Fontmell Magna Under Fives

Fontmell Magna Under Fives Blandfords Farmhouse, West Street, Fontmell Magna, SHAFTESBURY, Dorset, SP7 0PF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23/10/2014 14/11/2013

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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 enable children to build positive relationships because they support their personal, social and emotional development well. Staff are positive role models and show a genuine interest in what the children say and do, which motivates their learning.  Staff create a welcoming environment where children make independent choices in their play. A particularly well-resourced outdoor environment enables children to make good progress in all areas of their learning and development.  The committee implements effective recruitment and vetting procedures to determine staff suitability. Staff implement the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage effectively and act on outside professional advice to drive improvement in the provision for children's benefit.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff are not always proactive in building positive relationships with other early years settings that children attend, to maximise their learning and development. As a result, they are not working together for all children as well as possible.

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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 compulsory part 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 completed observations of play activities in the main play room, dining room and garden area, and spoke to staff at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector completed a joint observation with the deputy manager and discussed the findings.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed documentation including a sample of children's records, planning, staff records and the self-evaluation paperwork

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to parents and carers during the inspection gathering their views.

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Information about the setting

Fontmell Magna Under Fives originally registered in 1983 and re-registered at the current premises in 2010. It operates from a converted farm building in the village of Fontmell Magna, in Dorset. Children have use of a central playroom, dining room and an enclosed outdoor play area. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. The pre-school is open every weekday, from 8.45am until 2.45pm, term time only. The pre-school provides funded early education for children aged three and four years. There are currently 49 children on roll, of whom 44 are in the early years age group. The pre-school supports children who are learning English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The pre-school employs six staff including the manager; of these five hold appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff is in training for an early years

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

 strengthen relationships with other early years settings that children attend, to promote a consistent approach to their learning, and so that no time is lost with establishing children's abilities quickly when they start at the pre-school.

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who attend

Staff warmly welcome children as they arrive which enables children to feel at ease and usually sufficiently confident to quickly engage in their chosen play activities. Staff and management know the children's individual needs well and recognise that some need additional support. For example, if new children have difficulties leaving their parents a member of staff engages with them quickly and supports them in waving goodbye. This helps children to feel settled and secure.

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who attend

Staff have recently had some additional training with regards to planning to enable them to make sure that every child is making good progress and that their individual interests are taken into account. Several children had recently shown interest in conkers. Staff use this interest to extend their learning particularly related to mathematical development. For example, staff encouraged children to count, sort by size and talk about shapes.

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who attend

The outside area provides a rich learning experience where children can develop their own ideas and use their imaginations. Children spend considerable time using cones and planks of wood to create their own models, thinking creatively. They cooperate well with their friends as they do so. Staff recognise other current interests by making the outdoor shelter into the children's own imaginary pre-school. Children confidently pretend to take the register. They show high levels of concentration, are independent and are motivated in their learning. This all demonstrates that children develop the skills they need for their future learning and the move to school.

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who attend

Staff help children learn through worthwhile play that encourages children to explore and investigate. Children are confident to talk about how pumpkin seeds need to be in compost and have sun and water to make them grow. Staff use unexpected learning opportunities well, such as why a large pumpkin that was growing close to the fence is not a uniform shape. This encouraged children to explore and investigate this, provoking discussion before they carved the pumpkin.

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who attend

Parents are encouraged to share information about their children's abilities when they first register their child and as part of the children's ongoing development. Staff keep parents up to date on their children's progress and involve parents well in their children's learning. Parents share their children's home achievements and attend meetings where they can sit with their children's special person and discuss progress at length. However, staff are not consistent with liaising with other settings that children attend. With some other early years provision there are good systems to share children's progress to enable a consistent approach. However, with some children they wait before approaching the other setting. As a result they do not effectively work together to promote children's learning from the outset. This means that for a minority of new children, their abilities are not known on entry so time is lost while staff establish these.

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who attend

Staff use effective teaching methods to enable each child to make good progress. Children with additional needs and those learning English as an additional language are well supported. For example, children have individual learning plans targeting specific areas to make sure they progress. Staff value children's home languages.

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who attend

The observation and assessment process enables the key person and management to make sure that all children are making good progress given their starting points. As a result, staff can effectively plan the next stages in children's learning.

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

Staff promote children's independence effectively throughout the setting. They teach children to prepare their own snack and help them manager their personal care well, such as putting on their raincoats and shoes when they go out to play. Relationships are positive across the pre-school. Children's behaviour is good. They show consideration to each other. For example, one child accidentally hit another child on the head with a piece of wood as they are trying to put the roof on a house. The child immediately said sorry and checked that the other child was okay.

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

Staff create rich and vibrant learning environments in the main playroom and the extremely well-resourced outdoor area. Staff make the most of these resources and the available space. For example, children learn about nature through growing their own vegetables.

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

Children have other good opportunities to learn about the world around them including respecting and valuing differences between families. Parents visit the setting to share their cultures and beliefs to enable all children to gain awareness that people differ. Staff help children understand that children live in different sorts of homes, such as a farm, houseboat on a river or a terrace house. Staff encourage children to bring in photographs of their families and of themselves as babies to see the differences between themselves. This all helps build children's confidence and self-esteem, so children are emotionally secure and well prepared for the next stage in their learning.

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

Staff promote healthy lifestyles well. Children learn how to keep themselves safe through the staff being positive role models for them, and involving them in checking some safety aspects of their play areas. For example, staff choose children to help complete a daily risk assessment providing visual prompts to help them make sure the area is safe for others to play.

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provision

The committee, management and staff demonstrate good knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements and implement these effectively. The committee representative is clear on her role and responsibility in safeguarding children and the expectations that staff know the policy and procedures. Staff describe effective procedures that they would follow if they had concerns about a child. Staff undertake training regularly to enable them to be confident in their ability to keep children healthy and safe, and to promote their well-being. There are rigorous recruitment and vetting procedures that enable the committee to appoint suitable staff who have the skills and knowledge to meet children's needs. There are good induction procedures and ongoing systems to make sure staff have regular discussions to improve their practice. This includes staff meetings where they share information about how to raise the quality of

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provision

children's learning and promote their welfare.

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provision

There are good systems to enable management and staff to monitor children's learning and development to make sure that every child is progressing well given whatever their abilities. These include the progress reports for children aged two to three years, a system that monitors children's progress across all areas of learning, and a check on observations and assessments made. However, while some partnerships with outside professionals are strong, those with other early years providers require further development.

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provision

Staff value parental involvement. They involve parents in children's learning, such as through sending in photographs linked to activities. Currently, staff are devising different ways to enable parents to share information about their children's achievements at home, recognising this as an area for development. Parents report that their children's special person provides them with good information about their children's progress and they feel they can talk about other childcare related issues.

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provision

There are good systems to drive improvement. Following the last inspection, management and staff have worked closely with the local early years department staff and devised detailed action plans of how they would raise their standards. The majority of the identified improvements are in place and management can measure these to show improvement. For example, changes to safeguarding procedures have strengthened systems to protect children's welfare. Staff report that they feel well supported in accessing additional training to improve their teaching.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY413949 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 988923 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 41 Name of provider Fontmell Magna Under Fives Committee Date of previous inspection 14/11/2013 Telephone number 07765810378

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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

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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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