Arden Grove Pre-School

Arden Grove Pre-School Arden Grove First School, Arden Grove, Norwich, Norfolk, NR6 6QA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/11/2014 06/02/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Children feel a sense of belonging as they enjoy warm and trusting relationships with staff. This enhances children's social and emotional development, in preparation for school.  Partnerships with parents are well established because staff communicate with parents on a daily basis. As a result, parents are happy with the care that the pre-school provides.  Children quickly develop their independent skills. This is because staff encourage them to have a go for themselves, for example, when pouring their own drinks at snack time.

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It is not yet good because

 Although staff understand that they need to report concerns about a child's welfare to the manager, a few staff are not always confident in following the safeguarding procedures, such as how to make their own referral to the Local Safeguarding Children Board, to fully ensure children's safety and welfare at all times.  The monitoring of the quality of teaching and assessment of children's learning is variable. Therefore, at times, not all children make good progress in their learning.  On a few occasions, the daily routine is not always effective to enable staff to consistently meet the needs of all children.  The provider has not notified Ofsted of changes to the committee members within the prescribed time period. This is a minor breach of the legal requirements.

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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 observed play activities and staff interaction with children, both indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager, staff and children during the inspection.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a representative sample of documentation, including staff suitability records and qualifications, children's records, complaints and safeguarding procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of inspection.

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Information about the setting

Arden Grove Pre-School opened in 2004 and is on the Early Years Register. It is run by a voluntary committee and operates from a classroom within Arden Grove Infant and Nursery School, Norwich. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The pre- school serves the immediate locality and also the surrounding areas. It opens five days a week from 8.50am to 11.50am during term time only. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 36 children on roll in the early years age range. The pre- school receives funding for the provision of free early education for three-and four-year- olds. There are currently five staff working directly with the children, including the manager, all of whom have an appropriate early years qualification at level 3. The pre- school receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 ensure that all staff have a thorough knowledge of the safeguarding policy and are fully confident in the procedure, in line with the guidance of the Local Safeguarding Children Board, for example, understanding how to report a concern about a child's welfare, should the need arise

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must:

 improve the consistency of the quality of teaching and staff's assessments of children's learning by implementing effective monitoring procedures to include regularly observing staff's interactions with children and reviewing the assessments of children's progress, to identify any gaps in learning and ensure that all children make good progress in their development.

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

 develop further the success of the daily routine, to enhance opportunities for children to make choices about their activities and extend the time staff have to work with their key children.

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who attend

The educational programmes have depth and breadth across all areas of learning and are implemented through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities. Children are allowed to initiate their own play experiences, which builds their confidence as they generally learn to explore, solve their own problems and relate to others in this warm, friendly pre-school. On most occasions, staff support active learning by allowing children time to concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, this results in children clearly enjoying their achievements. For example, younger children are supported in acquiring new skills in the use of technology. As they concentrate on negotiating the use of the mouse to access new programmes, staff support their efforts and use encouraging words of praise until the task is complete. Staff describe the achievement as 'wonderful' and show their approval with applause and praise.

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who attend

Children are able to choose, start and watch a familiar programme together. On this occasion, this results in children who are happy, confident learners, desiring to have a go and to master new experiences at an early age. At times, children explore their own ideas, are supported by adults to re-shape tasks and decide for themselves when to change direction in their play. For example, children seek out a favourite music programme on the computer and begin dancing independently, until prompted by a member of staff to listen for the instructions and dance to the rhythm of their favourite songs. This results in a great deal of spontaneous laughter and excitement. However, on occasions, teaching is not good to ensure that all children consistently achieve the next steps in their learning. This is because some staff members do not consistently promote learning and development through their regular interactions with children. For example, on occasions,

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who attend

some staff members spend a long time setting up activities, such as getting equipment out of the outdoor sheds. Although children occupy themselves by playing on the bikes during this time, staff miss important opportunities to interact with children, develop their communication skills and extend their learning.

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who attend

Staff collect information about children's starting points from discussions with their families on their introduction to the pre-school. Staff observe children at play and record observations and assessments in children's learning records. This gives parents opportunities to add notes of their own, to complement the staff's observations of the children, encouraging them to participate in the assessment of their children's skills. Some staff, however, require ongoing support in order to provide parents with an accurate written summary of their child's progress. As a result, some staff are not always able to track what children can do in areas where additional intervention may be needed, to ensure children consistently make good progress in relation to their starting points.

