three and four.

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Information about the setting

The committee employ 11 members of staff, of these ten, including the manager, hold appropriate early years qualifications. One of these members of staff holds an early years degree. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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

 strengthen arrangements to supervise staff to more fully support their continuing professional development and further enhance children's achievements

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

 build on the already strong partnerships with parents, by inviting them to share even more about their children's achievements at home so that children fully benefit from a shared understanding and common approach to supporting their progress.

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who attend

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this friendly and vibrant pre-school. They receive a warm welcome by exceptionally caring staff who support them well. Children quickly gain the confidence to explore the wide range of resources and activities that staff provide inside and outdoors. Staff understand how children learn through play. They observe the children and know when to join in or direct children's play and when to leave them to develop their own ideas and find out things for themselves. This encourages the children to become highly independent and creative learners.

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who attend

Staff plan activities around children's interests. Children's recent interest in pirates led to many activities, such as making treasure maps and working collaboratively to build a pirate ship from cardboard boxes. Staff skilfully encourage children to use their growing mathematical understanding as they design and measure spaces. Staff also listen to children and encourage them to persevere and develop their ideas. For example, a child appeared unhappy with their displayed robot picture. A member of staff offered to take the picture down so that the child could add to the piece of work until they were satisfied with the result. Children keenly display all the attributes of effective learners, which prepare them well for future learning.

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who attend

Children can choose to play outside for much of the day and this especially benefits children who learn better outside. The two outside play areas are rich with learning opportunities. Staff use tyres and bamboo plants to screen enclosed areas, where children like to talk with friends. Children develop great control and coordination as they climb and balance. They independently find magnifiers so they can hunt bugs in the garden. Staff skilfully enhance children's interest by providing laminated pictures of all the creatures they might find, so they can match them. Staff have very close links with the host school including a shared session each week with the reception class. This gives confidence to children who have recently started school and prepares pre-school children very well for their eventual move. Staff share knowledge and ideas with reception staff so there is consistency in teaching and learning, for example in introducing children to sounds and

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who attend

Children find resources easily because staff label them clearly with pictures and words to support their choices. Staff provide materials to encourage early writing in different areas, inside and outdoors. As a result, children willingly use them to enhance their own play and begin to use writing for a purpose. Children develop a love of books as they listen to well- read stories. They enjoy snuggling up on the sofa to share a favourite story with a member of staff. Staff focus strongly on developing children's communication and language They use songs and rhymes to help children develop their vocabulary and also send words home for parents to explore with their children. Staff use effective strategies to support children who are learning to speak English as an additional language. For example, they ask parents for key words in their home languages and make sure they learn, and use, the correct pronunciation with children. Staff offer good encouragement

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who attend

for children to develop mathematical understanding as they play. Children consider number and quantity as they cut and share play dough, count the cakes they make and decide how many candles to add.

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who attend

Staff work very well with parents, who speak highly about the pre-school. They say that their children are making very good progress. They also praise the caring support that they receive from staff to help their children settle and to provide ideas to support their learning at home. For example, staff supply the words to songs and rhymes and lend reading books. Staff regularly share information with parents through daily discussions, information books, termly progress reports and arranged meetings. However, there is scope for staff to provide parents with more opportunities to share information about what their children can do at home. This would give a fuller picture of children's interests and abilities, and enable staff and parents to enhance children's learning further.

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

Staff support children's emotional well-being extremely well. From the outset, every child has a special member of staff, or key person, who oversees their learning and care. The manager takes great care to organise settling-in periods so that staff can give their full attention to new children. This helps children settle quickly and grow in confidence. Staff are highly sensitive in recognising children's anxieties and monitor how well they engage in play. Where they feel it is likely to be beneficial, they take small groups of children to a smaller room in the school to help develop their social skills and confidence in a supportive environment. This is of significant benefit to children in helping them settle and make friends as they move on to school.

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

Staff create a stimulating and welcoming environment, with an extensive range of play resources and equipment. They thoughtfully arrange the environment to develop children's independence and to encourage them to play cooperatively with others. For example, large sandpits allow several children to play together. There is a high ratio of adults who organise themselves well to support children's learning very effectively both inside and outdoors. Staff supervise children closely and they are excellent role models for children to learn how to play safely and with regard for others. Children display good social skills as they celebrate other's achievements, such as telling a friend 'well done' when they manage to cross the balancing bridge.

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

Children learn to manage small risks as they use the climbing and balancing equipment or handle knives and scissors with care. Staff have a good understanding of their role in helping to safeguard children. They implement clear procedures, such as routinely checking for hazards and taking steps to minimise these. Staff also ensure that access to the premises is carefully controlled to help keep children safe.

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

Staff encourage children to manage their own personal needs and older children wash their hands independently before eating. They hang up their coats and help to sweep up after lunch, without an adult reminder. These important life skills help them settle more easily when they move on to school. Staff talk to children about making healthy choices. They provide a variety of fresh fruit everyday and reluctant children are gently encouraged to try different fruits. Children are physically active every day. The spacious outdoor areas give them plenty of room to run and play boisterously, helping them stay fit and healthy.

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provision

The experienced and enthusiastic manager works closely with the management committee to guide the dedicated staff team. All those involved have a thorough understanding of their responsibility to meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff working with children have a good knowledge of the pre-school's clearly presented policies and procedures, and implement these consistently. The management team have a strong focus on safeguarding children. The manager has attended training in safe recruitment. She ensures robust procedures are followed when new staff are employed to check the suitability of all adults working with children. All staff receive child protection training and they demonstrate a good knowledge of what they must do if they have concerns for a child's welfare. The management and staff routinely review and update policies and risk assessments.

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provision

Staff are eager to continue developing their good knowledge of early years care and education. They willingly attend training and attain additional qualifications. This is reflected in the good quality of care and teaching within the pre-school. The manager appoints lead members of staff for different areas of the curriculum, such as outdoor play, communication and language, and special educational needs and/or disabilities. This develops staff's skills and improves the quality of teaching overall. There are generally effective systems for managing performance. Staff reflect on their practice and the manager informally observes their teaching. However, supervision meetings and peer reviews are not fully established to help staff identify areas for improvement. For example, staff do not always receive enough guidance on how to manage large group activities resulting in some of the youngest children becoming distracted.

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provision

Staff monitor children's progress. Their records are overseen by the manager to ensure staff are consistently and accurately assessing children's achievements. This ensures that staff quickly identify any individual or group of children with specific needs so these can be met. The staff establish very strong partnerships with parents, schools, other settings and outside professionals. These contribute significantly to the good outcomes for all children. The management seek the views of parents, children and staff to help draw up an improvement plan. For example, there are plans to buy more resources that will help children use and understand technology.

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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 EY335445 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 828263 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 103 Name of provider Camel Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 27/11/2008 Telephone number 07880 757668

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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

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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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