Great Tey Pre-School

Great Tey Pre-School The Village Hall, Chappel Road, Great Tey, Colchester, Essex, CO6 1AE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13/01/2015 21/09/2011

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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 have a good knowledge of how children learn. They use this to provide a balanced range of activities that cover the seven areas of learning and ignite children's imagination and curiosity. As a result, all children make good progress.  Children form warm, caring bonds with their key person, staff and each other. Staff are in tune with children's emotional needs and provide an environment that enables the children to feel safe, secure and develop their confidence.  Staff have a good knowledge of how to effectively safeguard children. They can identify the signs and symptoms of abuse and know the appropriate action to take if they have concerns about a child's welfare.  Staff have formed successful relationships with parents. They regularly share information about children's development and encourage them to play an active role in their children's learning. As a result, children make good progress.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always maximise opportunities for children's learning and development in the garden. During the colder weather children have fewer resources out to support their investigation skills.  The management's continuous professional development plan for staff is not yet sharply focussed or astute enough to support them in achieving and maintaining outstanding practice.

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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 had a tour of the pre-school and observed activities in the main hall and the garden.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector held conversations with staff, children and parents.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager and supervisor.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector saw evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff, self- evaluation, risk assessments, policies and procedures and other documentation in relation to health and safety checks.

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Information about the setting

Great Tey Pre-School was registered in 1972, and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a village hall in the Great Tey area of Colchester in Essex, and is managed by a voluntary committee. The pre-school serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from a village hall and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The pre-school employs six members of childcare staff. Of these, three hold appropriate early years qualifications at levels 3 or 5. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday during term time only. Sessions are from 9.15am until 12.15pm, with a lunch club from 12.15pm until 1.15pm on a Monday and Friday and from 12.15pm until 1pm on a Wednesday. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 30 children attending who are in the early years age group. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-

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Information about the setting

old children. It supports a small 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:

 develop further the outdoor area so staff are able to provide more opportunities for children to develop their curiosity and investigation skills in all weathers

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

 develop further the already good systems that are in place to support staffs' professional development by making them more sharply focussed and targeted, to enable staff to work towards achieving outstanding practice.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is good. Staff have a secure knowledge of how children learn. They use this to provide an environment that ignites children's imagination and problem solving skills. This is achieved through a well-planned, free-flow play environment. For example, there is a pretend play police station with telephones, note pads and police costumes, a sand tray with a range of resources to empty, fill and dig with and a cosy book area with den-making materials. Staff regularly observe children in their play. They make focussed and accurate assessments of the children's capabilities. They use these to plan activities for the children that are tailored to their individual needs and interests. As a result, all children make good progress given their starting points and capabilities. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are happy and settle well. Staff work successfully with outside agencies to obtain the support that the children need in their

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who attend

learning and development. Children are well prepared for the next stage in their learning, including the move to primary school. Staff support children to understand the world around them and develop their imagination. For example, children pretend they are policemen, acting out telephone calls and going out in police cars. Staff provide cardboard faces with disguises and encourage the children to make their own faces and talk about the people they are creating. Children develop their mathematical skills as they talk about which item is heavier in the sand tray. They enjoy emptying and filling buckets with sand and staff encourage children to count how many scoops it will take to fill up the buckets. Children enjoy playing outside in the garden. Staff provide ride-on toys and bikes and children enjoy the large space they have to ride them in. Consequently, they develop their large physical muscles. In addition, they pretend they are delivery people and pass pieces of

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who attend

wood to each other for parcels, developing their imaginative skills. However, children have fewer opportunities to access activities outside that support their investigation skills. This is because staff do not always provide resources, such as spades and magnifying glasses in the colder weather.

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who attend

Staff have formed positive partnerships with parents. They regularly share information with them about their children's development and successfully encourage them to contribute what they know their children are learning at home. Parents fill out home-link books where they add information and photographs of the trips and activities children have completed at home with them. In addition, the pre-school has a bear that the children take turns to take home and parents support children to document what they have done at home with the bear. As a result, children are provided with consistency in their learning between home and the pre-school.