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

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities, to ensure children's care routines meet their social and emotional needs. Therefore, children quickly become familiar with the daily routines and settle into close personal relationships with their key person. Staff gather good information from parents about their child so they know about their individual needs. On arrival, children are warmly welcomed into a friendly, warm environment where individual brightly coloured pegs are labelled with each child's name, so that children can easily identify themselves and proudly show parents where to hang their coats. Children are able to sign themselves in by recognising their own names on cards for self- registration, giving them a sense of achievement. This supports children to become familiar with the setting and provides a fun way to start their day. However, the key- person system is not always successful in meeting all children's needs. This is because, on

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

a few occasions, the daily routine does not enable children to make their own choices about their activities and enable staff to consistently interact with their key children, to support them to achieve the next steps in their development.

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

Adults are good role models for children, giving clear guidance on expected behaviour. Consequently, children are reminded of the golden rules to cooperate, share and display mutual respect for the adults who care for them and their peers. At most times, children wander freely through the indoor classroom to the outdoors, initiating their own play. Children have cultivated and planted vegetables in the pre-school garden, providing opportunities for children to grow their own healthy food, enjoy exercise in the fresh air and explore the natural environment outside.

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

Staff are aware of potential harm to children in the outdoor area and skilfully guide them towards taking risks for themselves. They remind children of potential dangers, such as not driving too close to others' bikes to avoid collision. This gives children valuable opportunities to assess their own competence and ask for support when necessary. Staff intervene when children seek their help in carrying out tasks promoting independence and self-esteem, such as putting on their own coats. Children's behaviour shows they feel safe in the setting, as they question visitors with many enquiries and show inquisitiveness in the actions of adults around them. Staff promote clear messages regarding healthy eating, encouraging children to serve themselves their snack. Children learn skills of pouring their own drinks from a jug, clearing cups and plates from tables and maintaining personal hygiene appropriate to their stage of development. As a result, children are adept at self-

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

help skills and are generally socially and emotionally prepared for school.

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provision

The manager holds an appropriate child protection qualification and has a general understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. She understands her responsibility in keeping children safe and the procedures of what to do if there are concerns about a child. Staff are aware of potential risk of harm to children and understand that they need to report concerns about a child's welfare to the manager. However, a few staff are not fully confident in following the pre-school's safeguarding procedures and making their own referral, in line with the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures, should the need arise. Furthermore, at the inspection, it was found that the provider had not notified Ofsted of changes to the committee members within the prescribed time period. This is a minor breach of the legal requirements and affects the efficiency of the leadership and management of the pre-school.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are a strength of the pre-school, with a committee of parents who oversee the organisation of the provision. Parents report satisfaction in the encouragement that staff offer to children to help them be prepared for school. For example, children spend time playing with the children in the reception class at the adjoining school, allowing them first-hand experience of the routines and activities of a typical day. This was noted by parents as 'extremely useful in understanding their child's transition to school'. The manager has a broad overview of children's abilities. However, the systems for monitoring the quality of teaching and children's learning are not robust enough to provide an accurate assessment of children's skills and progress. For example, the manager does not regularly observe staff's interactions with the children, and does not consistently review the assessments they make of children's learning. Therefore, not all

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provision

staff are fully supported to review and improve their practice. As a result, not all children consistently receive the support they require to make good progress in their learning. However, the manager does have ideas to improve and has identified areas for development. For instance, in further developing systems, such as encouraging staff to observe each other teach and share good practice, to foster a culture of mutual support and teamwork in order to improve the quality of teaching.

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provision

Staff attend training to develop their skills. For example, they have attended training on a sign-language programme and, as a result, they use signs with the children during snack time and story time, to help the children to develop their communication and language skills. Plans to improve the outdoor area have been generally successful to provide an additional covered area and vegetable and growing area. This area is used by the pre- school children each morning, along with the children attending the reception class at the adjoining school, which provides an opportunity to support children's social and emotional development and help them make a smooth transition to school.

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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 EY292310 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 861428

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 36 Name of provider Arden Grove Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 06/02/2009 Telephone number 01603 404553

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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

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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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