Trinity Community Pre School

Trinity Community Pre-School Trinity United Reformed Church, Beaconsfield Road, ST ALBANS, Hertfordshire, AL1 3RD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/12/2014 23/03/2011

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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

 Leadership and management is poor. Staff training does not focus on providing a continually improving and quality learning experience for all children. The educational programme and staff practice is not monitored, which means children's care, learning and well-being are not effectively promoted.  Teaching is inadequate because staff demonstrate an insufficient knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Observation, assessment and planning are not effective and staff do not provide children with challenging or stimulating activities. Consequently, children's progress is poor.  Children's safety is compromised because not all adults working with children are aware of the safeguarding policy and procedure to be followed if a child protection concern arises.  Children's behaviour is not managed effectively because staff are not consistent in their approach when issues arise. As a result, children do not learn about appropriate ways

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It has the following strengths

 Children's physical development is supported with regular opportunities for outside play.  Partnerships with parents are sound. Parents are warmly greeted by staff and two-way communication is encouraged to promote continuity of care for each child.

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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 carried out joint discussions with the manager and the deputy in relation to observations of the children's play, learning and progress.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents, as spoken with during the inspection. She also reviewed the pre-school's self-evaluation form.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation and evidence of the suitability of staff and committee members. She looked at a range of other documentation, including the pre-school safeguarding procedures.  The inspector viewed the areas of the premises and garden used by children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the pre-school and talked with the staff, committee members and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the deputy manager.

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Information about the setting

Trinity Community Pre-School registered in 1993 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The pre-school is managed privately by a parent committee. It is situated within the Trinity Church hall in St Albans and there is access to an outside area. The pre-school serves the local community and surrounding areas. The pre-school opens Monday to Thursday from 9.30am to 12.30pm with an optional lunch club on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12.30pm to 1.30pm. The pre-school opens term-time only. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 24 children on roll in the early years age range. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. There are currently

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Information about the setting

four staff working directly with the children, three of whom have an appropriate early years qualification at level 3. Additional volunteers and supply staff work at the pre-school on a regular basis. The pre-school receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 ensure that all adults working directly with children have sufficient knowledge of the seven areas of learning in order to support children in making good progress

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must:

 make effective observations and assessments of children's progress in order to accurately identify their next steps in learning and use these to ensure that learning is tailored to their individual needs

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must:

 ensure that planning fully incorporates the educational programmes and takes into account the interests and stages of development of each child; provide challenging and stimulating experiences for each child in all areas of learning and development so that they make good progress

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must:

 ensure that staff manage children's behaviour in an appropriate and consistent manner

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must:

 provide staff with the necessary training and development, including monitoring their practice, to ensure that they are able to offer a continually improving and quality learning experience for all children. Monitor the learning and development requirements to ensure that children are making progress

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must:

 ensure that all staff receive induction training to help them understand their roles and responsibilities; induction training must include information about safeguarding and child protection.

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who attend

Teaching is inadequate because staff do not know enough about the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Observation, assessment and planning systems are not used effectively to ensure that children make good progress. Activities and experiences are not exciting or stimulating enough and, therefore, do not capture children's interests. Adult-led activities lack depth and teaching, which means children are not benefitting or learning from these experiences. For example, a Christmas craft activity, which some children choose to join in with, involves children putting glue and glitter on a pre-cut picture worksheet. There is no challenge incorporated for any child, and there is no discussion about Christmas. As a result, children walk away uninterested once they have applied glitter to their picture. Staff conduct some observations of the children, and infrequently use this information to identify their next

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who attend

steps in learning. However, their next steps are not effectively used to inform planning. This means that staff do not plan enjoyable experiences, which take into account children's individual learning style or interest. Children access a range of toys and resources within the pre-school and staff support their play. However, staff are not sufficiently aware of the children's stages of development, to ensure that they receive challenging experiences. Children's learning and development is not extended and they use resources which are too young for their age and stage of learning. Consequently, learning experiences do not match children's capabilities. Therefore, they make poor progress.

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who attend

Children's speech and language development, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and English as an additional language, is adequate. Staff talk to the children and, on occasions, they ask open-ended questions to support their language development. For example, a group of children look through their learning journeys with a member of staff. She asks them questions about what they are doing in the photos and this encourages them to talk about what they see. Children's independence is sometimes encouraged as they independently find their name card on arrival to self-register and they tidy away after snack time. However, there are missed opportunities to enhance their independent learning. For example, staff write children's names for them rather than encourage them to practise this themselves. As a result, staff are not promoting children's readiness for school and children are not developing the skills they require for the next

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who attend

stage in their learning. Children have opportunities to develop their physical skills as they use a range of resources in the outside area. For example, they balance on wooden beams, throw and catch balls and learn to manoeuvre around their peers as they ride bikes.

