Tamar Valley Preschool

Tamar Valley Pre School The Village Hall, The Quay, Calstock, Cornwall, PL18 9QA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/11/2014 25/01/2012

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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 provide a welcoming environment where children learn through play. The organisation of the indoor resources enables children to select independently.  Staff form very positive relationships with parents, which gives children reassurance and helps them settle well.  Staff effectively use questions to help children think, solve problems and develop their communication and language skills.  Children form good friendships with each other; they play well together and show kindness towards each other.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not effectively organise the outdoor environment with sufficient resources to challenge children especially for those children who prefer to learn outside  Staff do not maximise opportunities to use different ways to aid communication, through providing visual pictorial aids or time lines.

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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 of the pre-school and outdoors  The inspector undertook a joint observation with a member of the committee

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documents including staff and children's records, accident and records, risk assessments and some policies.  The inspector held discussions with staff, parents and committee members.

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Information about the setting

Tamar Valley Pre-school registered in 1982 and is run by a voluntary committee. The pre- school operates from the village hall in Calstock in Cornwall. Children have access to a garden area for outdoor play. The pre-school is open term time only each Monday and Friday from 9am to 1pm and on a Wednesday from 9am to 3pm. Once a week, the older children meet at Calstock Primary School from 9am to 12noon. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 23 children on roll. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are learning English as an additional language. There are three members of staff all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications to National Vocational Qualification at level 3

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Information about the setting

and above. The manager holds a Qualified Teacher Status.

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

 develop the resources and activities in the outdoor environment, to further support those children who prefer to play and learn outside

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

 use visual aids to help promote children's understanding and communication of what is going to happen next during their time at pre-school.

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who attend

Children enjoy a range of experiences and activities which interest them and help them to make good progress in their learning and development. Staff provide a welcoming environment where children can make independent choices from a range of toys and resources. For example, children spent a long time together, developing their own tea party and using resources from around the room. Others asked to join, and were told by their friends they could, but they needed to dress up. Children enjoy using their senses as they explore and investigate. They played with the glittery 'moon sand', making marks as they moved their fingers and hands through it and described what it feels like. This not only develops children communication but also promotes their early writing skills.

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who attend

Staff use 'I spy' games to teach children to recognise the initial sounds of words, such as 'm' for Monday and mummy. Children know other words begin with the same letter as their name. Some children recognise these letter sounds as being at the end of their names. Staff have a good understanding of how children learn and develop. They work closely with parents to obtain useful information about children's interests, preferences and abilities. As a result, they know children well and provide interesting and challenging play experiences across all areas of learning. Staff make observations of the children engaged in activities; they take photographs of children and link these to each area of learning. They use these to help them identify children's next steps and promote children's progress. These also include the progress check for two-year old children. This means that staff can identify any gaps in learning and plan for any additional support required.

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who attend

Children have individual learning journals, including contributions from parents about any achievements that happen at home. As a result, parents are involved in their children's learning. Parents can view their child's learning journals at any time to keep up to date on their children's progress.

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who attend

Staff support, encourage and extend children's learning. For example, in the home corner staff sit with children and sing 'Five in the bed'. Using dolls and teddies, staff skillfully encourage children to count how many have fallen out of bed and how many are left. This is extended further by comparing the size of the babies and the cots they will fit. This not only develops children understanding of mathematical language and number, but also promotes children's thinking, communication and language.

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who attend

Overall teaching is good. Staff develop children's imaginative play by asking questions which will extend their play and further encourage their thought processes. For example 'How long will they be'? 'What does that feel like?' Staff encourage children to have the confidence write independently. For example, at the start of each day children self-register as they write their names on the white board. This routine means children learn that writing has a purpose. Children become engrossed in activities as they carefully cut around pictures. This develops children's physical skills and their concentration levels.

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who attend

The pre-school is well resourced indoors with designated areas to support different parts of children's learning and development. For example, children enjoy exploring with musical instruments, dressing up and confidently use programmes on the pre-school's laptop. However, in the outdoor area there are fewer resources available. This means that opportunities to develop children's learning are not fully effective, particularly for those who thrive in an outdoor learning environment.

