Gemini Preparatory School

Gemini Preparatory School Rise Old School, Rise, East Yorkshire, HU11 5BL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/10/2014 16/07/2009

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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

 Children's mathematical skills are effectively promoted through good quality teaching, as staff skilfully and consistently encourage children to count reliably within activities and in their play.  Children's understanding of the world is highly supported through a stimulating environment, both indoors and outdoors, including the local neighbourhood that promotes their interest and curiosity, making them active learners.  Staff are positive role models as they effectively manage the children's behaviour and talk about the importance of safety throughout the children's experiences. This provides clear guidance for children about acceptable behaviour and safe practices.  There are strong partnerships with parents and others who are involved in the care and learning of the children. This ensures that children receive good support and continuity in their care, learning and development.  Staff and volunteers are well informed about their responsibility to keep children safe.

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This provision is good

They understand safeguarding procedures and take appropriate action to minimise risks.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not maximise every opportunity for more able children to practice writing their names.

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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 main room and in the outside area. She also observed the snack time and lunchtime routines.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had a tour of the premises and completed a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's profiles containing observations and assessment records. She also looked at evidence of the suitability of staff and volunteers, the self-evaluation, and a selection of policies and risk assessments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager and spoke to volunteers and children during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents spoken to on the day and through their written feedback.

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Information about the setting

Gemini Preparatory School registered in 1993 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is a privately owned provision and operates from the old school house in Rise, in the Holderness district of the East Riding of Yorkshire. The setting serves the local community and a wide surrounding rural area. Children are cared for in one room and there is an enclosed area for outdoor play. Opening times are Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm. It is closed for bank holidays, during all half terms, for two weeks in the summer, two weeks at Christmas and one week at Easter. The setting employs two members of staff, both of whom hold a level 3 childcare qualification, and they also have a volunteer as support. There are currently 17 children on roll who are within the early years age group. The setting receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. It also receives

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

 make use of all available opportunities for more able children to write for different purposes.

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who attend

Staff have a very good knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They know and understand how young children learn and develop, and effectively put their knowledge into practice. The quality of teaching is good because staff skilfully encourage children to count reliably within activities and in their play. This actively promotes their mathematical skills. Children's knowledge of understanding of the world is supported very well. For example, children talk about features in the local neighbourhood while they make observations of animals and plants. This means children gain a sense of the community they live in. Staff regularly observe children while they are engaged in play. Staff link their observations to the areas of learning and identify children's individual next steps in their learning. Staff use this information to plan and organise rich, varied and stimulating experiences for children

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who attend

across all seven areas of learning. This ensures that the staff meets children's needs and interests and helps children to make good progress in their learning and development. Overall, children are gaining the necessary skills to support their future learning and are prepared for the next stage in their learning, such as school.

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who attend

Children's communication skills are promoted well by staff, who encourage children to talk about what they know through many discussions. Children are confident communicators and are keen to share their learning and knowledge with others, including visitors. Children complete a range of puzzles depending on their ability, supporting their mathematical development. Staff ask questions to encourage children to recognise colour, shape and size. For example, staff ask children 'what picture do we need for that space?' This helps children to respond to what they hear and use their imagination. Children freely explore the paint and experiment by mixing colours, supporting their creative development. They speak and listen in a range of situations that support an active learning environment. However, at times, staff do not always seize the opportunity to encourage more able children to write their names independently.

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who attend

Partnerships with parents are strong because staff fully involve them in their children's learning. Parents are invited to contribute to their children's starting points by completing an 'All about me' sheet when children first start. This sharing of information ensures staff know children's developmental stages, so they can plan for their next steps in learning from the start. Parents see their children's learning profiles on a regular basis and regularly provide information about their children's learning at home. In addition, parents are kept informed well of their children's progress through parent meetings, daily discussions, newsletters and termly progress reports. As a result, children receive consistency and continuity in their learning and development and their individual care needs.

