St. Mary's Pre-School

St. Mary's Pre-School St. Mary's RC Primary School, London Street, FLEETWOOD, Lancashire, FY7 6EU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 3 March 2016 10 September 2013

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The provider has failed to notify Ofsted of changes to their committee. This means that checks have not been carried out to ensure that all members are suitable to be involved in the running of the pre-school. In this instance, the provider has committed an offence.  Staff do not have up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues. Not all staff are equipped to identify signs of possible abuse and neglect at the earliest opportunity. The manager is unclear how to refer child protection concerns, without delay, to the relevant agencies with statutory responsibility.  The safeguarding policy does not include information regarding the action to be taken should concerns be raised regarding a member of staff or the safe use of cameras. This compromises children's safety.  Not all staff who have unsupervised contact with children have undergone robust vetting procedures to ensure they are suitable to work with children. There are no

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This provision is inadequate

systems in place to ensure the ongoing suitability of all staff.  Assessments are not robust enough. Staff do not recognise children's progress or understand their needs. Therefore, staff are unable to appropriately plan activities to shape each child's learning. Parents are not provided with a written summary of their child's progress between the age of two and three years.  The provider does not ensure that supervision of staff is carried out to make sure that their training needs have been identified and addressed.

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It has the following strengths

 Children are confident, independent, settled and happy. Staff support children's emotional well-being and children develop close and supportive bonds with staff.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to:

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Due Date

 ensure that all staff are suitably trained and can identify signs of possible abuse and neglect at the earliest opportunity and respond in an appropriate and timely way 24/03/2016

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Due Date

 ensure that the safeguarding policy and procedures include the action to be taken in the event of concerns being raised regarding a staff member and the safe use of cameras in the pre-school 24/03/2016

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Due Date

 ensure that all staff who have unsupervised contact with children have been rigorously vetted, including obtaining enhanced criminal records checks 24/03/2016

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Due Date

 improve systems for supervision of staff to ensure that they receive support, coaching and training that consistently improves their practice 24/03/2016

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Due Date

 implement effective systems to ensure that all staff are made aware of their duty to disclose any changes that may affect their suitability to work with children 24/03/2016

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Due Date

 ensure that Ofsted are provided with the necessary information to enable them to carry out suitability checks on committee members. 24/03/2016

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Due Date

To meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage the provider must:

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Due Date

 improve understanding of the progress check for children aged between two and three years 28/04/2016

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Due Date

 ensure that assessments are rigorous and identify children's progress from their starting points 28/04/2016

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Due Date

 plan activities that challenge and shape children's learning and help them make good progress. 28/04/2016

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities and assessed the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspector held meetings with the nominated individual, who is also the manager of the setting.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff working with children, discussed how practice is evaluated and looked at the pre-school's improvement plans.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

The provider has failed to notify Ofsted of new committee members associated with the pre-school. This means Ofsted has not been able to carry out required checks to ensure that the registered body is made up of individuals who are suitable to be involved in childcare. The arrangements for safeguarding are ineffective. Procedures to ensure staff who work directly with children are thoroughly vetted are not implemented. The safeguarding policy does not include information regarding the action to be taken should concerns be raised about a member of staff, or the safe use of cameras in the pre-school. Staff are unable to identify possible signs of abuse and the procedure to follow if they have concerns about a child. Systems to ensure that the provider is informed about circumstances that may make staff unsuitable to work with children are not in place, which compromises children's safety. Appropriate performance management systems,

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

such as the supervision of staff, are not in place to ensure that staff's training needs have been identified and addressed. Despite these weaknesses in practice, parents speak highly of the care offered to their children and their experiences at the pre-school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

Staff do not receive support, coaching and training that consistently promote their teaching and improve outcomes for children. Assessments are not robust enough. Staff do not always correctly identify children's starting points. Ongoing assessments do not accurately record children's progress or their learning needs. Planned activities to support and shape children's learning experiences are, therefore, not based on accurate assessment information. Parents are not provided with a written summary of their child's progress between the age of two and three years. This means gaps in children's learning are not consistently identified. However, children are motivated, occupied and interested in the experiences available for them to choose from. Children select resources that are stored at low level. Staff support children to engage with the large selection of toys and equipment available and make connections in their learning. Children demonstrate their

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

learning well as they act out animal movements and search for the animals in storybooks.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

Children's welfare is not promoted well enough. This is because staff are unclear how to identify and respond to child protection concerns. In addition, staff and members of the management committee are not always thoroughly vetted to ensure they are suitable to work with children. On the day of the inspection, a member of staff working alone with children had not been thoroughly vetted by the pre-school's manager. Therefore, systems to ensure children are kept safe are not in place. This puts children at risk. However, staff are kind and supportive. Staff work hard to develop useful partnerships with parents to find out information regarding children's likes, dislikes and interests before they start. Children settle quickly and form close relationships with staff, who engage in sensitive care practices. This contributes to meeting children's physical needs and emotional well- being. Children's independence and self-help skills are well supported. Children pour their

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

own drinks and attend to their personal needs appropriate to their age and stage of development. Children are learning how to behave. They receive support, praise and encouragement from staff. This helps to promote children's confidence and self-esteem.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

The progress made by children is inconsistent. Children do not have firm foundations for future learning because staff do not accurately assess children's learning needs. This means not all children make good enough progress in their learning and development. As a result, not all children are as well prepared as possible for the next stage in their learning, such as the move to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 309476 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 1028739 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 24 Number of children on roll 13 Name of provider St Mary's Pre-School Committee Date of previous inspection 10 September 2013 Telephone number 07913641198

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Setting details

St. Mary's Pre-School was registered in 1980. The pre-school employs four members of childcare staff. Of these, three hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday during term time only. Various sessions are offered from 8.45am until 3.15pm. 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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