The Learning Tree Pre-School

The Learning Tree Pre-School @ Wolsey Wolsey Infant School, King Henrys Drive, New Addington, CROYDON, CR0 0PA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/09/2014 23/10/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 4 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 high degree of quality interaction with the children and make a significant contribution towards children's play which supports their understanding in communication and language.  The system of monitoring and performance management is strong which supports the quality of teaching to ensure children make good progress.  Staff have a good understanding of child protection and procedures and a consistent approach to behaviour management.  The pre-school has made significant progress since the last inspection as management and staff have worked very hard to ensure high standards in the pre-school. They are committed to continuous improvement.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 On-going reviews of children's achievements and areas where they may need extra support in their learning do not include the views of teachers of the school or other settings children attend.

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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 discussed safeguarding procedures with staff and reviewed the pre- school's self-evaluation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation, including children's profiles and records and a selection of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the manager, staff and children at appropriate times throughout the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in all of the children's rooms and carried out a joint observation of an activity with the manager.  The inspector had the opportunity to talk to parents during the day.

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Information about the setting

The Learning Tree Pre-School registered in 2007 on the Early Years Register. It is one of three committee-run Learning Tree Pre-Schools in the New Addington area of Croydon, in the London Borough of Croydon. The pre-school is based within a classroom in Wolsey Infants school. The pre-school is open each weekday from 9am to 2.55pm during term time only. The pre-school serves the local community as well as providing wrap-around care for the nursery at the school. There are currently 61 children on roll. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and provides support for children learning English as an additional language. There are 14 staff at the pre- school who work with the children. Of these, 11 have appropriate childcare qualifications, including one who holds Early Years Professional Status. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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

 enhance the programme of children's learning for those who attend the school's nursery session to include the comments from teachers on children's achievements and areas where they need extra support.

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who attend

The organisation of the children's play environment, both inside and outside is both very welcoming and highly stimulating. It is full of fun activities and enables children to play and explore at their own pace. The quality of teaching is consistently high and some are outstanding as staff plan different activities to maintain children's curiosity and develop their concentration. For example, children spent a long time kneading play dough. This is because staff captured their interest from the start by including them in the preparation and making of the dough. Children were encouraged to add flour, water, choose the colour and add essence. Children therefore, learn colours rapidly and recognise different fragrances. Children's enjoyment was therefore complete as they stretched, pulled and made different shapes. Staff provided extra resources such as cutters, scissors, rolling pins and cupcake containers to stimulate children's ideas and creativity. Staff helped children to

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who attend

make different patterns in the dough using their fingers and children became more animated when they found they could do this for themselves. Consequently, children's confidence significantly grows as they begin to critically think about what they are doing as well as strengthening their fingers for other activities such as writing skills.

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who attend

Children's language develops because staff carefully introduce new words, such as stretchy and squashy to help children to express their thoughts. These type of activities also fully support children with special educational needs and /or disabilities. Where children learn English as an additional language, staff make effective use of pictures to describe activities to ensure that all children are included.

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who attend

Staff complete in-depth assessments in partnership with parents when children start. Staff further review these after three weeks to establish a firm baseline assessment for supporting children's progress. Children, therefore, benefit from individually planned activities, ensuring those with differing abilities and interests are catered for. Ongoing observations continue, which further highlight children's achievements. Consequently, planning is very focused in offering children the wealth of variety and meaningful activities. For example, for children who showed an interest in construction and building, staff provided an area for them to dress in high-visibility building jackets and hard hats to help them recreate a building site. Staff provided wooden blocks, polystyrene bricks and sand to enhance children's play and challenge their thinking. Consequently, children enjoyed adding water to sand and staff explained how this helps to bond the bricks.

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who attend

Children watched and then copied the staff's actions with enthusiasm. This supports children's physical development as well as their understanding of the world and how houses are made. Other role-play activities involved children learning about how they go to the shops in their vehicles. Children stopped at the petrol station, filled up and continued on their journey. At the shops the children made good use of shopping lists which supports their early writing skills. They selected items from the shelves and discussed how much to pay, with staff and other children managing the till. This helps them with their early counting as well as gaining an understanding of the value of money. As children rapidly develop these skills this means that they are ready for their move to the more challenging environment of the school reception class.

