Little Dragons Pre School

Little Dragons Pre-School The Unit, c/o St Georges Primary School, Clarence Road, Portland, Dorset, DT5 2BD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22 June 2015 9 February 2011

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

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The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Requires improvement The setting does not meet legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision requires improvement. It is not yet good because:

 The provider does not have a good enough understanding of all the requirements of the Early Years Foundation stage. They have failed to inform Ofsted of changes in members of the committee and the nominated person. This is also a breach in the requirements of the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.  On occasion, children do not have enough space to participate fully in large group activities. As a result, they sometimes lose interest and become distracted.  The role-play area is a little cluttered, which makes it difficult for children to access particular resources to enable them to become fully engaged in their play.

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It has the following strengths

 Children are able to make lots of choices due to the broad range of exciting activities staff set out for them. They move freely between indoor and outdoor play areas, exploring and investigating as they play.  Staff engage well with the children to extend their learning. They ask them questions to increase their understanding and language skills and teach them techniques to help them achieve.  Staff supervise children well at all times. Safety is reviewed daily and adapted to reflect individual children's needs so they can all play freely. Staff follow clear safeguarding procedures to help keep children safe.  Staff promote children's health and well-being very well. They provide nutritious meals and engage children in routines that help them to learn how to stay healthy.  The staff team work well together. They frequently attend training to increase their knowledge, and use this well to improve outcomes for 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

 improve the use of space during some whole group activities to ensure all children are fully involved  make role-play areas more inviting to increase opportunities for children to use their imaginations.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 inform Ofsted of any changes to the nominated person (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  inform Ofsted of the name, date of birth, address and telephone number of any member of the committee (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  inform Ofsted of any changes to the nominated person (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  inform Ofsted of the name, date of birth, address and telephone number of any member of the committee (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playrooms and the outside learning environment.  The inspector completed a joint observation and held meetings at an appropriate time with the manager.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documents and sampled welfare records.  The inspector checked evidence of staff suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children and reviewed the provider's self-evaluation form.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection and engaged in discussions with staff and children at appropriate times.

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who attend. This is good

Children are busy and enjoy their play, which helps them all to make good progress. Children's awareness of number is supported well through skilful discussions by staff. For example, children sort the play fruit while staff ask how many they have and what will happen if they add one or take one away. Staff provide children with activities that reflect their local community and offer challenge. For example, children are engrossed as they use the gravel pit with lorries and diggers. At times, during group rhyme sessions, staff do not fully consider the space needed so all children are fully involved. Staff complete observations, which helps them track children's progress and identify and narrow any gaps in their learning. Parents receive lots of information about how their children are progressing and meet frequently with staff to share information. Staff provide parents with ideas for activities at home, to further extend children's learning. The manager is proactive

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who attend. This is good

in forging links with other professionals involved in supporting children. This helps them to work consistently together so they can meet children's needs well.

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good

Children settle well and develop high levels of confidence due to the nurturing environment. Some children organise their own circle time, to show others the snail they have found on the way to school. They talk about the snail and pass it around for all the children to see. They invite questions, demonstrating their good use of language. Staff and children regularly use sign language and pictures so that all children can take part and communicate their ideas and needs. Most areas of the pre-school are inviting and support children's learning well, although resources in the role-play area are not always easy to find. All staff are confident in their individual roles due to comprehensive induction and ongoing child protection training. They are mindful in maintaining confidentiality in all aspects of the provision.

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provision requires improvement

Staff recruitment is thorough, helping to ensure all those working with the children are suitable. The pre-school have had difficulties forming a committee. They have failed to keep Ofsted informed of changes to the committee members to ensure checks are completed. However, this does not impact directly on children's well-being or learning, as they are never left unsupervised with children. Staff have a strong commitment to improvement. They have set up spaces indoors and out for children to enjoy books and stories to increase their language and literacy skills. They seek feedback from parents and children to help them make positive changes.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY273825 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 837350 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 47 Name of provider Little Dragons Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 9 February 2011 Telephone number 01305 826 167 0797 6917033

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Setting details

Little Dragons Pre-school registered in 2003 and operates from the St Georges Primary School on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. They are open every weekday during school term times from 9am until 3pm. The pre-school is in receipt of government funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. They are open every weekday during school term times from 9am until 3pm. The pre-school supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They employ seven members of staff. The manager has a level 4 qualification in childcare and all other staff hold early years qualifications to level 2 or 3.

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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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