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

Most children enter the pre-school with confidence. Those children who are hesitant receive good support from key staff to help them feel secure and quickly engage in the range of activities available. Staff encourage children to bring in special toys from home and place them in the treasure box while they play. This helps them to settle and makes links with home. Staff know children well and invited them to take part in familiar singing games, such as 'Here we go round the mulberry bush' which they know is a previous favourite of returning children, to make them feel welcome. Staff speak clearly and slowly, using gestures and facial expressions to support new children, and those with English as an additional language. However, staff do not use visual aids or picture time line as a means to further settle and support children's understanding of the pre-school routines.

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

Children are beginning to learn about healthy lifestyles. They are encouraged to wash their hands before snack and lunch. Staff help children to develop an understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and diet. They are encouraged to make healthy choices from fruit, savoury biscuits and cheese at snack time. Staff help children understand their hearts beat faster after exercise and the need to drink regularly to keep healthy. Children are encouraged to pour their own drinks with little or no help from staff. Older children confidently take themselves to the bathroom. The low-level units make the additional resources accessible to the children providing them with choices as they play. Consequently children's independence is promoted well.

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

One session each week, the pre-school children visit the local primary school. This enables the children to become familiar with the school building, teachers and routines so the move to school is eased when the time comes. Children behave well. They cooperate well and help tidy away the resources at tidy-up time. Staff teach children how to manage their feelings. For example, a member of staff sensitively tells a child 'Try not to get cross, use your words and ask your friend to move up'. Children have formed good friendships. They show kindness and are polite towards each other. For example, they ask if they can 'Please have a turn on the lap top?', and are rewarded with a turn next. Children play well together in small groups and this helps children prepare for school.

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

Children have daily opportunities to have fresh air and exercise to promote their good health. Staff teach the children how to keep themselves safe. For instance, children are taught how to handle scissors correctly and move safely indoors. Children regularly take part in fire drills so that they know how to evacuate the building quickly and safely in the case of an emergency. This raises children's awareness of fire safety.

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provision

The committee and staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements. Secure recruitment and vetting procedures ensure staff have the appropriate experience and qualifications to promote children's learning and development and meet their care needs. There are good induction systems in place for all staff. For example, bank staff clearly understand their roles, responsibilities and the pre-school's daily routine from the start, through clear induction procedures. All staff receives on-going supervision and annual appraisals, which help ensure staff continue to be suitable to care for children. Staff have regular meetings to discuss training needs and areas for future improvements. As a result, staff frequently attends additional training to develop their quality of teaching and implement practices within the pre-school. For example, staff have attended letters and sounds training and use this effectively during the session. Staff

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provision

demonstrate a clear understanding of the procedures to follow should they have any child protection concerns about children in their care. Thorough risk assessments and daily checks ensure the premises are safe for children to play in. The premises are kept secure during the sessions and procedures are in place for the safe collection of children. The manager has implemented various changes to improve progress since the pre-school's last inspection. For example, staff regularly complete individual observations on the children. They use these to identify the next steps in the children's learning. In addition, they have processes to monitor progress throughout the pre-school. This means she and her staff can quickly identify any areas of teaching which they need to focus on ensure all areas of learning are fully covered. Children are supported well throughout the session as staff are deployed effectively. As a result, children do not sit waiting for long periods of

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provision

times at the snack table whilst waiting for their food and drink to arrive. Changes to the organisation of the room into various designated areas, gives children space to safely move around. Purchases of low-level storage units allow children to make choices in their play and promote their independence.

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provision

Staff share information with other childcare providers involved in children's care, and continue to build on ways to further develop two-way links to provide secure continuity for children. Staff and committee have developed good partnership with parents. There are good opportunities for parents to speak to staff about their children's routines, or stay and play to help their child settle. Staff seek and value parents views about the pre-school through daily discussion and regular questionnaires.

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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 102895 Local authority Cornwall Inspection number 816850 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 23 Name of provider Tamar Valley Pre School Committee Date of previous inspection 25/01/2012 Telephone number 01822 832375

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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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