St Luke's Pre-School (Rochester)

St Lukes Pre-School (Rochester) City Way, Rochester, Kent, ME1 2BQ

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14 May 2015 13 December 2010

p.1

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

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

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

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

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

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

The setting meets legal requirements for early years settings

p.1

This provision is good

 Children play in a very happy atmosphere. This is because they form strong bonds with staff from the start. Staff teach them how to behave well and get along with others. Children are emotionally settled and know how to manage their own behaviour.  Children are engaged in their learning because staff provide a good range of activities and opportunities for children to explore.  Staff provide excellent support for children who speak English as an additional language. They give children individual instructions for activities using signing and pictures. Children are making rapid progress in their communication skills.  Partnership with parents is highly successful. Staff are extremely proficient in exchanging information about children's progress with parents. Parents take part in the play rota and use a range of different electronic methods to keep staff informed about their children's learning at home.

p.1

This provision is good

 All staff demonstrate a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children. They regularly discuss different aspects of the good safeguarding procedures. This ensures staff know the procedures well and use them effectively to show high regard for children's well-being.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because:

 The activities in the garden include some good mathematical content. However, staff do not always use questions, discussions and equipment to enable children to explore and understand the concept of weight and measure.

p.1

What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

p.2

What the setting needs to do to improve further

 use effective questioning and discussion, and provide more equipment outdoors to extend children's understanding of weight and measure.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a variety of paperwork, including the pre-school's safeguarding policy and children's progress records.  The inspector and the manager carried out a short joint observation in the pre-school room.  The inspector observed the interaction between the staff and children during activities, indoors and outdoors.  The inspector talked to the manager, staff, children and parents at appropriate times to gain their views of the setting.

p.2

who attend. This is good

Children enjoy using the computers and completing their chosen programmes. Staff teach children to recognise letter and number shapes as they sound out words and copy shapes onto paper. The garden is a favourite place for the children. They explore activities with water using pipes and guttering and learn about minibeasts as they dig in the flowerbeds. Children choose the activities they use. In this way, they learn good decision-making skills. Staff support children very well as they get ready to move to school. They ensure children are proficient in managing their own needs. Staff talk to the children about what school will be like so that they understand the new routines. Therefore, children are emotionally and physically ready for school and look forward to changes in their learning with anticipation.

p.3

good

Staff teach children to understand that fruits and vegetables are good for them. They have good food choices at snack time. Staff also involve parents in learning about healthy eating by providing them with good information about healthy food content in lunch boxes. Consequently, children receive consistent messages about healthy eating. Children learn about being physically healthy too, as they carefully manoeuvre around the large tyres, climbing frame and balance steps. Staff teach the children to take care around hazards and manage risks as they play. Staff conduct rigorous risk assessments of the premises each day. They also risk assess any walks they take with children in the local area to promote their safety.

p.3

provision is good

Managers regularly monitor the staff's performance in assessing and recording children's progress. They track the progress of children to ensure they are developing as expected. Records show that all children are making good progress in their development and learning. Staff forge good links with other health and education professionals. The manager is a member of the local children centre's management board. The pre-school also has good links with the local speech and language service to support children who need additional help. The providers are committed to meeting their staff training needs. Recently attended training regarding the development of outdoor places has resulted in an improvement of children's outcomes. Children now have more choices because the outdoor area has lots more activities for them to select.

p.3

Setting details

Unique reference number 103846 Local authority Medway Towns Inspection number 839257 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 0 Name of provider St Lukes Pre-school (Rochester) Date of previous inspection 13 December 2010 Telephone number 01634 819 809

p.4

Setting details

St Lukes Pre-School opened in 1966. It operates from two rooms in a church community hall in Rochester, Kent. The pre-school is open Monday and Tuesday mornings, from 9.15am to 1pm, and from 1pm to 3pm in the afternoons. On Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays the pre-school is open mornings only from 9.15am to 11.45am. They are open term time only. Children aged two, three and four years receive funding for free nursery education. The pre-school employs eight staff, including two administrative staff. Of the staff working directly with the children, one holds Early Years Professional Status. In addition, four staff hold recognised qualifications at National Vocational Qualification level 3 and one at level 2.

p.4

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.

p.4

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.

p.4

Setting details

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

p.5

Setting details

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

p.5