Dinton Pre-School

Dinton Pre-School Village Hall, Dinton, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP17 8UH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/09/2014 21/01/2009

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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

 Leadership and management is strong. The manager has a very clear awareness of the setting's strengths and weaknesses, which enables her to drive continuous improvements that are beneficial to children and parents.  Staff share regular, purposeful information with parents, ensuring they are fully informed of their child's progress and activities, and how to support learning at home.  Links with other early years providers are strong, meaning all children are able to make good progress in their learning.  The effective key person system enables children to feel safe and emotionally secure in the warm and welcoming environment.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always provide opportunities for children to think critically and creatively and to solve problems during their play, through asking open questions and extending their use of the range of resources.

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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 toured the premises with the manager and held discussions with management and staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a selection of policies, staff records, registers, planning and children's progress records.  The inspector observed staff and children during activities and routines.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to at the inspection.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector viewed the setting's self-evaluation systems.

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Information about the setting

Dinton Pre-school has been operating from the village hall for over 29 years. It has been managed by its current owner since 2003. There are separate kitchen and toilet facilities and a fully enclosed outdoor play area. This provision is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary Childcare Register. There are currently 28 children on roll from age 2 years to 5 years. The setting supports children with special educational needs/or disabilities, and those who learn English as an additional language. The setting is open each weekday during term-time and sessions are from 9am until 3pm. Flexible sessions can include lunch, which parents provide. Children can also attend all day. It is open for 38 weeks per year. Children live locally or travel from the surrounding areas. There are currently seven members of staff; the owner/manager has a Degree in Early Childhood Studies and Early Years Professional Status. The deputy manager and all

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Information about the setting

key person practitioners hold level 3 childcare qualifications.

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

 provide further challenging opportunities for children to think critically and creatively through asking open ended questions and extending use of the range of resources.

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who attend

The manager is tireless in her efforts to meet the needs of all children at the setting. She improves practitioners' skills and knowledge by providing targeted training. For example, to raise children's achievement in early language, the pre-school uses Every Child a Talker guidance to inform practice and policy. As a result, children's communication and language skills develop well.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They provide plenty of opportunities for mark making, for example with chalks and board pens. As a result, children enjoy developing their skills during writing activities, for instance, when writing messages for each other. At story times, children listen and interact as the adult reads to them. The youngest children can choose to continue playing nearby but within earshot. This means that they also benefit in hearing stories as they gain in confidence to join the others.

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who attend

Staff encourage children to develop their self-confidence and sense of belonging through effective activities. For example, to show they value children's interests, they encourage them to express their likes and dislikes by taking part in surveys about their favourite snacks. Staff show the results on a pictorial display, which helps children to count and compare the outcomes, supporting their mathematical and language development as they discuss the findings and share their thoughts. Staff use this information to provide healthy snacks that children really enjoy, showing they respect children's opinions.

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who attend

Staff do not always fully extend children's learning to think critically and creatively and to solve problems during their play. Awide and interesting range of art materials, with easy access, is available for children. However, staff did not provide enoughencouragement, both verbally and through modelling,to engage children with the materialson offer,and as a result, they are under-used. Children preferredwashing theart tables using sponges and water. Childrenplayed withcomputerised tablets,exploring the interactive features. Staff offered praise for their enthusiasm. However, when children became frustrated because they could not do something, some members of staff did not support themthrough using open questions so children could problem solve and discover answers for themselves. This does not fully support children'sconfidence and concentration,and as a result, some children did not maintain their engagement for very

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who attend

Staff use a recognised child development profile to assess children's learning outcomes and plan a wide range of interesting activities according to children's age and stage. Over the course of a year, every area of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage is covered. Parents provide the setting with a wealth of information about children's prior skills and current needs. This assists staff to assess children's starting points and to monitor their progress during their time at the pre-school. As a result, learning outcomes for all children are improved. Staff hold progress meetings with parents and also provide regular reports about children's development. These steps ensure parents have up to date information about their child's development and progress.

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who attend

Once a week, dedicated sessions prepare children for school. As an example, children enjoy fun activities that support phonic recognition which, in turn, support early reading and writing. As a result, children receive good preparation for their transition. Teachers from local schools also attend the setting, thereby supporting smooth transition arrangements. For example, children appreciate the photograph they take of themselves with their new teacher. This enables them to become familiar with key people in their life and talk about expectations and routines. In addition, staff work in partnership with parents to support the transition to school. Activity packs are available to loan for this purpose. Parents receive information about suitable interactive learning resources, such as 'maths is everywhere' via emails and website links. This enables parents to also play a key role in supporting their children as they move onto school.

