Dunkery Pre-SchoolOfsted inspection, 20 Oct 2014

Dunkery Pre-School Cutcombe C of E Voluntary Aided First School, Wheddon Cross, MINEHEAD, Somerset, TA24 7DZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/10/2014 03/12/2008

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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

 The quality of teaching is good. Staff use questioning well to stimulate children's interests and extend and develop their communication and critical thinking skills.  Staff encourage children to explore their feelings and emotions, and learn to express these appropriately with adults and other children.  Strong systems of observation and assessment result in precise and focused learning plans for each child, based on their individual interests. Therefore, children participate happily in activities and make good progress relative to their starting points.  Staff monitor the effectiveness of the provision well and strive to continually improve outcomes for children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There are some inconsistencies in providing parents with information to extend their children's learning at home  Letters and numbers displayed outside do not successfully support children to learn about the types of information they provide.

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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 held discussions with the manager, staff and committee members.  The inspector sought the views of parents and children.  The inspector observed a range of activities indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a variety of documentation, including records that support safeguarding and welfare, and children's learning.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Dunkery Pre-School operates from Cutcombe Church of England Voluntary Controlled First School in Wheddon Cross, Somerset, with whom it has established links. It is run by a voluntary committee and was first registered in 2001. In 2008, it moved into a purpose- built extension of the school, which has disabled access, its own toilet facilities and secure outside area. Children have use of the school facilities, playground and garden areas. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years register. There are currently 11 children on roll. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They are open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am to 3pm term-time only. There are four members of staff and all have appropriate early years qualifications.

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

 develop consistency in providing parents with information about how they can further support their children's learning at home

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

 maximise how letters and numbers are displayed outside so these can be more easily seen by children, and so support their understanding of the information they provide.

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who attend

Children make good progress in all areas of learning and development relative to their starting points. This is because staff have a very good understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They ensure children enjoy stimulating and challenging experiences in all areas. Staff make detailed observations and assessments of children, which are precise and well focused. These show that most children are working at or above, the expected levels of development. Where children's starting points are below expectations in some areas, staff monitor this very well to ensure any gaps are narrowed. Therefore, these children also make good progress based on their starting points. Assessments are effective, with detailed individual learning plans for each child, and identify the next steps in promoting children's development. This results in very good planning of activities and resources that are

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who attend

specific to children's interests, providing appropriate levels of challenge.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is consistently good. Staff extend children's communication and critical thinking skills well. Interactions with children are extremely good. For example, staff used children's fascination with dinosaurs to support their speech and language development. They encouraged children to name the dinosaurs, some of which are difficult to pronounce, and congratulated children for trying, while gently modelling the correct pronunciation so that children learn. Mealtimes are very sociable. Staff sit with children and make good use of this time to encourage conversation and extend children's learning. For example, children under three-years talked about the shapes of their sandwiches and staff encouraged them to look for other triangles on the table. Children identified that triangular sandwiches are the same as cheese triangles. Children are effectively encouraged to link what they are doing to past learning experiences. For

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who attend

example, children were using play dough. A child rolled out a length of dough and announced they had made a worm, like they had found in the garden. A member of staff extended this well, offering the child a magnifying glass and reminding them that they had looked at worms outside with this. Children enjoy a variety of creative activities where they can freely express their thoughts and ideas. Staff make sure there is a very good range of creative materials and role-play resources, which children make good use of. Children use technology confidently to express their ideas, for example, using the interactive whiteboard to create pictures, which they print off for display.

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who attend

Staff ensure there is a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities. Group activities, such as singing and using musical instruments, are well organised and thoroughly enjoyed by children. Staff deploy themselves well so that younger children, who may need some support to fully participate, are fully included. In a lively musical activity, all children were encouraged to explore and choose instruments and to take turns in choosing songs. Staff used their voices and body language very well to convey concepts of quiet and loud, which the children accurately copied. Staff also use group activities to develop children's knowledge of simple sign language. For instance, they spend a short time together in the morning where they greet each other and welcome their friends using speech and signing. This helps children to develop awareness that speech is not the only means of communication. Staff ensure resources outside encourage learning in all areas, supporting

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who attend

children who prefer to learn outdoors. For example, there are plenty of materials for writing and mark making, creative media, role play, and resources to encourage children to weigh, measure and experiment. Staff display letters and numbers outside, however, some of these are too high or hidden for children to see easily, so are of little benefit. This does not fully support children in learning about the types of information they can provide to extend their learning further.

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who attend

Staff carry out the required progress check for two-year-old children when appropriate. These are very thorough and provide a detailed report of the progress children have made in all areas of learning. Staff take into account parents' views of their children's development. They identify, record and discuss children's next steps in promoting progress. Parents generally feel staff keep them well informed about this. As well as daily discussions with key persons, they have a meeting every half term to discuss their child's progress formally. Staff value information provided by parents relating to what their children do at home, and include this in children's learning plans. Staff make sure they tell parents each day of their child's achievements. However, they are less consistent in suggesting activities that parents can do at home with their children, to build on learning that takes place in the setting.

