Little Stars Pre-School

Little Stars Pre-School Bangladesh Youth League, 94-106 Leagrave Road, LUTON, LU4 8HZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/09/2014 17/02/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Staff promote the partnerships with parents well. They organise events and activities for parents to participate in with their children at the pre-school.  Staff support children's emotional development through praise and encouragement. They involve children in tasks and daily routines. As a result, children learn to respect others and the environment.  Staff understand the safeguarding and welfare requirements. The manager shares policies with staff and parents so they understand the procedures in place to educate, care and protect the children.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff do not fully implement the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Assessment and planning procedures are inconsistent across the pre-school.  The progress check for children aged between two and three years does not identify children's actual stages of development. Therefore, children lack support for their emerging needs.  The manager does not monitor the consistency and effectiveness of the educational programmes for children. As a result, there are gaps in children's progress.

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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 activities in each of the playrooms. She talked to staff and interacted with children throughout the inspection.  The inspector viewed the areas of the premises and garden used by the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of the suitability of staff members and a range of other documentation, including the safeguarding procedures.  The inspector spoke to parents and took account of their views.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed the provider's self-evaluation form and looked at improvement plans.

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Information about the setting

Little Stars Pre-School was registered in 2002 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from the local youth and development centre in Luton, Bedfordshire. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are offered from 9am until 12noon and 1pm until 4pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children and there are currently 25 children on roll. They support a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school employs seven members of childcare staff. Of these, six hold appropriate early years qualifications at levels 2, 3 and 4. The manager holds a qualification at level 5. The pre-school is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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must:

 develop a consistent assessment and planning process where staff identify children's next steps of learning and plan purposeful activities to support their progress

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must:

 complete the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years according to the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage to ensure children's emerging needs are identified and supported

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must:

 improve the quality of teaching to ensure children are provided with more challenging and interesting activities which are planned to meet their needs and help them to make best progress.

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

 enhance the monitoring and supervision of staff to ensure they maintain effective and consistent assessments of their key children's needs.

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who attend

Staff demonstrate a satisfactory understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They have procedures to initiate assessment and planning for children from their early days at the pre-school. However, these are not consistent for all children across the nursery. For example, in the room for two-year-old children, staff effectively engage with parents to identify children's starting points. Parents complete a 'baseline' form with information about their children's home life, communication, social and physical skills. They also highlight children's current stages of development in the Early Years Outcomes document. As a result, children in this room have their initial experiences at the pre-school tailored to their needs. At the same time, in the room for three- and four-year-old children, most children have very limited assessments of their skills. Staff working with the two-year-old children, maintain regular

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who attend

observations, assessments and planning for children. Therefore, children benefit from close monitoring of their needs and are provided with interesting activities that challenge their learning. At the same time, staff working with the three- and four-year-old children, provide children with less effective teaching due to the incoherent support they receive. Consequently, some children lack support to develop their skills and learn. Therefore, there are gaps in their progress and they are not effectively supported to achieve to their full potential. Staff complete the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years. However, records are incomplete due to the lack of information about children's actual stages of learning and development and next steps in learning. Staff evaluate young children's skills in the seven areas of learning and there is no focus on their strengths where they develop less than expected in the prime areas. Therefore, they

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who attend

do not identify children's emerging needs or plan effective targets for further development of their skills.

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who attend

Children are provided with good resources, toys and equipment to initiate their play. For example, children explore the home corner and pretend to make tea for the staff. Staff set up a modelling dough activity for children to play and they pretend to make a cake. They take their cakes to the home corner and pretend to bake them. Children play together and cooperatively decorate the cake, made out of modelling dough, using cutters and stamps. They have plenty of opportunities to play and interact with peers and staff. This enables them to enhance their imaginative development, independence and confidence. Staff organise educational routines, such as group time and outdoor play time for children. However, the quality of teaching is affected because of the lack of challenge children encounter during activities, which are generally planned to entertain them rather than to support their actual educational needs. Staff support a number of children who speak

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who attend

English as an additional language and effectively promote their cultural backgrounds. For example, they obtain key words from parents in the children's home language and celebrate their cultures during traditional festivals.

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who attend

Partnerships with parents are effectively promoted at the pre-school. For example, staff provide parents with daily feedback about what their children have enjoyed at the pre- school. This supports parents in further extending children's learning at home. Staff organise opportunities to engage parents in children's assessments and planning. For example, there is an 'all about me tree' displayed in the entrance hall. Parents are encouraged to collect a 'leaf' and write observations of their children's learning at home. Staff, especially in the room for two-year-old children, use the information shared by parents to enhance children's planning at the pre-school. In general, all staff have a good understanding of children's individual interests. For example, they identify children's interest in ball games and provide them with a ball to play with. Staff understand the early learning goals of the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, some children's learning and

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who attend

development are not maximised to ensure their readiness for school.

