Little Pippins Pre-School

Little Pippins Pre-School The Freeman Orchard, Gaveston Road, Harwell, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0HP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/12/2014 05/08/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 The pre-school environment is safe, welcoming and well-equipped. Children enjoy a rich and varied learning environment that challenges them to become independent learners.  Staff's observations on children lead to accurate and detailed assessment of their progress. They identify gaps in learning quickly and plan for thorough, individualised learning. High-quality teaching means all children, including those with special needs and/or disabilities, make excellent progress.  There is a well-developed key person system and staff know the children well. Staff meet children's emotional needs very well, including through nurture groups, which helps children to settle and feel secure in the pre-school.  Partnerships with parents and other professionals are well established. This ensures information about children is shared and they receive the support they need.  Management uses highly effective systems, such as regular staff supervision, appraisals

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This provision is outstanding

and training opportunities, to enhance staff performance. This has led to a high-quality workforce.

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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 children at play and in group times, and the staff interactions with them.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's records of learning, risk assessments, policies and registers.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector had a tour of the nursery.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Little Pippins Pre-School is managed by a parent/carer committee and has been established since 1970. It operates from purpose-built premises that opened in 2011, and is situated in a residential area in Harwell, near Didcot, Oxfordshire. All children share access to a secure, enclosed, outdoor play area. The pre-school is on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Children may attend from the age of two years six months to five years of age. Staff currently support a number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and a number of children learning English as an additional language. The pre-school opens each weekday from 9.15am to 3pm during term time. A breakfast club operates from 8am to 8.45am for early years and school-aged children, who are then walked to school. Currently, there are 43 children in the early years age group on roll. The pre-school

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Information about the setting

provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. There are 12 members of staff, nine of whom hold early years qualifications.

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

 introduce more opportunities for children to see letters and words in the outdoor environment, to support their understanding of print carrying meaning.

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who attend

The highly motivated and dedicated staff team provide children with a rich and purposeful learning environment that supports them to make excellent progress. Teaching is outstanding and staff have high aspirations for all children. Staff actively develop a challenging and ambitious curriculum. For example, they participate in capturing the 'voice of the child.' This involves noting children's ideas and expressions around learning, and offers valuable insight into children's thinking skills. Likewise, regular oral 'story making' opportunities allow children to tell stories, which are recorded by adults. This supports children's understanding of books, stories and narratives, and develops their imagination. Staff make use of every opportunity to support and extend children's language. They use a variety of strategies, such as modelling descriptive sentences and using open-ended questions, which extend children's thinking skills. Staff know that eye-contact, facial

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who attend

expression and tone of voice, are instrumental in developing language, and they use these features of communication frequently.

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who attend

Children enjoy a balance of adult-led and free-play opportunities. Group sessions are short, focused and interesting; this ensures children can maintain concentration and hence be successful in their learning. Staff model writing for children, showing them how to draw pictures and form letters. This encourages children to have a go themselves in their free play; for example, enthusiastically writing letters to Santa. They confidently make marks and drawings with a large variety of pens and pencils. Freely-chosen activities are equally stimulating. For example, children play well together as they create mud pies in the garden, working together to collect leaves and sticks for their concoctions.

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who attend

Observation and assessment of children's progress across all areas of learning is sharply focused. Staff track and monitor children's progress closely; ensuring gaps in learning are quickly identified and addressed. Likewise, staff challenge children who are more able, to ensure they make accelerated progress. Parents frequently contribute to the information about children's learning at home, and are well informed of children's next steps in learning. Parents regularly receive written summaries of progress, which includes a report for two- year-olds.

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who attend

Children develop a good understanding of technology as they independently access computer tablets. Staff provide a very appropriate selection of mathematical and English programmes to encourage children's problem-solving skills. Children support each other to select the correct icons and swipe through the pages, allowing them to become positive role models and to teach each other. Children make excellent progress in all areas of learning and they are extremely well prepared for school.

