Charfield Pre-School

Charfield Pre-School Charfield Primary School, Wotton Road, Charfield, WOTTON-UNDER-EDGE, Gloucestershire, GL12 8TG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/12/2014 12/05/2009

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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

 Staff provide well planned activities across all areas of learning that are linked to children's interests and enable them to make good progress in their learning and development.  The very effective new assessment procedures enable staff to accurately identify the progress children make as well as the next steps they need to take in their learning.  The pre-school has established an excellent partnership with parents through a two- way flow of information that ensures children are fully supported at home as well as in the pre-school.  Staff use self-evaluation very well in order to identify how the provision can be improved. As a result, a programme of improvements has been identified.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not regularly display numbers and letters of the alphabet in the learning environment. This limits the opportunities children have of becoming familiar with them and consequently, their progress in learning.

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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 spoke to the staff and children.  The inspector held discussions with parents and took account of their views.  The inspector reviewed a sample of the pre-school's documentation.  The inspector held discussions with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector made a number of observations of activities, including undertaking some joint observations with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Charfield Pre-school has been open since 1967. It is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from the foundation room situated in Charfield Primary School. The pre-school serves the local area. The pre-school currently has 45 children on roll, of whom 35 are funded two-, three- and four-year-olds. The pre-school supports children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those for whom English is not their home language. The pre-school is open in term time only on Monday to Thursday from 9am to 2pm, and on Friday from 9am to 11.30am. The pre-school is run by a voluntary management committee. A team of five staff is employed and all hold relevant qualifications at level 3.

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

 ensure children have regular opportunities to recognise numbers in sequence, and letters of the alphabet in order to support their mathematical and literacy learning and development.

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who attend

Children make good progress in their learning and most are achieving broadly the expected stage of development for their age because staff provide an interesting and enjoyable range of activities for them. Parents share information about their children initially on admission. This information provides starting points for staff to assess children's levels of development across the areas of learning, and to plan activities that meet their individual needs and interests. Staff engage well with children and involve themselves in children's learning by joining in and sharing activities with them. Children enjoy this involvement and form strong relationships with staff as a consequence. Staff share in children's imaginary play and support their development through conversation and discussion of ideas to extend their play. Staff use questions frequently to get children thinking and to develop their understanding particularly during group activities. Staff focus

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who attend

on developing children's spoken language and provide many opportunities for them to speak to an adult or to a group of children, such as at the start of the day, or during story time.

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who attend

Staff complete regular observations and assessments in order to measure and track children's progress over time. The new electronic recording system enables staff to clearly identify children's progress and what they need to do next in their learning and development. This information is also accessible by parents and enables them to monitor their children's progress, and to upload information about their achievements at home. This ensures a strong partnership between parents and the pre-school. The pre-school staff provide support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to ensure they are fully included in the activities provided. Staff seek professional assistance from outside agencies when necessary to ensure each child's needs are met.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good and the pre-school has a strong team of practitioners who regularly improve their knowledge and skills through further professional development. They demonstrate a good understanding of how children learn and provide appropriate activities that ensure children make good progress in their learning. They provide a wide range of well-resourced activities to support children's learning through play, including creative activities that enable children to develop their own ideas through painting and craft activities. Children make Christmas pictures using two-dimensional shapes and skilfully decorate with cotton wool and glitter shapes. Staff reinforce the names of the shapes through discussion and use language terms, such as, 'Big, bigger, biggest' to support their concept of size. Children learn how to handle small tools and equipment, and this supports the development of small-muscle control. They enjoy play in the mud kitchen

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who attend

where they learn to handle a variety of small equipment, and learn to play cooperatively with other children. They collect leaves, stones and soil and skilfully fill containers with them. They learn how plants grow through sowing seeds in the garden area, and this supports their developing understanding of the natural world. Staff provide opportunities to support children's development of number skills, through counting objects during activities. However, although some activities require children to recognise numbers in written form staff provide few opportunities for children to see numbers and letters in written form around the environment. This reduces the opportunity for children to become familiar with them and recognise them in this way, and consequently, slows their progress.

