Stepping Stones Pre-School

Stepping Stones Pre- School Church Road, Leverington, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE13 5DD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24 November 2015 1 February 2010

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children are highly motivated and keen to learn in this inclusive and very welcoming setting. Staff provide exceptional care and support to all children and their families. Key persons build close, loving and very trusting bonds with their children.  Teaching methods used by all staff are of a consistently high quality. Staff have an excellent knowledge of how children learn and provide a rich, varied and imaginative educational programme. Planning fully embraces children's interests and learning styles which ensures the activities enthuse and excite them.  Staff care extremely well for disabled children and those who have special educational needs, and those who speak English as an additional language. This ensures that their learning needs are very quickly identified. Precise teaching skills, expertly delivered by staff, enable children to rapidly gain skills in understanding and speaking English in the

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This provision is outstanding

setting.  Highly effective partnerships are formed with parents right from the beginning. Home visits help to determine very secure starting points for children's learning. Parents are consistently provided with books and other resources to support their children's development at home. Children's ongoing learning needs and the progress they make is consistently shared with parents.  The manager, committee and all staff demonstrate an outstanding vision and dedication to providing children with high-quality care and education. A very secure programme is in place for the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the setting to ensure children benefit from a highly stimulating and continually evolving provision.

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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

 continue to embed the already excellent opportunities children have to manage risks and challenges in their play.

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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 manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager. She looked at relevant documentation, such as the setting's self-evaluation and evidence of the suitability of staff.  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 is outstanding

The arrangements for safeguarding are very effective. Safeguarding is at the forefront of all staff's minds and is always discussed at team meetings. Staff are experienced and trained in child protection and fully understand their responsibilities in protecting children in their care. Ongoing suitability of staff is regularly checked. Staff have developed highly effective, professional relationships with other agencies and providers involved in the children's care. Professional development of all staff is supported extremely well and regular supervisions are also used to reflect on the setting and its needs. Thorough systems for self-evaluation highlight the setting's strengths and areas for development and are used as an ongoing and highly valuable tool to enhance the care and education provided.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

Children are highly respected as individuals and staff demonstrate a superb knowledge and understanding of individual children's learning needs. They speak extensively about all children and show a deep appreciation for their diverse backgrounds. Staff provide fantastic opportunities for children to explore their environment, think critically and make their own decisions in their play. Staff communicate superbly with children. They extend learning by introducing more interesting words into their vocabulary, such as estimating when children try to guess the number of items in a jar. Children are provided with very good challenge in their learning. They concentrate hard to pick up coloured beans using tweezers and sort them into matching bowls. They are proud of their efforts when they manage this difficult skill. Older children are able to write their name and some other basic words which helps to prepare them very well for learning at school.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

All children form close emotional bonds with their key person and other staff because there is an excellent level of adult attention and warm interaction. This supports them to be secure and happy in the setting and promotes their growing independence very well. Staff have high behavioural expectations of children. Children understand the rules and boundaries in place. Children flourish as they learn useful social skills, such as kindness, consideration and how to negotiate and take turns. Children gain a very good understanding of how to keep themselves safe in their surroundings. They participate in daily risk assessments of the pre-school. Staff are now providing more opportunities for children to manage challenges and risks in other environments, such as nearby woodland areas. The use of the school hall, playground and equipment ensures children have excellent opportunities for physical play.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

Children make excellent progress in their learning. They are very well supported in activities and gain essential skills in readiness for their move to school. Staff evaluate the progress children are making, through very accurate and precise assessment. Very secure monitoring of the educational programmes and children's individual progress, ensure any gaps in learning are quickly identified and effectively planned for.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 509754 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 869392 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 16 Number of children on roll 33 Name of provider Stepping Stones Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 1 February 2010 Telephone number 01945 467576

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Setting details

Stepping Stones Pre-School was registered in 1996. The pre-school employs seven members of childcare staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday term time only. Sessions are from 9am until 12.45pm on a Monday and from 9am until 3.15pm from Tuesday until Friday. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports disabled children and those who have special educational needs, and those who speak English as an additional language.

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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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