Partridge Green Pre-School

Partridge Green Pre-School The Village Hall, Partridge Green, West Sussex, RH13 8HX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/10/2014 01/11/2010

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 The pre-school is very well equipped, with activities provided that competently cover all areas of learning and development.  Staff provide appropriate learning opportunities which successfully challenge all children, enabling each child to make good progress.  Children are happy and confident due to the strong relationships they have with each of the staff members.  Partnerships with parents are good. Staff provide parents with good information about their children's development through verbal handovers and written information. This encourages parents to be a part of children's future learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always provide clear explanations to children to further develop their understanding of how to keep themselves safe.  Occasionally, staff do not allow children good amounts of time to develop their own ideas and express these during play.

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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 activities in the indoor and outdoor environments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled the pre-school's policies and procedures and children's development records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the manager, staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector spoke to parents to gain their feedback on the pre-school.  The inspector took part in a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Partridge Green Pre-School registered in 1966 and is run by a committee with charitable status. It operates from two rooms within the village hall in Partridge Green, West Sussex. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The pre-school opens each morning from 9.05am to 12.05pm and on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1.05pm to 3.05pm during term time. They run a daily lunch club from 12.05pm to 1.05pm. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 17 children on roll in the early years age group. The pre-school receives funding to provide free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those children who learn English as an additional language. The pre-school employs six members of staff, of whom five hold appropriate early years

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Information about the setting

qualifications at level 3. The manager holds Qualified Teacher Status.

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

 provide children with clear explanations to instructions to develop their understanding and teach them how to keep themselves safe

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

 allow children more time to respond to staff's questions so that they can develop their ideas and critical-thinking skills.

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who attend

Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children are engaged from the moment they arrive, due to the environment being set up to provide interesting and challenging learning opportunities. Staff have a good awareness of children's interests, which they learn from the All About Me forms completed by parents before their child starts. The children's interests are incorporated into the activities which enables them to settle well into their play. Staff assess children's development effectively and monitor their progress on a progress review. This allows staff to highlight any gaps in development and address them quickly so that children make good progress. Staff share all assessments with parents and their input is encouraged. Key persons also invite parents to quarterly meetings to discuss children's development in more detail. This encourages further

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who attend

learning at home and ensures that parents feel included in their child's development. Staff are confident in planning children's next steps and clearly plan interesting activities for all children. Consequently, all children are motivated to learn and make good progress.

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who attend

The environment is well labelled with letters and numbers which helps children to develop good literacy and mathematical skills. This also develops children's independence as they are able to independently select their chosen activity and actively explore their surroundings. Children are confident communicators and therefore staff use a good range of questioning techniques. This encourages children to develop their range of vocabulary and descriptive language. For example, children enjoyed making marks in shaving foam during the inspection. They used paintbrushes and cars to make marks in the mixture. Staff added paint to the mixture and asked the children what colour they thought it would make. Children explored the mixture and used their brushes to mix it together, commenting 'It has gone pinky!' 'Can we add another colour?' The staff added yellow paint and again asked the children what colour they thought it would become. This

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who attend

encourages children's critical-thinking skills and their knowledge of colours. Staff are interested in children's play and when children tell them what they are doing, staff extend their play by asking further questions. For example, children tell staff 'I have put the traffic lights here' and staff respond, 'Yes you have, what do the traffic lights mean?' The use of open-ended questions allows children to develop their critical-thinking skills and their imaginations. However, occasionally staff do not allow children enough time to respond, which means their ideas are not fully developed. Staff encourage children's emerging mathematical development. During the inspection, children used bean bags and threw them on to a mat which displayed number spots up to 25. Staff encouraged the children to recognise the single numbers, which they did confidently. Staff then extended and supported the children in recognising numbers over 10 by asking them to identify single

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who attend

numbers and then joining them together. For example, '2 and 1 is 21'. This supports children's emerging knowledge of number.

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who attend

Staff provide children with ample opportunities for mark making and writing. Different activities encourage children to use various tools such as pens, pencils, crayons and paintbrushes. Staff have placed clipboards around the room, including in role-play areas to encourage children to make marks. This provides plenty of opportunity for children to develop their early writing skills and ensure they are prepared for future learning at school.

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who attend

Staff develop children's knowledge of shape and number during craft activities. Children sat down with pictures of spiders and staff encouraged the children to match the pictures and count the spiders' legs. Children drew circles on the paper to represent the body and used pipe cleaners to make the legs. Staff provided different coloured pipe cleaners and asked children to recognise the colours. Children were encouraged to think for themselves and make decisions as to where they wanted to stick their resources which develops their critical-thinking and imagination skills.

