The Little Caterpillars

The Little Caterpillars Hillcross Primary School, Ashridge Way, Morden, Surrey, SM4 4EE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 8 April 2016 16 March 2011

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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 Outstanding 1

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This provision is good

 The quality of the teaching is good. Staff provide a good range of enjoyable, high- quality learning experiences, indoors and outdoors. Children actively explore their environment, are highly motivated and enjoy learning.  The leadership team is highly effective in driving improvements and there is a strong commitment towards achieving excellence in all areas.  Children's individual needs are met well. They form strong attachments with staff and are genuinely excited to see the staff who care for them each day.  The skills and strengths of the staff team are used effectively to support the learning environment and promote children's learning.  Good partnerships between parents and staff help to ensure that parents are well- informed and involved in their children's developmental progress.  The staff team works well together, and in partnership with other professionals as the need arises, to meet children's needs.

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This provision is good

 The arrangements for safeguarding children and learners are effective.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 There are limited resources and missed opportunities for children to use and explore technology to support and enhance their learning experiences.  The organisation of some resources makes it difficult for children to be able to select what they want to play with easily.

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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

 develop the opportunities for children to extend their skills in using technology  improve the organisation of resources to make it easier for children to select items independently to fully explore their own ideas as they play.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff interaction with children during activities, indoors and outdoors, and looked at the range of resources and equipment available for their use.  The inspector talked with staff and the children.  The inspector undertook a joint observation.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including records relating to children, safeguarding procedures and feedback from parents.  The inspector had discussions with the manager and the provider about the policies and procedures, methods of assessing and planning for children's progress, and how they work with parents and other providers.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The management and leadership team strives to deliver the highest possible standards and has an excellent understanding its responsibility to promote children's care and learning. There are highly effective arrangements for recruitment, supervision and checking staff performance, which help ensure consistency of practice. Staff development opportunities are quickly recognised and targeted through training and support. There are robust systems for monitoring the progress of each child and groups of children. Staff use incisive self-evaluation to accurately identify how to improve practices further. Safeguarding is effective.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Children enjoy taking part in art, craft and cooking activities. Staff effectively support them and encourage the use of various media and materials. For example, children experiment imaginatively as they make drawings with wax crayons and black paint. Younger children relish opportunities to play games with staff and their peers. They show interest in developing their mathematical skills through lots of opportunities, such as measuring and weighing during a cooking activity. Staff listen well to children's ideas and encourage them to reason, negotiate and solve problems. They make good use of meaningful questioning to extend children's thoughts and ideas.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Children have tremendous fun and enjoy a broad variety of experiences. They enter confidently and readily engage in activities. Some children choose to play in the safely enclosed outdoor play area. They enjoy opportunities to play vigorous games, such as football, ball games and chasing games. Children benefit extremely well from physical activities that offer an excellent level of challenge. For example, they find ways to balance along an assault course and test their capabilities as they explore the climbing frame. Staff give children space to explore, have fun and take suitable risks within a safe environment. Children demonstrate an exceptional awareness of how to keep themselves safe while enjoying themselves. Staff promote children's health and self-care extremely well. For example, children understand the benefits of washing their hands before eating and they enjoy making and sampling a range of healthy and nutritious meals and snacks.

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Outcomes for children are good

All children make good progress. They gain a wide range of important skills in readiness for their future learning. Children are able to talk with one another using mathematical terms, such as 'heavy' and 'light', and consider how much is too much, and too little. They also use new words to describe how things feel. Children manage their personal care very well. They are exceptionally friendly and become extremely confident learners.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY240683 Local authority Merton Inspection number 837130 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 41 Name of provider Averil Barley Date of previous inspection 16 March 2011 Telephone number 0208 542 6936 or 07966035531

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Setting details

Little Caterpillars registered in 2002 and is located within the grounds of Hillcross Primary School in Morden, Surrey. It opens five days per week, all year round with the exception of Christmas and bank holidays. The pre-school sessions run from 9am to 12.15pm. There is also out-of-school provision operating from 9am to 12.15pm and 3pm to 6pm during term time, and 8am to 6pm during school holidays. The provision receives funding to provide free early education to children aged two, three and four years. There are 10 part- time and two full-time members of staff who work with the children. Of these, eight hold relevant qualifications at level 3.

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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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