Alpha Pre School

Alpha Pre-school Freshbrook Community Centre, Worsley Road, Freshbrook, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN5 8NU

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10 December 2015 16 December 2014

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Requires Improvement

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Good 2

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2

p.1

This inspection: Good 2

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2

p.1

This provision is good

 Good quality teaching helps all children make good progress.  Staff create a friendly and relaxing atmosphere. This helps put children at their ease and they enjoy their time at pre-school.  All staff encourage children to be kind and considerate to one another. Children readily share toys and behaviour is good.  Staff arrange the room and outdoor area skilfully to provide a pleasant and effective learning environment. All areas of the curriculum are covered by the activities on offer.  The manager and committee have made lots of improvements since the last inspection. Leaders have taken successful action to improve the quality of teaching and the curriculum, for example.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because:

 Systems to check how well groups of children do in their learning are not fully established. This means they cannot address any gaps in progress that might occur.  The manager is not supervised by the committee on a regular basis. She does not always receive enough challenge and support in her role which might limit management effectiveness.

p.1

What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

p.2

What the setting needs to do to improve further

 make further checks on the progress made by groups of children and take effective action to address any gaps in their learning  ensure the committee provide regular and effective supervision for the manager so that she receives a good level of support and challenge in her role.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with children, parents and staff.  The inspector observed children playing and learning indoors and outdoors.  The inspector met with the manager and spoke to the committee treasurer about leadership matters.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector reviewed a range of relevant documentation, including policies, information about children's progress and staff files.

p.2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The committee has improved its leadership since the previous inspection. Its members take an active role in checking how things are running. They contribute to the planning of future developments. Committee members come into sessions and give informal support to the manager. However, they do not offer the manager regular supervision meetings to help her develop her practice further. Safeguarding is effective. Staff are trained in how to keep children safe. They are confident to take action when children's well-being might be at risk. The manager keeps a close eye on the progress children make to ensure all do as well as they can. There are newly implemented systems to monitor how well groups of children learn at the setting, such as younger children or boys and girls. It is too soon for these systems to be completely effective. Therefore, the manager and committee do not have a fully comprehensive overview of whether all children are doing as well as they

p.3

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Children are busy and happy. They do well in their development because staff provide a wide range of interesting activities for them to try. Children are involved in the curriculum planning and their ideas are put into practice by staff. This means these activities are matched to the interests of children. For example, children decided to make a 'shop' for pretend play. Throughout the day, they played in this area, developing their communication and social skills, as well as counting items and writing shopping lists. Assessment is accurate. Staff know what children can do and what they need to work on next to help them learn more. Staff make sure children have lots of opportunities to develop their language skills throughout each day. Staff are always on hand to speak with children and encourage them to talk about what they are doing. This helps children to be confident to ask questions and express their ideas. Staff help parents to support children's

p.3

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

learning at home. For example, parents appreciate suggestions of simple activities such as 'hug something bigger than you' to help children develop their mathematical understanding. Parents report that children enjoy doing these activities and do them 'with a smile'.

p.3

Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children develop good levels of confidence because staff trust them to complete tasks without help. For example, young children capably carry jugs of milk and water to the snack table from the kitchen; they routinely choose what they would like to play with. This helps children become self-assured. They cooperate well with one another because staff encourage good team-working when children are playing together.

p.3

Outcomes for children are good

Children make good progress because staff have an accurate understanding of how to teach them effectively. They reach typical levels of development and are well-prepared for school when the time comes.

p.3

Setting details

Unique reference number EY408710 Local authority Swindon Inspection number 1006289 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 20 Name of provider Alpha Pre School Freshbrook Committee Date of previous inspection 16 December 2014 Telephone number 07563764528

p.4

Setting details

Alpha Pre-school registered in 2010. It operates from a room in Freshbrook Community Centre, in West Swindon. The pre-school is open each weekday from 9am to 3pm term- time only. The pre-school receives funding for free early education for children aged three and four years. There are five members of staff who work with the children. The manager holds an early years foundation degree and the other childcare staff hold relevant qualifications at level 3.

p.4

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.

p.4

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.

p.4

Setting details

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.5

Setting details

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our website for news, information and updates at www.ofsted.gov.uk/user.

p.5

Setting details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

p.5