Southmead Pre-School

Southmead Pre-School Wrafton Road, Braunton, Devon, EX33 2BU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25 January 2016 22 June 2009

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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

 The manager and staff team have an excellent understanding of how children learn. They accurately assess children's development and carefully plan activities based upon each child's next steps. All children make superb progress in relation to their starting points.  The manager routinely monitors the progress that all children make, to help identify patterns in learning and behaviours. She has recognised that boys engage in fewer activities that promote their early writing skills than girls and is considering how to create additional opportunities for them.  Staff are extremely positive role models. They show children great respect and demonstrate excellent social skills. Consequently, children show exceptional levels of cooperation and form strong friendships.  Staff provide extensive resources that offer children a broad choice of interesting toys and activities. Children are curious, highly motivated and eager to explore and learn.

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This provision is outstanding

 Staff establish highly effective relationships with parents and other settings that children attend, to share key information that meets children's needs exceedingly well.  The manager routinely and rigorously monitors all aspects of the provision to consistently maintain very high standards of care and learning. This has a very positive impact on all children and all aspects of this outstanding setting.

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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

 provide even more opportunities to support boys' early writing skills as they play.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children's self-chosen play and planned activities.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector took account of the views of children, their parents and staff.  The inspector held discussions with the manager at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector sampled documentation including children's learning records, staff suitability checks, and policies and procedures.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

The manager has an extensive understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements. Safeguarding is effective. All staff have a robust knowledge of safeguarding procedures and recognise how to refer concerns, seek support and promote children's welfare. The manager meets with all staff members regularly to provide support and mentoring, which shows a strong commitment to sustaining high-quality teaching staff. Staff demonstrate enthusiasm to further their professional development, such as by researching topics of interest. As a result, they have developed the mud kitchen in the garden to provide additional opportunities for children to play creatively and imaginatively when outside. The manager routinely evaluates the setting to ensure that it always meets the needs of all children. For example, the setting now provides more physical play experiences when the youngest children join it.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

Children thoroughly enjoy their learning and enthusiastically participate in activities for sustained periods of time, showing high levels of concentration and motivation. Staff skilfully use learning opportunities such as songs, stories and rhymes to ensure children become confident in developing their language and communication skills. Children show a real interest in books as they choose stories from the library to enjoy at home, and eagerly swap them for another when they have finished. Staff provide frequent opportunities for children to count and learn about shapes. Older children correctly recognise more complex shapes, including three-dimensional, when staff describe their properties, showing their excellent mathematical development. Staff quickly recognise when children require additional support and proactively seek advice from external professionals to ensure they effectively meet their individual needs.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Staff know their key children very well and regularly plan one-to-one time with them, to build on the already strong relationships. Children experience a tremendous sense of well- being. They proudly share their achievements with their friends during group times and confidently share their thoughts and ideas with staff. Staff deploy themselves highly effectively to ensure they are well positioned to quickly identify and respond to children's needs. Children develop excellent independence and self-care skills, such as putting their coat on and safely using a knife to chop fruits for snack.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

Children are very eager to take part in activities and have extremely positive attitudes towards learning. They make outstanding progress from their starting points and staff quickly identify and address any gaps in learning.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 106374 Local authority Devon Inspection number 824816 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 21 Number of children on roll 44 Name of provider Southmead Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 22 June 2009 Telephone number 01271 813511

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Setting details

Southmead Pre-School registered in 1994. The setting is run by a committee from a mobile classroom in the grounds of Southmead Primary School, in the village of Braunton, Devon. Sessions run from Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm. There are eight members of staff who work with children; all staff hold a relevant qualification to at least level 2. The setting receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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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

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Setting details

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Setting details

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Setting details

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