West Vale Pre-School

West Vale Pre-School West Vale Primary School, Stainland Road, Greetland, HALIFAX, West Yorkshire, HX4 8LS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 2 March 2016 15 July 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 engage well in the bright, stimulating and accessible environment. They have free access to the outdoors, which promotes their independent learning and fosters their preferred learning style and interests. It also increases children's confidence and contributes well to the good progress they make.  Staff promote children's independence, communication and language, along with early reading and writing skills, well. This supports children's future learning.  Children are happy and confident and have close bonds with staff. The highly effective settling-in arrangements play a key role in this. Staff work closely with parents and others. Parents are extremely well informed about, and involved in, the life of the pre- school and children's learning.  Children develop an early positive attitude to diversity. They acknowledge different festivals and observe positive images around the nursery.

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This provision is good

 The provider and staff share the same strong drive for improvement. There is effective self-reflection which includes other professionals, parents and children. They target and address key areas for improvement, including those raised at the last inspection.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 On occasions, staff do not recognise when the youngest children require additional support or direction and some group activities do not meet their developmental needs.  The manager's monitoring of staff practice is not yet rigorous enough to precisely identify how teaching can be improved to 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

 improve the levels of support offered to two-year-olds and review the organisation of group activities that promote their learning and development even further  provide more precisely focused monitoring of staff practice that improves teaching to the highest level.

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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 pre-school manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the pre-school manager. She looked at relevant documentation, such as the pre-school's self-evaluation, planning and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the nursery. The inspector also looked at online records of learning.  The inspector spoke to a small selection of parents during the inspection and took account of their views. She also sampled parent questionnaires.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The provider and staff use many sources, including feedback from parents, to review and develop the pre-school's practice. As part of this, they are taking part in a quality assurance scheme. Staff have good access to training. Unqualified staff are currently working towards a qualification, in order to raise the quality of teaching across the staff team. The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Child protection issues are well understood and reinforced through displays and quizzes. Hazards are minimised well and access is stringently monitored and managed. Parents receive regular newsletters and can add comments to children's online records of learning and learning storyboards. There are regular progress meetings and staff draw up partnership working plans, including how parents can support children's move on to school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff demonstrate good quality interactions. Senior staff are especially skilful in motivating children, building on their learning and modelling teaching. For example, children excitedly show the inspector a slightly prickly shrub from the mud kitchen role-play area, compared by staff to a hedgehog. The inspector likens this to a porcupine. As children are unfamiliar with porcupines, the deputy manager asks them how they could find out about them, suggesting they search the internet. Her interest in discovering things ignites children's curiosity and their thirst and enthusiasm for learning. The environment is rich in print and children confidently recognise their name. Most-able children enjoy making their own storybooks. Staff foster children's enjoyment of stories and they enjoy going on outings, such as on a stick hunt. Younger children enjoy exploring the squidgy dough and play imaginatively in the outdoor small-world dinosaur area.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Home visits and gradual settling-in arrangements help staff to establish positive relationships with children and exchange important information with parents. An initial All about me form is regularly reviewed with parents in line with their children's changing needs and interests. Parents also share special events, such as their children's graduation. Photographs on coat pegs and key-person time reinforces the key-person system, fostering children's emotional well-being. Children's move between settings and on to school is supported very well through effective communication. Children enjoy helping with tasks at snack time and respond well to requests. They behave well and are learning to resolve minor disagreements. Children's understanding of being safe and healthy is reinforced well, for example, as they enjoy visits from the police and health professionals.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children make good progress. Any gaps between the attainment of groups, including those for whom the pre-school receives additional funding, are closing because of effective assessments and early intervention. Children have a positive approach to learning and they are motivated and engaged. They are sociable and enjoy sharing experiences. Children are independent, keen and inquisitive learners, who acquire important skills which prepare them well for moving on to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 303866 Local authority Calderdale Inspection number 1022216 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 24 Name of provider West Vale Playgroup (Greetland) Committee Date of previous inspection 15 July 2015 Telephone number 01422 379000

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Setting details

West Vale Pre-School was registered in 1996. The pre-school employs five members of childcare staff. Of these, three staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The pre-school opens from Tuesday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 9.15am to 11.45am and from 12.30pm to 3pm. A lunch club is offered. 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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