Little Angels Childcare

Little Angels Childcare St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Primary School, Rossall Grove, Little Sutton, ELLESMERE PORT, CH66 1NN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/01/2015 15/03/2010

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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

 Children make good progress across all areas of their learning and development because staff know children well and provide experiences for them matched to their individual needs and preferences.  Children are sociable, courteous and well behaved. Praise and encouragement from staff ensures children feel secure and included. This promotes children's emotional well- being.  Staff have a thorough understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements and as a consequence, keep children safe and secure. Potential risks to children are minimised through effective risk assessment.  Staff work well in partnership with parents, other professionals and the host school. Consequently, children benefit from continuity in their care and learning and are supported effectively when the time comes for them to move onto other provisions.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not frequently share their knowledge and expertise with each other, in order to build further on their already good practice to raise children's achievements to the highest level.  Occasionally opportunities are missed at snack time to engage children in conversation about the food they are eating.

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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 play and learning activities in the classroom and spoke to staff and children in the indoor and outdoor environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of children's assessment files and progress tracking information and spoke to the children's key persons.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with the children, the provider's self-evaluation folder and improvement plan.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the managers of the pre-school and conducted a discussion regarding policies and procedures.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Little Angels Childcare was registered in 2007, and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from within St. Mary of the Angels Catholic Primary School in the Little Sutton area of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. It is owned and managed by a joint partnership. The setting serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The setting employs 15 members of childcare staff. Of these, 12 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 to level 6, including one with Early Years Professional status. The setting opens from Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 9am until 3pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 54 children attending who are all in the early years age group. The setting provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children with special

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Information about the setting

educational needs and/or disabilities. The setting runs a breakfast club from 8am until 9am and an after-school-club runs from 3pm until 5.30pm. The holiday club is open on weekdays from 8am to 6pm during the school holidays. The setting is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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

 build further on the arrangements for monitoring and improving staff practice, so that staff have more opportunity to share good practice, knowledge and skills, for example, through peer observation

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

 promote children's understanding of different foods even further, such as at mealtimes, by providing even better opportunities for discussions about all food.

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who attend

Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff work in partnership with parents and value their contributions. They gather information from parents about children's interests in an 'All about me' document. They use this information to plan activities, both indoors and outdoors, around children's starting points and interests. As a result, children are fully engaged and motivated in their learning. Staff provide children with plenty of time in an environment which enables them to initiate their own play and learning. For example, older children confidently chat away to their peers as they play imaginatively in the home corner, pretending to make biscuits and cups of tea for visitors. This develops children's independence and allows them to make choices in their play. Furthermore, this is balanced well with a good mix of playful adult-led activities that are used to encourage

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who attend

children to develop concentration and confidence in speaking out in a group. Staff know children very well because they effectively complete observations on children to identify the next steps in their learning. Staff complete regular progress reports for children, showing parents what their child has achieved and what areas are to be developed. This includes the progress check completed between the ages of two and three years. Relevant support and guidance documents are used as a reference to allow staff to identify if children are operating within the expected bands of development for their age. Parents are involved in home learning, through the continuation of science experiments and are very complimentary about the pre-school.

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who attend

The friendly staff team warmly welcoming children as they enter the pre-school. Children explore the environment confidently, quickly engaging in the wide range of activities on offer, which are easily accessible to them. The quality of teaching is good. Staff use effective teaching methods, such as encouraging children to persevere and keep trying and encouraging them to have their own ideas. This stimulates children's curiosity and extends their learning even further. Children are effectively supported in their development of language as they listen to stories and engage in conversations. These story times are also used to develop younger children's speech and to introduce colours, number and shapes. For older children, stories are more complex and children show anticipation and are eager to join in. Additionally, early phonics is introduced to further support their language and communication development. There are numerous mark

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who attend

making opportunities throughout the pre-school and these are skilfully extended with further writing opportunities. For instance, children sit with their key person as they learn to write their name. Staff develop children's creative thinking using a wide variety of instruments. Staff are skilful in involving all children and ensure children are interested and fully engaged in the activity. For example, challenging the children to play their instruments 'quickly', 'slowly', and 'loud' and 'softly' as children delight in the fun and giggle among themselves. The activity is extended further as children are asked to guess shapes, such as a 'triangle'. As a result, children use their growing skills and become confident communicators.

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who attend

Staff provide good opportunities for all children to play outdoors where they develop their physical skills. Staff support children's learning throughout their play, extending their learning through encouraging children to think. For example, children are busy sailing their pretend pirate ship, over the imaginary seas, to search for the treasure. The adventure continues with children scaring away imaginary sharks and swimming in the 'icy' cold waters. Children clearly delight in their play, laughing with their peers and talking animatedly with the staff, while indoors children build and construct with coloured blocks as staff sensitively support them to succeed. Staff make good use of praise, all activities are fruitful learning experiences and children's skills are rapidly developing. Furthermore, staff make sure that children are ready for the next stage in their learning and are effectively supported in their move to school.

