Dunholme Pre-School

Dunholme Pre-School Dunholme St Chads School, Ryland Road, DUNHOLME, Lincolnshire, LN2 3NE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/12/2014 11/11/2010

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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 enhance children's ability to think and reason for themselves as they ask thoughtful and probing questions. The children are keen to try out new ideas and explore what will happen next.  The children's safety is paramount and staff are well trained and knowledgeable about how to safeguard their welfare. They also support children in challenging themselves to be safe, but to take small risks in their play.  Partnerships with parents are very strong. Staff share information constantly regarding children's progress, which enables parents to be active participants in their children's pre-school experience.  The small staff team works effectively together. Monitoring and evaluation tools work well to identify areas for improvement, which are addressed to provide improvements in the provision for children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always pronounce letter sounds appropriately to support children's pre- reading skills.  At times, resources are not sufficient in quantity to enable children to fully explore and enhance their learning to its full potential.

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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 activities in the main playroom and the outside learning environment.  The inspector conducted a joint observation and held a meeting with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation and a selection of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children, the pre-school's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day and interacted with children throughout the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Dunholme Pre-School was registered in 1992 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from a mobile classroom situated in the grounds of Dunholme St Chads Primary School in the village of Dunholme, Lincolnshire and is managed by a committee. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from one main playroom and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The pre-school employs four members of childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, including one with Early Years Professional status. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 8.45am until 3.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 28 children on roll who are all in the early years age group. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old

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Information about the setting

children. It supports a number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 enhance children's early literacy skills further by, for example, making sure staff are clear about how to pronounce letter sounds correctly in order to build on children's pre-reading skills

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

 support further children's ability to fully explore and learn from all activities, for example, by ensuring the quantities of resources are sufficient.

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who attend

Children make good progress because the teaching is good. Staff know children very well and use this knowledge effectively to plan and provide a range of interesting and challenging activities. Starting right at the beginning, staff use the information gained from parents to interest children in playing and learning at pre-school. Staff set out activities attractively that invite children to come and play. Even though the pre-school is small, staff ensure children have a wide range of activities to choose from that help them to make progress in all areas of learning. The key person is responsible for observing, assessing and planning children's next steps in learning. Assessments are accurate and staff know how to extend activities to meet all children's needs. As a result, children make good progress towards the early learning goals, including children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The staff demonstrate a secure understanding of the progress

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who attend

check for children between the ages of two and three years; they carry it out at an appropriate time and share relevant information with parents.

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who attend

Staff skilfully question children to encourage them to think and reason through problems. They make suggestions to further develop their thinking and resist giving them the answers. For example, staff ask children how they think they could reach to put a brick on top of the tall tower. When the children cannot think of a way, they ask them to look around and think about what they use to reach other things. This means that children challenge themselves to overcome barriers and are not afraid to try out new ideas and activities. There are good opportunities for mark making and many of the children try to write their names. Staff use letter sounds to begin to teach children how to spell their names. However, staff do not use the pure sounds that children will learn at school to support their reading and use of phonics. This means that although children recognise the letters they cannot use the sounds they have learnt to support their pre-reading skills

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who attend

because these are sometimes incorrect. Children learn mathematical concepts through active problem solving. They know that one brick tower is taller than the other but need to measure themselves and staff against the towers to decide if they are taller or smaller. In addition, they count the bricks to compare if they have the same number. These active- learning experiences are typical of this pre-school and enable the children to become keen and competent learners.

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who attend

Children engage in creative activities with enjoyment. At the session, open to parents, there was a wide range of Christmas crafts available for them to create with their children. Staff enable children to individualise their work and follow their own designs. Children's work is displayed and labelled it with their names and a description of what it is. This gives them a sense of achievement and the confidence to continue to follow their own ideas. The range of resources is broad and varied, though at times the quantity and quality do not extend to the full possibilities of children's play. For example, staff provide leftover fake snow in a tub with arctic animals. The amount of snow is not enough to enable the children to explore what they can do with the animals. However, staff do question children about how they could enable the animals to swim and children work out how and where to get water from for them. The children work together to fill a trough with water from the

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who attend

watering cans and again solve practical problems. These skills support children in their future learning and help them to develop positive attitudes to learning ready for school.

