Hilltops Pre-School

Hilltops Pre-School Stones Methodist Church, Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, HX6 4JU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26 January 2016 7 May 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

 Children flourish in this inspiring and exciting learning environment. They are extremely engaged and highly independent learners. Children are confident to follow their own ideas. For example, they enjoy making elaborate creative artwork and support younger children with similar tasks.  Staff quickly and accurately identify children's starting points. High-quality observations and accurate assessments are used to inform planning. Children enjoy activities and experiences based on their current interests.  Staff place high priority on promoting children's personal, social and emotional skills. All children, particularly older children, show high levels of confidence and self-esteem in social situations.  Children are very well behaved and they are encouraged to determine their own rules for behaviour. Children are encouraged to think about the feelings of others and to be kind and considerate.  Partnerships with parents, school and outside agencies are at the heart of the pre-

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This provision is outstanding

school's aims. Highly effective processes are in place to share information and work closely with the other professionals.  The manager and staff team work in excellent partnership. All are fully involved in the continual review and incisive evaluation of practice and the learning experiences provided for children. There is a highly effective drive for improvement and an uncompromising commitment towards achieving excellence in all areas.  Practice is extremely inclusive for all children who attend the pre-school. Staff provide an extensive range of experiences that promotes children's understanding of people, their community, cultures and social values.

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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 evaluate the evidence gained from the observations of staff's practice in order to maintain their high level of knowledge and understanding and the excellent outcomes for children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector toured all areas of the setting accessed by children, including the outdoor environment.  The inspector observed play and learning opportunities for the children and spoke to staff members throughout the inspection.  The inspector undertook a joint observation and discussed this with the manager of the pre-school.  The inspector looked at a range of documentation, including children's learning journey records, activity planning, pre-school policies and self-evaluation.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection.  The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of all staff working with children.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Qualified and experienced staff fully understand their roles and responsibilities. The manager conducts regular checks of staff's suitability and is extremely conscientious regarding staff deployment so that children are supervised at all times. Staff confidently engage with parents and organise excellent information and events for them. Children receive exceptional levels of support as a result of strong links with parents, other settings that they attend and external professionals. The manager and staff actively seek, evaluate and act on the views of parents and children to drive continuous improvement. A rigorous process for supervision is in place and all staff receive regular feedback on the quality of their practice. Furthermore, staff observe and feed back to each other. This helps them to understand each other's ways of working, to share ideas about good practice and to identify future training needs. The

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

manager discusses how she would like to further develop systems to analyse information from supervision to maintain the high level of practice.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

All staff know children extremely well. Children are valued as unique individuals and become deeply involved in their learning. For example, they enjoy using different resources to experiment with water and expertly talk about the most successful way to make a hosepipe. Role-play and small-world resources are firm favourites of the children. Staff use these to stimulate and extend children's imagination. For example, children dress up in uniforms and use an excellent range of supporting resources. They build pretend ladders and emergency vehicles with construction equipment and demonstrate a strong understanding of other peoples' roles and their own community. The balance of child-led and adult-led play is extremely well planned. Staff's expert interaction and purposeful use of questioning develops children's communication and thinking skills very well. For example, children enthusiastically discuss the difference between estimated and actual

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

numbers as they look to solve mathematical problems with construction equipment. Staff have worked diligently to involve parents in their children's learning and to enhance children's learning at home. Consequently, children are highly motivated learners who consistently persevere and achieve at a high level.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Staff create a very welcoming, comfortable and fun environment for children. They skilfully tailor practice to meet children's individual needs and routines. There is a strong key- person system and children swiftly settle, forming strong bonds with staff. Staff foster children's independence at all times. They have high expectations of children's abilities. For example, children are taught to use equipment safely at snack time. They apply their learning well and confidently serve themselves and pour their own drinks with care.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

All children show great enthusiasm for learning and make exceptional progress in their development. Children are prepared extremely well for future learning and the move on to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY368722 Local authority Calderdale Inspection number 857911 Type of provision Sessional 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 32 Name of provider Kathryn Ann Knight Date of previous inspection 7 May 2009 Telephone number 01422 825 596

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Setting details

Hilltops Pre-School was registered in 2008. The pre-school operates Monday to Thursday from 9am to 3pm, term time only for 38 weeks of the year. The pre-school employs five members of childcare staff. Of these, four hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 or 3. The manager holds Qualified Teacher Status. The pre-school 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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