Orbital Pre School

Orbital Pre School Orbital Community Centre, Haines Way, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 7QU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15 July 2015 26 January 2011

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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 pre-school provides a very welcoming environment and there are well-organised play facilities. Children are able to make independent decisions about their activities during indoor and outdoor play. They form strong attachments with the staff, as a result of the genuine care and attention they receive.  Staff have good partnerships with parents and with other professionals, such as teachers of schools where children will move to. They also seek advice from specialist professionals as and when necessary, so that they can support children's individual needs.  Children are protected well because staff have a secure understanding of their role and responsibility to safeguard them from harm.  Well-qualified staff skilfully teach children a range of skills to help them learn about the wider world. For example, they take children on the bus to visit the nearby shops. Staff use these opportunities to extend children's learning. Children also use the mobile

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This provision is good

library and enjoy selecting books to share with their friends and staff.  Children are very well supported in their preparation for the move to school or nursery. For example, they help to create a 'passport book', which contains information about their likes and interests. Children take these on their visits to meet their new teachers. Parents add comments about the visit and staff use these to talk to children about their day at school or nursery.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Staff have not explored further ways to consistently extend children's communication skills, particularly where language is emerging or delayed.  There is not enough focus enough on evaluating teaching when reviewing activities, in order to continually extend and challenge children's 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

 strengthen teaching to enable all staff to consistently support and extend younger children's emerging communication skills  focus more on the quality of teaching when evaluating activities, in order to decide what needs to be done to continually provide challenges for children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities and staff's interactions with children, indoors and the outside learning environment.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the deputy.  The inspector looked at documentation, including a sample of children's records, planning and records, and checked the suitability of staff.  The inspector spoke to parents to gain their views.

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who attend. This is good

The quality of teaching and interaction is good because most staff are attentive to children's needs. Through sharing ideas and asking children's opinions, they provide a varied range of fun activities to meet children's age and stage of development. Children are encouraged to explore and investigate. They are active learners and happily choose where to play. This helps them to gain a good range of skills to support their future learning, for instance, when they move on to school. Outside, older children confidently use magnifying glasses to look at insects that they have found. Staff talk to children about what they can see. They use descriptive words to help towards extending their vocabulary. However, on occasions, some staff do not consistently extend younger children's communication skills or provide enough support for those who speak English as an additional language. Children are provided with a range of activities to develop their

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who attend. This is good

hand muscles ready for handwriting. They enjoy stories and songs. Older children learn about phonics and mathematical concepts, such as shapes and simple addition.

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good

Children are supported well when they start at the pre-school. The settling-in process is flexible. Parents are able to stay as long as necessary to ensure that their children feel settled and secure. Information from parents is collected and used to support children as they move from home. Children are provided with constant praise and encouragement and are reminded about expectations of behaviour. They have daily opportunities to use soft- play equipment, where they enjoy jumping and climbing. They also enjoy the music and movement activities as well as the joining in with the fun sports activities. The outdoor area is well used for children to gain fresh air and to discover the natural world. Children enjoy caring for flowers, vegetables and herbs. Staff sit with children during snack times and help to promote good social skills.

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provision is good

The manager, deputy and staff have a good understanding of their responsibility to meet and implement the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They work well together and keep up to date with current good practice through local network meetings provided by the local authority. The deputy is well qualified and attends regular purposeful training. Following recent training, an information pack about the safe use of software has been devised. This is shared with staff and parents. All staff have regular supervision meetings to identify training needs. They evaluate practice to bring about continuous improvements to ensure that they provide a good quality service for children and families. However, this is not yet sufficiently targeted to further enhance the quality of all staff's teaching and to extend the challenges for children. There are effective systems in place to check children's progress. These are currently being reviewed to ensure that the

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provision is good

progression of different groups of children are very well known.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 130556 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 874891 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 32 Name of provider Kim Bennett Date of previous inspection 26 January 2011 Telephone number 07761278112

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Setting details

Orbital Pre-School was registered in 1977. The pre-school employs five members of childcare staff. All of these, hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 9.15am until 12.15pm. A lunch club runs from 12.15pm until 1.45pm. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The pre-school has close links with the local children's centre.

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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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