Swallownest Pre-School

Swallownest Pre-School Horsa Huts, Rotherham Road, Swallownest, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S26 4UR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27 January 2015 19 March 2014

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Previous inspection: Requires Improvement How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

The setting does not meet legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision is inadequate

 The provider does not ensure that there is a member of staff qualified in first aid on site at all times when children are present.  Staff deployment is not effective to make sure all children are adequately supervised and to ensure children's needs are met. As a result, some children are not well engaged and their overall well-being is not supported.  Staff have a poor understanding of how to teach children. As a result, child-led play is not effectively supported, and planned activities are not delivered well to make sure children enjoy purposeful play.  Strategies to engage parents and to share information are not successful. As a result, some parents do not know what their children are learning, what stage of development they are at, or what staff's expectations are for their children.  The provider is not sufficiently driven to improve the provision and practice, including the professional development of staff. As a result, there has not been sufficient action

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This provision is inadequate

taken to improve the provision since the last inspection.

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It has the following strengths

 Children access a suitable range of resources in the outdoor environment that help them to develop their physical skills.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage the provider must:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 make sure at least one person who has a current paediatric first aid certificate is on the premises and available at all times when children are present  ensure staff are deployed effectively to meet the needs of all children and ensure that children are adequately supervised and engaged  help staff to improve their knowledge of the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child in their care, and use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all of the areas of learning and development  develop staff's understanding of good quality teaching so that each area of learning is implemented through well-planned and purposeful play that is supported by high quality teaching  implement an effective system for sharing information about children's learning with parents so that parents know what their children are learning, what stage of development their children are at and are able to continue their children's learning at

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

home  ensure that staff understand their roles and are supported to undertake training and professional development opportunities to improve their skills.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching and the impact this has on children's learning, both inside and out.  The inspector completed joint observations with the pre-school manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the pre-school manager and provider and looked at relevant documentation, such as the pre-school's self-evaluation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the pre-school.  The inspector spoke to a small selection of parents and carers during the inspection and took account of their views.

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who attend. This is inadequate

The quality of teaching is very poor because staff do not have an adequate knowledge and understanding of how to support children's learning. Since the last inspection, there has been little improvement to address the insufficient balance of adult-led learning and child-initiated play. Most activities are still child-led and not all staff participate enthusiastically in children's play. For example, during a treasure hunt, staff do not give children clues as to where treasure might be. Groups of children are not managed well and adult-led activities that are planned, are not always organised effectively to ensure children receive good levels of adult support. For example, a planned role play activity deteriorates into disarray when 13 children all want to play at once and there is no experienced member of staff to support their play. Generally, children occupy themselves because they can move freely around the environment and make choices in their play.

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who attend. This is inadequate

Children with special educational needs do not always receive suitable levels of support. They are not engaged well and they often wander around the setting without focus. When children first start at the setting, key persons find out about their starting points from parents to identify each child's stage of development. However, ongoing assessments are not shared often enough. Parents are not kept well informed about what their children are learning, or what next steps are planned for them. Parents are not adequately supported to promote their children's learning at home. This means too few children make good progress to develop the skills they need to be ready for school.

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inadequate

The provider does not ensure that there is a member of staff qualified in first aid on the premises at all times to provide suitable treatment if a child has an accident. Staff conduct risk assessments to identify hazards in the environment. This means the physical environment is secure for children to play in. Staff promote children's physical development adequately. Most staff are good role models. When they notice that children's behaviour is not acceptable, they talk to children about what is right and wrong and praise positive behaviour, which boosts children's self-esteem. However, staff deployment is not effective, which means that children are not always well supervised and kept safe. For example, during disagreements children sometimes push each over and staff do not notice, so they do not know why children are upset. Despite this, generally, children have friendly and caring relationships with each other and the staff. Children learn

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inadequate

appropriate hygiene practices through the daily routine. They know what food helps them to stay healthy because staff discuss this with them during mealtimes.

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provision is inadequate

Leadership and management are ineffective. Since the last inspection, the management committee have had little involvement in the evaluation of the pre-school or the development of action plans. Consequently, insufficient action has been taken to address previous actions and recommendations to develop staff practice. For example, staff do not know what their role is during planned activities and fail to supervise children effectively, so children do not receive good levels of support. Weaknesses in the range of activities and the quality of teaching have not been effectively addressed. Staff are not aware of their individual strengths and weaknesses so practice across the pre-school has not improved. Systems to support staff in developing their teaching skills and understanding of how children learn are poor. Consequently, children do not receive a balanced programme of learning opportunities and fail to make good progress. Recruitment procedures for staff

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provision is inadequate

are secure and all staff are aware of the pre-school's procedures for reporting child protection concerns.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 303272 Local authority Rotherham Inspection number 967629

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 46 Name of provider Swallownest Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 19 March 2014 Telephone number 01142 876823

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Type of provision

Swallownest Pre-School opened in 1970. The pre-school is open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9.15am to 3.15pm and on Wednesday from 9.15am to 12.30pm, during school term time only. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. There are currently six staff working directly with the children, four of whom have an appropriate early years qualification at level 2 and above.

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Type of provision

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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Type of provision

procedures set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. 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, safeguarding and child protection.

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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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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