Poppies Pre-School

Poppies Pre-School Emmanuel Church, Silverweed Road, Chatham, Kent, ME5 0UD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/09/2014 25/01/2010

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early years provision

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

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This provision requires improvement

 There is a warm and welcoming atmosphere; children are happy and form strong bonds with staff. Consequently, children's emotional well-being is well supported.  Staff extend children's learning through using questions and allowing children time to think problems through for themselves.  Staff keep children safe from harm because they understand how to manage risks and protect children's health and safety.

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It is not yet good because

 The monitoring of staff practices systems is not sufficiently established or focused to identify inconsistencies in order to improve the quality of teaching across the setting.  Staff do not consistently complete accurate observations and assessments of children's learning to identify and plan for the next steps in their learning.  Staff do not provide children with a wide enough variety of resources and activities to extend their play outside.

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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 checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children and staff playing and interacting indoors and outside, and undertook a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to staff working on the day and asked them about safeguarding policies and practices.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documents.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Poppies Pre-School registered in 2004 and is on the Early Years Register. The pre-school operates from two rooms in Weedswood, Chatham, Kent. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play. The pre-school employs five members of childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The setting opens Monday to Friday during school term time. Sessions are from 9am to 12pm. There are currently 17 children attending who are in the early year's age group. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who learn English as an additional language. The nursery has links with the local children's centre and works closely with the local authority early years quality improvement team.

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must:

 use observations and assessments to monitor children's ongoing progress in their learning to plan and extend learning experiences based on their individual needs and interests

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must:

 improve the monitoring of staff's practices to provide appropriate support and coaching to raise the quality of teaching.

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

 develop the range of resource's available to children outside to provide interesting and challenging play experiences.

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who attend

Staff have a suitable knowledge and understanding of the seven areas of learning. They plan activities based on children's individual preferences and interests, which helps children to enjoy their play. However, observations and assessment systems are not effectively used to support children to make consistent progress in their learning and development. Overall, staff do not complete regular or accurate observations of children's learning. Observations describe children's play, but do not identify the learning children are experiencing. Furthermore, not all assessments show clear next steps for children's progress. Therefore, it is not possible to identify if they are making expected progress in line with developmental milestones. This impacts on planning, as it does not always directly link to children's individual learning needs. Therefore, staff do not always provide activities and experiences which offer children appropriate challenge and interest in their

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who attend

Some staff use teaching methods that enable children to have some opportunities to extend their thinking and learning. For example, some staff use suitable questions to extend children's thinking skills. They ask children what they think will happen next, which enables children to think about and describe what they are doing. Staff talked constantly to the children about what they are doing. They extended and supported children's language development by promptly recognising and responding to children's communication attempts. Staff support children to learn about the real world. For example, they take children on outings within the local community, extending this further by sharing books about vehicles they may have seen. Parents have some opportunities to develop children's learning at home. For example, staff share what children have done each day through daily verbal conversations. Parents also have an opportunity to take

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who attend

learning journals home to add their own contributions. When children settle into the nursery, staff discuss and agree children's starting points with parents to help them plan activities using children's interests.

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who attend

Generally, children make choices about what they play with and choose from the easily accessible resources. However, there is a lack of resources in the outdoor learning environment to engage children. For example, staff do not provide children with resources to promote imaginary play. Children have suitable opportunities to make marks and develop their early writing skills. The mark making table is available throughout the session with a variety of pens, pencils, and dabbers for the children to explore freely. They access a range of books and enjoy story time. Staff read stories to the children. They used visual props to encourage children to join in with repetitive phases and to add to the story. This helps children's communication skills to develop appropriately. Children begin to develop an understanding of mathematical concepts. Some children begin to use numbers as they play, such as, counting out the balls of dough they have made.

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

The key person system is effective, which helps children to develop strong and trusting relationships. For example, children happily greeted others and gave spontaneous acts of affection, such as hugs to staff members. This helps children develop a sense of belonging during their time at nursery. Praise and positive reinforcement is consistent from staff. Consequently, children demonstrate good behaviour as the good role modelling of manners and behaviour has a positive effect on them.