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who attend

There is a very good focus on children's independence, self-esteem, behaviour, self-care, and communication. This supports children well in moving on to the next stage in their learning, for example, school. The extremely strong relationship with the school means the transition is well prepared for and so children are confident and ready to move on. Staff understand the importance in working in partnership with other early years settings, such as nurseries and childminders, where children attend more than one provider of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They make sure they gain relevant information to support children's learning plans where this is the case.

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

The setting has a well-established key person system in place, and children receive effective support as they settle in to the setting. Children develop strong bonds with staff, and as a result, they settle quickly, are confident and happy, and show good levels of self- esteem. Additionally, the extremely good information sharing amongst staff means all the team fully understand every child's needs and support these well. This results in the youngest children, and those who have only recently started to attend, being as happy and confident as their older, more established, friends. The effectiveness of the key- person system means children are emotionally secure and prepared well for the transition to school.

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

Children are well behaved. They enjoy being helpful and taking responsibility. For example, they eagerly help to clear tables and wash up after meals. Staff are very good role models and make sure children understand what is expected of them. They show an extremely good understanding that children sometimes struggle to express their emotions appropriately and will occasionally fall out with each other. When this occurs, staff use their skills very well to encourage children to resolve conflicts and talk about how they feel.

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

Children enjoy a learning environment that, overall, is stimulating and well resourced indoors and outside. The majority of resources are easily accessible to children and they confidently make their own choices as they play. Children are physically active and enjoy plenty of exercise. Staff make good use of the big playground, garden, and large apparatus to encourage children to develop confidence and co-ordination as they climb, swing, run and jump. Children demonstrate a secure understanding of safety issues. For instance, they know to wait their turn on the large wooden climbing equipment so they do not put themselves or their friends at risk of harm. They make their own spontaneous risk assessments. For instance, having spilled some craft materials on the floor, a child immediately got a dustpan and swept up, stating that others might slip and hurt themselves. Children are developing an understanding of how their bodies work. For

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

instance, having been very active, they helped themselves to drinks of water because they were hot.

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

Children show a good awareness of health and hygiene issues. There were children present with slight colds. They helped themselves to tissues when needed and disposed of them in the bin when used. They covered their mouths when they coughed or sneezed and washed their hands afterwards. Children are independent and manage their personal needs well. Very young children who need help receive good support from staff as they learn to be fully independent. Children are provided with a variety of healthy snacks each day, and staff talk to children about the importance of eating a balanced diet. Sometimes, children have a treat that they have made themselves. For instance, they recently had a crumble made with blackberries they had picked. This helps them to understand that a less healthy snack is fine sometimes, as long as it is a special treat.

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provision

There is good leadership and management. This ensures the pre-school meets all safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. All staff have a thorough knowledge and understanding of what to do if they have child protection concerns. They are secure in their knowledge of the correct procedures to follow in the event of an allegation made against a colleague or manager, to protect children. Management regularly review policies and procedures that support safeguarding practice to ensure these are in keeping with current guidance. Recruitment procedures are robust and effective systems of vetting checks are in place. This helps to ensure the suitability of staff and committee members for their roles. Risk assessments are comprehensive and implemented well by staff to keep children safe and secure. All required documentation and records are in place, up-to-date, and available for inspection. The setting operates

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provision

with a high ratio of adults to children, which helps to support children's safety and welfare. Additionally, this high level of adult support contributes to the good progress children make in their learning.

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provision

Monitoring of the effectiveness of the learning and development programme is good. The manager reviews children's learning plans with key persons. This helps to ensure there is consistency in the sharpness and focus of observations and assessments. Together, they look at how they use these in planning for individual progress. Where children's starting points are below expectations, strict monitoring systems track their progress to ensure gaps in children's learning narrow. The pre-school uses guidance from other professionals well to support children's individual learning needs, for example, speech and language. Where children attend less frequently, such as one day a week, staff make regular observations so they have sufficient evidence to accurately assess the progress they make over time, in all areas of learning.

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provision

Self-evaluation is good, with effective systems to involve staff, the committee, parents and children in identifying areas for improvements. For example, parents stated they would like more frequent, formal, feedback on their children's progress in learning. This has led to regular reviews with parents by key persons. Although, staff are not always consistent in sharing ideas to extend children's learning at home more frequently. The committee identified they could take a more pro-active role in providing professional support to the manager, for instance, becoming more involved with supervision and appraisal. The setting shows a commitment to and capacity for ongoing, continuous improvement. Performance is monitored well and staff reflect on and share their evaluations of their own and each others' practice. Staff make the most of training opportunities, for example, refreshing their knowledge of sign language online in order to use this more effectively

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provision

Staff understand the importance of working in partnership with other providers, where children attend more than one setting. They make every effort to establish systems to share information. Where there are difficulties with this, they look at alternative options. For example, they arrange with parents to pass on information about their children's progress. As a result, they remain suitably well informed.

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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 EY289554 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 833749 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 14 Number of children on roll 11 Name of provider Dunkery Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 03/12/2008 Telephone number 07984 023053 ps mobile

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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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