Beaches Pre-School

Beaches Pre-school Westlands School, Beeches Close, Chelmsford, Essex, CM1 2SB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10 February 2015 28 April 2011

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Good 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The setting meets legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision is good

 Clear and robust policies and procedures ensure that children are very well protected at this setting. Staff fully understand their responsibility to safeguard children at all times.  The key-person system is highly effective in building secure relationships with children and their families. Consequently, children feel safe and self-assured.  Children are well taught because staff have a secure knowledge of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. As a result, children make good progress.  Children who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities are particularly well supported and make good progress.  Excellent partnerships with parents and other professionals make a strong contribution to supporting children's learning and well-being.  Children are developing the necessary skills that will help them learn when they start school. There are good arrangements in place to ensure a smooth transfer to the host

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This provision is good

school and other receiving schools.  Leadership and management are good because there are effective systems for evaluating the provision. The views of parents, staff and children are highly valued and contribute strongly to the pre-school's ongoing thorough self-evaluation process.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Story sessions do not always provide sufficient challenge for the older children.  There is scope for a more rigorous approach to the monitoring and supervision of staff performance in order to further improve practice.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 review arrangements for story times in order to provide good levels of challenge appropriate to children's age and stage of development  enhance the already good systems for monitoring staff performance, for example, by conducting regular peer observations in order to improve practice.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager and conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector interacted with members of staff and children.  The inspector looked at documentation relating to safeguarding, children's records, staff records, planning and assessment and the setting's self-evaluation.  The inspector observed learning activities, both indoors and outdoors.  The inspector checked staff qualifications and their suitability to work with children.  The inspector took account of the views of parents present on the day.

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who attend. This is good

Good systems for observing and assessing children enable staff to plan rich learning opportunities that excite and engage the children, both indoors and outdoors. As a result, children are well-motivated and eager to play, learn and explore. For example, children learn about the life cycle of a frog and talk confidently about frog spawn and tadpoles. They enjoy counting plastic frogs to match numbers on the lily pads in the water tray. Various language programmes support children's language development and communication skills well. Children regularly take story sacks home to share with their families. However, story times at the setting do not always provide sufficient challenge for the older children. Staff take every opportunity to reinforce children's mathematical skills in practical play situations. Children celebrate Australia week and make their own didgeridoos. They create aboriginal art using colour, symbols and patterns. Parents are

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who attend. This is good

actively involved in supporting their children's learning at home.

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good

Children are happy and thrive well in this safe, welcoming and very well-resourced learning environment. They confidently access the continuous provision and adults are at hand to support and extend their learning. Children follow good hygiene routines and manage their personal care well. They enjoy healthy snacks and have daily opportunities to be physically active. Children wait their turn on the slides and share toys and equipment. Children learn how to stay safe. There are good arrangements to meet children's medical and dietary needs. Children are encouraged to be independent as they self-register, butter their own oatcakes and help tidy up the room. Children are particularly well behaved because they understand what is expected of them. Children receive lots of praise and encouragement from the staff who value and celebrate their efforts. Children are emotionally well prepared for starting school because staff support them well to

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good

develop positive relationships and build their confidence.

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provision is good

The pre-school is well led and managed. The manager is pro-active and encourages staff to improve their knowledge and skills. She works alongside staff and supports all staff to complete a childcare qualification at level 3. There are good opportunities for staff professional development. Consequently, staff are well trained to support children's additional needs. Systems for monitoring and supervision of staff performance are mainly effective. However, managers recognise the need to reorganise the current arrangements to ensure that practice is at a consistently high level. Highly effective tracking systems means that staff have a clear overview of children's progress. This helps staff identify any gaps in learning and appropriate support is put in place to enable children to make progress. Parents are very well informed of their children's progress. They speak highly of the staff and value the quality of care and education provided. Recommendations from the

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provision is good

last inspection have been successfully addressed.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY271753 Local authority Essex Inspection number 860798

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 77 Name of provider Beaches Pre-school Committee Date of previous inspection 28 April 2011 Telephone number 07709 603246

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Type of provision

Beaches Pre-school was registered in 2003. It operates from two classrooms in Westlands Community Primary School. The pre-school employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, six hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 8.45am until 11.45am each week day and from 12.30pm to 3.30pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. The pre- school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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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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