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who attend

Children have access to a computer which they show confidence in using. Children select programmes from a large range of appropriate games and put them into the computer. Children play spot the difference and work together while looking at the pictures. They use the mouse and keyboard confidently. This prepares children for their future learning and builds on their confidence to try out new things. Children have book bags which they use to borrow books from the pre-school. Staff change the books over each day and make a log of what books the children have had. This encourages parents to read to their children to develop their child's early reading skills. This helps parents to prepare their child for their move to school.

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

Children are happy and settle well at the pre-school. All children have good relationships with the staff and confidently seek them out during play. This helps children to be sociable and feel secure. Staff provide good support to meet all children's individual needs. Staff display visual routines around the room which supports children's independence. For children who speak English as an additional language, this helps them to develop their communication and language skills and have an understanding of the routine. Children's independence is fully encouraged. During snack time staff expect children to collect their name labels, cups and plates from the snack trolley and find a space at the table. Children confidently pour milk or water from small jugs and select their own pieces of fruit. Staff constantly praise children's achievements and offer good levels of encouragement which enhances their self-esteem and motivates children to have a go. This fully supports

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

Children behave very well. They have a good understanding of what is expected of them and listen to staff. Children take part in daily routine tasks such as helping to tidy away their toys before going outside. Children are cooperative and respond appropriately. For example, when staff ring the cymbals, children stop playing and listen to the staff's instructions. However, staff do not always provide a clear explanation as to why children should not do something. For example by explaining why children must not run inside, which does not fully support the children's developing understanding of safety rules. Children learn to manage their own risks well during physical play. Children enjoy using the climbing frame, showing they know how to safely climb up the steps to the top. They move slowly but confidently while being constantly supervised by staff. Staff praise the children as they reach the top, support them to sit down and go down the slide. This

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

develops the children's confidence and self-esteem.

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

Children manage their own personal care needs effectively and have a good understanding of hygiene practices. They are independent in using the toilet and know to wash their hands when coming in from the garden and before eating. They have plenty of opportunities to access the outdoor area as they are able to move freely between the indoor and outdoor environments. Children develop strong physical agility as they play on bicycles and cars and manoeuvre around different obstacles.

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provision

The manager and staff have a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. The manager is the designated person for child protection and all staff have received relevant safeguarding training which is updated regularly. There is a comprehensive policy in place which clearly states the procedures in place if staff are concerned about a child in their care. Staff are also aware of the pre-school's procedures if an allegation is made against them, to help protect children's welfare. Staff fully understand how to record accidents and incidents, which helps them to keep children safe. Staff suitability checks are in place to make sure staff are suitable to work with children. Additionally, all new staff complete an induction programme to ensure they are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities within the pre-school. Staff have supervision sessions with the manager every six months, and annual appraisals. In addition to this,

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provision

weekly meetings take place to address staff's individual training needs and interests. This helps the pre-school to drive improvement in staff's practice. Due to being such a small team, staff are fully aware of each others' strengths and weaknesses. They make the most of each other's strengths by ensuring staff are deployed to make best use of their skills. For example, some staff are more creative than others, who are more suited to supporting and teaching the children during outdoor play. Therefore the manager deploys staff appropriately. These systems benefit the children's learning and development.

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provision

The manager oversees the planning and monitors children's progress. There are good systems in place to enable her to assess different groups of children such as two-, three- and four-year-olds, boys, and girls. The manager uses these systems to ensure that staff are offering all children suitably challenging activities, and that each child is making good progress. The pre-school has completed their self- evaluation form and clearly highlight their strengths and areas they want to improve to maintain continuous improvement in the provision for children. For example, they understand the importance of parents contributing to the setting and stress how this is something they want to improve on.

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provision

The pre-school promotes equality and diversity. They welcome families from the local community and include all children regardless of their needs or cultural background. The staff support children who speak English as an additional language and work closely with parents to develop their language skills effectively. The staff include and value the contribution of all families. They provide positive non-stereotyping resources and posters about gender roles, ethnic groups and disabled people. There is also a designated person for supporting children with additional needs. The staff member has received specific training on how to support these children and understands the importance of working in partnership with parents to support the child. Staff are aware of the importance of sharing information with additional settings that some children may attend. Staff share children's records and hold meetings between key people to discuss each child's development levels

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provision

and next steps for learning. There are also good systems in place to support children in their move to school.

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provision

Staff have positive relationships with parents who comment that they are 'more than happy' with the care and learning opportunities that their children receive. Parents comment that their children have come on in 'leaps and bounds in the last year' and it 'amazes them how extensive their vocabulary is and how wild their imaginations are.' Parents are happy with the amount of information they receive and know that if they write something in the home link book it is valued and staff use the information in future planning and to provide challenging opportunities for each child. This positive partnership working has a very positive impact on the outcomes for children.

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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 113631 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 817043 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 17 Name of provider Partridge Green Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 01/11/2010 Telephone number 07880 744240

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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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