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

Children's personal, social and emotional development is strongly fostered. Staff show the utmost respect for children and are warm and caring. During each session, there is a specific time where the key person works directly with children. They plan activities to meet individual children's identified learning needs. When children first begin at the pre- school staff gain information from parents about children's progress and interests. Staff use this effectively to support children to settle in at the sessions. Parents accompany their children several times and attend the open craft sessions prior to them beginning in pre-school. This enables children to begin to familiarise with staff, children and environment while feeling secure and safe. Due to this type of care and attention, the children develop a secure sense of belonging and benefit from staff knowing them very well.

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

Children are encouraged to be as independent as possible. They choose to have snack when they want to or take a drink of water if they need to. Staff support children sensitively with toileting and putting their coats on. If children require help, staff encourage them to do as much as they can for themselves. Children have the choice to go outside to play at every session. The outdoor area has a good variety of resources available. Children can develop their physical skills by using the bikes, a slide, some climbing equipment and a swing. In addition, they use a range of materials to explore texture in the mud kitchen, digging area and in the sand pit. This enables them to spend time in the fresh air and to take part in physical activity. In the colder weather, children wrap up with extra layers and wear waterproof clothing to keep them warm and dry. This means they are able to continue to learn about healthy lifestyles all year round. Children

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

are encouraged to make healthy food choices at snack and lunchtimes.

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

Staff are fun and enthusiastic in their approach to children. This promotes a very relaxed but purposeful atmosphere, where children are confident to explore who they are. Children's behaviour is very good; they share resources well and are considerate of each other's needs. For example, while participating in a craft activity, children ask each other to pass them different coloured paints. They ask if they have finished with other colours before they take them. Staff discuss any unwanted behaviour, supporting children to think for themselves about how to approach situations differently. For example, staff ask children how they decide it is someone else's turn. The children learn how to keep themselves safe as staff discuss with them how to use resources safely. For example, outside children inform staff that taking one brick off the tall tower at a time is the safest way to do it. Children benefit from a wide range of play materials to support their learning

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

and development. Resources are stored to enable children to select and carry out self- chosen activities. This supports them to engage in purposeful play, ensuring that they have a firm base from which to build their growing independence and confidence, as they get ready for their move to school.

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provision

The manager is fully aware of and implements all of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. There is a strong focus on safeguarding through recruitment, training of staff and supervision of children during the sessions. All staff know how to implement the written policies and procedures effectively and are clear of their duty of care to the children. The environment is risk assessed thoroughly and routines support children to learn about safety. For example, they take part in emergency drills and discuss how to stay safe when using resources in the outdoor area.

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provision

The small staff team work effectively and proactively together. All recommendations made at the last inspection have been addressed. The supervision, appraisal and self-evaluation processes enable them to give their views on how to develop and move the pre-school forward. This ensures all staff have some ownership and responsibility to make continual improvements. They do this through their own personal progress and by developing their own roles and responsibilities within the running of the provision. Staff attend training that develops their knowledge, such as a course on provision for two-year-olds. This promotes children's development well as staff have a better understanding of their learning needs. The manager collates all the information provided by staff to evaluate the educational programmes. She then identifies gaps in the teaching or in learning areas and addresses these through planning of appropriate activities. Children make good progress as staff

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provision

identify any need for early intervention quickly and implement support strategies effectively.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are very strong. The parents spoken to were present at the pre- school to attend a Christmas session. Many had attended even though their child was not normally present and were enjoying making Christmas crafts with their children. These sessions give parents the opportunity to be involved with their children's learning. Parents also praised the new, electronic-assessment system as they feel they can immediately see the progress made and the types of activities their children engage in. Relationships with the local schools are very strong and the children have many opportunities throughout the year to visit the school and meet the teachers. This supports their emotional development and prepares them well for the move on to school.

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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 253542 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 866757

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 18 Number of children on roll 28 Name of provider Dunholme Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 11/11/2010 Telephone number 01673 866583

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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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