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

The key-person system is effective. Key persons work closely with parents to support children's learning and care from the start. Staff get to know children and their families very well. This helps children to form good emotional attachments and they settle quickly. Children are provided with a wide range of interesting and challenging learning experiences developed by the staff from children's interests. Children demonstrate high levels of confidence and independence as they freely move around the environment and make choices about what they want to do. They use their imaginations well and are supported effectively by staff to talk and play with each other. Children are praised when they do well and this helps to build their confidence and self-esteem. Children behave very well. This is because staff are good role models and use a variety of successfully strategies. For example, the positive behaviour board is used to praise children's hard

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

work and sharing toys. This supports children to understand the setting's boundaries and staff expectations of them. This also promotes cooperative play and inspires children to explore their surroundings with ease. Therefore, children's individual needs are fully met and their social and emotional development is fostered well.

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

Staff teach children about safe practices. They remind children about simple safety rules, such as not running or climbing indoors. Children's physical development is encouraged as they climb over apparatus with ease, balance and move confidently outdoors. Staff remind them about sitting down to come down the slide. This enables children to learn the importance of managing risks and keeping themselves safe. Children learn about healthy eating through discussions at snack and lunch times. For example, the inside of the pumpkin is discussed as children talk about planting the seeds, while staff talk about making pumpkin soup and healthy foods. This means children explore where food comes from and how it grows helping them to make healthy choices in their diet. Children are supported to manage their own hygiene and personal needs as familiar daily routines for hand washing are securely embedded. Consequently, children develop a good

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

understanding of the benefits of a healthy and safe lifestyle.

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

The management team work hard to develop links with the community and strengthen relationships with the local schools. They encourage teachers to visit the children at the setting to get to know them and develop relationships in readiness for their attendance at school. The team shares children's profiles and progress reports with schools and other settings, such as childminders. They attend all meetings to ensure children's individual needs are fully met. As a result, children are emotionally prepared for the environment they will experience when they move on to school or between carers.

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provision

Safeguarding is effective because the safeguarding and welfare requirements are fully understood by the manager. The manager has an extremely good knowledge of her responsibilities to meet all the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. An effective range of written policies and procedures are implemented successfully to ensure the children are protected effectively. Staff and volunteers fully understand their responsibilities to safeguard the children in their care and know the procedures to follow if they have any concerns. Staff are deployed well and they provide children with good levels of supervision, indoors and outdoors. This means children are provided with a safe and secure environment and they are protected from harm.

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provision

The manager closely monitors the quality of teaching and learning in the setting. The system in place to observe, assess and monitor children's progress is effective and used well by the staff. Children's learning and development is analysed to identify if there are any areas where they are making less or significant progress. This information is used to plan activities and interventions. This means that any gaps in children's learning are identified and planned for quickly. Also, any achievements are noted and adult-led activities are arranged to focus children further. Consequently, children are supported effectively to make good progress in their learning and development. The management team are experienced and qualified. They attend a lot of ongoing training to continue to develop their knowledge and skills further. All staff and volunteers are subject to identity and suitability checks and an induction procedure when they are recruited. Ongoing

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provision

checks to confirm their continued suitability take place during annual appraisals and regular staff supervision meetings. This enables the manager to have an accurate view of the quality of the provision in order to continually develop it and evaluate all areas of practice. As a result, procedures to underpin children's learning and safety are understood and consistently applied.

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provision

The staff have developed a secure partnership with parents and other professionals. All parents spoken to during the inspection are very happy with the care and education their children receive. External agencies and services are welcomed in order to fully support children's individual needs. For example, staff receive training to fully support children's specific care needs. The manager is committed to attending meetings with other professionals in order to support individual families and children. This also supports their moves to the local schools and secures appropriate interventions and support as needed. The management team have completed a self-evaluation of their setting. This identifies clear targets and planned priorities to improve all areas of their practice. The team gather feedback from parents through questionnaires and regular emails. Recommendations from the last inspection have been successfully met and all hazards are identified, with risks to

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provision

children minimised through effective safety measures and detailed risk assessments. The manager is committed to providing a quality service and making continuous improvements for the benefit of the 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 314635 Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire Inspection number 868245

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 22 Number of children on roll 17 Name of provider Dawn Jeanette Curry Date of previous inspection 16/07/2009 Telephone number 01964 564194

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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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