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who attend

Staff provide a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities, and encourage children to make their own choices. Staff join in with children when they see an opportunity to reinforce or extend learning. Children enjoy cooking activities and rolling out icing to place on top of the Christmas cake they made earlier. They feel the texture and talk about its appearance. 'It's like snow', one child said. Children manipulate paintbrushes showing good control and enjoy adding glitter to the paint to increase the effect of their work. Staff read stories well matched to children's interests, and point to the text so that children understand that print carries meaning. Staff ask questions to check children's understanding and to give them an opportunity to share their own ideas or information. They encourage the children to play cooperatively praising them for their achievements.

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

Children are well cared for in a secure environment. Staff welcome them on arrival and they happily settle into the pre-school routines. They enjoy strong relationships with their key person and this contributes to their well-being and helps children to develop confidently. Staff encourage children's involvement in activities and readily join in with them to make learning fun. They encourage children to share and take turns with other children and this supports their personal and social development well. Children are cooperative and respond enthusiastically to the 'tidy up time' bell. Children behave well because staff are good role models of positive behaviour. Staff handle the few incidents of squabbles well, so that any difficulties are quickly resolved.

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

Staff encourage children to take some responsibility for themselves throughout the day. Children understand the need for hand washing after messy activities and before meals. This supports children's understanding of the importance of personal hygiene. Children learn to serve themselves at snack time and to pour their own drinks. Children tidy away their cups and plates for washing after eating, and make good attempts at putting on coats for outdoor play. Staff encourage these routines because they successfully support children's developing independence. Children learn to sit at a table and share a meal with others. Staff place strong emphasis on the development of a healthy lifestyle through the provision of daily healthy snack menus. Staff talk to the children about the value of eating a healthy diet, and provide them with regular opportunities to be active in the outdoor area. This supports their physical development and their understanding of the benefits of

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

The pre-school has very strong links with the host primary school. Regular visits and information sharing with school staff ensure that children are ready for the next stage of their education. Staff work hard with its pre-school group of children during the year to ensure they are well prepared for the move into full-time school. The pre-school staff also shares progress information with other settings and schools to which some of the children transfer, showing strong partnership working.

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provision

The manager has ensured all staff are well briefed in the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage through access to training opportunities. Staff planning covers the areas of learning and pays attention to the ways children learn. Staff take account of individual needs and interests, and continuous provision is provided throughout the pre-school. Since the last inspection, the outdoor area has been much improved and now provides opportunities for children to explore, investigate and to use their imagination. The pre- school provides a welcoming and stimulating environment. Children's welfare and learning and development needs are met well. Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding and child protection issues following their training, and are aware of the signs to look for should any concerns be raised. The manager places a strong emphasis on children's well- being and encourages staff to be vigilant. Staff know and understand the procedures to

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provision

follow in the event of a safeguarding issue arising. Staff enforce a strict policy regarding the use of mobile phones and cameras in the pre-school. Secure recruitment procedures are in place to ensure the appointment of suitable people to work with young children. Staff are all trained in the administration of first aid to children. Staff maintain a safe and secure environment is through the completion of daily risk assessments. Staff complete the daily attendance register accurately, and clear procedures are in place for handing children over to their parents.

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provision

The pre-school leaders use self-evaluation very effectively and thoroughly, including the views of parents and staff. They have clearly identified areas for further development and have developed a plan to extend the premises when they have raised sufficient funding. The pre-school leaders work in close partnership with the management committee to drive improvements. Staff want to improve the sensory area so that it will provide a calming area for children. Staff plan to further improve the outdoor area to provide better opportunities for children's physical development. Leaders use performance management interviews to help the staff's professional development. Targets are set and additional training may be recommended where appropriate; although staff are keen to improve their own knowledge and skills through participating in further training. The manager's drive to improve the quality of teaching has been realised through all staff obtaining an

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provision

early years qualification at level 3. Staff plan interesting activities to promote children's progress in all areas of learning. They provide a well-planned and enriched curriculum to meet children's needs, and to move their learning and development on.

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provision

Leaders have established an excellent working partnership with parents. Parents whose origins are from countries overseas share their cultural backgrounds with the children through national dress and food tasting. This supports children's understanding of the diversity of the community well. Staff keep parents well informed and speak highly of the provision made for their children. Parents appreciate the ability to access their children's records online, and to send and receive information about their children's achievement. One parent said, 'Its brilliant!' and the transfer arrangements are, 'Seamless'.

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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 EY221221 Local authority South Gloucestershire Inspection number 846946 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 45 Name of provider Charfield Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 12/05/2009 Telephone number 07966616753

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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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