First Steps Pre-school

First Steps Pre-school Bradfield Road, CREWE, CW1 3RB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 8 June 2015 11 September 2014

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Requires Improvement 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

 Management and staff have worked very hard to improve practices. They have taken prompt action to address the issues raised at the last inspection, such as keeping a record of all suitability checks. Consequently, children are now receiving good quality care and education.  Teaching skills are good. Staff promote children's language effectively, through a wide range of activities. Staff plan sessions to help children recognise the sounds of letters and ask children questions to promote their thinking skills. This prepares children well for the next stage in their learning, such as school.  Staff manage children's behaviour very well. They give clear messages at the beginning of the session, to ensure children fully understand how to behave appropriately. Staff consistently encourage children to share and take turns. This is a vast improvement since the last inspection.  Excellent information sharing with parents to support children's learning takes place.

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This provision is good

Parents are invited to attend play sessions and ideas for activities are shared. This helps to promote continuity in children's learning.  There is good support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff work closely with other professionals and parents, to identify how best to help children progress. This ensures everyone works together to meet children's needs effectively.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 On occasions, large group activities do not fully maintain children's interest.  Children are not able to view written words outside, to further extend their early reading skills.

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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 learning experiences during group activities, for example, by planning smaller group times, to ensure all children remain interested and engaged  enhance children's learning in the outdoor area, for example, by providing more opportunities for children to see written words, to extend children's understanding of how words carry meaning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff working with children.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection and from information detailed in parent surveys.  The inspector observed activities and spoke with staff and children at appropriate times.  The inspector held meetings with the manager of the provision and had discussions with other staff members about their roles and responsibilities, including safeguarding.  The inspector looked at a selection of policies and procedures which included safeguarding and complaints, children's learning records, the pre-school's self- evaluation and a range of other documentation.

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who attend. This is good

Staff have a secure understanding of how to promote children's learning. They praise children effectively to raise their self-esteem, such as when they write letters on the board. However, staff do not extend children's early reading skills further, for example, by providing written words in the outdoor environment. Staff plan a wide range of activities to develop children's understanding of the world. They take children to visit the library, and arrange visits from the local fire service to raise children's awareness. Children are able to make marks using the paint, and staff let children create their own pictures. There are good opportunities for children to explore a wide range of media, such as sand, water and play dough. Children sit and engage well in small groups. They join in with rhymes and develop their understanding of number through action songs. However, some children do not show much interest at story time. This is because the group is large and it is

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who attend. This is good

difficult for them to have a good view of the book and listen to staff speaking.

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good

The key-person system is used well to ensure children's needs are met effectively. Staff undertake home visits to obtain a detailed knowledge of children's background and abilities. Consequently, staff are able to plan activities to help settle children, when they first start. Children are confident and happy in the pre-school, and have positive relationships with staff. Children are prepared well for their move to school. Staff take them on outings to see the school and talk to them about what is going to happen. Staff promote a healthy lifestyle for children through effective hygiene routines and healthy snacks. In addition, children are able to move freely between indoors and outdoors, which means they have plenty of fresh air. Children are able to develop their physical skills well, balancing along the planks of wood. Children demonstrate good levels of independence as they prepare their own snack and pour their own drinks.

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provision is good

Management attend regular meetings with external agencies to help identify how they can continually improve. Consequently, many changes have taken place since the last inspection. Observations and assessments of children's learning are checked thoroughly by management. This ensures that the next steps planned for children's learning are challenging and help children to make good progress. The manager observes staff's teaching skills regularly and discusses where improvements can be made, during regular supervision sessions. The detailed tracking of children's progress ensures that all staff know exactly how well children are developing in their learning. This also enables staff to identify and access additional support from other professionals where needed. There is a good level of qualified staff, and additional training is regularly attended. This has a beneficial impact on children's care and learning, particularly in how staff promote

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provision is good

children's communication skills. Staff have a thorough understanding of safeguarding procedures, which is underpinned by a comprehensive range of policies.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY468608 Local authority Cheshire East Inspection number 991053 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 28 Number of children on roll 32 Name of provider Mr Edward Bell and Mrs Christine Elizabeth Bell Date of previous inspection 11 September 2014 Telephone number 07970184494

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Setting details

First Steps Pre-school was registered in 2014. The pre-school employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, one has an early years qualification at level 2, three at level 3, one at level 5 and one has a level 6 qualification. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 9am until 12pm. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of 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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