Little Tots Preschool

Little Tots Pre - School Hopton Village Hall, Thelnetham Road, Hopton, DISS, Norfolk, IP22 2QY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/10/2014 08/07/2010

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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

 Staff establish close and caring relationships with children and their families. As a result, children develop high self-esteem and settle easily into the friendly and welcoming environment.  All staff are confident in their responsibilities to protect children and keep them safe from harm. They sensitively help children learn to understand the reason for simple safety rules. As a result, children are safe and secure in the pre-school.  Staff use good teaching skills to engage children's enthusiasm for learning. They know the children and their interests well and effectively use this knowledge to plan a wide range of stimulating activities that provide individual children with good levels of challenge to promote their good progress.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always make the most of small group activities to focus on how best to extend individual children's learning so that they make even more rapid progress.  The monitoring of staff practice does not always include reviewing the practice of the members of the management team, to make sure that all staff have focused feedback on how to enhance their already good teaching skills.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the hall and the outside learning environment.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the three registered providers and spoke to staff and children during the course of the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with the children and discussed self-evaluation with the providers.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Little Tots Pre - School opened in 2010 and is privately owned by three partners, who all work directly with the children. It operates from the village hall in Hopton, Suffolk. The pre-school serves the immediate locality and the surrounding areas. The pre-school is open five days a week during time only. On Monday, Wednesday and Fridays from 8.45am until 12.45pm and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8.45am until 2.45 pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Children are cared for in the main hall and associated facilities and have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 19 children attending, who are in the early years age group. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are currently five staff working directly with the children, including the three partners. Four of the staff

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Information about the setting

have an appropriate early years qualification at level 3 or 4. The pre-school receives support from the local authority. It is registered on the Early Years Register.

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

 make the most of adult-led activities to plan small group times with greater focus on specific activities, to promote children's next steps in learning so that they make even more rapid progress

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

 strengthen the monitoring of the quality of teaching, by extending the use of peer observations to include the senior managers and partners, thereby, providing all staff with more focused and meaningful feedback, in order to further raise the quality of children's learning experiences.

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who attend

Staff have a secure knowledge of how to promote children's learning and development. They use their good knowledge of what the children know and can do to plan a wide range of stimulating and challenging activities based on individual children's changing interests. As a result, children soon become engrossed in activities of their own choosing. For example, on arrival a group of children play together in the role-play vets area. This well-resourced area provides many learning opportunities and enables children to share their ideas and findings with each other as they discuss how to care for their pets. Children are very familiar with the well-planned routines of the session. As soon as they hear the music which indicates registration time, they eagerly come together. They remind each other to take off their shoes before finding a cushion to sit on in the spacious quiet area. This well-led whole group time provides children with a wealth of learning

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who attend

opportunities. Children are eager to participate as they use simple sign language to welcome everyone. Staff use good teaching strategies to engage children's interest and confidence as they take turns to speak to the group. The manager uses a good range of props to promote children's interest in phonics and children eagerly suggest words related to the letter of the week. As a result, all children are developing the key skills and attitudes needed to support their move to school, when the time comes.

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who attend

Staff place high priority on supporting children's language and communication skills. Within the first few weeks of entry, they assess each child's language skills to identify any children with potential communication difficulties. Consequently, they are able to provide individual children with appropriate levels of support from the outset. Staff work closely with other professionals to ensure children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive consistency of support. As a result, all children receive targeted interventions to help close any gaps in their learning. Children are developing a love of books. Staff effectively place non-fiction books alongside activities. For example, children enjoy exploring the attractively resourced water tray which creates a habitat for the small world animals that live in water. Children eagerly ask a member of staff questions about the animals and she reads out the answers from a large book about animals. As a result,

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who attend

children learn to use books to support their learning. Staff join in with children's play to extend their interest. For example, they suggest adding water to the dry sand. This soon engages the interest of a large group of children who enthusiastically join in mixing in the water. Staff generally make good use of open-ended questions to encourage children to find their own solutions to simple problems, such as when they try to make sandcastles with the wet sand.

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who attend

Staff establish strong relationships with parents and carers so that they can work together to support children's learning. Staff have meaningful discussions with parents and carers each day and parents comment that staff always have time to talk to them about their children. Good systems are in place to support children that attend other settings. For example, they use a communication folder to share information with parents who do not have any direct contact with the pre-school because a childminder brings and collects the children. Staff accurately monitor and track children's progress. Staff make regular observations of children's learning to identify and plan challenging activities to support children's next steps in learning. However, they do not always plan adult-led small group activities to help children make more rapid progress towards the early learning goals.

