Meadows Early Years Practitioners

The Meadows Pre-School The Scout HQ, Taylors Meadow Hill, End Road, Harefield, Middlesex, UB9 6LD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/01/2015 09/11/2010

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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

 Staff provide good quality learning experiences for children. Consequently children make good progress in the pre-school.  Staff recognise that children learn through play. They follow children's interests and offer opportunities to extend children's development in all areas of learning.  Children develop strong attachments with their key person. As a result children feel safe and secure.  Parents make positive comments about the staff and the level of care and learning their children receive in the pre-school.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There are fewer visual aids and resources outdoors to promote children's language and literacy development and to help them develop their large motor skills.  Staff are not always successful in engaging parents so that they provide information on children's development at home that can be used to promote their learning in the pre- school.

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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 staff and children's interactions in the main hall and the outdoors area of the pre-school.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled the policies and procedures and children's development records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector met with the manager and deputy manager and discussed the pre- school's processes for safeguarding children and reflecting on their practice.  The inspector spoke with staff, children and parents in the pre-school.  The inspector offered the manager the opportunity to complete a joint observation.

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Information about the setting

Meadows Pre-School has been registered since 2010. It operates from a scout hall in Harefield, within the London Borough of Hillingdon. Children have access to a main hall, a smaller room and an enclosed outdoor play area. The pre-school is open each weekday from 9am to 1pm during term time only. There are currently 26 children on roll in the pre- school. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four. The pre-school supports children who speak English as an additional language. The pre-school employs six staff including the manager to work with the children. Five staff hold relevant early years qualifications. The manager is working towards a Foundation Degree. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register.

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

 continue to develop the relationships with parents so that all are encouraged to share information about their child's development and learning at home to further support their progress in the pre-school

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

 further enhance the outdoor area to ensure that children's gross motor skills are promoted and include visual aids and resources to support children's language and literacy development.

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who attend

Children are happy and enthusiastic as they enter the pre-school. They find their own pegs and confidently hang up their bags and coats. The pre-school is bright, warm and welcoming with low-level shelving and equipment. This enables children to develop confidence and independence as they choose what they want to play with. Staff plan a range of activities that follow children's interests. They recognise that children learn through play. Consequently children settle well, make good progress and are motivated to learn and develop.

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who attend

Staff visit children and families at home before they start in the pre-school. They find out about children's interests, abilities and family backgrounds. Staff use this information as well as ongoing observations to plan activities to support children's next stage of development. However, not all attempts to engage parents in children's ongoing progress and development are always successful. Staff complete progress checks for children when they reach the age of two. They work with parents and health visitors to identify if children need additional support. As a result children make good progress in the pre- school.

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who attend

Staff plan activities that follow children's interests, such as a popular film with ice and snow. Children played with ice and water in the pre-school. They practised their pouring skills as they transferred water between measuring jugs and cups. Staff encouraged children's language development by talking to them all the time about the activity. They encouraged children to think about what happens when ice is heated. Staff followed children's interests and took the activity outside to see the effect of the sun on the ice. They extended children's learning about colours as they discussed what happened when they added different coloured paints to water and ice. Children mixed the paint in puddles of water on the ground and staff added paper so that children made prints with the footprints from their boots. This promoted children's imagination and thinking skills as they explored cause and effect during their play.

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who attend

Staff support children's language development in the pre-school. They sit on the floor and speak to children at their level using language that children of different ages and abilities can understand. They adapt activities to promote children's development. Children played with wooden animal puzzles. Staff taught children about the different sounds that animals make and repeated the words and sounds so that children start to understand and copy. They use single words and short sentences with children who are learning English as an additional language. This helps children to develop their confidence and self-esteem as staff praise children all the time for their achievements. Although the main hall has a good mix of words and pictures on the walls, there are fewer visual aids and resources in the outdoor area to promote children's language and literacy development.

