Bicknacre Preschool

Bicknacre Preschool c/o Priory School, Bicknacre Road, Bicknacre, Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 4ES

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 9 July 2015 14 October 2010

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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

 The staff encourage children to play imaginatively and be creative. They set up the role-play area as a campsite. Children enjoy packing their suitcase and have effective conversations about holidays. Staff spark children's imagination of what a creature in outer space might look like and children have fun creating their own pictures.  Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well. They work closely with other professionals, such as speech and language therapists to implement effective teaching strategies. Consequently, all children, considering their starting points, make good progress.  Effective partnerships with parents ensure they are well informed about and supported with their children's learning and well-being. Parents comment on how well their children are prepared for the move to school.  Staff work well as a team, which means that the organisation of the pre-school is good.

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This provision is good

The pre-school provides a relaxed, fun and welcoming environment where each child is respected.  The pre-school leader and staff demonstrate a good understanding of how to protect and safeguard children. Good written policies and procedures contribute towards children's safety and welfare.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 On occasions, not all children are encouraged to be aware of their own needs for water or food when involved in outdoor physical exercise.  The ongoing observations and monitoring of staff's practice, is not yet consistently effective in ensuring all staff's practice is at the highest possible level.

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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

 reinforce children's growing awareness of how to respond to their body's needs, such as when hungry or thirsty  enhance the good development of all staff even further, by developing more effective systems for observations of their practice and performance management.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities both indoors and in the outside play area and talked to the staff and children at appropriate times.  The inspector carried out a joint observation and held a meeting with the pre-school leader.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documents and a range of other documents, including the safeguarding procedure.  The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff working with children and of the committee members.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and of the pre-school's self- evaluation form.

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who attend. This is good

The pre-school leader has developed good systems to check the educational programme and to track children's progress. An effective visual chart helps all staff to see where children are in their development and any gaps in learning are easily identified. All staff are alert to hazards and take all measures necessary to ensure children's safety. The consistent staff team demonstrate a determined drive to continuously develop their practice. This is reflected in their informative self-evaluation document. Staff are supported by a highly effective programme of training. They share the new knowledge gained from training courses with each other at staff meetings. This means that they can further build on, and support each other in their practice. The leader carries out regular supervisions in order to check the performance of all the staff team. However, the systems in place to observe staff's practice are, not yet, always effective in ensuring that all staff

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who attend. This is good

make the most of every opportunity to support children's learning and development.

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good

Children are confident and enjoy their time at the pre-school. The staff actively use the outside area to enhance the children's enjoyment of the outdoors. There are many opportunities for children to use their good physical skills. For example, older children enjoy running and playing tennis with the teacher from the adjacent school. The staff make good use of the school playground to enable children to have space to ride bikes. However, children's good health and well-being is not always promoted to the highest level. This is because staff do not always encourage them to respond to their needs for food or water during or after physical exercise. The staff are meticulous in ensuring the snacks they provide are healthy and meet the dietary needs of all children. They encourage children to try new foods, such as pineapple. The staff share the eating of fruit with them and talk about how delicious it is and this encourages the children to taste it.

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provision is good

The well-motivated staff support children by making learning fun and exciting. Children show high levels of concentration and quickly become engrossed in the activities they choose for themselves. For example, children using dough use their imagination to make rabbits. They show a good understanding of measurement as they talk about the length of the carrots they make. Staff promote children's mathematical understanding even more; they use numbers and simple addition during group time. Some children show a very high level of understanding. Staff help children to develop early writing skills, by encouraging them to write their name and by modelling writing for a purpose. Consequently, children demonstrate their readiness and excitement for the imminent move to school. The staff assess and identify children's starting points and ongoing development stages well. They regularly share these assessments with parents and encourage them to provide

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provision is good

information on what children have been doing and learning at home. This ensures all children make good progress and some exceed age-related expectations.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 402122 Local authority Essex Inspection number 868957 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 44 Name of provider Bicknacre Preschool Committee Date of previous inspection 14 October 2010 Telephone number 07887 920 334

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Setting details

Bicknacre Preschool was registered in 2007 and employs seven members of childcare staff, five of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday through school term times from 9am until 3pm. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children and supports 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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