St Nicholas Pre-School

St Nicholas Pre-School Squires Gate Football Club, School Road, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY4 5DS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 6 July 2015 12 November 2009

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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

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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

 Staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use this knowledge effectively to teach and engage children in learning. Staff plan activities which follow children's interests and support the next steps in their learning. As a result, all children make good progress in their learning and development.  Children have built strong relationships with staff. They often ask staff to join in their play. Children are settled and happy, as they explore the resources and environment with enthusiasm. Staff have high expectations of children and, children listen carefully to adult requests. Behaviour is good.  Staff attend statutory and non statutory training opportunities. This has a positive impact on children's well-being. For example, staff attend regular child protection courses and are aware of the authorities to contact should they be concerned about a child's welfare.  Partnerships with parents are well established. Staff welcome the views of parents to

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This provision is good

support and enhance children's learning. As a consequence, children's needs are well met.  Leadership and management are strong. The management team are committed to reviewing their practice and evaluating their service. The manager has identified priorities to make sure the pre-school is continuously improving.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Children are not always well supported to think for themselves, because they are not always asked effective questions to enhance their language and communication skills.  Staff do not always share effective information about a child's development stage when the child is cared for by other carers, such as a childminder.

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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 teaching practice, when talking with children, to include more effective questions to better support children's communication and language  develop partnership working, when children receive care from multiple carers, to improve information sharing about children's developmental stage.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities and children at play throughout the inspection, in the indoor and outdoor environment.  The inspector spoke with children, staff and the manager throughout the inspection.  The inspector looked at documentation to ascertain children's progress towards the early learning goals and completed a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff working with children, the provider's self-evaluative practice and improvement plans.

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who attend. This is good

Staff complete regular observations of children as they play in order to identify their developmental stage. Planned activities are targeted to support children's next steps in their learning. Staff support children's mathematical development well. Staff introduce keywords, ask children to notice similarities and differences and support children to group shapes together. The impact of teaching is good and children are making good progress in readiness for future moves. However, at times, staff can repeat the same question and do not change their questioning effectively, in order to encourage children to think of different answers and further enhance their language skills. Parent partnerships are good. Parents are invited to contribute to children's progress records. This enriches staff knowledge of children's individual needs.

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good

Staff create an environment that is warm and friendly. There is an effective key-person system in place and staff understand children's needs well. For example, staff are very calm and nurturing as they reassure children when they become a little unsettled. This means that children's emotional well-being is effectively supported. Staff support children's physical skills through offering a wide range of outdoor play opportunities. Staff support children in gaining the key skills they need for the next stage in their learning. Partnerships support children through times of change as staff invite teachers in from local schools. This enables teachers to know more about children to help make their move to school more effective. However, information about children's needs is not shared as well with other providers who share the care of children. This means that information sharing is not as purposeful as it could be to reinforce children's needs.

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provision is good

Staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff are well qualified and this has a positive impact on teaching and children's progress. Staff attend targeted training events to support children's needs, such as supporting children to learn about letters and sounds. The manager supports continued professional development through appraisal systems, staff meetings and observing staff practice. There is a high regard to risk management. Daily safety checks are completed to ensure the environment is safe for children. The manager regularly evaluates practice in the pre-school in order to maintain continuous improvement. All recommendations raised at the previous inspection have been addressed. This shows an ongoing commitment to improvement. The manager monitors children's progress every term to identify any gaps in learning. These gaps are swiftly addressed so that children can continue to progress with their learning and

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provision is good

development. Partnerships with parents and other professionals enhance all aspects of children's development.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY315320 Local authority Blackpool Inspection number 862197 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 38 Name of provider Christine Anne Walsh Date of previous inspection 12 November 2009 Telephone number 07786 905161

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Setting details

St Nicholas Pre-school was registered in 2005 and is owned and managed by a private provider. The pre-school employs six members of childcare staff. Of these, one holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 4 and five members of staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The pre-school opens Monday to Friday term time only, from 8am to 3.30pm every day. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old 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. 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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