Greystones Pre-School

Greystones Pre-School Greystones First School, Tullibardine Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S11 7GL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/10/2014 08/01/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children are motivated and keen to learn in this welcoming pre-school. They show high levels of curiosity and imagination and demonstrate positive relationships with their peers and staff.  Partnerships with parents are trusting and strong, enabling the pre-school to tailor the individual care and learning children receive. This contributes to the good progress children make.  Staff have a clear understanding of their responsibility to protect children in their care and as a result, they are kept safe.  Children make good progress in the learning because the manager and staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children sometimes lose interest in an activity because the staff do not always enable them to develop their ideas and fully extend their learning. For example, enabling them to experiment and see how things change when combined with something else.  Staff do not fully consider ways to ease children's separation from their parents when they first start to attend, such as using photographs of significant people in children's lives to help them cope with the move from home to the pre-school.

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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 had a tour of all areas of the premises with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the two playrooms and outdoors and spoke to staff, parents and children.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's observation and assessment records, the register of attendance, staff suitability and sampled policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school was registered in 1995 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated on the site of Greystones Primary School in the Ecclesall area of Sheffield and is managed by a voluntary management committee. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The pre-school employs 11 members of childcare staff. All hold relevant childcare qualifications at level 3 and above, including one with Early Years Professional status. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 9.15am until 3pm. A breakfast club is also available from 8am. There are currently 73 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of

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Information about the setting

children, who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 enable children to follow their ideas and experiment more often, in order to extend their thinking further

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

 display or make available photographs of children's families, pets and other significant people to further support children's personal, social and emotional development.

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who attend

Children make good progress in their learning because key persons are knowledgeable about how children learn and their individual needs. Good emphasis is placed on working in partnership with parents. Information is gathered from parents about children's needs on entry to the pre-school and during home visits, which helps staff to identify children's developmental starting points. Staff work hard to ensure that parents are involved in children's learning. For example, parents are encouraged to support children's learning both at home and at the pre-school as targets and children's individual next steps in learning are regularly discussed. This shared approach successfully contributes to the good progress children make. Furthermore, open days and information sessions provide parents with opportunities to add comments to their children's individual learning and development files. Parents are also involved in the progress check for children between

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who attend

the ages of two and three years. This means that they are well informed about their child's development in the three prime areas of learning. Children have individual learning and development files, which contain photographs, observations, tracking documents and samples of their work. This is an inclusive pre-school where all children and families are valued equally. Additional measures, such as visual timetables and bilingual written material, support children, who are learning English as an additional language. Likewise, there are effective strategies in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, the gap is narrowing for those children, who enter the pre- school with development levels below the expected milestones for their age.

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who attend

Teaching is good and staff support children's communication and language skills during play and throughout the pre-school's daily routines. Staff use aspects of training to enhance children's communication. They ask open-ended questions to prompt discussion and give children time to think before they respond. This helps to develop children's critical thinking skills as well as promoting language and communication. As a result, children are developing the skills they require for the next stages in their learning, such as starting school. There is an effective balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities. This means that children are able to enjoy free play as they follow their interests while also experiencing small group structured activities. For example, children enthusiastically make their own pizzas and they are offered choices of topping, such as tomatoes or olives. They concentrate as they use knives to slice tomatoes with gentle reminders from staff about

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who attend

being careful. This means that they begin to risk assess and consider their personal safety while having fun.

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who attend

Resources support children's curiosity and provide a wide range of learning opportunities. When children notice a castle with figures of kings, queens and knights on horseback, they say that 'the prince is coming to climb the tower'. This means that they have the opportunity to recall their memories of fairy tales and use their imagination creatively. Mathematical development is fostered well as children are encouraged to count and categorise colours and sizes, using different dinosaurs. The planning for children's learning and development incorporates their individual interests and as such, motivates them to engage. They benefit from a broad range of experiences across all seven areas of learning. Additional information is added to the planning as children's interests develop and change. Consequently, staff are able to adapt and introduce activities quickly to ensure that they meet the needs of children. For example, children experiment with the

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who attend

different ways they can use the paint, including adding sponge rollers and mixing colours. However, there are occasions, when children sometimes lose interest in an activity because their learning is not as well supported as it could be. For instance, children's curiosity is not always fostered to the optimum when they explore the outdoor environment. Children are stopped from adding water to compost, although, they are fascinated in how it changes as it gets wet. Consequently, they do not fully explore their own ideas or get the most out of this activity.

