Cantelupe Pre-School Playgroup

Cantelupe Pre-School Playgroup Cantelupe Centre, Market Place, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 5HY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/01/2015 15/06/2010

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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

 The pre-school demonstrates effective implementation of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements. It provides a good range of experiences and activities to support children's learning.  Partnerships are strong and contribute to ensuring children make good progress. Parents are well supported and feel confident approaching the staff for support and guidance.  Staff are skilled practitioners who are able to enthusiastically engage and motivate children to become enthusiastic learners.  Staff support children well in their acquisition of language. They have taken specific training in this area and use their knowledge well, so that children make rapid progress in developing their communication and language skills.  A very effective key-person system supports smooth transitions between home, pre- school and other settings, including school.

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It is not yet good because

 The pre-school management committee is not fully aware of its role and legal responsibilities to notify Ofsted of changes within the required timescale.  Not all group activities are always as productive as they could be and some would benefit from better planning to include more focused and suitably challenging experiences.

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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 had a tour of the premises indoors and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector conducted observations and held discussions with staff in all rooms and the outside area.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the pre-school manager.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.  The inspector held meetings with the pre-school manager and deputy manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff and looked at a sample of documents, including the pre-school self-evaluation form, children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Information about the setting

Cantelupe Pre-School Playgroup was registered in 1972 on the Early Years Register. The pre-school is a registered charity and is operated by a committee. Day-to-day responsibility is delegated to the pre-school manager and staff. The pre-school serves families from the local area and surrounding villages. It operates from three rooms in the Cantelupe Community Centre, in the town of Ilkeston, Derbyshire. Children also have use of another room, which is equipped with a lift to ensure accessibility. There is an enclosed outdoor play area. It opens five days a week, term time only. Sessions are from 9.30am until 12.30pm. It also offers a dinner club twice a week from 12.30pm to 1.30pm for three- and four-year-old children. There are currently 45 children on roll in the early years age range. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. It receives funding

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Information about the setting

for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The pre-school employs nine permanent members of staff who work with the children. All of the staff hold appropriate early years qualifications and the manager holds a degree in early years. The pre-school receives support from a member of staff from the local authority and are members of the Pre- School Learning Alliance.

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must:

 ensure the pre-school management committee has a full understanding of all its legal responsibilities, including to notify Ofsted of any changes within the required timescale.

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

 improve the planning for all group activities to include more focused and suitably challenging experiences are offered at all times of the day.

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who attend

The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum is well implemented and monitored, ensuring children are offered a broad range of experiences. All areas of learning are covered through play-based and planned activities. This ensures a good balance of child-initiated and adult-guided activities take place. Three- and four-year-old children have regularly planned sessions of adult-led learning where they are introduced to the skills, which they will need at school, such as early reading and writing. For example, they practise drawing snowmen circles with chalks and independently write their own names on their pictures.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good overall, resulting in stimulating, fun and purposeful activities that motivate children to become enthusiastic learners. For example, they develop listening skills and learn to control their bodies when playing a 'Stop and Go' game on scooters in the outside area. Staff have benefited from 'Every Child a Talker' training, which is evident in the consistent approach given to communication and language development across the pre-school. This area of learning is clearly given a high focus and staff are skilful at getting down to a child's level, allowing them time to consider and respond to questions. This enables children to make rapid progress in developing their communication and language skills.

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who attend

Assessment practices are thorough, enabling staff to assess children's learning and accurately identify each child's next steps. They plan activities based on these, while also taking into account individual interests, so that children make good progress. Staff have a good understanding of all areas of learning and consistently match activities to individual children's learning needs. For example, the fishing game in the winter-themed area was used to develop number, colour recognition and turn-taking for a group of children at different levels of learning. However, not all group activities are as productive as they could be, particularly at certain times of the day. These would benefit from better planning to include more focused and suitably challenging experiences. Parents are actively involved in the assessment and learning process and detailed information is shared about their child's development from the outset, in the 'All About Me' booklet. Parents receive

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who attend

weekly updates on their child's progress in a 'Chat Book'. Also, the pre-school has open mornings for parents to review and contribute to their child's assessment profile and tracking.

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

Children are provided with the social skills to try new things and experiences, so that they are able to make friends, manage relationships and be actively involved in a range of activities. Parents are confident that the pre-school ensures children are self-assured and secure. However, the management committee is not fully aware of all its legal responsibilities to make sure the welfare of children is assured, particularly in relation to informing Ofsted of changes within required timescales.

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

A very effective key-person system supports smooth transitions between home, pre-school and other settings. Good practices ensure that children settle well and individual care needs are met. For example, introductory sessions are used to find out preferences, so that individually tailored activities can be part of each child's first day at pre-school. Parents are encouraged to take photographs and write a diary about the take-home bears, 'Cante' and 'Talupe' and appreciate the 'Wow Board', which celebrates achievements at home and pre-school. These ensure the good links between home and pre-school are continuously supported.

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

Children behave very well in the pre-school. Staff are positive in their praise and consistent in their encouragement and insistent on high standards of behaviour. Staff support children to share, play cooperatively and develop good relationships. For example, a member of staff quickly intervened when children were struggling to sort out a problem with apparatus, explaining they needed to find a grown up and say, 'Can you help me?'

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provision

The pre-school management committee is not fully secure in its role in understanding all its legal responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Ofsted have not been notified of recent changes made to the pre-school management committee within 14 days of the change. However, the impact of this on children is lessened because the nominated person remains the same and Disclosure and Barring Service checks have been completed on all the new management committee members. The pre-school manager has a good understanding of safeguarding and welfare requirements within the day-to-day running of the pre-school. There is a range of successful strategies in place to ensure children remain safe. For example, a well- organised rota for the deployment of staff at the start and end of each session, so that children are carefully supervised at these times. All staff working directly with children

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provision

have a good knowledge of safeguarding and child protection. They know what to do if they have a concern about a child in their care.

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provision

The pre-school demonstrates effective implementation of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements. It provides a good range of experiences and activities to support children's learning. The provision makes good use of its setting, despite some drawbacks of being in a shared facility. For example, staff make good use of the playgroup's situation in the market place to join in with community events at the town hall and take children on visits to the fire station and opticians. The playgroup also employs specialist teachers for music and dance as a regular part of the curriculum, so that children benefit from a wider range of experiences. Secure systems exist to monitor the quality of teaching through the well-embedded mentoring process. Staff are keen to improve their practice and they are encouraged by the manager to undertake further professional qualifications. There are daily opportunities and regular meetings for

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provision

professional development as part of the pre-school working practices.

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provision

Partnerships are very good and contribute to ensuring children make good progress. Parents are well supported and feel confident approaching the staff for support and guidance. Self-evaluation is an integral part of the pre-school ethos. All stakeholders contribute to the self-evaluation, including the local authority, parents, staff and children. The pre-school management committee has effectively identified some areas for improvement.

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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 206738 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 865427

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 32 Number of children on roll 45 Name of provider Cantelupe Pre-School Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 15/06/2010 Telephone number 0115 9321329

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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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