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

Staff promote children's physical well-being well. Daily outside play helps children to learn about the effect of exercise on their bodies. For example, children enjoyed bouncing on the hopper balls encouraged by staff to race each other, giggling as they go. However, there are limited resources outside for those children who want to play imaginatively and act out their own stories and scenarios. Children independently and confidently washed their hands before snack and found their own coats. They easily access water during the day when thirsty, as there is a small jug of water in easy reach in the main room. Staff are good role models during daily routines. They sit with the children during snack and talk about their experiences in the day, while prompting good manners. As a result, children's social skills are developing at a good rate and they behave well.

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

Children develop an awareness of safety, such as being prompted not to run indoors, but are allowed to jump of low benches under supervision. This develops their confidence to take safe risks. Staff encourage children to tidy away toys and games, so they recognise the need to keep the environment free from tripping hazards, as well as developing a sense of respect for the resources. Children are encouraged to cooperate and problem solve harmoniously, resulting in them resolving minor conflicts confidently and independently. For example, children share the resources so that others can join in and play nicely together.

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

Children develop suitable skills for their future learning and school readiness. They learn to dress and undress themselves for outdoor play and use the toileting facilities unaided, giving them a sense of independence. Children also learn to do things for themselves, helping to tidy up and pouring their own drinks at snack time.

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

Parents talk positively about the support offered by staff during settling-in periods. Staff liaise with the schools that children move to. As a result, children are effectively supported into their new settings.

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provision

The provider has not sufficiently met all of the legal requirements. This is because systems to monitor the quality of teaching are not robust enough to identify weaknesses in staff's practices and the support provided for children. Consequently, this is not discussed in supervisions, which means that staff are not offered relevant training opportunities to enhance the quality of the educational programmes offered to children. However, there are arrangements for staff to have regular supervisions to enable them to talk about their professional development. Staff carry out regular observations of the children. However, the observations are not detailed to show what children are learning and their current skills and abilities. This means that children's next steps in their learning are not targeted to help them make progress. Furthermore, the monitoring of staff's observations and assessments is not rigorous enough to identify this weakness and promote children's

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provision

Safeguarding is a priority for staff. All staff have received safeguarding training and demonstrate that they know what to do if they have a concern about a child. Consequently, staff have the appropriate safeguarding knowledge required to work with young children. A good range of policies and procedures are in place, which are available to parents, to support children's safety and well-being. Staff implement thorough daily and long-term risk assessments of the learning environments, outings and activities. Staff include children in the risk assessments. As a result, children of all ages learn to identify and manage risk to help keep themselves and others safe. For example, staff reminded children not to swing on their chairs and they participate in regular fire evacuation drills so they understand expectations in an emergency. Safeguarding is also a focus for induction training and at staff meetings. Visitors to the setting must produce identification and sign

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provision

in and out of the building, enabling the staff to closely monitor who children have contact with.

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provision

There are clear recruitment procedures in place. This includes carrying out checks through the Disclosure and Barring Service to check staff's suitability to be working with children. There is an induction period, which helps staff to learn the policies and procedures and their own roles and responsibilities.

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provision

The setting works effectively in partnership with a variety of different agencies. This enables staff to seek help and guidance should they have children in their care with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This partnership also enables staff to refer parents onto more specialist help if required.

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provision

The manager has developed a plan to drive improvement. She seeks support from the local authority which adds to the self-evaluation systems. They are beginning to establish priorities to inform the improvement plan. However actions completed so far are not sufficiently focused on improving children's achievement. Staff have access to training, but the impact of this training on the quality of teaching is not yet being routinely monitored. Staff appropriately supervise the children and meet the required staff: child ratios through effective staff deployment.

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provision

Partnership working with parents and carers is of a good quality. Parents speak favourably of the relationships they have with staff. For example, they positively comment on the 'great advice and support' they get from staff. Parents feel confident and happy that they can discuss any issues that may arise, and have a good knowledge of the implemented complaint procedures and policies in place.

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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 EY292576 Local authority Medway Towns Inspection number 843693 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 17 Name of provider Rita Ann Cooper Date of previous inspection 25/01/2010 Telephone number 07788 555855

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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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