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

Children form warm, caring bonds with their key person, staff and each other. Staff obtain information from parents when children start, about their likes, dislikes and routine care needs. They use this information to provide a welcoming environment in which the children feel safe, secure and settle well. In addition, they provide settling-in sessions for parents and children. As a result, children experience a smooth move from their home to the pre-school. Children are prepared emotionally for the move to school. Staff regularly attend the school with the children and teachers are invited to the pre-school to meet them. They also encourage children to take part in activities that are similar to ones they will experience at school, for example, sitting down on chairs at circle time and answering when their name is called out from the register.

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

Staff support children well in developing their independence skills. They encourage children to zip up their own coats, put on their own shoes and wash their hands independently. Children learn good hygiene routines as washing bowls, soap and hand towels are easily accessible around the hall and staff remind children about the importance of why they wash their hands. Staff provide children with healthy snacks and drinks, such as salad vegetables, fruit and carbohydrates. They advise parents about what is suitable and healthy food to provide in children's lunchboxes. Children have access to water throughout the day to ensure they remain hydrated. Children have daily access to physical exercise and fresh air. They can choose when they want to go outside throughout the sessions and cycle around the large garden on bicycles, tricycles and other ride-on toys.

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

Staff manage children's behaviour effectively. They use egg timers to support children to learn how to share and play cooperatively together when they disagree over toys. In addition, staff encourage children to talk about how they feel and how the things they do makes others feel. For example, children look at pictures of faces that display emotions, such as happy, sad and angry. As a result, children learn to respect each other and what effects their actions can have on other people. Children regularly take part in emergency evacuation procedures, so they learn how to keep themselves safe in an emergency.

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provision

The manager has a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements and implements them effectively in the pre-school. Staff have a good understanding of the signs and symptoms of abuse and know the appropriate action to take if they have concerns about a child or a member of staffs' conduct. All staff have robust recruitment and suitability checks in place, ensuring that they are suitable to work with children. The management have effective systems in place to ensure that children and staff are continually safeguarded. For example, when changing nappies, staff ensure that they are always being monitored by another member of staff. Staff implement detailed risk assessments of the premises and resources and carry out daily checks before the children arrive. As a result, the environment is safe for the children to be in. Two members of staff hold current paediatric first-aid certificates and one of them is always on the premises

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provision

when children are present and within sight and/or hearing of other members of staff and children. As a result, children are protected in the event of minor accidents or injuries.

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provision

The management has implemented a successful self-evaluation of the pre-school. It accurately highlights the pre-schools strengths and areas for improvement and includes the views of parents, staff, children and other professionals. At the time of the inspection the manager had been in post for one week and so is very new to the setting. She has already identified areas for which she sees there can be improvement. The manager intends to implement more resources for literacy and re-organise the pre-school layout so children have even further opportunities for good progress in their learning and development. The management oversees the educational programmes effectively. They ensure that they cover the seven areas of learning in detail and provide exciting and stimulating experiences for the children. The management monitors staffs' planning and assessments of children to ensure they are accurate and effectively implemented, to

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provision

ensure that children are making good progress. In addition, they track individual groups of children, such as girls, boys and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to identify any gaps in their learning, so they can be provided with timely support.

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provision

The management regularly observes staffs' practice and provide regular supervision to ensure that staff are supported. Staff regularly attend training courses to ensure they are up-to-date with current legislation, such as safeguarding. However, the professional development plans for staff are not yet sharply focussed enough to ensure they can achieve and maintain outstanding practice. Staff have formed successful relationships with parents. They regularly keep them updated about their children's learning and development and ways in which they can support their children's learning at home. Parents comment that they are happy with the progress their children have made since attending and would recommend the pre-school to other parents. Staff have formed successful relationships with the local schools. They share information about children's learning and development when they move to school, to provide children with consistency

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provision

in their education. In addition, staff have formed positive relationships with the local authority Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinator. She regularly attends the setting to provide support for the staff in helping the children to progress well and comments that staff are skilled in supporting the children and their families.

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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 402130 Local authority Essex Inspection number 877130

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 30 Name of provider Great Tey Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 21/09/2011 Telephone number 07712967081

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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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