Coxheath Preschool

Coxheath Pre-School Stockett Lane, Coxheath, Maidstone, Kent, ME17 4PT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/09/2014 08/10/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 2 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

 The staff at the pre-school work well as a team to emotionally support each child and their family. This means children feel safe and secure.  Staff provide a good role model to children, which encourages respect and promotes behaviour that is acceptable.  Sound safeguarding procedures promote children's welfare at the pre-school well. Staff complete appropriate suitability checks and demonstrate a strong understanding of their role in protecting children.

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It is not yet good because

 There are inconsistencies in assessing children's progress. Some staff lack a full understanding of their key-children's progress and future learning needs. Arrangements for monitoring children's progress are not fully robust to ensure gaps in their learning are closed.  Staff do not consider the environment fully to support children's learning and development. There are few written numbers on display to support children's awareness of these, and resources do not always cover all areas of learning.  Some basic self-evaluation is in place, however, this does not involve the views of the parents or effectively drive improvements.

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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 children's play and staff's interactions with children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation including policies and procedures relating to safeguarding and risk assessments.  The inspector took account of the views of parents through short discussions.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager and undertook a joint observation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed representative sample of children's records, including their progress records and assessments.

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Information about the setting

Coxheath Pre-School has been registered since 1991 and operates in conjunction with the provision at Coxheath Rising Fives Pre-School. The same committee and staff team run both groups. They operate from premises in Coxheath, Maidstone. The Pre-School from the village hall and the Rising Fives Pre-School operates from the scout hut. It has access to the main hall, entrance hall, kitchen and toilets as well as a fenced outdoor area adjacent to the building. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is open term time only, five mornings a week from 9am until 12 noon. The pre-school serves the local community. There are currently 37 children on roll in the early years age group. The pre-school is in receipt of funding for free early education for children aged two, three and four. Children come from the local and surrounding areas. The pre-school is able to accept children with

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Information about the setting

special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who are learning English as an additional language. There are seven staff working across the two settings with a minimum of six present at the village hall during each session. Over half of the staff working with the children hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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must:

 ensure assessments of children's progress are regularly and effectively monitored to identify children's starting points to rigorously monitor their progress to identify any gaps in their achievements in order to plan accurately for children's good progress across all areas of learning.

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

 review the resources for the indoor area to ensure they capture the imagination of all children so that they engage in their play and learning fully and widen the range of resources in the outdoor area so that they cover all areas of learning

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

 develop the programme for mathematical development to support children's recognition of written numbers and their understanding of correspondence of number and counting

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

 develop the self-evaluation process by involving parents and children to help identify areas of strength and areas of development to drive ongoing improvement.

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who attend

Children are happy and settled at the pre-school, where they enjoy a suitable range of activities and experiences that generally cover all areas of learning. However, the quality of teaching is variable and not fully consistent to ensure staff prepare children for their future learning and starting school well. Some staff are not planning sufficiently for children's progress in order to close any gaps in their achievements. For example, some staff demonstrate a basic understanding of their key-children's progress and have not undertaken observations across all areas of learning. As a result, they are unable to identify children's learning needs or plan accurately to close gaps in their learning. Staff develop sound relationships with parents and they gather some suitable information about their children on their settling in visits. The key-person uses this basic information to plan for the children's interests when they first start. However, they do not always establish

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who attend

children's starting points securely on entry to the pre-school. This means that staff are not always able to measure children's progress accurately over time or fully consider their individual learning needs from the start. The individual key-person completes required progress checks for their key-children aged between two and three. They include parents' discussions and contributions, helping to provide a wider picture of children's progress and learning needs at this time.

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who attend

Staff support and develop the children's use of mathematical language appropriately by using it at every opportunity around the pre-school. Children are encouraged to count at registration and use number to discuss who came first, second and third in a snail racing game. They compare size and weight in the sand tray and discuss full and empty at the snack table. As a result, children are developing their mathematical language suitably. However, there are fewer opportunities for children to develop their understanding, recognition and use of written numbers. In addition, staff do not always use effective teaching methods to support children's understanding of counting and correspondence, such as at registration time.

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who attend

Staff support the children to develop their communication and language skills well. They develop the children's vocabulary while talking to the children about their play and ask suitable questions to allow them to make connections. For example, an interesting discussion was heard between a member of staff and some children about the smell of a swimming pool. This supports children's thinking skills and encourages them to talk about their own experiences that link to the discussion. Children independently choose their own activities through the majority of the session with some suitable adult-led small and large group activities. This provides children with appropriate opportunities to develop their confidence and independence in social situations.

