Stocks Green Pre-school

Stocks Green Pre-school Leigh Road, Hildenborough, Tonbridge, Kent, TN11 9AE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/09/2014 30/04/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Staff's knowledge off the children is exceptional. Tuning into children's interests, staff supply stimulating resources to ignite interest and develop understanding.  Staff are highly skilled at developing children's communication, sensitively interacting to help children develop and voice their own ideas.  The environment is extremely stimulating with an abundance of natural resources for children to investigate and learn through play.  Leadership is inspirational. The manager is forward thinking and highly reflective, striving for continuous improvement.  Staff actively praise children as they acquire new skills, fully fostering independence and confidence.

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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 spoke to children and staff and observed activities within the pre- school the outside area and during a visit to the forest school area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to key persons about children's starting points, their progress and the next steps in their learning.  The inspector looked at children's learning journals and a sample of documents.  The inspector spoke to parents to gain their views about the setting.  The inspector took part in a joint observation of practice.

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Information about the setting

Stocks Green Pre-School registered with Ofsted in 1981. It is a committee run group that operates from a classroom in the grounds of Stocks Green School in Hildenborough, Kent. It has an enclosed area for outdoor play and also has access to the school grounds. It is open each weekday from 8.45am to 11.45am and from 12.15pm to 3.15pm during school term times. The setting serves families from the local residential and rural area. Stocks Green Pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register and maintains positive links with the main school. There are currently 47 children from two and a half to five years on roll, all of who are within the early years age range. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The setting supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. There are seven members of staff all of whom have

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Information about the setting

early years qualifications. The setting receives support from the local authority. The setting has a disabled ramp to facilitate access to children with physical difficulties.

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

 extend opportunities for children to explore and enjoy music in the outdoor environment

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who attend

The quality of teaching is excellent as staff seize every opportunity to teach children through their play. Staff support children's learning styles well as they fully understand the different ways in which children learn. Children excitedly explore their environment. For example, a child on entering the forest school excitedly exclaims 'I love it'. Staff skilfully extend children's learning by asking open-ended questions, making suggestions, offering alternative points of view and re capping on what children are doing. Most significantly staff know all children well, tuning into their interests quickly and supplying resources to ignite their interest and develop their understanding. For instance, staff supported a child's quest to clean the windows of the play house. The staff member gave him water to use with his roller and showed him how to move the roller to clean effectively. He was then given a dry cloth to complete the job. The child and staff then played peek a boo through

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who attend

the clean windows and the child was praised for a job well done, fostering a real sense of achievement.

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who attend

Staff are skilled at developing children's speech and communication, sensitively interacting with children to develop their ideas and encourage independent thinking. Children can be heard chatting happily to staff and each other about what they are doing. Staff respond quickly to children's questions and ideas, often repeating the children's own words then adding new words so that children extend their vocabulary. For example, a child talked about water making things clean and was asked if he could think of other ways clean things. Together they made a list of water, soap, bubbles, bubble bath. Children enjoy books and re-tell stories from memory adding their own imaginative endings, such as the Gingerbread Man 'doing stunts on his bike'. All children make excellent progress and are fully supported in their learning by a highly skilled team.

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who attend

Staff provide a wealth of resources and demonstrate how to use them so that children can quickly acquire new skills. At snack time a child is shown how to use his safety knife to cut up his banana, he is delighted saying 'it's amazing having snack'. There is a well developed Forest School area which is highly stimulating. Children picked blackberries and mixed them with water making purple juice to paint with. Children scrambled over tree stumps and made shops in dens using natural resources to fire their imagination. Staff model friendly and polite behaviour and therefore children are extremely well behaved. Staff help children to understand others feelings and guide them through situations such as sharing. There is a wealth of resources for children to acquire early writing skills and cosy dens make nurturing spaces for children to enjoy books. Staff encourage children to learn mathematical concepts through a range of resources. In the construction area there

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who attend

is a large architect's map which children use to recreate their own structures with wooden blocks. Visits from people who help us, such as the fire brigade ignite children's imagination and dressing up clothes encourage children to act out their own scenarios. Children enjoy listening to and dancing to music indoors, however opportunities to extend this outdoors are less evident.

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who attend

Children engage with the outdoor environment. Taking cooking utensils to the Forest School children enjoy popcorn and drink hot chocolate. They observe the changes to the area such as leaves changing colour and the blackberries growing. Children care for living things and take great care when they find a snail in the mud kitchen, moving him to a 'nice shady place'. Staff actively celebrate children's achievements and share them regularly with parents who comment that their children love coming to pre-school. The manager effectively tracks all children's progress, which is excellent and ensures that strategies are put in place for children who require additional support.