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

Staff get to know children and families well. As a result, children form strong attachments with staff. This means that their emotional well-being is well promoted. In addition, children benefit from home visits prior to starting at the pre-school. An effective key- person system means that staff liaise with parents and keep them well informed about their child's progress. Parents are offered the opportunity to stay with their child initially, so that they can be helped to settle-in to their new surroundings. This means that children are generally well supported during their move from home to pre-school. However, staff have not fully considered the use of more personalised resources, such as photographs of family members and pets, to further ease their separation from parents.

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

Children learn about healthy lifestyles, as they exercise and take part in physical activities in the fresh air. They have opportunities to visit the local parks as they enjoy nature walks. Children benefit from visits by professionals from the local community, such as dentists and dance teachers. The weekly dance sessions means that children begin to learn about healthy lifestyles through enjoyable activities. Children also have good opportunities to develop their independence and self-care skills. For example, they pour their own drinks and learn to take acceptable risks by using knives to cut up their food. Children choose when to eat their snacks and are offered healthy choices. They are supervised well by staff when they are eating and drinking. This means that children are supported to develop their social skills and their understanding of a healthy diet. In addition, children are supported by staff to grow fruit and vegetables in the warmer

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

months before harvesting them. As a result, children learn about planting and growing as they learn where food comes from. This supports their understanding of the world as they begin to understand growth, decay and changes over time.

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

Children play together cooperatively and behave well. They are encouraged to behave in a positive and respectful manner, which helps to keep themselves and their peers safe. The health and welfare of children are supported as they enjoy a variety of snacks. They sit together and enjoy chatting to staff and each other. They are familiar with routines, such as washing hands before eating and after visiting the toilet. Consequently, they follow good personal hygiene to support their well-being.

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provision

Children are safeguarded well in the pre-school because the manager and staff have a good understanding of how to protect children from harm and have a clear understanding of their roles. They have all received safeguarding training and know who to contact if they are worried about a child's welfare. Furthermore, comprehensive written safeguarding policies and procedures are in place. These are reviewed regularly to ensure that all information is accurate and in line with the latest guidelines, which includes the use of cameras and mobile telephones. The manager is clear about recruitment procedures and staff are subject to identity checks to ensure they are suitable to work with children. Partnerships with other professionals are securely in place. Ratios are maintained and visitors are asked to sign in on arrival. All staff receive induction training, their practice is monitored and this means that any training needs can be swiftly identified.

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provision

Staff carry out peer observations by observing each other's practice and reflecting on the quality of their teaching. They receive ongoing training following their induction and they all complete paediatric first-aid training, which supports their understanding of how to deal with minor injuries. The manager and staff have a good understanding of their responsibility to meet the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Monitoring of the educational programmes helps the manager to track children's learning as they make progress towards the early learning goals. The well-qualified and experienced staff team are supported by the manager. She liaises with staff and the designated special educational needs coordinator to identify whether any children require the expertise of external agencies. This helps to ensure all children make the best possible progress. Self- evaluation is effective and involves combined reflection by the staff at regular staff

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provision

meetings. The strengths and any areas for potential development of the pre-school are identified in consultation with parents, whose views are sought and welcomed. As a result, practice is continually improving as the manager is motivated and strives to develop the provision further.

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provision

A key strength of this pre-school is the strong partnerships with parents. This means that children benefit from a shared approach to their learning and development. Open mornings are arranged, which enable parents to visit the pre-school, ask questions and discuss their child's progress with key persons. All parents spoken to on the day of the inspection were very complimentary about the pre-school. They welcome the communication they have with their child's key person and the support available to individual children. Parents are kept very well informed of their children's progress and general well-being through planned meetings and verbal exchanges on a daily basis.

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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 EY319973 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 862362

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 73 Name of provider Greystones Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 08/01/2009 Telephone number 0114 2671111

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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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