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who attend

Children have suitable daily opportunities to benefit from fresh air as they use the new fenced off outdoor area. They use bikes, hoops, seesaws and a sand tray, which promotes their large physical development soundly. Children clearly enjoyed this time as they spontaneously started to sing 'See Saw Margery Daw' while rocking on the seesaws. Staff support the development of children's small muscle skills appropriately by encouraging them to play games that include small pieces and dices to handle. In addition, children shape and manipulate dough, and play with small world toys, such as cars. Children enjoy using their imaginations in the role-play areas and while playing with small world toys. For example, the children raced the trains around the track making train noises.

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

The pre-school has effective systems to allocate a key-person to children. Children and where possible their siblings have the same key person for their entire stay at the pre- school. This supports families well as the key-person already has strong links established and knowledge about their background. Children quickly develop strong attachments through the support and care of their key-person. The staff have good settling in procedures. They work closely with families to help settle all children, particularly those who find parting from their parents more difficult. For example, they allow the parents to stay longer, find out information about comforters and ask for photographs from home. This helps to support children to develop their confidence at the pre-school. Staff encourage children to explore their surroundings, use their imagination and play with other children. As a result, children show suitable levels of confidence and develop

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

appropriate friendships with others. Staff are good role models and encourage respect and behaviour. The rules are discussed at registration, such as 'kind hands and feet'. As a result, children know the expectations of behaviour and develop their understanding of the rules in place. Children behave well and need little support to share and take turns. Staff and children practise fire drills regularly. As a result, children are aware of the procedure to follow and can leave the building quickly and safely in the event of an emergency.

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

Staff provide a well-organised range of resources stored at low-level to promote the children's independence. The resources in the indoor area are age and stage appropriate that overall meet the children's needs and cover all areas of learning. However, at the inspection occasionally a small number of children started to wander around. As a result, some children are not always engaged fully in their play and learning. In addition, the resources in the outdoor area do not always cover all the areas of learning. This does not fully support children who learn better outside.

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

Children are developing their independence. They take themselves to the toilet even though this is in a separate part of the building. Staff teach and support children appropriately to follow good hygiene routines, for example, washing their hands before snack. As a result, children are beginning to manage their own basic hygiene and personal needs soundly. Staff provide suitable opportunities for children to learn the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Children enjoy a range of healthy options at snack time, which they independently select. The staff support the children's independence by running a rolling snack bar. The children are able to decide when they are hungry and want to join the snack bar. They select their own name card, and collect a cup and bowl before selecting their own fruit. Staff use this time to develop children's sound understanding of healthy food options.

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

Good arrangements are established to support the children as they prepare to move on to school. Staff have links with the local schools and a teacher visits the pre-school to meet the children prior to starting school. Staff also pass on relevant information about the children to the teaching staff, which supports a smooth move on to school.

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provision

Overall, the leaders of the pre-school show a sound understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. However, there are inconsistencies in implementing the learning and development requirements, which means some staff are not meeting some of these requirements. The supervisor is not rigorously monitoring the children's progress to identify any gaps in individual or groups of children's progress, such as boys. This means any gaps in their learning may not be identified and addressed.

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provision

There are sound recruitment and induction procedures in place to help to ensure staff are suitable to work with children. Staff receive regular supervision meetings throughout the year to help promote their continuous professional development appropriately. The supervisor identifies training opportunities for staff to support their continuing knowledge and experience. However, the supervisor has not used these meetings to robustly monitor staffs knowledge and understanding of planning for children's progress.

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provision

Safeguarding procedures are strong. Staff demonstrate a good knowledge of safeguarding issues and understand their responsibilities to promote children's welfare. They have a secure understanding of the procedures to follow in the event of them having a concern about a child or a member of staff. The pre-school premises are secure and staff supervise the children well to keep them safe. Effective risk assessments are in place. Staff carry out daily checks to ensure areas used by the children are safe and any potential hazards are quickly identified and minimised.

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provision

The supervisor and staff work well as a team and create an inclusive and welcoming environment, which has a positive effect on the children and their families. For example, the pre-school website has a translation facility to change the language thereby including all families. The staff team have begun the self-evaluation process and have started to identify some areas that are priorities for improvement. However, self-evaluation is basic and not sufficiently rigorous to identify all areas for improvement. In addition, children, parents and committee members have limited opportunities to contribute to the self- evaluation process.

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provision

Staff have developed sound relationships with parents. All parents spoken to expressed positive comments about the pre-school, particularly in regards to how quickly their children settled in and how happy they are. Staff and parents benefit from a suitable 'two- way' flow of conversation, which contributes to meeting the needs of the children consistently. Staff develop suitable partnerships with outside agencies and professionals, such as speech therapists. This supports children with identified needs and helps to begin to close the gaps in these children's learning and development.

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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 127128 Local authority Kent Inspection number 846297 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 37 Name of provider Coxheath Pre-School Group Committee Date of previous inspection 08/10/2009 Telephone number 01622 745662

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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