Joeys Pre-School

Joeys Pre-School Furnace Community Centre, Ashburnham Road, CRAWLEY, West Sussex, RH10 6QZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/09/2014 21/11/2013

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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 a good knowledge of children's level of development and use effective teaching strategies to ensure all children are making good progress.  Children are happy, confident and have a secure relationship with the staff; children show good levels of independence.  Staff have a good relationship with parents and share information about their children's development effectively.  Strong systems are in place to ensure the safety and welfare of all children. Risk assessments are in place and updated regularly.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There are not effective systems in place for communicating with other early years settings children attend to provide consistency in care, learning and development for each child.  Staff do not always offer clear explanations when giving instructions to children, to help each child fully understand what is expected from them.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the manager, staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation including policies and procedures, risk assessments and accident records, and discussed their use with staff.  The inspector observed staff and children as they played.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector gained feedback from parents through discussion.

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Information about the setting

Joeys Pre-School registered in 2012 and operates from a community building in Crawley, West Sussex. Children have use of a large hall and a smaller room, as well as an enclosed outside play area. The pre-school is open from 9am to 3pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, during school term time. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 31 children on roll. The pre-school is in receipt of funding to provide free early education for children aged three and four years. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school employs nine members of staff, seven of whom hold a relevant early years qualification.

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

 develop systems for communicating with other early years settings that children attend to provide a consistent approach to helping each child to make good progress

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

 provide children with consistent and clear explanations for desired behaviour so that each child has a good understanding of what is expected from them.

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who attend

Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of how to promote the areas of learning and development so that children make good progress towards the early learning goals. When children start, staff work closely with the parents to gain information about their child's interests and routines and use All About Me forms to record this. This enables the staff to observe the children and use this information to assess their starting points for learning and plan to support their next steps. The key-person system is effective and the manager decides children's key persons after the first few days to see who they gravitate towards naturally. However, children have a good relationship with all of the staff and confidently talk to them, include them in their play and ask for support if needed. Staff observe and monitor children's development effectively. There is a secure system in place to ensure all children are focused on throughout the six-weekly planning cycle. This

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who attend

ensures that next steps are developed and children make good progress in their learning and development. Every half term staff write useful summary reports which detail their key children's development in each of the areas of learning. Further next steps are highlighted which staff then use effectively to inform future planning. Staff are also aware of the need to complete the progress check for two-year-olds to assess their strengths and any areas where they make less progress. The staff complete these efficiently the term before children turn three years. Each term, the manager inputs the children's observation into an online monitoring programme. This further assists staff in tracking children's development, highlighting any gaps in their learning and ensuring that all children are making good progress. The staff share all assessments as well as a daily contact book with parents and meetings are offered to them to discuss their child's development. This

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who attend

encourages parents to support children's learning further at home.

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who attend

Staff promote children's communication and language development well through good- quality teaching. Staff engage with children during all activities and ask a range of questions which encourage children to talk and explore their ideas. Children asked staff to read them a story. Staff read the story with good levels of enthusiasm and they asked the children to recognise the names of colours and pieces of fruit within the story. Encouraging the children to be involved with the story kept them engaged and fully promoted their language development. Children made models out of construction bricks and excitedly told the staff 'I have made a big statue'. Once again staff showed great enthusiasm and offered praise to the children with comments such as 'Well done, that is spectacular!' This develops children's self-esteem which gives them the confidence to actively explore and have a go at trying out new things. During circle time children sit

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who attend

together and sing and wave hello to everyone using their first names. Children are encouraged to stand up in front of the group and say their name, to which other children respond with hello. This develops children's sense of belonging and enables them to feel safe and secure in their environment.

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who attend

Staff provide a good and varied amount of learning opportunities for children and provide appropriate levels of challenge depending on children's age. This helps to ensure they are prepared for their next stage in learning and their move to school. Children choose whether they would like to play inside or outside and staff are well deployed in all areas to offer support if needed and teach children different skills. Inside, children used a large chalkboard and staff discussed with them the marks they had made, commenting 'You have made a green circle.' This supports children's knowledge of colour and shape and promotes their early writing skills. In the garden, children crushed up cereal and then used diggers and cars to move over the mixture. Staff asked children what it felt like and children discussed their thoughts with each other, 'It is crumply and hard' and 'It crunches'. This encourages children to actively explore and describe what they are doing

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who attend

which further develops their communication and language development.

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who attend

Staff supported other children well outside as they practised throwing coloured beanbags into hoops. Staff encouraged children to match colours correctly when throwing the beanbags. This promotes children's hand-eye co-ordination as well as their knowledge of colour. Inside the pre-school another group of children enjoyed singing time and chose musical instruments to use to express their creativity by making different sounds. Staff sang number rhymes and encouraged the children to count. This enhances children's confidence and knowledge of number. Children also showed good levels of confidence when using equipment such as digital cameras. They moved around the room taking pictures of the staff and their friends and showed excitement when they looked back at what they have done. Such activities help children learn to use technology and increase their understanding of the world.

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

Children are happy and settled during their time at the pre-school. Staff spend time with individual children who have recently started to help them feel more secure and comfortable. They show the children around the room and play with them on a one-to-one basis to help them settle. After a short time children become more confident and start talking to the staff. This demonstrates the beginnings of good attachments being made. Children include staff in their play and confidently seek them out if they need support. Children show good levels of independence as they move around their environment deciding what to do and play with. The room is welcoming and well resourced. Toys and activities are stored at low levels and are labelled appropriately so children can independently select what they would like to do. This helps children be confident and in control of their own learning and development.

