Swan Pre-School

Swan Pre-School 219 St. Nicholas Avenue, Gosport, Hampshire, PO13 9RJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/12/2014 03/02/2010

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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

 The leadership and management team is passionate about delivering high quality childcare. They demonstrate a strong commitment and capacity to continue to improve.  The pre-school has very good partnerships with outside agencies. Parents are positive about the care and learning their children receive.  The quality of teaching is good and therefore children make good progress in their learning and development.  Staff are enthusiastic and provide a wide range of activities and experiences, which build upon children's interests and abilities. This means all children are fully included and have a positive attitude towards learning.  Safeguarding children is at the heart of all staff practice. All staff fully understand their role and responsibility in protecting children and risks are minimised to prevent possible dangers to children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Systems of obtaining information from parents on children's learning and development when they start at the pre-school are not thorough enough to assist staff in identifying children's starting points, to inform planning for children's individual learning from the outset.

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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 had a tour of the pre-school and invited the manager to take part in a joint observation.  The inspector held discussions with the manager throughout the inspection.  The inspector held discussions with key persons and staff.  The inspector took into account the views of parents on the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at various documents, including policies and procedures, risk assessments, staff training, records of children and evidence of the suitability of staff.

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Information about the setting

Swan Pre-school registered in 1985 and has been in the current premises since 2001. It is situated in Rowner in Gosport and is one of the child care services operated by the Naval Under-Fives organisation. The pre-school is situated in a residential area and care and learning takes place in a ground-floor flat with three play rooms, a kitchen and toilet facilities; there is an enclosed garden for outside play. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early years education for children age two, three and four years. There are currently 14 children on roll. The pre-school is open from Monday to Thursday from 9am to 3pm and on a Friday from 9am to 12 noon during term time. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who are learning English as an additional language. There are currently four staff members working with the children, including the supervisor. All staff hold appropriate qualifications

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Information about the setting

in childcare and early years education at level 3. There are close links with the Naval Under-Fives area coordinator.

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

 improve information obtained from parents when children first start to assess what they can already do to help identify their starting points and stage of development.

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who attend

The small and friendly staff team have a good knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use this effectively to support children in their learning and development. Staff gather information from parents before children start to identify their current interests, likes and dislikes. This information, combined with initial observations of children's learning by staff, helps to identify children's starting points. However, staff do not obtain more detailed information from parents on what children can do and any concerns they may have in their child's learning and development to help inform staff planning from the start. Nevertheless, the pre-school implements an effective key-person system and staff know the children well. They carry out ongoing observations of children's learning, which are used effectively to plan an enjoyable and challenging range of activities based on children's interests and next stage in learning. This means that any

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who attend

interventions are timely and staff identify any gaps in children's learning quickly. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are making good progress in their learning in relation to their starting points.

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who attend

Staff foster children's communication skills well through play. Children are confident to share their views about the activities they enjoy. They engage purposefully with adults who encourage and value their contributions. For example, children informed staff they were making a racing car during outdoor play. Staff asked open questions encouraging children to problem solve, for example, to consider what resources they might need. The children told staff they needed. 'A steering wheel'. They worked together and came back with a round colander. Staff extended this further asking the children what they could use as a seat belt. As a result, children found a skipping rope and strapped themselves in to their pretend car showing an awareness of their personal safety. Staff model language, using commentary and highly effective questioning to support children's development in communication and language. Consequently, children become very confident speakers and

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who attend

Staff in the pre-school are enthusiastic about their work. They ensure that children enjoy a range of interesting and challenging experiences across the seven areas of learning. The learning environment is well resourced with open-ended resources, which children can use in a range of ways. Children have good access to tools for mark making, which helps to develop their early writing skills. They showed they understood print had meaning as they made good efforts to form letters. In addition, all children have access to a good selection of books, which they handle correctly. Staff promote children's mathematical skills through a range of activities. For example, staff encouraged an understanding of size and shape as children selected construction bricks to build a bridge for their cars. Children develop their counting skills spontaneously during their play, for example, showing good imagination skills as they made cakes with sand. They counted their cupcakes proud of their

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who attend

achievements. Staff skilfully used every opportunity to extend children's learning. They brought in an understanding of quantities as children added ingredients to their cake mixture.

