Greenleys Community Pre-School

Greenleys Community Pre-School Ardwell Lane, Greenleys, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK12 6AY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/10/2014 26/11/2009

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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

 Staff plan and support children to make good progress in learning and development across all areas of learning.  Children move freely between in and outdoor activities and make purposeful choices about their play.  Staff make it easy for children to use a wide range of very good quality play resources that reflect their developmental stages.  Staff effectively teach children skills to promote their good health.

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It is not yet good because

 Safeguarding arrangements are not sufficiently robust as the provider has failed to notify Ofsted of an allegation against staff in a timely manner and this is an offence.

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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 activities indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector tracked children in the pre-school, reviewed their records and a sample of relevant documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed qualifications, recruitment and suitability information with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager, and spoke to parents to gain their views.

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Information about the setting

Greenleys Community Pre-School opened in 1997. A committee of volunteers manages the pre-school, and it operates from rooms in the community centre in Greenleys, in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. The pre-school opens each week day from 8.30am to 11.30am and from 12 noon to 3pm during term time. Some children attend for the full day. In addition to the indoor space, children use two enclosed outdoor play areas. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Six members of staff work directly with the children and, including the manager, four hold qualifications in education and care to level 3. The others hold relevant qualifications to level 2. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education for two, three and four year olds.

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must:

 improve implementation of the pre-school policies, by making sure that policies and procedures in place to safeguard children are always implemented in full and in time

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who attend

Staff plan and deliver many good quality activities that promote children's learning and development well across all areas. They identify clear learning intentions through effective planning and evaluation. Additionally, they routinely share information about children's next learning steps within the team. This enables every member of staff to support children efficiently. Staff encourage children's interests and they sit at their level and join their play to promote their understanding and engagement. Children show good levels of concentration for their ages. Staff effectively manage the duration of large group activities, including story time, to reflect their developmental stages. The older children join in to tell the familiar story, and the engaging manner in which staff read holds the interest of the younger ones. Children have fun with mathematics, matching sorting, weighing and measuring. They are becoming confident with numbers, learning to use

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who attend

Children respond well to the kind, caring staff and develop secure relationships. For example, children engage fully with all of the members of staff and happily share their learning experiences. Staff's gentle approach to the children helps them to begin to show consideration for others. Staff use routine activities, such as snack time, to promote children's learning. For example, children learn to listen, speak and to follow instructions. They are also learning why it is important to make sure that all the other children get a fair share of the snacks. Children show that they are using their improving coordination to manage tasks such as pouring drinks and putting on shoes and coats. These practices are helping them to increase their social skills and develop their independence. This prepares children well for their future learning, for example at school.

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who attend

Staff set out activities that they know are appealing to the children. Many resources are at a low level, enabling children to make purposeful choices and encouraging them to develop independent learning. Some children explore books independently and share their learning experiences with friends. Others explore the home corner and staff listen to them with interest as they explain how they care for their dolls. Staff use open ended questioning to challenge children to think. They use this good method of teaching to challenge children's learning across all areas. Children are learning to process their thoughts and to explain how, and why, they are doing things. For example, they explain what road signs mean and why they must stop at the pedestrian crossing. Through purposeful activities, children show that they are increasing their awareness of personal safety and their understanding of the world.

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who attend

Well-planned and resourced physical activities are a core part of every child's day. Children explore and experiment as they play outdoors. They use natural resources in the mud kitchen and learn about the natural world as they care for plants in the garden. Additionally, children show increasing physical abilities as they enjoy activities that encourage them to use different groups of muscles. For example, they climb, ride bikes and jump as they have fun playing together. Staff use these activities successfully to help children to share and to take turns, as well as to understand the importance and effective of physical exercise. Children are learning that their bodies move in many different ways. They are enthusiastic and lively, showing that they enjoy their learning. In addition to healthy and nutritious snacks, staff routinely engage children in cooking activities. They are helping children to learn about foods that are good for the body, and items that are

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who attend

best eaten as a treat. For example, children learn that fruit kebabs are an interesting way to enjoy fresh fruits.

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who attend

Staff are supporting all children to achieve good or better progress in their learning and development from their starting points. Children are increasing their independence, mobility, self-awareness and confidence in what they can do. These positive skills serve them well, both now and for when they go to school.

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

Staff in the pre-school gain good quality information from parents at the start of placements. This helps them to plan suitably to receive children. From the start, staff engage fully with parents and explain the key person system. Staff use the information from parents to provide familiar activities for children so that they feel welcome. These individual touches help the make children feel that they belong. Each child is allocated a key person from the start and parents state that they find this very reassuring. They appreciate knowing which staff member to speak to about their children's individual needs.

