Deanshanger Village Pre-School

Deanshanger Village Pre-School Community Centre, Little London, Deanshanger, Milton Keynes, MK19 6HT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/10/2014 20/03/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The provider has not notified Ofsted of changes to committee members and the nominated individual. As a result, Ofsted have not been able to instigate the required suitability and vetting checks. This poses a significant risk to the safety and well-being of children and undermines trusting relationships with parents.  The committee does not have a good understanding of its roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and child protection. The committee does not always consistently implement the recruitment and induction procedures.  No responsibility has been taken to monitor the work of staff or the delivery of the curriculum. This is due to the instability and changes within the committee.  Some parts of the daily routine do not suit young children's needs, leading to them becoming bored and restless.  Some children pick up and drink from bottles that other children have been drinking

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This provision is inadequate

from. This poses a risk to their health.  Demands on staff time do not allow opportunity for them to reflect and review plans for children's learning. Therefore, they do not always plan activities that meet children's needs.  Staff do not agree with parents how to discourage children's use of comfort items, which has an impact on their speech and language development.

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It has the following strengths

 Staff care about children and are comforting and considerate to their feelings.

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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 main room and garden.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had discussions with parents, staff, children and members of the committee.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the manager

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, evidence of suitability of staff members and a range of other documentation, including the safeguarding procedures.

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Information about the setting

Deanshanger Village Pre-school was registered in 2008 and is on the Early Years Register. It is situated in a purpose-built room within the community-centre building. The pre-school is in Deanshanger, Northamptonshire. It is managed by a voluntary committee. The pre- school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from a large room and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The pre-school employs seven members of childcare staff. Of these, three hold a recognised early years qualification at level 3 and one at level 2. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday, term-time only. Sessions are from 9am until 12 noon and from 12.45pm until 3.45pm. There is an optional lunch club, which runs between sessions. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 45 children attending who are within the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a

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Information about the setting

number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 understand and fulfil its responsibilities for child protection and safeguarding

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must:

 ensure that all changes in members of the committee are notified to Ofsted as soon as is reasonably practicable, but always within 14 days, so that the required suitability and Disclosure and Barring Service checks can be instigated

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must:

 ensure all staff, including volunteers, follow a robust recruitment and induction procedure

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must:

 implement suitable arrangements for the supervision of staff in order to encourage a culture of mutual support, teamwork and continuous improvement

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must:

 ensure that the pre-school routine meets the needs of children so that the youngest children remain engaged and do not become bored and restless during group times

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must:

 promote children's good health by making sure that they do not drink from each other's bottles

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must:

 give staff time to plan, observe and reflect upon their assessments of children, so they can deliver good quality teaching and learning experiences precisely matched to children's individual learning needs

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must:

 promote children's speech and language development by, for example, working with parents to encourage children who use bottles for drinking, to not continually use them for comfort.

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who attend

Staff at the pre-school care about children's learning. They plan activities, such as modelling with clay, which develop children's sense of expression and creativity. However, staff are under pressure. They do not have adequate time to fully reflect and review children's observations and assessments. Consequently, this has a negative impact upon children's learning and the staff's ability to meet their needs. The lack of leadereship from the committee means that staff have not received adequate support in order to provide children with a good quality early years experience. Staff are unable to fully deliver the quality of teaching they wish to or develop their ideas to extend children's learning. Staff meet the needs of children who have special educational needs well. This is because they use a range of ways to help them to communicate, such as picture diagrams and work closely with other professionals, such as portage workers and speech-and-language

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who attend

Some children use dummies and bottles as comfort items. Although this helps them to feel more confident as they move between home and the pre-school, their overuse damages children's speech and language development. Staff are unable to communicate with children effectively as they cannot respond properly. The staff ask children questions and talk to them with kindness and respect. This helps children to want to talk and communicate with them. Children enjoy playing in the garden, where they climb and ride bikes. They develop balance and coordination as they strengthen their larger muscles. Children explore the natural world through the mud kitchen. They add ingredients of mud, leaves and sticks and mix them around in a large saucepan. Children talk about their ideas as they work together. They dig and move earth and enjoy the sensory experience of mixing these particular ingredients. Children are curious about what they can see

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who attend

happening and it sustains their interest. This helps them to develop some of the skills that will equip them for starting school. At times, the pre-school routine does not suit all children. During group times, young children children do not fully understand what is happening and quickly lose interest. At times, they become disengaged and upset. Although staff respond to children warmly, this only momentarily settles them and they quickly show signs of boredom again.