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

Staff provide an extremely welcoming environment. Children flourish as they positively grow in confidence and self-esteem as they form highly secure attachments to staff. Younger children are cuddled and all children receive comfort if they become upset. Consequently, children's emotional well-being is promoted well. Furthermore, children are very confident in exploring the play areas indoors and outdoors, making choices from the excellent range of resources and making decisions appropriate to their age and stage of development. The learning environment is very well-organised into separate areas, such as the role-play area and book area. In addition, opportunities to involve children in sensory play are utilised well, as children access paint eagerly covering the palm of their hands to make a print, commenting the brush is 'tickly'. This enables children to explore different textures. All children show very good levels of independence. For example, when

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

arriving children take off their coats and place their belongings on a named peg.

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

Children's behaviour is very good and they are learning how to behave and know what is expected of them. This is because staff remain calm and readily offer praise and encouragement to children and use age-appropriate strategies to support learning. For example, staff give children suggestions of how they might share the resources. Consequently, children know what is expected of them and they play cooperatively and show respect to each other. Staff are vigilant in promoting children's safety. A good system allows only authorised personnel through the main gate into the pre-school and staff ensure children are always well supervised. For example, at home time all doors are supervised closely. Risk assessments are regularly undertaken, ensuring that children are protected from any risks and respond readily to any changes in the environment.

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

Staff provide children with healthy, nutritious, well-balanced snacks. Drinking water is available for children at all times and snacks are freshly prepared on the premises. These include a variety of fruit with milk or water, that meet their individual dietary needs. Older children skilfully serve themselves at snack time, which promotes their independence. However, occasionally, opportunities to engage children in more open-ended discussions about the cultural foods available are not always maximised. Staff discuss the reason why we wash our hands and through discussion and reinforcement, further helping children to become independent. In addition, children play outside every day as part of a healthy lifestyle. Children have fun practising their physical skills as they run around in the spacious area. Staff liaise exceptionally well with the host school, where children transfer, to ensure children are extremely well prepared for their next move. Staff ensure that

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

teaching staff have detailed information about children's individual care and learning needs, prior to them moving on to full-time school.

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provision

Management and staff demonstrate a good understanding of how to effectively safeguard the children, as they have a secure knowledge of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff request visitor identification and record this in the pre-school's visitors' book. Suitability checks are carried out on all staff and there are robust recruitment procedures in place. All staff have recently completed safeguarding training and are confident about their role to protect children in their care. Furthermore, the pre-school operates a policy which prohibits the use of mobile phones in the pre-school. All of the required documentation relating to children and the safe organisation and management of the pre-school is in place and is comprehensive. Staff practise the emergency evacuation drill with the children so as to support them to gain a sense of what to do in an emergency. All staff have paediatric first-aid training and are

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provision

confident in dealing with issues that may arise. Consequently, safeguarding procedures are good and promote the safety of children.

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provision

The management team has a secure understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Monitoring of practice and evaluating its impact on children ensures they all make good progress. For example, children's learning journals are analysed by management to ensure planning for children's next steps in learning is appropriate to their needs. The monitoring of the educational provision is further promoted through the tracking system to ensure any identified gaps or concerns in children's learning is swiftly dealt with. Management undertake observations of staff practice and discuss strengths and weaknesses in one-to-one supervision meetings. They fully support staff's continued professional development. However, they do not have fully established arrangements in place for the more experienced staff to share their good practice, teaching skills and knowledge with each other, in order to improve still further the good quality provision for

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provision

Partnerships with parents are very well promoted. Staff liaise with parents on a daily basis to inform them of activities and their child's learning. An open-door policy ensures that parents can speak to their child's key person or the manager at any time. There is a very good self-evaluation system in place. Management have sought the views of parents and the local authority to support them in identifying future improvements, which demonstrates a capacity for continuous improvement. Parents speak very highly of the pre-school and feel that staff take excellent care of their children, as well as having a good focus on learning and development. Parents feel fully informed about their children's time at pre-school, which means they are able to create consistency between home and the provision. In order to assess the care and learning for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, staff work very closely with other professionals to ensure all

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provision

children's needs are fully met. Excellent partnership working arrangements between the pre-school and the host school are in place to prepare children making the move between provisions. These are well established and contribute to meeting children's needs and preparing them for the next stage of learning.

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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 EY356060 Local authority Cheshire West and Chester Inspection number 863433

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 54 Name of provider Little Angels Pre-School Partnership Date of previous inspection 15/03/2010 Telephone number 0151 3382430

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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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