Boundary Road Pre-School

Boundary Road Pre-School Rycroft Hall, Boundary Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 6UW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/11/2014 19/10/2011

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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

 All children demonstrate confidence as they move freely around the room selecting their own activities from the wide range of good quality toys available.  Staff demonstrate their interest and involvement with the children as they interact with them using good quality language. This helps children to develop good communication skills.  Staff sensitively manage children's behaviour. They involve children in exploring their feelings and teach them how to behave well in the setting.  The staff develop good working relationships with parents and keep them informed about their children's achievements.  The staff use the provider's good safeguarding procedures to ensure children are safe and secure in the setting at all times.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The staff do not always fully utilise available resources to help those children learning English communicate their needs to others.  The staff do not always use opportunities to demonstrate different mathematical concepts to children.

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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 talked to parents, staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled some of the paperwork maintained by the setting including the safeguarding procedures and children's records.  The inspector observed good interaction between staff and children.  The inspector talked with managers about staff training and qualifications.

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Information about the setting

Boundary Road Pre-School opened in 1997 and operates from one room in a scout hut in the town of Chatham, Kent. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The pre-school is situated in a residential area. It is open each weekday morning from 9.15am to 12.15pm, and Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons from 1pm to 4pm for 37 weeks of the year. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 33 children in the early years age range on roll. The nursery supports children who learn English as an additional language. The pre-school provides free early education for two, three and four-year-olds. The pre-school employs seven staff, including the provider, of whom, six staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at National Vocation Qualification level 2 or above. The manager holds a BA Honours Degree in Early Childhood Studies.

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

 further develop the use of sign and language cards to help children learning English make greater progress

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

 strengthen the range of opportunities to encourage children to investigate different mathematical concepts, such as volume, to children.

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who attend

All staff demonstrate a good understanding of the learning and development requirements. Therefore, they are able to deliver good quality activities to help children to make good progress in all of the areas of learning, given their ages and stages of development. Staff accurately record children's base line assessments, with the help of the parents. They observe and assess children's progress regularly, choosing pertinent individual next steps to further children's progress. The well-maintained records show that all children, including those children learning English, are making good progress relative to their starting points and levels of understanding.

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who attend

The children have access to a good educational programme which staff review weekly dependent on the children's individual requirements. The children are able to build dens in the pre-school which they change to suit their moods. For example, one day it can be a super-hero hideout while on others, it's a cosy nook in which to read books. The staff engage in good quality interaction with children as they spread themselves out at different tables to encourage children's interest in specific activities. In the maths area, staff demonstrate skills needed for children to ably use tweezers to sort different sized pompoms into groups. Children use different measuring equipment, such as, tape measures to learn about height and width. However, staff could provide more opportunities to demonstrate and talk to children about the concept of volume as they pour their own drinks or find buckets with rainwater in, in the garden.

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who attend

Staff use positional language to help the children to learn to identify who is sitting next to them or behind them at story time. In the book area, staff allow children to select books and stories and encourage children to tell the stories for themselves. Staff use a nationally recognised speech and language programme to help develop children's language skills. The majority of older children can identify letter shapes and actively engage in making up their own stories and books. Staff capture and display children's comments in writing, so that children understand their words have meaning.

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who attend

The children take pleasure in a wide range of art and craft activities which the staff do their best to display, mindful of the restrictions within the hall. The children use push button toys alongside a good range of musical instruments to make music and enjoy using magnifying glasses to watch insects both inside and outdoors. Staff skilfully mix many of the activities so that children have a good rounded experience each day. This means that children are developing a good range of skills and attitudes to be ready for school and the next stages in their learning.

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

All of the children arrive happy and are ready to play. The newest children, particularly those who are learning English, watch the other children before moving freely around among the activities. Parents participate in the good settling-in procedures of pre-visits, having as many as they need for their child. They complete information sheets about all aspects of their child's individual care needs including any dietary or medical needs. Staff use signing to help children communicate and some of the toy boxes show what is in them to enable children to self-select. However, the staff do not effectively utilise the available picture cards to allow the children learning English to communicate their needs to adults. Overall, children demonstrate they feel confident and secure in the setting.

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

The children make a good contribution to the pre-school especially in regard to behaviour and how to share and take turns. They have constructed their own behaviour board following discussions with staff, on which they learn to show how they are feeling and how to consider the needs of others. Staff effectively teach children about healthy eating by helping them make comparisons between good foods and treats. When asked, children at the snack table, easily identify that ice-cream is a treat. Therefore, children learn about the nutritional value of food. Children have lots of good physical play activities either in the garden or indoors. For example, they confidently enjoy bouncing and counting on the small trampoline indoors, supervised by staff or, they can dig and make mud pies in the mud patch in the garden. In this way children enjoy the activities and develop a healthy lifestyle which is fun.

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provision

The provider, her managers and dedicated staff demonstrate good effective teamwork as they care for the children who attend the pre-school. They have adopted new procedures to improve how they determine staff roles and responsibilities and which enable all staff experience different aspects of the management of the nursery. Staff are now sharing responsibilities for child protection, special educational needs and health and safety monitoring.

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provision

All staff attend safeguarding training every three years and they all have an enhanced disclosure issued by the Disclosure and Barring Service. They all maintain the accident, incident and attendance records well. Staff check passwords with any persons they don't know who arrive to collect children and get to know parents and other family members well. New procedures for social networking and the use of mobile phones mean that staff are further aware of protecting children from different forms of abuse. The use of these good procedures shows that children's well-being is a high priority to staff.

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provision

The manager and deputy demonstrate a good understanding of how to monitor the quality of the educational programme and the performance of staff. They are able to assess the accuracy of the staff's assessments of children and can track the progress of each child by using the local authority online tracking system. The manager has arranged additional help from the local authority, to enable them to track the progress of groups of children such as boys, and children with special educational needs. The manager is very active in helping staff identify their individual training needs. She regularly suggests different workshops and short courses for the local authority training team to put on for her staff to attend. The staff are building a good repertoire of courses which add to their expertise and which they can use to provide more interesting and exciting activities for children to learn from.

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provision

The pre-school has good links with other settings, local schools, and other health and social care professionals to enable them to effectively support children in all aspects of their lives. Those parents interviewed stated that they feel part of an extended family because staff are always welcoming, friendly and, approachable. Parents agree that staff know their children very well and, because of this, are able to effectively meet their children's needs. Children receive good consistent care.

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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 103788 Local authority Medway Towns Inspection number 816861 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 33 Name of provider Christine McIlheron Date of previous inspection 19/10/2011 Telephone number 07961 856823

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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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