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

Children are happy and eager to attend this welcoming pre-school. Staff greet each child at the start of each session with a smile and friendly welcome. As a result, staff establish good bonds with children. This means that staff foster children's sense of security well. Settling-in procedures are flexible, which help children to adjust at a pace that successfully reflects their needs and parental requirements. Staff support children's next move in their education effectively. They talk to children about what to expect and plan relevant experiences to help prepare them for the move. These positive early experiences provide children with a good start in life to enable them to develop the skills needed for their future success.

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

Children are able to access and reach equipment themselves moving toys around to where they want to use them within the well-presented environment. This flexibility encourages children to be independent and encourages them to think about how to use things safely. Children learn about keeping themselves safe through discussions and well-established routines. For example, staff practise regular fire drills with children, in order to increase children's confidence and familiarity with the emergency evacuation procedures. Children receive clear guidance from staff to teach them right from wrong and encourage them to behave well. Staff are good role models and spend much of their time encouraging children and praising them for their individual achievements and good behaviour. This promotes their sense of self-esteem well. Children play with each other extremely well. Staff actively listen to children and really value their ideas and suggestions

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

acting upon them by adapting the daily planning. As a result, children ask for resources and work together to negotiate solutions to problems. This means that children are able to take turns, share resources and take account of the needs of others as they play.

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

Staff promote children's health and extremely well. Children are able to choose whether they wish to play indoors or outdoors. Many children play outdoors for extended periods of time. The space is thoughtfully organised with plenty of natural materials, which generally reflect the seven areas of learning. Consequently, staff provide for children's physical skills extremely well in the outside and inside environments. Children learn about healthy lifestyles and demonstrate a good understanding of health and hygiene as they wash hands before snack. Children enjoy freshly prepared, well-balanced and nutritious snacks relishing the independence of learning to prepare snacks themselves. They develop an understanding of healthy eating through good discussions with staff at snack time.

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provision

The leadership and management of the pre-school is very effective in implementing the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Safeguarding arrangements are highly robust. Staff place a strong emphasis on ensuring children in their care are well protected. All staff understand their role in protecting children from harm and are fully aware of how to follow correct safeguarding procedures, should they have a concern about a child or member of staff.

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provision

Children's safety is prioritised as the staff carry out detailed risk assessments on all areas of the building, the outdoor area and resources. In addition, all staff have first-aid training and maintain accurate accident records. There are secure procedures for recruitment and vetting of all staff to ensure their suitability to work with children. Management review these systems regularly and provide induction training is to help staff understand their roles and responsibilities.

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provision

The manager has a very good overview of the pre-school. She takes prompt action to overcome any gaps in provision. For example, she has recently updated systems of monitoring children's assessments. As a result, she can identify any gaps in achievement and plan appropriate interventions. The manager monitors staff performance and regular supervision identifies any training priorities, so that staff continually improve their practice. This means that children make the best possible progress.

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provision

Self-evaluation is good because the manager and staff identify what they do well and how they help children learn. They have a detailed written self-evaluation, which takes into account the views of parents and children. Recommendations since the last inspection have been fully met. The manager has had training to update her knowledge and skills in observation, assessment and plaining. As a result, observations and assessments are more focused and clearly identify children's next steps in learning. This means staff clearly recognise children's individual needs and interests so that they can organise and plan activities that challenge children's learning.

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provision

The manager and staff are committed to working in partnership with other agencies, such as the local authority advisor and inclusion officer. Partnership with parents is good and they speak highly of the pre-school. They are highly complimentary about the care and education their children receive. Parent receive daily verbal feedback from staff, which ensures that they are fully informed about their child's day. Regular newsletters ensure that parents are kept informed about what is happening in the pre-school and of the activities provided.

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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 110011 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 816976 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 18 Number of children on roll 14 Name of provider Naval Under Fives (Eastern Area) Committee Date of previous inspection 03/02/2010 Telephone number 07825 842721

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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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