St. Mary's Pre-School

St Mary's Nursery Horsham 20 Denne Road, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1JF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 05/11/2014 21/09/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The provider has not met all the legal safeguarding and welfare requirements. Staff do not make sure that parents fully understand the policies and procedures regarding medication.  Staff do not supervise children adequately at all times. Therefore, children are not always within sight or hearing to ensure their safety.  Practitioners do not always respond to children's individual needs and interests in relation to developing mathematical and technological skills.  There are limited mathematical visual displays indoors and outside, which does not fully support children's knowledge and understanding of numbers.

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It has the following strengths

 Overall, staff provide children with interesting activities to motivate them to learn.  Children are happy and have secure relationships with their friends and the staff.

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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 compulsory part 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 and staff indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with staff, children and parents at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled children's development records and discussed their progress with their key person.  The inspector took part in a joint observation with one of the managers.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled policies and procedures, and viewed the risk assessments and accident log.

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Information about the setting

St. Mary's Nursery registered in 2008. It is privately run and operates from two rooms at the Girl Guide Headquarters in Central Horsham. Children have access to a fully enclosed garden for outdoor play. The nursery serves the local town and is open from Monday to Friday during term time. From Monday to Thursday, the nursery operates from 8.30am to 11.30am, and between 11.30am to 3.30pm. On a Friday, sessions are from 8.30am to 12.30pm. There are currently 50 children on roll who are within the early years age range. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who learn English as an additional language. There are 10 members of staff who work with the children, five of whom hold early years qualifications to at least NVQ at level 3. One is an Early Years Professional and two are qualified

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Information about the setting

teachers. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds.

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must:

 ensure staff are deployed so that children are within sight or hearing and adequately supervised at all times

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must:

 ensure all parents are made aware of, and fully understand, the policy and procedures for the storage of medication

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must:

 ensure computer-based learning for children consistently extends and challenges their mathematical development.

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

 further enhance mathematical displays indoors and outside to fully support children's understanding and recognition of numbers.

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who attend

Children make suitable progress in their learning and development because staff plan interesting activities which motivate them to learn. Children are happy and eager to take part. However, staff do not adequately supervise some activities on offer to the children, such as use of the computer. For example, staff do not sit with children to offer support and guidance while they are playing with mathematical programs on the computer. Consequently, children do not fully understand the mathematics that is being taught because staff do not extend their learning.

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who attend

Staff carry out observations and assessments on children and use these to inform their weekly planning. They consider children's interests and what they need to learn next, and provide varying degrees of difficulties in activities to challenge children. For example, during the inspection, children enjoyed using a number tower to match counters and colours. Staff supported children when recognising numbers up to ten and then offered guidance to place the appropriate amount of counters to the numbers. This developed children's number language and knowledge of colours. However, there are limited mathematical visual displays indoors or outside to further support children's learning and confidence with numbers.

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who attend

Children are confident in exploring their environment and show good levels of independence during activities. During the inspection, children enjoyed playing with the play dough. They moulded and shaped it into different sized balls and used rolling pins to flatten the dough. Children commented that it felt 'cold and sticky'. Children enjoyed using their imaginations while being 'superheroes' and used their 'super scissor power' to chop the dough.

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who attend

Staff and parents work together to support children's learning. Parents discuss their children's starting points and share information about what the child likes and any favourite toys and activities. This provides staff with a starting point for planning. After children have settled into the nursery, staff carry out an initial assessment to gauge children's development levels and plan for what they need to learn next. Planning is individual and takes into account children's current skills and abilities. Staff promote children's communication and language skills effectively because they listen and respond well to children. Adult-led games such as lotto are on offer to children. This encourages children to listen to sounds and match them to the pictures in front of them. Children were observed as confident in recognising the sounds and telling the staff what they could hear. Outside, staff provided mark-making resources for children to draw maps. Staff asked

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who attend

children purposeful questions such as 'What is going to be on your map?' and, 'Can we walk or do we have to go in the car?' This allowed children to use their imaginations and talk through their ideas, such as saying, 'We will go over a bridge and pass the river'.

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who attend

Staff provide regular opportunities for physical play outside. The children are able to choose if they want to go outside and benefit from a variety of ride-on toys to play with. During the inspection, children used their imaginations to make up games in the garden. The boys pretended to be monsters and scooted around the garden chasing the girls. The girls ran to their 'house' where they were safe and all the children shrieked with laughter as they ran around the garden. This promoted children's physical development effectively. Staff allow children to make their own choices during play. The environment is predominantly child-led which develops children's independence skills, and encourages them to make their own decisions and communicate their ideas to staff.

