Frittenden Pre-School

Frittenden Pre-School Frittenden, Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 2DD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/09/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

 Parents have good opportunities to work in partnership with staff as they work together on the children's learning and development and work on the committee.  Children enjoy a wide range of activities to support their development in all areas of learning, both indoors and outside.  Staff build strong relationships with families, and work closely with them when settling children in to help children feel safe and secure.  Children build good skills for the future as they receive good levels of support as they move onto school.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 On occasion, staff do not fully support children's problem-solving skills, which does not always support their thinking skills.

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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 observed children at play indoors and outside.  The inspector and manager carried out a joint observation.  The inspector gathered the views of parents.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation.

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Information about the setting

Frittenden pre-school opened in 1985 and is run by a parent committee. It operates from purpose-built rooms in Frittenden primary school, in Frittenden, Kent. The pre-school is open each weekday from 9am to 12pm, and until 3pm on Tuesdays during term time only. A session also operates on a Thursday afternoon from 12pm to 3pm for rising fives, during the summer term only. There are currently 13 children aged from two to under five years on roll. The pre-school receives funding for free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The pre-school supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. The pre-school employs five members of staff, four of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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

 enhance children's thinking skills by including more opportunities for problem- solving.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of how to meet the learning and development requirements. Children take part in a wide range of interesting activities, which helps them to engage in purposeful play. Staff cover all areas of learning in their broad curriculum. They devise play opportunities based in children's interests and their next steps, which means that children enjoy challenging and absorbing play. As a result, children make good progress from their starting points, given their capabilities.

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who attend

Staff have good teaching skills. They plan good quality activities to cover several areas of learning, as well as meeting a range of individual children's next steps. For example, sensory play with paint and cooked spaghetti means that children can explore interesting textures, build their small muscles and learn about weight and measurement. Children described the shape and feel of the pasta, and staff expanded children's vocabulary by adding other descriptive words. In this way, adult-led play covers various learning outcomes while children are absorbed in fascinating play. Child-initiated play is also well- facilitated by staff. Children gathered cushions and dolls and created a doctor's surgery role play with their friends. Children found the doctor's kit, blankets and pad and paper, and then acted out different stories. They wrote prescriptions, bandaged the dolls and showed great empathy and care for their patients. Staff facilitated this by making sure

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who attend

that children had everything they needed and suggested other play materials which could help. Staff also built on children's vocabulary as they used technical words such as prescription, and extended the conversation about children's experiences of illnesses. In this way, children make decisions about their play and become confident communicators. Children enjoy adapting play, for example, they used loose bricks to build towers, and watched water fall onto the playground and saw how it splashed. Sometimes however, staff do not fully support children's thinking skills in their play. For example, they said to children that they would run out of water, rather than inviting them to think about how they might get more water, or use it on the ground.

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who attend

Staff work very effectively with parents when children enrol to gather information about children's starting points. This contributes to the baseline assessments that staff make and means that they can tailor children's play opportunities to be interesting and engaging. Staff make frequent observations of children's learning and relate them to the relevant area of learning. The scrapbook style folders provide a great source of information and interest for children and parents alike, and their thoughts and ideas are also noted in the record. Staff write summary reviews of children's progress at every half term and share these with parents to gather their views on children's learning and development. This means they can work in partnership on children's next steps. Staff track children's learning against the expected levels of development which means they can identify and address any achievement gaps. As a result, children make good progress and rapidly learn new

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who attend

skills. Staff undertake the progress check for children aged two in the child's first term in the setting, and also write the transition forms when children move on to school. This helps to support children's future learning.

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

Staff have created a very effective key-person system. Each child is assigned a key person when they start in the setting and each key person has a buddy, so that children are always with someone who knows them very well. The staff team work very closely together and have strong systems for regularly sharing relevant information. This means that all staff know children's individual needs and care routines. Staff work very flexibly with families to make sure that children feel secure and can confidently separate from their parents. As a result, children are happy and content in the pre-school. Staff have created a good learning environment. Children can independently reach a wide range of good quality play resources. Children are free to move things around to create their own challenges, such as setting up a doctor role play in the den outside. This supports children to be independent, active learners.

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

Children have good opportunities to learn about healthy lifestyles. They enjoy choosing from a range of healthy snacks and can choose when they eat. This means that they have time to finish what they are playing before having a snack. Parents provide lunches and staff eat with children to make mealtimes a sociable occasion. Children adopt good hygiene routines, such as washing their hands after play and before eating. Staff have well-established hygiene routines which helps to minimise the potential for cross-infection. Children benefit from a variety of activities to support their physical development. They climb, balance, run and jump outdoors in the playground and use hoops to balls to practise rolling and throwing skills. Children slithered like snakes and enjoyed pretending to be different animals, when they were inspired by the story they were reading. Children develop their small muscle skills in using pencils and pens, or in manipulating objects such

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

as small bricks and craft materials. Staff teach children how to use tools such as scissors in safe ways. Staff are very skilled at managing risk, so that children can explore at their own pace and be confident in their abilities.

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

Children are well-behaved. Staff have clear expectations and use a firm clear tone of voice when teaching children about acceptable behaviour. They use praise effectively to build children's self-esteem and confidence. Staff are good role models for empathic and cooperative play. For example, if a child is upset and acts out, staff talk with other children about how sadness can make one feel, and how to look after our friends. Children build strong friendships and understand how to share and take turns. Overall this means that children build good skills for their future learning.

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provision

The manager and committee have a good understanding of how to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements. All staff and committee members are checked as to their suitability as part of the recruitment process, and unchecked staff or volunteers are not left unsupervised with children. The safeguarding procedures are very clear, giving staff guidance on how to identify, report and record concerns about the welfare of children. Staff update their child protection knowledge and understanding by attending courses and reviewing their procedures. They maintain other documentation such as registers and accident records effectivley, which underpins children's well-being.

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provision

The manager has fully effective ways to monitor and make improvements to the pre- school. She works alongside staff in all aspects of the work and has a good understanding of her team's strengths and abilities. She consults with parents frequently in a variety of ways to gather their views and ideas. The manager and deputy meet with the committee to discuss practice and identify actions to take. They act on parents ideas such as by having a concert of the work children had done in their music sessions. They also take well-targeted actions to improve children's experiences such as by starting nature exploration in the local area. The manager and staff carry out peer reviews on a regular basis, and supervision and appraisal meetings help staff to identify how to build on their strengths. The manager monitors the learning records that staff make and analyses children's achievements to identify achievement gaps for groups of children. For example,

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provision

she worked with staff to boost the provision for teaching children about health when it appeared that this was not as strong as other areas of learning. The manager was then able to see the impact the additional work had made on children's understanding. This demonstrates that the staff team and committee are skilled in bringing about improvements for the direct benefit of children.

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provision

Parents have good opportunities to be involved in the pre-school. They run the managing committee and have frequent opportunities to meet with staff to discuss any issues. Parents contribute greatly to the learning records and meet with their key person regularly to discuss children's progress. Parents value the high level of individual care and attention that children receive, and appreciate the links with the local school. Parents also comment on the quality of the scrapbook which records children's learning, and enjoy sharing it with their child. Staff build strong partnerships with the schools and other professionals. They make sure that they support children in making the move to school by running a specific rising-fives group in the summer term, so that children are well-prepared for school. Where staff identify children's additional needs, they work with parents and other professionals to make sure they are meeting children's individual needs. This helps to

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provision

support a good level of consistent support for children.

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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 127200 Local authority Kent Inspection number 746034 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 14 Number of children on roll 13 Name of provider Frittenden Pre School Committee Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01580852100 07751839376

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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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