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

Children show they are confident and happy playing in this pre-school, which has plenty of open space, giving children free access to a wealth of resources both inside and outdoors. This supports children's independence because of their ability to choose activities for themselves and develop their play in their own way. Children are very fond of their key person and other staff, who support their well-being. This is because staff speak very kindly to the children, give them time to answer and staff listen with sincere interest to what children have to say. This positive relationship extends to parents as staff involve them on all aspects of their children's care and learning. Staff greet parents and welcome children into the pre-school, which gives them a warm feeling of being valued members. Parents comment on the approachability of staff and how they listen to parents' views and constantly keep them informed. Consequently, there is a good two-way feedback both

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

verbally as well as notes in the comment books parents take home. Parents say they know their children are safe and in the hands of very able staff who support children's progress in all areas. For example, parents say how thankful they are that staff have helped their children move from wearing nappies to confidently managing to use the toilet. Parents note that this has raised their children's awareness of their personal hygiene. Children run to the parents with pride, showing their stickers that staff have given because they went to the toilet by themselves and washed their hands. Children's health needs are also fully supported through nutritious fruit snacks, plenty of access to drinking water and healthy exercise outside.

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

Children behave very well because staff's expectations are consistently clear. Where children become upset staff give them gentle one-to-one attention to reassure them that they need to share and join in. Children learn good manners from staff who reinforce positive expectations for behaviour. Children are also made aware of the needs of others in their community because the staff encourage them to recognise the Harvest Festival by bringing in food items, which they take when visiting local elderly residents.

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

Children play in a very safe and secure environment where staff risk assess all areas of the pre-school each day. Children learn how to stay safe because staff remind children to hold hands and walk in two's as they walk along the corridors to their playrooms from the school dining room. Staff introduce safety activities during play, such as learning to park their bicycles and cars. Children learn to tidy up and keep areas clear and safe for other children.

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provision

The safety and welfare of all children is a high priority for staff and management. The management have reviewed their procedures and ensured the practice is well embedded with staff. This includes all staff completing safeguarding training and managers reviewing this regularly during staff meetings. Discussions with staff show they are rigorous, aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and know what to do in the event of a concern about a child in their care. Safeguarding posters and instructions are clearly on display in the manager's office, staff rest areas and in the children's rooms for staff to refer to if necessary. During play sessions, staff constantly liaise with their room supervisor to inform her of the area they are working in as well as the activities children are enjoying. This ensures good staff deployment and children are supervised well at all times.

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provision

Staff benefit from good support from the management team. Regular staff meetings, together with supervision and appraisals of their teaching practice results in a very high level of staff ability in helping children to make strong progress overall. This shows in staff's planning and their excellent methods of involving and questioning children during activities. Managers recognise staff's strengths and this has resulted in them being highly motivated. Staff appreciate the good support they receive from managers and the opportunities to embark on new courses that support their continuing professional development.

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provision

The manager and her team have a clear vision for the pre-school. They are passionate and constantly aspire to improve to support good outcomes for children. They immediately addressed the issues from the last inspection and have put in quality assurance systems with regard to staff's safeguarding knowledge and deployment. The positive attitude management have towards constant improvement translates to parents who also contribute to the progress of the pre-school. They willingly give their views and ideas through questionnaires and participating in parent meetings.

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provision

The pre-school has a good partnership with the school that most children from the nursery attend. This is because of the location of the nursery within the school environment where children quickly tune into the ethos of the school day. There is good communication between staff and teachers where children attend morning reception class as staff collect children from the dining room. However, staff do not fully embrace what children are doing in school to enhance their afternoon learning activities. There is a good partnerships with other agencies to support children with identified with special educational needs and/or disabilities, working effectively with the code of practice. Consequently, staff and parents work collaboratively with other agencies and ensure all children receive extra support where required to meet their needs.

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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 EY358389 Local authority Croydon Inspection number 963295 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 61 Name of provider The Learning Tree Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 23/10/2013 Telephone number 01689 844954

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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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