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

Children learn about hygienic practices as they take part in daily cooking sessions. They know to wash their hands before cooking and to ensure that surfaces for food are clean. They also wear aprons and hats to keep clothes and hair away from food. This understanding is extended to toileting routines, where children independently wash their hands. Children know that if they do not wash the germs off, they might 'get a poorly tummy.' Children learn about healthy eating through the healthy snacks offered by the pre-school, and they serve themselves fruit and drinks, which develops high levels of independence.

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

Nurture groups support the well-developed key person system, ensuring more than one adult effectively supports each child. Daily nurture group activities help children feel they belong to a close and supportive group, and that they have their own special place in the nursery. Staff use puppet characters as central resources within each group, to encourage children to discuss and share feelings, which supports children's emotional development.

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

Children have many opportunities to interact with nature and learn in the fresh air in the well-resourced garden. A large, digging area has become a role-play construction site, for children to build houses and shops. As they use large metal spades, they exercise large muscle groups and develop coordination. They also learn to keep safe and know to keep their spades down low, so as not to hit their friends. They enjoy looking for bugs in the secure pond and investigating creatures in the wild, wooded area. All of these areas support children's curiosity and encourage them to be independent and active learners. Children behave very well at all times. Staff are strong role models and they effectively reinforce positive behaviour. When, very occasionally, children are unsettled or argue over toys, staff use the language of cause and effect. For example, staff say, 'I am feeling sad because some children are calling out and I can't hear anything.' This helps children

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

develop an understanding of why they need to behave appropriately.

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provision

Inspirational leadership and management drive the vision for this pre-school and ensure it is continually improving. The manager works very closely with the staff and demonstrates a hands-on approach to the day-to-day running of pre-school. As a qualified teacher, the manager has a thorough understanding of her responsibilities to ensure the learning and development requirements are met. The highly motivated staff team contribute to all aspects of the provision, and regular self-reflection leads to detailed target setting and action plans. For example, they have implemented a supportive settling-in process for children, to ensure they are happy when their parents first leave them. They have also modified the routines of the day in order to support children's understanding of the daily pattern. In this regard, they have thoroughly addressed the areas raised in the previous inspection.

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provision

Children's safety is of utmost importance in the pre-school. Staff are confident in the procedures to follow should they be concerned about the welfare of a child in their care. Staff have attended safeguarding training and are first-aid trained. Management follows rigorous procedures in the recruitment of staff; this includes obtaining references and making vetting checks. There are well-written policies to support staff knowledge on safeguarding procedures; these include statements regarding the use of mobile telephones, and whistleblowing. Staff complete meticulous risk assessments to help to identify potential hazards, and help reduce accidents and incidents. Medical interventions, and accidents and injures, are thoroughly documented. Documents demonstrate that parents are well informed about any incident involving their children, although these are infrequent.

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provision

Very close links with the local school ensures children are confident when it is time for them to move up. Children have regular visits to the school for swimming lessons in their pool and they visit classrooms, to share stories and enjoy special events, such as the nativity. This prepares children well for starting school. The pre-school also has close relationships with external agencies, such as staff in the local children's centre and speech therapists. These links allow them to access professional support and expertise, to meet children's needs.

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provision

There is an excellent programme of continuous professional development for staff to increase their knowledge and follow their interests, to improve outcomes for children. For example, staff are training to become forest school leaders, which is supporting the development of the outdoor provision. Management conduct ongoing appraisals and supervision for staff, to ensure staff are well supported and that they have the skills and knowledge to carry out their roles to a consistently high standard.

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provision

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly supportive of the nursery. They believe their children receive 'impeccable' care from their key person and report that their children make excellent progress. Parents also praise the high levels of support and care that staff offer to families, saying they believe that the pre-school offers a valuable service to the village community.

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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 133726 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 841013 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 43 Name of provider Little Pippins Pre-School Date of previous inspection 05/08/2011 Telephone number 01235 821741

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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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