Littleport Community Pre-School

Littleport Community Pre- School Parsons Lane, Littleport, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB6 1JT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16 October 2015 14 June 2011

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Outcomes for children Requires improvement

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This provision requires improvement. It is not yet good because:

 The manager does not check children's overall progress or the progress of groups of children well enough to ensure they are progressing well.  Supervision of staff is not thorough enough and does not focus on identifying and improving weaknesses in practice and teaching.  Although the link with the neighbouring school is secure, this is not replicated for all providers and childminders in the area.  Self-evaluation does not always identify weaknesses accurately enough to ensure swift action to drive forward improvements.  Staff do not always plan activities well enough to take account of children's learning needs and assessments. This means that although children are interested and engaged, they are sometimes not sufficiently challenged and learning is not promoted effectively.

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It has the following strengths

 Parents offer positive feedback about the pre-school. They appreciate the helpfulness of key staff in aspects of children's development, such as support for improving language skills and early literacy.  Children with additional learning needs are well supported to make good progress. The special educational needs coordinator is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about her role and supports colleagues well in this area of their work.  Staff are kind, caring and know the children well. Children enjoy their time at pre- school and quickly become accustomed to the daily routines.

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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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Due Date

 develop assessment systems to identify specific next steps for children and use these to plan activities that support and extend children's learning and development 18/12/2015

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Due Date

 improve the supervision and performance management of staff, by critically evaluating staff practice so that teaching is consistently strong and rapidly improves across the pre-school 18/12/2015

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Due Date

To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

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Due Date

 improve overall monitoring of children's individual progress and implement plans to track groups of children so that any gaps in learning are clearly identified  strengthen partnership working with all other provisions that children attend to ensure coordinated strategies are used to support children's good progress  develop a more rigorous approach to self-evaluation to inform priorities and set challenging targets for improvement, especially in teaching and learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the pre-school manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the pre-school manager and chair of the committee. She looked at relevant documentation, such as the self-evaluation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the pre-school.  The inspector spoke to a small selection of parents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

The procedures for safeguarding are effective. All staff attend mandatory training, such as first aid, and have policies in place to support their work. They keep children safe by following agreed procedures for checking and dealing with potential hazards. They know how to identify and report concerns about children in their care. However, there are some aspects of the management of the pre-school that are less effective. For example, monitoring of individual children's progress is not thorough enough. Furthermore, although identified as a requirement, the manager has yet to implement ways to track groups of children. Likewise, staff attend various training opportunities and have supervision meetings. However, the procedure lacks the rigour needed to tackle underperformance and improve teaching. The pre-school has a good relationship with the neighbouring school, which supports children's transitions well. However, links with other

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

providers are not as well established and information sharing is not always successful. This means that occasionally there are missed opportunities to promote a good standard of progress. Self-evaluation is not sufficiently well developed to identify and address these weaknesses.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Children generally enjoy their time at pre-school and are happy to explore or concentrate on their chosen activity. Resources and toys are of good quality and support children's all- round development. Children especially like being outside. However, at times some staff are unsure of their role in supporting children and promoting learning to the highest level. Children are prepared for school satisfactorily. They join in with group stories, use paints and chalks to practise early writing and begin to recognise their name. Staff use effective strategies to support children speaking English as an additional language to join in successfully.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Staff encourage children to behave well. Frequent reminders are offered about sharing or being considerate to one another, and this contributes to children's understanding of expectations. Nutritious snacks are provided and children's good health is further promoted by plenty of fresh air and outside play. Children are encouraged to be independent in their self-care routines and in their choice of activity.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Children make satisfactory progress overall. Staff support children's development by observing and assessing their learning. However, they do not always use this information to plan sufficiently challenging activities to enhance children's progress from the beginning.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 221721 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 865950 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 57 Name of provider Littleport Community Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 14 June 2011 Telephone number 01353 860235

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Setting details

Littleport Community Pre-School was registered in 1992. The pre-school employs eight members of childcare staff, seven of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at levels 2 and 3. The pre-school opens between 9am and 3pm Monday to Friday, during term time only. It 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

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Setting details

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