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

Key persons know the children and their families well. They develop close relationships with parents and carers and work closely together to meet individual children's needs. As a result, children develop strong emotional attachments to staff and each other. Children arrive happy and eager to learn. They generally separate easily from their parents and carers and settle happily into the friendly and welcoming environment provided by staff. All staff provide children with clear and consistent guidance about what is acceptable behaviour. As a result, children remind each other to share and take turns and they are confident to speak out and share any concerns about the behaviour of another child with staff. Posters depicting positive images of disability are well displayed at child height on furniture and equipment. As a result, children are learning to accept and understand each other's differences.

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

Staff use good teaching strategies to help children learn to understand the reason for simple safety rules. For example, during registration time, children respond with confidence to staff questions about the consequences of throwing sand. Staff also ask them what they must do if they spill water on the floor and children eagerly answer they must use the sign to warn people that the floor in slippery. As a result, children learn the possible consequences of their actions. Children enjoy access to the small outdoor area. This provides them with access to an appropriate range of resources, such as, a digging box, rockers and an interesting selection of pull-along toys. Staff use the nearby play area to provide children with access to more challenging physical play equipment and in good weather they use the large field for ball games and picnics. As a result, children learn the importance of fresh air and physical exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle.

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

Staff make the best of the shared premises of the village hall to provide children with a stimulating and well-resourced indoor environment. They make good use of furniture and equipment to divide the large hall and create a safe and child-friendly space. As a result, children develop independence and cooperation as they play together and share experiences. For example, children confidently use the portable hand washing unit to wash their hands before snack time. They understand how it works and helpfully tell staff when it needs refilling with water. Snack time is used as a social occasion for children to sit together as they choose from an appropriate selection of healthy options. They develop independence as the confidently use their name card to reserve their place at the table. They freely access their named water bottles during the session and pour their own drinks from small jugs at snack time. Staff work closely with the primary school situated next to

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

the village hall. Well-planned transitions are used to help prepare children for the move to school. As a result, parents report that their children find the move to school a smooth experience because they are familiar with their teachers and the new premises.

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provision

The leadership and management of the pre-school are aware of their responsibilities to meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They take effective steps to ensure the premises are safe and secure. Daily checklists are completed on all areas of the premises to identify any action required to promote children's health and well-being. All staff are confident in the action to take if they have a concern about the welfare of a child in their care. They attend appropriate training and an up-to-date safeguarding policy is in place to support their practice. Robust recruitment procedures are in place to ensure staff are suitable to work with children. As a result, children are safe and well cared for at the pre-school.

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provision

Staff use their secure understanding of the areas of learning to provide a broad range of experiences that help all children make good progress towards the early learning goals. The staff team work well together to discuss and evaluate the activities provided to ensure each child receives good levels of challenge based upon their interests and abilities. Planning and assessment are precise and accurately identify children's skills and abilities. As a result, staff are able to effectively monitor children's achievements and seek appropriate interventions so that all children make good progress given their starting points and capabilities. The management team have a strong drive to improve. Since the last inspection, they have worked closely with the local authority and parents to provide children with a continually improving pre-school experience. They provide staff with appropriate levels of support and guidance to improve their practice. However, the

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provision

management team, as joint providers, have not devised an effective system of providing each other with effective feedback on their individual practice to further raise the quality of teaching. Continual professional development is targeted at improving children's experiences. For example, staff attended sign language training to support an individual child. They continue to use sign language in the pre-school and the children enjoy learning to use sign language, such as during whole group times.

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provision

Parents are highly complimentary of the small friendly staff team. They say their children love coming and they find the pre-school provides a home from home for their children. Parents know they can ask to see their children's learning journey, though most prefer meaningful daily discussions to keep them up to date with their children's learning. Staff work closely with parents to provide consistency of support for children's learning and development. Partnerships with the local school and external agencies are well established and make a strong contribution to ensuring children receive appropriate interventions to support their individual needs.

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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 EY401309 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 875182

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 19 Name of provider Little Tots Pre - School Partnership Date of previous inspection 08/07/2010 Telephone number 01379 890119

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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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