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

Care practices at the setting are good. Staff support children to develop responsibility in their hygiene practices, for example, children wash their hands before eating. Staff promote independence in care routines to support children in gaining the skills they will need when they eventually start school.

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

Children make good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. Each child has an assigned key person, and as a result, children quickly settle into pre-school. Parents and carers report that staff have warm relationships with all the children and that 'staff listen to them and their children'. This means children show high self-esteem and emotional security due to the positive relationships. Staff are good role models promoting children's polite and kind behaviour. Children learn to respect each other and to take turns in their play. Staff celebrate all good behaviour with children, for example, using the special tree display. This has photographs of the children and child friendly phrases, such as kindness, politeness. This also helps to remind children of expectations for good behaviour. Staff share behaviour targets with parents to promote consistent practice at home and pre-school and to support children's emotional well-being.

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

Children play in a warm and welcoming environment, with a good range of resources available to them. A high ratio of adults means staff supervise children well and enables children to have frequent access to the outdoors. This means that children feel very confident about playing outside and they enjoy plenty of fresh air and exercise every day. Staff provide child-friendly risk assessments for the children to use. This helps them to develop an awareness of potential hazards in their play environment and take steps to minimize these for themselves. Children's independence is further encouraged as they manage their own coats, hats and boots when choosing to go outside or return inside.

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

Children have access to drinking water at all times. Flexible snack time arrangements promote children's self-confidence and levels of independence. This means children choose to eat when they are hungry without interrupting their play. Children enjoy their responsibilities as snack monitor, helping to set up the food on the tables, and helping to clean up afterwards. This helps to develop their sense of responsibility.

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provision

The manager and staff have a thorough understanding of the safeguarding and welfare, and learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The manager strives to achieve the highest standards to meet the needs of all children attending. There is a robust system in place for the safe recruitment of suitable staff. A comprehensive checklist covers all aspects of staff induction and this process takes several weeks to complete. This means staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities. In addition, all staff are very confident about child protection matters and the procedure to take if they have any concerns. This securely supports children's safety and well-being.

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provision

The manager addresses staff development through annual appraisals. There are also termly review meetings, which mean that staff are supported to achieve, both their individual long and short-term development targets. The manager has high expectations of her staff and is keenly aware about how to support them to improve, for example, to ensure consistently high quality interactions between staff and children. This enables her to identify some weaker aspects in teaching and develop training ideas to address them. The manager also identifies the team's requirements and this informs her whole staff- training programme. For example, recent behaviour management training has resulted in a more consistent approach from all staff.

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provision

The leadership of the pre-school strives to achieve high quality in all of the setting activities. There is a clear and well-documented drive to improve the setting, demonstrated thorough highly effective self-evaluation. Partnership working with parents is well established. Every possible way to promote good two-way communications are utilised, for example, via newsletters, emails, telephone, website links and surveys. This means parents are up to date and clear about policies and staff practices. Information gained from parents as part of the setting's self-evaluation has led to improvements in practice. For example, when parents asked for more support with their children's learning at home, the manager devised a family link system to help them. This provides parents with detail about the termly activities at pre-school, with links to suggested activities for families to complete at home. Past examples include a nursery rhyme challenge and

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provision

'maths is everywhere'. This means parents play an important part in their children's learning and development. This provision is popular and strongly supports improved learning outcomes for children. The setting works effectively with other early years providers to ensure consistency in children's care and learning experiences.

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provision

The manager attends the local Early Years Practitioner network meetings to share ideas and good practice with other early years settings. This allows her to raise standards and use new ideas in her setting. She also provides outreach support to other pre-schools, for example, advising them how to meet the needs of two-year-olds at pre-school. The manager frequently monitors and updates the self-evaluation to ensure children make the best possible progress in their learning and development. Parent and staff contributions also help to inform ongoing improvements that benefit the children. The highly focused and committed manager demonstrates a strong drive for continuous improvement.

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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 EY251178 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 833027 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 28 Name of provider Valerie Partington Date of previous inspection 21/01/2009 Telephone number 07753 118 315

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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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