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who attend

Partnerships with parents are sound. Staff ask a range of questions during the initial settling-in visit and support both children and parents during their first few sessions. Staff encourage regular discussions with parents and ask that they share as much information as possible to assist them in settling the children. Staff share what children are doing at pre-school as they send regular newsletters and write on a board the activities they take part in on a daily basis. This means parents are able to share their learning and extend this at home if appropriate. Staff praise children for their efforts and achievements. For example, they congratulate children for sharing books with their peers at story time. However, there are limited opportunities for children to develop their skills in the specific areas of learning because staff are not planning effectively for these areas.

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

Children's behaviour is inappropriately managed because staff do not provide consistent messages. For example, as children take resources from others, some staff talk to children about this and explain the importance of sharing. On other occasions, children are told 'no thank you' without an explanation as to why their behaviour is not acceptable. As a result, children do not learn about emotions, feelings or positive ways in which to behave. Children are happy and settled at pre-school and some aspects of their well-being is generally supported. Sound friendships are made and staff are kind and helpful towards children. For example, they join in together at the water tray, offering their ideas to each other about how to catch the fish in their nets. On this occasion, staff join in with their play and children enjoy their interaction.

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

The pre-school has a key-person system in place and all children have an individually named member of staff who carries out some observations. The key-person system is used for staff to build relationships with children and their families and to promote children's personal, social and emotional development. Sound relationships also support children in their move from home to pre-school and from pre-school to primary school. Children have some opportunities to be independent. For example, they pour their own drink at snack time and, on occasions, staff encourage them to practise putting on their own coats before outside play. Partnerships with parents, to support children's care needs, are sound and most parents spoken to during the inspection say that their children are happy and enjoy coming to pre-school.

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

Children's understanding of being healthy is appropriate. They use a baby wipe to clean their hands before snack time and wash their hands with soap after using the toilet. Children learn about removing germs from their hands and there are pictures in the bathroom to support this. Additionally, during mealtimes conversation includes the importance of eating fresh fruit. As a result, children are beginning to develop an understanding of how to lead a healthy lifestyle. Children's understanding of personal risk is sound. For example, staff use a spontaneous opportunity, such as a water spillage, to explain the importance of being careful around water. Additionally, as children walk to the outside area they are supported in learning about their own safety as they hold hands and walk safely up and down the steps. Children are able to access fresh air on a daily basis as they make suitable use of the outside area, which although small, offers children

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

opportunities to develop their physical skills. Staff set up the pre-school each session with a range of toys linked to the current theme and this means that children are not given daily opportunities to select their own resources. However, to encourage more choice for children, the staff have created a 'choosing book' full of pictures and photos of what toys and resources they have available. As a result, children are beginning to have some opportunities in choosing what they want to play with.

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provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children are inadequate because induction procedures are weak. For example, not all adults working directly with children are aware of the pre- school's safeguarding policy and procedure. This means that if a child protection concern arises they do not know what to do to effectively safeguard the children or follow required procedures. Consequently, this compromises children's safety and does not meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Most staff have a current Disclosure and Barring Service check in place. Those waiting for theirs are aware of the restrictions and, therefore, stay within the sight of other staff at all times. Some staff attend safeguarding training and the pre-school safeguarding policy has been recently updated to provide further guidance. The manager is the designated adult for dealing with safeguarding concerns and she has attended advanced safeguarding training.

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provision

The pre-school leadership and management are weak because there is not enough monitoring of staff practice to identify inconsistencies or training needs. All staff are given the opportunity to attend local training, although this is not always matched to staff needs, and therefore, current staff knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage is poor. As a result, children are not benefitting from a range of well- planned, purposeful and challenging experiences. Teaching is inadequate, which means the impact on children's learning and development, is negative. Observation, assessment and planning systems are not monitored and used effectively to ensure that children make good progress. Consequently, children are not reaching expected stages of development and there are gaps in their learning.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are sound because staff support parents and children through regular discussions. The staff share children's files with parents and discuss what children are doing at the pre-school on a regular basis. Children's views are listened to through day-to-day activities and, on occasions, staff follow the lead of children's interests. For example, children make some choices about what they play with in the outside area. Staff evaluate some activities and discuss themes, topics and children's learning at staff and planning meetings. However, because staff lack knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage, these discussions do not help them to promote opportunities for children to make good progress. Self-evaluation is weak and this means that staff are not promoting continuous improvement through, for example, improvement plans. The pre- school has established some partnerships with other agencies, such as links with local

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provision

childminders and teachers at the local primary schools. This supports children when they move from pre-school to primary school and encourages two-way sharing of information.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that children's behaviour is managed in a suitable manner (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that all staff are trained on the written statement of procedures to be followed to safeguard children from abuse or neglect (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that children's behaviour is managed in a suitable manner (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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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 123600 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 863933

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 22 Name of provider Trinity Community Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 23/03/2011 Telephone number 07814 637710(session time to answerphone

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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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