St Barnabas Pre-School

St Barnabas Pre-School St. Barnabas Church Hall, Queens Square, Adeyfield, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 4HY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30 April 2015 25 January 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

 Children enjoy their time at the pre-school and are keen to explore the wide range of toys and resources. Staff consistently promote children's emotional well-being. They speak to children respectfully and nurture them, enabling children to be confident and well motivated.  Staff promote children's communication and language development well. They use All about me boxes containing children's favourite objects and photographs from home, to engage them in conversations and enhance their speaking skills. This means that all children, including those who speak English as an additional language or have speech delays, are well supported by staff.  Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff regularly share information with them about children's next steps, and they work together to promote a good continuity of learning.  Staff complete regular training and use their new knowledge to enhance the quality of

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This provision is good

their teaching. For example, a member of staff has recently completed training about boys and their behaviour. She learnt the importance of observing behaviour, and understanding that poor behaviour may be due to a lack of challenge. This demonstrates the positive impact that training has on children's learning.  Staff have a good knowledge of safeguarding and child protection. There are robust risk assessments in place, including for walks and outings, and children's safety and welfare is consistently protected.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 There are occasions, when children's play is interrupted in order for them to take part in routine activities, such as circle time.  Staff do not make the best possible efforts to exchange information with other providers who share the care of children.

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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

 enhance children's enjoyment even further, by encouraging them to make independent choices about whether they want to join in with routine activities, such as circle time, to ensure that all children's learning is purposeful and maximised  expand the partnerships with all other settings where children attend, so that continuity of learning and children's swift progress is maximised.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children taking part in a range of activities and spoke with the staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager and held a meeting with her.  The inspector checked evidence of the Disclosure and Barring Service checks and the suitability, qualifications and training of staff.  The inspector looked at a range of policies and procedures, risk assessments, children's assessments and the nursery's self-evaluation form.  The inspector spoke to a small sample of parents and has taken account of their views.

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who attend. This is good

The quality of teaching is good and all children progress well towards the early learning goals, given their starting points. Staff are well qualified and have a good understanding of how children learn. They use their observations of children to plan interesting and challenging learning experiences. For example, staff take a small group of children for a walk around the local area to look for shapes in the environment. They encourage the children to look for one of the shapes on their clipboard and make a mark or tally when they find one. This promotes children's mathematical knowledge and supports them to develop their early writing skills, in preparation for future learning at school. Staff plan a range of small and large group circle times to promote children's learning and generally, most children are excited to join in. However, they are not given the option to continue their own play, if they wish, which has been interrupted to take part in this routine

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who attend. This is good

activity. Therefore, learning during this time is not always purposeful for all children.

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good

Staff promote children's good health. They give parents information about healthy foods to provide in children's lunch boxes, including nutritious alternatives to sandwiches. Children enjoy plenty of opportunities to play and exercise outside in the fresh air. There is a range of equipment to enable children to develop their muscles and physical skills. Staff play games with children in the garden to develop their understanding of road safety. For example, they use large building blocks as traffic lights. They encourage the children who are playing on bikes and scooters to stop for red and go for green. Staff support children to learn the good behaviour that they expect from them. This includes walking inside, so that they do not hurt themselves. Staff respond to children's cues and take them outside to run around in a large space. Consequently, children consistently behave well.

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provision is good

The pre-school benefits from an enthusiastic management team, who understand and implement the Early Years Foundation Stage effectively. They supervise staff well to ensure that they provide good-quality teaching and care. Together, the management team regularly check the effectiveness of the activities provided and the quality of teaching, setting targets for improvement, as required. For example, they identified that they would like to implement All about me boxes to support children to develop their language and speaking skills. This demonstrates a commitment to continuously improve. Staff work collaboratively with other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Together they create educational plans to promote children's learning and, consequently, their individual needs are well met. Staff understand the importance of working with other providers where children move on to. At present, they share

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provision is good

information with other settings who share the care of children via their parents. Therefore, there is scope for them to maximise their support for children by seeking direct contact with the other settings, so that they can work more closely with them.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 129390 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 863950 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 38 Number of children on roll 78 Name of provider St Barnabas Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 25 January 2011 Telephone number 01442 217366

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Setting details

St Barnabas Pre-School was registered in 1987. The pre-school employs 17 members of childcare staff. Of these, 13 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday during term time only. Sessions are from 9am until 3.30pm. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Setting details

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

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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Setting details

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Setting details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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