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

The provider fails to ensure that children's well-being is assured. Children's health and safety is compromised because staff do not adequately supervise children. Children are not always within sight or hearing of staff, especially when children are going to and from the room to go to the toilet. This means that they have access to their coats and the contents of their bags. The staff have suitable relationships with the parents and share all information and assessments regarding their children's progress. However, policies and procedures regarding the storage of medication are not shared effectively. Therefore, parents do not have the required information to ensure that they do not leave medication in children's bags.

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

Children settle quickly at the setting and are happy. They separate easily from their parents and happily chat to their friends and begin playing. This supports their personal, social and emotional development. Children are allocated a key person who is responsible for their well-being and learning. All staff maintain sound relationships with the children, which assists in emotionally preparing children for their next stage in learning.

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

The environment is well resourced and welcoming to children. Children have access to a wide range of resources and are encouraged to make independent choices within their play. Children behave well and have a good understanding of what is expected from them. They respond to instructions from staff without having to be reminded because staff are positive role-models who promote good behaviour. Staff use tambourines to alert children when it is nearly time to tidy up, and sand-timers to encourage children to take turns. Children have good relationships with each other and show care and consideration towards their friends. This is encouraged by the staff who offer regular praise to the children.

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

Staff provide opportunities for children to support them in their move to school. Children have a secure understanding of healthy eating and hygiene practices. They independently use the toilet and wash their hands before snack and meal times. Children are encouraged to help with tasks, such as preparing snacks of fresh fruit. They help staff to wash and peel the fruit and share it out evenly between plates. Staff develop children's understanding of healthy foods during snack times and discuss the benefits of eating fruit and vegetables. This supports children's knowledge and understanding and helps to develop a positive attitude to healthy food options. Staff support children's independence as they encourage them to pour their own drinks of milk or water. Staff encourage children to put on their own coats and shoes and to try to fasten their zips. This provides them with some of the self-help skills they will need when they attend school. Children

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

enjoy playing in the outdoor area and learn skills such as steering and pedalling. Staff carry out visual risk assessments of the environment each day to ensure the equipment is suitable for children to use.

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provision

The provider has failed to meet some of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. The provider has not made sure that all parents fully understand the policies and procedures regarding medication, in particular, notifying staff when there is medication in their child's bag. Furthermore, the provider has not ensured that staff adequately supervise children in the entrance area. This means that children are able to access their bags and any medication stored within them. Consequently, staff did not notice when a child had access to medication stored in their bag. The provider failed to notify Ofsted of this significant event which is a breach of requirements of the Early Years Register and of the Childcare Register. This did not have a significant impact on children's learning and development. However, the staff have failed to keep children safe from harm. The provider has a poor understanding of their responsibilities in complying with the Childcare Register

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provision

requirements and the Early Years Register. The provider has not taken effective action in response to this incident, which shows a lack of commitment to improve and, consequently, to keep children safe.

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provision

There are sound recruitment procedures to ensure that the staff's suitability is verified. Regular supervisions enable staff and the manager to discuss areas for development These meetings provide time to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the nursery. However, the managers have not effectively identified the weakness in staff's teaching in relation to the children's use of computers. This means that the provider does not meet all of the learning and development requirements because staff do not consistently provide children with suitable and challenging learning opportunities. The staff access training provided by their local authority and all staff have received child protection and paediatric first-aid training. Staff are confident in knowing how to report concerns about a child's safety and how to record these. Staff update risk assessments regularly and help to monitor the suitability of the resources on offer to the children. Staff carry out visual

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provision

checks before each session and, if necessary, remove any equipment which is not deemed safe for children to use.

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provision

Staff work appropriately in partnership with parents. Settling-in sessions are effective and adapted to meet the individual needs of each child. Parents are involved in their children's learning and development and are kept up to date with relevant information about the nursery via newsletters, parents' evenings and their website. This supports children's learning at home. Parents are extremely happy with the staff and the care that they provide for their children. They comment on the 'exceptionally good' progress that their children have made. They appreciate the time that staff spend in getting to know their children and in planning activities that are suitable for their individual levels of development. The staff have effective relationships with external agencies, additional early years providers and local schools. This partnership working supports children's development.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that children receiving childcare are kept safe from harm (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).

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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 EY387285 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 830061 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 50 Name of provider Horsham Parochial Church Council Date of previous inspection 21/09/2009 Telephone number 01403 250223

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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