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

Children have a good understanding of personal hygiene and show confidence in excitedly rushing off to wash their hands before eating. Staff remind children not to run or push each other on their way to the bathroom. However, some staff do not always give explanations to their instructions. This means children's understanding of what is expected from them is not fully developed. Mealtimes are a social occasion and children sit together and eat the food provided for them by their parents. Children discuss what they have in their lunchboxes and they develop independence as they unwrap their sandwiches and open containers of fruit. Children are encouraged to eat their lunch by staff who sit close by and offer support if needed. Staff manage children's behaviour well overall. During circle time, staff use a board which displays the pre-school's rules. Staff discuss with the children what is expected from them such as 'Good listening', 'No running inside' and

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

'Gentle hands'. The use of displays and posters around the room, as well as staff acting as positive role models, help to encourage the children to respect each other. Children are encouraged to take turns and share resources. During activities children listen to each other and show consideration towards their friends. Staff are committed to teaching the children about the world they live in and research different religions and cultures and plan activities to develop children's knowledge of diversity to promote equal opportunities.

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

Staff promote healthy lifestyles to children and they enjoy lots of opportunities to play in the outside area. The area is well resourced with climbing equipment, slides and cars to promote physical development. There is also a large space for children to run around to support their good health. Children are encouraged to learn how to manage their own risks when using the climbing equipment. Staff stand close to the climbing frame and ask the children what they are doing so that they are aware that they are there. 'Are you climbing up?' 'Are you going through the hole? Be careful.' This encourages children's confidence and allows them to challenge their current level of physical development.

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

The pre-school has good relationships with local schools and staff work closely with the teachers to ensure a smooth transition for the children. This ensures that children and their parents feel emotionally ready for the next stage in their learning. Staff also work closely with the local children's centre and use them for advice on children's development such as speech and language. However, there are not secure systems in place for staff to work in partnership with additional early years settings that children attend. This hinders staff in working collaboratively to monitor and support each child's development so they continue to make good progress in readiness for school.

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provision

The manager and staff have a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements in order to protect children's welfare. There is a clear child protection policy in place, which, along with the training all staff receive, helps them to know how to keep children safe. Staff are confident in recording accidents and incidents and monitor these to ensure there are not any recurring patterns. Staff make certain that they inform parents about any accidents their children have so they are aware of any issues that may affect their child's well-being. The majority of the staff hold a full and relevant paediatric first-aid certificate to enable them to quickly respond to any accident appropriately. The staff risk assess the pre-school and carry out daily visual checks to help them to ensure the environment and equipment is safe for children. Staff supervise children well and they deploy themselves effectively in the available areas to the children. This further ensures

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provision

The pre-school has a robust recruitment system in place. This involves obtaining written references, carrying out appropriate vetting checks and applicants taking part in observed play sessions. This helps management to ensure the employment of suitable staff. Staff complete an induction process which helps to ensure they are aware of their roles and responsibilities regarding children's care, learning and development. The manager offers support through one-to-one supervision sessions every six weeks where they discuss staff development and identify on-going training needs. In addition to this annual appraisals also take place. This helps the manager to monitor staff's performance to help improve practice. The manager holds staff meetings fortnightly where staff discuss children's development and planning ideas to enable them to implement the educational programmes efficiently. Peer observation is also used and staff discuss their observations

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provision

with each other to improve current practice and outcomes for children.

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provision

The manager strives to improve the quality of the pre-school's provision. Since the last inspection the entire team have worked hard to improve their practice and have worked towards meeting the actions previously set. The manager has worked closely with the local authority and used their support and guidance to help improve the quality of care and learning for all children. The majority of the staff hold a recognised childcare qualification and in addition to safeguarding and first-aid training they also access training through the local council. This highlights the commitment the manager has to constantly improving their practice. Staff understand their role as a key person and are confident in describing procedures for first aid, child protection and behaviour management. The pre- school has a thorough development plan in place which highlights their strengths and different aspects of development for the provision. For example, they have recently

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provision

highlighted that they wanted to improve the way children were assessed and now use an online programme to track children's development. The manager also highlighted that staff were unsure of how much children were eating at snack times; therefore, children are now split into key groups and their key person records information on what they have eaten in their contact books so parents are more aware. The pre-school seeks parents' views through discussion and questionnaires and their suggestions are also added to the development plan so they too contribute to the improving provision.

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provision

The management and staff have good relationships with parents. Staff talk to parents on a daily basis about their children's day and their progress in learning. In addition to daily handovers, staff offer parents the opportunity to attend parent meetings every six weeks. Here they can discuss their child's progress with their children's key person in more detail. To further include parents, the pre-school is introducing a Stop for a story time once a week where they invite children and their parents into the setting to read a story with props. This encourages parents to become a part of their children's learning and enables them to continue it at home. Parents offered high levels of praise when asked about the setting and comment on the kind and warm environment that the staff offer. Other parents state that they are happy with the amount of information they receive about their child and know that they are happy and settled.

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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 EY440736 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 962554 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 28 Number of children on roll 31 Name of provider Joeys-Preschool Limited Date of previous inspection 21/11/2013 Telephone number 07826692264

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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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