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

Staff provide children and parents with a very welcoming environment. They organise informative displays for parents to ensure they are aware of who staff and key persons are. During drop-off and collection times, all staff interact with parents and they display suitable relationships. Staff work with parents to ensure their practice is tailored to meet the individual care needs and routines of children. For example, they obtain information from parents about children's dietary requirements, allergies and personal preferences. They effectively support children's emotional development and children are happy at the pre-school. Children display great relationships with staff and peers. Staff provide them with calm and unrushed routines, which positively allow children to have time to explore and play.

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

Staff maintain consistent behaviour management procedures, to ensure that children learn to behave well. For example, staff often discuss strategies to support individual children when behavioural issues arise. They understand the importance of working with parents to support children's understanding of what is right and wrong. Staff involve and encourage children to help and participate. For example, children help in daily routines and different tasks of day-to-day practice, such as setting up activities and snacks. Staff praise children when they help and behave well. They motivate children to be kind, polite and to respect others and the environment.

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

Staff promote healthy living by providing children with opportunities to learn about healthy lifestyles. For example, they ensure snacks are nutritious and that children have access to fresh drinking water throughout their sessions. Children participate in outside activities and staff promote their physical development by supporting them to explore the outdoor play equipment. Staff support children to learn about minding their personal safety and encourage them to manage risks effectively. For example, children ride different bikes and scooters in the garden while other children play ball games. Therefore, staff effectively teach children about managing their space and the space of others so that they avoid accidents. Children have access to toilets and hand washing facilities and they manage their personal needs. For example, children wash, rinse and dry their hands independently. Additionally, staff display posters and visual aids in order to enhance

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

children's understanding of positive hygiene practices. Toys and resources are easily accessible and children benefit from comfortable areas to rest, relax and enjoy quiet play. Children are very vocal during group time and staff effectively ensure they all have their chance to participate. For example, children choose songs to sing during group time and staff ensure they are given the opportunity to sing for their peers. This helps children to develop a sense of trust, importance and competence. The key-person system is in place and children relate well to their key staff. They are effectively supported to communicate their needs with others. For example, they let staff know when they need to use the toilet. Children are supported to develop important personal, social and emotional skills and this supports them appropriately for their next steps of learning at school.

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provision

Staff have a sound understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The manager ensures that policies and procedures are in line with current legislation. She shares them with parents and staff to ensure effective management of the pre-school. For example, she provides them with a prospectus with a summary of the policies in place so everyone involved with the pre-school understands the procedures in place to protect the well-being and welfare of children. There are safe recruitment procedures and staff are suitable to care for and educate children. For example, the manager maintains records of all staff suitability checks and their qualifications. Staff give great attention to meeting the expected ratios to ensure children are provided with suitable supervision and attention. For example, staff complete daily registers for children's attendance and the manager ensures suitable staff deployment.

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provision

There are robust procedures to deal with complaints and requests from parents. For example, all matters raised at the pre-school are investigated and dealt with promptly. Staff conduct daily risk assessment checks and provide children with secure indoor and outdoor areas to ensure they are able to explore and play safely.

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provision

Staff have a good understanding of the importance of engaging parents in their children's pre-school experience. The manager greets parents on their arrival and asks for their ideas and suggestions to further improve the practice. She conducts routine questionnaires with parents to ensure their expectations with regards to their children's care and education are met in practice. For example, parents suggest the manager to enhance the children's waiting area at the pre-school. The manager liaises with the local library and now provides books, including bilingual books, for the pre-school children and parents to enjoy reading together while they wait for their session to start. This demonstrates that the management team embraces parents' ideas in order to enhance opportunities for children and involve them in practice. The manager writes monthly newsletters to keep parents informed of the day-to-day practice and events at the pre-

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provision

school. For example, she ensures that information about new members of staff, events for parents and aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage are regularly shared with parents. As a result, parents are kept informed of changes made at the pre-school.

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provision

The manager organises regular supervision meetings for staff and observes their practice with children. However, not all staff are effectively supported in promoting children's learning and development. The monitoring of teaching and learning is not robust enough to ensure that all requirements are met consistently across the pre-school. There are good links with local children's centres and the local authority inclusion team who conduct audits at the pre-school to monitor if the pre-school promotes equal opportunities effectively. The manager regularly reviews the Ofsted self-evaluation form with the support of staff and team leaders. She maintains action plans and regularly implements new procedures to continuously enhance the services provided for children attending the pre-school.

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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 EY222793 Local authority Luton Inspection number 988701

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 100 Number of children on roll 25 Name of provider Abdul Halim Date of previous inspection 17/02/2011 Telephone number 01582 519506

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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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