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

There is a very effective key-person system. All parents know who their key person is and really appreciate that they have the same key person for all their children. Upon arrival staff greet all children by name and they settle happily into activities. Children new to the pre-school settle quickly with nurture and support from their key person. There is a real sense of community and belonging. Staff wear pink tops and are affectionately called 'pink ladies' by parents and children. Staff clearly enjoy being with the children and offer continuous praise and encouragement. Staff are nurturing, kind and patient and model excellent behaviour and children are flourishing in their care. Children's behaviour is excellent and there is a warm, happy contented atmosphere. Children play happily and staff are always close by to offer support when required, meaning that children are willing to have a go.

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

Snack and lunch time are a very sociable occasions with staff encouraging independence. Children pour their own drinks and chop their own fruit. Staff sit with the children when they are eating and talk about their day to encourage children's social skills. Children happily discuss what they have got in their lunch boxes and eat well. Children quickly learn routines such as hand washing and know that they need to peel certain fruits. For example, when playing outside a child reminds a member of staff to wash her hands as she has handled a snail. The outdoor environment has been developed and provides shady and covered areas, wet weather all in one suits, wellington boots and sun hats are worn, so that children learn about appropriate clothing and can choose to play outside in all weathers. There is a very strong commitment to keeping children safe. All staff attend relevant safeguarding training with the deputy manager taking a strong lead in developing

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

effective systems. All staff are trained in first aid and respond to any accidents quickly. Clear medical records are maintained.

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

The environment is highly stimulating. Cosy corners, dens, houses, sheds and wigwams make secret places for children to play. There is an abundance of natural resources such as a sensory water fountain, sand with hidden treasure to dig for and tyres to sit in or scramble over. The mud kitchen is full of pots and pans and digging materials, microwave, cooker, tables and water to wash hands in. Children are absorbed in play while the pre- school guinea pigs play happily in their run in the corner, the scene is one of pure contentment. At the paint station children can mix their own paints and children's creations and buildings are left by staff so that children can return to them to add to their designs. Staff display children's models and pictures around the pre-school to foster a sense of pride and achievement.

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

To help children prepare for the move onto school, staff take all children to the school on site for stay and play sessions so that they become familiar with a larger school environment. Reception teachers visit the children at pre-school and staff work effectively with parents to prepare children for starting school. Parents receive a going to school pack so that they can work in partnership with staff to prepare children for starting school.

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provision

There is a very strong commitment to safeguarding with excellent practices in place. Recruitment is highly robust to ensure the safety of children at all times. As part of induction all staff are required to read the settings safeguarding policy, which includes the use of mobile telephones and cameras. Staff are aware of e-safety and ensure that children remain safe when using the pre-school computer. All staff are aware of whistle blowing procedures and no one is allowed to enter the premises without identity being checked.

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provision

Leadership is inspirational. The manager is forward thinking and continuously strives for improvement. There is a whole team approach to self improvement. The manager works in partnership with the committee to ensure that they manage all areas of the pre-school effectively and consequently children flourish in their care. The manager tracks the progress of all children, working closely with her team to ensure that all children are making significant progress across all areas of learning. The manager has effective working relationships with other professionals such as the local Health Visitor and local reception teachers. This means that all children and their families receive exceptionally high levels of support.

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provision

The manager is highly reflective and constantly adds to an ideas book, which is fed into the pre-schools self improvement plan. The pre-school has a Children's Council for children to comment upon what they would like at pre-school. Following a request from the children to have a pre-school pet and visit a theatre, the pre-school has two guinea pigs and are visiting the local theatre to see a performance of 'The Queens Knickers'. Parents frequently complete feedback questionnaires about all aspects of provision so that the manager can identify further services that may be required to meet the needs of all families. The manager communicates effectively with all staff so that they fully embed any changes into practice. The pre-school has joined a local consortium of other early year's settings to discuss and share early years practice and undertake collaborative training.

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provision

There is a strong commitment to training and staff's professional development. All staff hold early years qualifications and are trained in first aid and how to keep children safe. Consequently, all children make excellent progress in their learning and are nurtured and cared for by a highly trained and dedicated team of staff. Parents are delighted with the pre-school exclaiming that they would not want their children to go anywhere else and that the staff really make the pre-school what it is.

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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 127649 Local authority Kent Inspection number 825437 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 47 Name of provider Stocks Green Pre School Date of previous inspection 30/04/2009 Telephone number 01732 834115

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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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