The Saplings Pre-School

The Saplings Pre-School Burnham Copse Primary School, Newchurch Road, Tadley, Hampshire, RG26 4HN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30 June 2015 16 March 2011

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 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 show enthusiasm for their learning. Staff show a good understanding of children's progress and their next steps in learning. This helps them to plan securely for children's individual learning needs.  Staff develop good links with parents, other professionals and schools to support children consistently. Staff make good use of the facilities available to provide a range of experiences to children. They regularly use the school premises for activities. This helps children become familiar with the environment, which helps prepare them for their future move to school.  Children benefit from effective physical challenges as they develop balance, coordination and excellent confidence in riding bikes without stabilisers.  The manager implements effective procedures for checking staff's ongoing suitability. She undertakes the required checks at the time of employment and regularly reviews staff's suitability. This promotes children's safety and well-being.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Staff do not always extend learning opportunities as much as possible through the activities they plan or their interactions with children. For example, they provide structured writing activities but do not provide writing materials for children to use in their play.  The manager evaluates the quality of the provision and monitors the quality of teaching by observing staff practice and through supervision meetings. However, she does not always focus sharply enough on what staff need to do to improve their practice to the very highest standards.

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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

 strengthen staff practice so they make the most of every opportunity to extend children's progress even further  sharpen the focus of monitoring of staff practice to identify what staff need to do in order to provide the highest quality teaching for all children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities and staff and children's interactions indoors and outside.  The inspector spoke to staff about their work and interacted with the children at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector spoke to parents and sampled a selection of parent surveys to gain their views.  The inspector held meetings with the manager.  The inspector carried out a joint observation of an activity with the manager/owner.

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who attend. This is good

Children make good progress and are well prepared for school. Staff teach children the same writing style as the school, which means there is a consistent approach. Children listen well at group times. They happily join in and answer questions, and talk about their experiences. Staff provide name labels with pictures that help children recognise their name and initial letter sound. They use these consistently, such as on pegs, trays and drinking bottles, which helps all children to become familiar with their name. Staff give children positive support and encouragement, and overall, they provide a good quality of teaching. They complete regular observations and assessments of children and know the individual children well. They share this information with parents and encourage their feedback and comments in children's progress records. This helps to promote a combined approach to supporting children's learning at home and at the pre-school.

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good

Staff provide a warm welcome to children on arrival and support those who need a little extra support well. Most children settle very well and find their friends and begin their play and learning quickly. Children independently choose activities and resources that cover all the areas of learning indoors and outside. They develop positive social skills as they happily engage in discussions with adults and other children. Staff provide warm praise and encouragement, which promotes children's self-esteem and confidence. Children have a good understanding of healthy lifestyles and know they need to wear sun cream and hats outdoors in the hot weather. Children enjoy a variety of physical activities, such as dance. They understand about safety procedures as they wear helmets when riding bikes and know which way round the track they need to go.

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provision is good

The manager understands her legal responsibilities securely. She and the staff team have a good understanding of child protection issues. They know the steps to take if they have concerns about children's welfare or other staff. The manager encourages staff to undertake training to develop their skills further. For example, staff used what they had learnt at training to provide a science activity to support children's understanding of the world. Staff gain effective information from parents about children's needs, such as key words in other languages they speak. This helps them to support children securely. The manager monitors children's progress closely and reviews their progress with staff. She offers ideas to help move children on in their learning. In addition, she uses a computer- based system to identify the progress of individuals and groups of children. This helps to close any gaps in children's progress.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY333449 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 827366 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 32 Number of children on roll 65 Name of provider The Saplings Pre-School Date of previous inspection 16 March 2011 Telephone number 07960 030240

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Setting details

The Saplings Pre-School opened in 2005. It operates from a purpose-built pre-school unit in the grounds of Burnham Copse Primary School in Tadley, Hampshire. The pre-school is open from 8am to 4pm each weekday in term time. It offers some school holiday care depending on demand. The pre-school receives funding for free early years education for children aged two, three and four. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and also children who speak English as an additional language. There are nine members of staff who work with the children, of whom two provide lunch-time cover. The manager has Early Years Professional Status and five members of staff hold qualifications at level 3. Two unqualified members of staff are currently working towards gaining recognised early years qualifications.

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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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