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

Staff involve parents in children's learning and exchange information with them daily. For instance, they display information and talk to them about how children learn in the early years. Parents state that staff take time to encourage and involve them in planning and promoting children's next steps in learning. In meaningful ways such as these, staff in the pre-school are helping to sustain continuity for every child. Staff welcome children from culturally diverse backgrounds and they are careful to meet each child's cultural needs. Children use resources that positively reflect diversity and staff are helping them to learn about, value and respect diversity from an early age.

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

Children are learning about the different aspects of healthy lifestyles through every day practices and discussion. For example, some children know why they wash their hands before handling food. Children help themselves to drinking water and tissues as they start to take some responsibility for their personal care. In addition, staff plan activities that are focused on health, such as caring for teeth. Parents report that children are sharing this learning at home. For example, children remind parents why they are not to have too many sugary drinks. Many children let staff know when they want to use the toilet and this shows that they are aware of their personal needs. Suitable hygiene practices increase children's understanding of ways to support their good health. Children are developing their understanding of safety under staff guidance. For example, they use suitable scissors with supervision. Staff allow children to assess some risk, such as recognising that they

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

need to climb the slide the correct way, and discussing with them reasons for doing so.

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

Staff are good role models, helping children to learn to play with others and to speak in calm voices. Children are learning to share and take turns nicely. Staff use suitable behaviour methods, such as talking to children about their expectations. They use distraction and good levels of stimulation to redirect children. Children's behaviour shows that they are learning right from wrong. The pre-school environment is busy, but it is calm.

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

Overall, staff meet children's individual needs appropriately and have a clear regard for their safety. However, a recent incident has highlighted that the manager is not fully confident in identifying when to implement the pre-school's safeguarding procedure. This does not provide a fully secure environment for children.

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provision

To inform this inspection Ofsted provided information about an allegation against made against staff at the pre-school. At the inspection, it was found that the manager was told of on allegation against staff but that no individual staff member was identified. The manager dealt with this as a complaint and recorded it as such. She did not recognise that she should have followed the guidance set out in the pre-school policy, to inform the local authority safeguarding officer and to notify Ofsted. This means that the pre-school did not fully comply with the safeguarding requirements. In addition, in failing to notify Ofsted of the allegation, as required by Early Years Foundation Stage, the provider has committed an offence. The leadership team has taken action to address this. In this instance, Ofsted has decided to take no further action and the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration.

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provision

The pre-school provides good quality learning and developmental experiences for children. The leadership team use good systems to monitor children's progress. Staff carry out regular tracking, reviews and evaluation of children's achievements. They make effective use of child development guidance and involve parents in the process. This enables them to help children to make good or better progress from their starting points. Staff also successfully complete progress checks for children aged two years.

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provision

Other than the recent breach of requirements, staff demonstrate secure understanding of different aspects of safeguarding. The pre-school's recruitment procedure is sound and all staff are properly vetted and are subject to a full induction procedure. Staff are confident about their roles and responsibilities to supervise children closely. In addition, they understand the whistle blowing policy, and the mobile phone and social networking policies. The pre-school staff make appropriate use of risk assessments. All areas are safe for children to use and security measure are effecitve. For example, a senior member of staff supervises the entrance door during the times of day when it is opened for parents. Staff are clear about the fire evacuation procedure and they practise it regularly with the children.

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provision

The leadership and staff team undertake some useful self-evaluation to identify the strengths of the provision and areas for further development. A clear focus on training helps to drive improvements in the pre-school. For example, a member of staff has trained to deliver mathematics more effectively and has shared her knowledge with her colleagues. This has strengthen the delivery of this educational programme. There is also training planned to strengthen the team's understanding of how to use technology with children. This demonstrates that the leadership team are effective in targeting improvements to directly benefit children.

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provision

Parents praise the pre-school staff highly. They state that they are pleased that staff give all children time and attention to move them forward quickly, regardless of where they start. The leadership team was very regretful of their lapse in implementation of the safeguarding policy. At inspection, they demonstrated a positive attitude towards continuing to improve their service and provision for children.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 implement the written record of policies and procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard children the children being cared for from abuse and or neglect (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  implement the written record of policies and procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard children the children being cared for from abuse and or neglect (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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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 141748 Local authority Milton Keynes Inspection number 841485 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 28 Number of children on roll 43 Name of provider Greenleys Community Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 26/11/2009 Telephone number 01908 322211

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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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