St Nicholas Preschool

St Nicholas Pre School St. Nicholas Church, Morton Road, LOWESTOFT, Suffolk, NR33 0JQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 13 January 2016 26 March 2015

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Requires Improvement

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This inspection: Good 2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2

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This provision is good

 Children are happy and well settled. They are eager to attend and form good relationships with staff and each other at this small friendly pre-school. Children are confident in their play and interactions. They are developing the skills and attitudes to support their future move to school.  Staff place high priority on promoting children's speech and communication skills. They are very responsive to individual children's needs and different ways of communicating. Staff use effective strategies to help all children learn to express their views and needs. Children who speak English as an additional language are supported well to develop their spoken English.  The well-qualified manager/provider leads a staff team who work well together to drive improvement. All staff attend a good range of relevant training courses and some staff are working towards further qualifications. Staff share and implement knowledge

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This provision is good

gained to provide children with continually improving learning experiences.  The manager has made effective changes since the last inspection. She has introduced a more effective way of providing staff with feedback on their performance. As a team, they have reviewed many areas of practice and identified further areas for development.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Occasionally, children do not have the opportunity to fully develop their thinking skills during child-initiated activities.  Sometimes, the planning of group activities does not provide individual children with focused support to help them achieve at the highest 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

 make greater use of opportunities to develop staff questioning skills to extend children's learning, particularly during child-initiated play  improve the planning of whole-group activities to identify further ways of providing individual children with greater levels of focused support.

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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/provider.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager/provider. She looked at relevant documentation, such as children's assessment records 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 is good

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All staff are very confident about the action to take if they have a concern about a child's safety or welfare. The manager/provider follows comprehensive recruitment procedures to ensure staff are safe and suitable to work with children. The premises are safe and secure. Risk assessments are reviewed and updated as necessary to ensure children's safety. The manager has a good knowledge of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She monitors staff practice and the quality of children's assessments to ensure they provide an accurate and up-to-date picture of children's achievements. Parents are very complimentary of the group. They praise staff for their sensitive support and advice. They comment on the good progress their children have made since attending the group. Termly parents' meetings provide meaningful opportunities to discuss children's learning with their key person.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff have a secure knowledge of how to promote children's learning and development. Staff make regular observations of children's learning that they use effectively to plan suitability challenging experiences. Staff adapt their interactions to reflect individual children's capabilities and interests. They use books to provoke further interest as children discuss different sea creatures. Staff are quick to identify and target any gaps in children's achievements. Children with disabilities and those with special educational needs receive good levels of consistent support. Staff work closely with parents to ensure children receive the additional support they need to help them reach their full potential. Staff learn and use key words in children's home language. They use simple sign language and facial expressions to promote children's communication skills.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

The pre-school has flexible setting-in procedures to meet the individual needs of children and their families. Staff provide consistent support to help children learn to join in with other children's play. Staff use effective strategies to help children learn to take turns while they excitedly wait their turn outside to run around making bubbles. Children are learning to be tolerant and understanding of the needs of others. Staff provide simple age- appropriate explanations to help children learn to respect each others' differences. Children are learning the importance of following good personal hygiene routines. They happily follow well-established daily routines. Children confidently join in with a song about good manners before enjoying healthy options at snack time.

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Outcomes for children are good

All children make at least typical progress given their starting points and capabilities. Children are learning to be independent as they wrap up warm before playing outside. They become self-assured and learn to play cooperatively together. Older children are learning to write their own names. They learn that information can be obtained from books. These skills help prepare children for their eventual move to school when the time comes.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY371259 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 1010972 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 29 Name of provider T & M Cotter Limited Liability Partnership Date of previous inspection 26 March 2015 Telephone number 07528714535

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Setting details

St Nicholas Pre School was registered in 2008. There are seven staff who work with the children. Of these, four hold appropriate early years qualifications, including the manager/provider who is qualified at level 6. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday during term time only. Sessions are from 9am until 12 noon. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children who speak English as an additional language, children with disabilities and those with special educational needs.

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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

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

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