Balmoral Preschool

Balmoral Preschool St Helens RC Church Hall, Westcliff On Sea, SS0 7JP

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23 February 2016 3 March 2015

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

Previous inspection: Requires Improvement

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Inadequate 4

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate 4

p.1

This inspection: Inadequate 4

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate 4

p.1

This provision is inadequate

 Safeguarding procedures are not effective. The vetting of new staff is not robust and recordings of children's pre-existing injuries are poorly written and collated.  Leaders do not effectively monitor staff practice to identify areas for development to improve the quality of teaching.  Planning of purposeful activities to meet the interests and needs of the children is weak and does not support children's progression in their learning and development.  The quality of teaching is poor. Staff do not maximise opportunities to extend children's learning, particularly communication skills and vocabulary.  Key-person arrangements are not securely embedded and not all parents know who their child's key person is.  Early Years Pupil Premium funding is not being used to provide additional support for children who are eligible, consequently their progress is limited  Self-evaluation is weak, as a result areas for development are not identified and

p.1

This provision is inadequate

improvements are not made or sustained. Actions raised at the previous inspection have not been met.

p.1

It has the following strengths

 Staff are kind to the children and treat them with respect.  Parents spoke positively about the support staff provide them and say that their children are happy at pre-school and that new children settle-in well.

p.1

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:

p.2

Due Date

 ensure the vetting and identity checking process of new staff is thorough to fully assess an individual’s suitability to work with children 20/04/2016

p.2

Due Date

 ensure any injuries to children are clearly and comprehensively recorded to enable swift assessment of the situation and whether safeguarding action, in line with Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures, is required to protect children 20/04/2016

p.2

Due Date

 ensure the committee has a clear understanding of its role and responsibility to effectively monitor and evaluate the pre-schools compliance with the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, and to address weaknesses to improve staff practices to ensure they offer quality learning and development experiences to children that continually improves. 20/04/2016

p.2

Due Date

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

p.2

Due Date

 implement effective systems, that staff can understand and use, to observe, assess and monitor children's learning, and use this information to identify children's needs and next steps to plan challenging and interesting experiences for each child in all areas of learning 20/04/2016

p.2

Due Date

 effectively monitor teaching practices and provide support, coaching and training for all staff to ensure they have appropriate skills, knowledge and understanding to deliver quality learning experiences and opportunities to children through effective teaching methods 20/04/2016

p.2

Due Date

 develop the key-person role to ensure all parents know the name of their child's key person, parents are provided with information on how to support their children at home, and information about children's next steps, individual needs and interests is shared amongst staff so that all children are supported when staff are absent 20/04/2016

p.2

Due Date

 improve ways in which children experience and learn from an environment rich with opportunities to extend their language and communication skills. 20/04/2016

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspectors observed the quality of teaching during indoor and outdoor play and assessed the impact this has on children's learning.  An inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.  The inspectors looked at planning, assessment and evaluation documents including children's learning journals to assess how children's progress is monitored and supported.  The inspectors spoke with the manager and staff, they looked at relevant documents including staff files, the self-evaluation form and safeguarding documents.  The inspectors spoke to a group of parents and took account of their views.

p.3

Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

Arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. The committee has a poor understanding of its responsibility to meet the requirements of the Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage. Despite leaders understanding their responsibility to implement safe recruitment and vetting procedures they do not do this effectively. Not all checks are in place to ensure staff are suitable to work with children. Staff recognise signs of abuse and know their safeguarding procedures. However, in practice they do not implement these; for example, the recording of children's pre-existing injuries is inconsistent and poorly documented. This has a significant impact on how well staff monitor issues of concern and take appropriate action to ensure children remain safe. Induction and supervision arrangements are in place for all staff, but leaders do not monitor staff performance sufficiently to identify weaknesses. Evaluation of the provision identifies

p.4

Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

some areas for improvement, but it does not assess the significance of the weakness in relation to the quality of teaching and the impact on children's learning. This means that focussed action is not taken, continuous improvement is slow and changes to practice have not been effective in securing improved outcomes for the children since the last inspection.

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

The quality of teaching is poor. The pre-school are in receipt of Early Years Pupil Premium funding for a number of children. Leaders have not considered how to use this funding to meet the individual needs of the eligible children to support rapid progress in their learning and development. Since the last inspection leaders have reviewed the way they use their observations and assessments of children to plan purposeful activities to support children's learning. Staff are not confident in using the current structure and are confused by it. This means that planning is weak, and plans that are in place are not followed through or monitored well, particularly when a child's key person is not present. This significantly hinders children's progress. Staff speak kindly with the children with warmth and humour. However, conversation is not used well to extend children's learning or to introduce new vocabulary, ideas or problem solving skills. For example, during an activity

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

matching pairs of socks, staff did not explain or explore the term 'pair' and children were unable to understand what they were expected to do. This demonstrated a lack of understanding by staff of how children learn, and how to creatively incorporate teaching opportunities across all areas of learning in a simple activity.

p.4

Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

For most children their key-person changed at the beginning of term due to the recruitment of three new members of staff. Not all parents know who their child's key person is and children do not gravitate towards staff on arrival, instead they wander around the large main hall that is used for play. Children have the ability to develop and improve their skills, but this is hindered by poor staff planning and management. For example, snack time was not planned, resourced or staffed well. As a result it was not possible for children to cut a large block of cheese with a small plastic knife. Younger children grabbed handfuls of food because they did not want to wait. Children enter pre- school happily, their behaviour is generally good and new children settle in well. Children know familiar routines well and are ready and waiting for snack time, going outside to play and preparing for lunchtime. They are developing some independence skills, for example

p.4

Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

washing their hands after painting and before meal times.

p.5

Outcomes for children are inadequate

Staff expectations on what children can do and learn are low. Significant weakness in teaching means that children are not well supported to make even satisfactory progress in their learning and development. Activities and learning opportunities are not inviting and do not reflect children's interests, as such children tend to wander from activity to activity. Staff do not monitor and respond to this or try to engage the children during the session. Therefore, children are not inspired to learn, to improve their concentration, or practice their language skills and learn new vocabulary in readiness for the next stage in their learning, such as school. This is particularly relevant for children who are entitled to additional support.

p.5

Setting details

Unique reference number EY469341 Local authority Southend on Sea Inspection number 1036445 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 22 - 0 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 22 Name of provider Balmoral Playgroup Committee Date of previous inspection 3 March 2015 Telephone number 07940168790

p.6

Setting details

Balmoral Preschool was established in 1974 and was re-registered when it moved into the current premises in 2013. The pre-school employs five members of childcare staff. All hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2, 3 and 5. The pre-school opens Monday to Thursday, term time only. Sessions on a Monday are from 9am until 11.30am, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9am until 2.30pm and Wednesdays 12 noon until 2.30pm. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children and Early Years Pupil Premium funding for a number of children.

p.6

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.

p.6

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.

p.6

Setting details

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Setting details

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our website for news, information and updates at www.ofsted.gov.uk/user.

p.7

Setting details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

p.7