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who attend

The staff talk with parents about children's progress and gather information about their abilities when they first start at the pre-school. Children's learning journals are available for parents to look through and staff use an ongoing communication book, which travels between home and pre-school each time their child attends. Parents write comments in these books so that staff can build upon the home interests of each child.

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

Children generally settle at the pre-school. When they do become distressed, staff are tactile and warm with them. Staff cuddle young children and give them reassurance. Children like to be with staff and return to them to 'check in' before going off to play again. Although on the whole, children are content, they have a false sense of security because there are a number of safeguarding breaches that undermine their safety. Staff help children to adjust to starting pre-school and are patient as they test boundaries. The key-person system means children receive individual attention. Parents know who their child's key person is so they can go to them if they have any questions or concerns. The pre-school prepares children for starting school by inviting teachers into their setting and by taking the children to visit the school.

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

Staff provide snacks for children, strictly following their individual food plans. This means that all children are protected from foods that could harm them. They offer alternatives where necessary, so that no child feels left out if they cannot eat a certain food. Staff update their knowledge by attending food hygiene courses, so they know how to prepare food safely. However, some children walk around drinking from bottles. They discard them at times, without staff seeing, and other children pick them up and put them to their mouths. This poses a risk to their health and increases the possibility of the spread of infection. Children learn about ways to keep themselves safe as the staff remind them where they must stay while riding bikes to avoid collision with children who are playing elsewhere.

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

As young children become accustomed to the new environment of the pre-school, staff have created a 'chill-out' area where they can go and read books with staff, as they settle in. Staff remind children of the expectations for behaviour and talk calmly to them. This helps to promote positive behaviour. Children experience risk and challenge in the garden where they climb a muddy slope and jump from the climbing frame. Staff provide supervision, while giving children space to test out what they can do.

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provision

The inspection was prioritised following a concern raised about the lack of suitability checks for committee members. The inspection found that Ofsted had not been notified of chnages to commitee members or the nominated individual, in the required 14 day timescale. As a result, most members of the committee, had not completed the required suitability and Disclosure and Barring Service checks. Therefore, there is no confirmation whether they are suitable to work with children and their past checks for other employers are insufficient. This poses a significant risk to children's welfare and safety. The pre- school provides information for parents via their webpage, which states that all committee members are registered with Ofsted and have undertaken enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks. This is not the case. Therefore, trusting relationships with parents are undermined.

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provision

Staff are aware of how to recognise the signs and symptoms that might cause them concern about children's welfare. There are policies that guide staff, and a member of the staff team is nominated as the child protection officer. However, the committee, who monitor and manage the staff team, have insufficient understanding of their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding. This has a direct impact on their ability to know how to deal with any allegations against staff. Furthermore, the committee do not ensure that volunteers have a full recruitment and induction period. This further poses a risk to the safety of children because the suitability of staff to undertake their role, is not assured. The committee are keen to address the issues and are positive about moving forward.

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provision

The committee do not monitor the work of the staff who work with children. Staff do not have suitable supervision to help to create a culture of mutual support. Management and accountability arrangements are not clear within the committee and staff receive mixed messages, which further unsettles them. This creates an environment where staff morale is low. The manager motivates staff and maintains a drive to provide high quality care for children. With this in mind, she and staff undertake detailed self-evaluation. They have addressed recommendations from the previous inspection and are positive about their ability to raise standards at the pre-school. Their plans for improvement are realistic and identify the areas of weakness. This shows that the staff have the capacity to raise the standards in quality for children. Staff undertake training to maintain their knowledge and increase their understanding.

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provision

Staff complete the progress check for children between the age of two and three years. They share these with parents and inform them of children's progress at regular intervals. The staff monitor the curriculum and children's progress. However, there are no current arrangements for the committee to review the learning and development programme for children. The pre-school builds relationships with other settings and the local schools. This helps to provide children with continuity and prepares them for change. When staff have a concern about child's learning and development, they access extra support to meet their needs. Parents have the opportunity to be involved in the pre-school by joining the committee and describe the staff as welcoming and friendly.

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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 EY380329 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 991996

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 45 Name of provider Deanshanger Village Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 20/03/2009 Telephone number 01908263295

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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

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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