Cuddles Pre-School

Cuddles Pre-School Community Centre, Swaledale Road, DARTFORD, DA2 6JZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 6 July 2015 26 February 2015

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3

Previous inspection: Inadequate 4 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Requires improvement The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Good 2

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3

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 quality of teaching is not consistently good. Group activities are not always planned effectively to ensure children's individual learning needs are met. Consequently, there is poor organisation, which disrupts the flow of children's learning.  The system for self-evaluation is not fully developed to incorporate the views of parents, children and staff.  The quality of the planning for children’s learning is variable. Some records lack precision. This means that activities may not be correctly matched to children's abilities, or provide sufficient challenge. This affects the progress children make.

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It has the following strengths

 Children are supported well when moving onto school. Staff plan visits to the local schools to help children settle into their next stage of learning.  Staff know the children very well and treat them kindly. As a result, children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure  There are effective systems in place to share relevant information with parents. This means parents can support children’s learning at home, as they know what staff are planning for their child to help him/her make progress.  The premises are secure and staff demonstrate a good understanding of how to ensure children's safety and wellbeing.  Staff make good use of picture prompts, visual timelines and sign language to effectively support children who speak English as an additional language.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage the provider must:

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 improve the quality of teaching to ensure that adults consistently engage closely with children to support their language and communication needs, especially during group times, and that all children are suitably challenged so they make good or better progress in their learning.

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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

 review the self-evaluation systems in order to take into account the views of the staff, parents and children.  improve the accuracy of records to monitor children’s learning to make sure staff know how quickly each child is making progress according to their age and ability.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector conducted a joint observation with the pre-school manager.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers who were spoken to during the inspection.  The inspector observed the quality of teaching and the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspector spoke to the staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector discussed with staff the systems for monitoring the quality of the provision and the improvement made since the last inspection.  The inspector looked at a range of records, including children's development files and action plans for the setting and staff suitability and training records.

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who attend. This requires improvement

The quality of teaching is variable. Staff interact with the children in a reassuring way, and they take most opportunities to support and extend children's learning and development. However, staff do not always plan small group activities well enough to meet the needs of the children taking part. For example, activities aimed at helping children with their listening and language skills are at times unstructured and noisy. This causes disruption to the flow of the activity and children lose interest. Staff make ongoing observations of the children's progress to plan for the next steps in their learning. However, these are not always used to check how quickly all children are learning and whether they are making relevant progress. Staff communicate with the children effectively and encourage them to solve problems. This helps to prepare them for their future learning. Team meetings, supervision and regular monitoring are now in place to raise the quality of teaching and

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who attend. This requires improvement

learning. Staff actively seek partnerships with other agencies. They work with schools and other early years settings to support children’s progress and to narrow the gaps in their learning. They also work well with other professionals to ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are appropriately supported. Staff successfully engage parents in their children's learning, and parents report their children are happy and progressing well.

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good

Since the last inspection, the staff team has made rapid progress in improving the arrangements to support children's care and well-being. Children are happy and settled and they enjoy their time at the pre-school. They develop close attachments to staff who are good role models. Consequently, children behave well and they demonstrate a good understanding of the pre-school ‘rules’. Children learn about the foods that are good for them by eating healthy snacks. For example, when they make fresh fruit kebabs, staff encourage them to smell the fruit and they initiate conversations about healthy eating. Children enjoy daily outdoor play in the newly-renovated garden.

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provision requires improvement

The management team has worked hard to address the weaknesses identified at the last inspection and satisfactory improvement is made. Adequate systems to monitor the assessments made by staff are in place. Good use is made of supervision and team meetings to provide feedback to staff and to identify their training needs. The qualified staff team is established and all members work well together. They demonstrate a suitable understanding of safeguarding procedures and have attended recent safeguarding training. Appropriate recruitment procedures are in place to ensure staff are suitable. The management team has a good understanding of the legal requirements. They demonstrate a commitment to ongoing improvement. They have identified future targets for further development to aim to deliver good or better practice.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY436747 Local authority Kent Inspection number 1018203 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 28 Name of provider Cuddles Ltd Date of previous inspection 26 February 2015 Telephone number 07722514729

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Setting details

Cuddles Pre-School was registered in 2011. The pre-school operates from a community hall on the Fleet estate in Dartford, Kent. There is a fully enclosed outside area for outdoor play activities. The pre-school opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 9.00 am until 12.00 pm every day. It is registered on the Early Years Register and accepts funding for children aged two, three and four years. Children on roll include those who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are six members of staff who work with the children.

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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.

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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. 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

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Setting details

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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