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who attend

Children learn skills in the pre-school to prepare them for the next stage of their learning. Staff encourage children to be independent. They encourage children to find their coats and wellies and to put them on themselves. Children learn to identify their names as there is a self-registration system in the pre-school. They start to understand routines as staff use a tambourine so that children understand when it is time to move on to the next stage of the morning. This prepares children ready for school.

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who attend

Partnership with parents is good. Parents comment that they receive information about their child's progress and the activities that the pre-school provides. This along with newsletters to parents ensures that information is shared to promote children's learning at home.

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

Children develop strong attachments with the staff in the pre-school. They are confident to approach staff for cuddles and to ask for support to meet their individual needs. As a result children feel safe and secure.

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

Staff provide activities to help children understand how to manage their own behaviour. They distract children who display challenging behaviour and give positive praise and encouragement throughout the morning. This promotes children's personal, social and emotional development. Staff talk to children about feelings and teach them to be kind to their friends. Children play with puzzles and staff teach them to share and take turns. Consequently children behave well in the pre-school.

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

Staff promote children's understanding of healthy lifestyles. They teach children about different types of fruit and vegetables during activities throughout the morning. Children eat a healthy breakfast in the pre-school and chose from options including cereals, toast and fruit. Staff talked to children about different types of vegetables during play as they provided real vegetables with the market stall and in the home corner area. Children learnt to identify carrots, potatoes, chives, sprouts and garlic. Staff explained to children the different types of onions and how to roast vegetables. Children prepared, cut up and cooked the vegetables, tasting them afterwards. This promotes children's self-care skills and understanding of the world as children learnt about fresh healthy foods.

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

Children choose when they want to play outdoors. The doors to outside are open throughout the morning. This enables children who learn better outdoors to make choices and follow their interests in the garden. Children develop their physical skills as they dig, and transport soil and water in the mud kitchen. They laugh and giggle as they jump and splash in puddles. Children develop their hand-eye coordination as they rolled hoops to each other and jumped in and out of them. However there are fewer resources to promote children's large muscle skills in the outdoor play area of the pre-school.

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

Staff are deployed effectively throughout the morning to keep children safe. They complete daily risk assessments on all areas of the pre-school. Staff follow robust health and hygiene procedures. They encourage children to wash their hands after using the toilet and before mealtimes. All staff in the pre-school attend first-aid training. This ensures accidents are dealt with effectively. Appropriate records are kept for accidents and implementing medication. Consequently, children's safety and well-being are promoted.

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provision

Management and staff have a good understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Policies and procedures are regularly updated and shared with parents. As a result parents are informed of the care and learning that the staff in the pre-school provide.

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provision

Management and staff have a good understanding of how to keep children safe. They ensure that staff are suitable to work with children as they follow robust recruitment, induction and supervision procedures. Staff attend ongoing training so that they develop their practice and continue to be suitable for their role. They confidently explain the procedures they will follow if they have concerns about a child or another member of staff. Policies and procedures are in place including for the use of mobile phones and cameras in the pre-school. Management and staff follow the guidelines of the Local Safeguarding Children Board. As a result, they have accurate contact details to use in the event of a safeguarding concern. Consequently, children's safety is promoted.

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provision

Management and staff have a good understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They complete observations and plan activities that follow children's interests which promote the next stage of their learning. As a result, children make good progress towards the early learning goals.

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provision

Management and staff work together to reflect on their practice. They take into account what works well to promote children's learning as well as children's ideas to develop their action plans for the pre-school. Management encourage feedback from parents and work with the local authority to help develop their future plans. As a result the pre-school has an ongoing system for evaluation which ensures that children's and families individual needs are met.

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provision

Parents make positive comments about the nursery. They value the information that is shared including the newsletters and children's development records. They comment on how well children settle. This is a result of the strong partnership working with individual families.

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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 EY410574 Local authority Hillingdon Inspection number 816356 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 26 Name of provider Elizabeth Swatton Date of previous inspection 09/11/2010 Telephone number 01895820163

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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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