St Lawrence Playgroup and Pre-School

St Lawrence Playgroup and Pre-School St Lawrence Church Hall, Church Street, Alton, Hampshire, GU34 2BW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24 May 2016 9 September 2015

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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

 Leaders have failed to notify Ofsted of changes to the committee. In addition, weaknesses in recruitment and induction procedures have resulted in children being cared for by staff whose suitability cannot be confirmed.  Procedures to monitor safeguarding concerns in order to protect children and work with other agencies are ineffective.  The management committee do not have an accurate picture of what the setting needs to improve. They do not monitor the quality of teaching or the progress children make. As a result, staff have not received the training they need to improve their practice.  The quality of teaching varies. Some staff do not have a secure enough understanding of how to promote children's learning. Teaching is not matched to children's individual needs.  Children are not prepared well enough for school. They do not develop the key skills they need for future learning.  Staff do not organise the daily routine effectively. This means children are not always

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This provision is inadequate

challenged sufficiently well and this has a negative impact on their behaviour.  Information about the development of children aged between two and three years is not always accurate or shared with parents. As a result, children who need extra help with their learning do not receive it at an early enough stage.

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It has the following strengths

 The new manager recognises some of the weaknesses within the group. She has started to make some positive changes to improve outcomes for children.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to:

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Due Date

 ensure all committee members complete the relevant documentation required by Ofsted in order to assess their suitability to be involved in the management of the provision 03/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve the procedures for the recruitment of staff, with particular regard to conducting interviews, obtaining references and obtaining enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks for all adults who work with children so that leaders can be assured that adults are suitable to work with children 03/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve procedures for the induction and monitoring of new staff, to ensure all staff have a full understanding of their roles and a secure knowledge of the pre-school policies and how to implement these 03/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve procedures to inform staff about safeguarding concerns and liaise with outside agencies and ensure this is monitored in order to protect children 03/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve the procedures for recording injuries children arrive with to include the required detail and monitor this in line with local safeguarding children's board procedures 03/07/2016

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Due Date

 implement arrangements to conduct supervision meetings with staff, to monitor practice and identify ongoing training needs 03/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve the deployment of staff, organisation of the daily routine and pre-school environment, both inside and out, to ensure that all children are sufficiently challenged, able to make choices and are purposefully engaged in rich learning experiences throughout the session 03/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve staff understanding of how to manage children's behaviour with particular regard to helping children understand why some behaviour is not appropriate and how this impacts on others 03/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve the quality of teaching through regular monitoring so that leaders have an accurate picture of how well staff are helping children to make progress. Use this information to identify and address ways in which teaching can be improved so that it is consistently of a good standard 03/07/2016 To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage the provider must:

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Due Date

 improve the assessment arrangements to monitor children's progress to ensure that gaps in children's achievements are identified and children receive appropriate support and intervention as early as possible 03/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve the procedures for conducting the progress check at two years to ensure that appropriate intervention is sought where children's progress is less than expected and a targeted plan to support the child is developed and shared with parents 03/07/2016

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Due Date

 improve the focus on promoting children’s literacy so that children develop their early reading and writing skills and are better prepared for school. 03/07/2016

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching and its impact on children's learning both indoors and outdoors.  The inspector held meetings with the manager and the secretary of the committee.  The inspector spoke to staff and children at suitable times throughout the inspection.  The inspector conducted a joint observation of story time with the manager.  The inspector spoke to a number of parents during the inspection and took account of their views.  The inspector looked at a range of documentation, including evidence of staff and committee suitability and records relating to individual children.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

Arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. Recruitment and induction procedures are not sufficiently robust. Leaders do not always carry out interviews; references are not obtained and checks are not carried out on people that are known to the group. Consequently, decisions around the appointment of new staff are made without some required information. New committee members have not completed the necessary checks that are required in order to confirm their suitability to be involved in the management of the provision. Insufficient information is obtained and shared with staff in situations where there are known to be safeguarding concerns about children. In addition, there are weaknesses in the way in which information about injuries children come to pre-school with are recorded and monitored. There are no systems in place to monitor how well children are learning or to evaluate the quality of teaching. Supervision meetings with staff

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

have yet to be introduced. As a result, gaps in staff knowledge, and in their expectations of what children can achieve, are not identified and addressed. Leaders fail to make use of additional funding to support and improve outcomes for disadvantaged children. They have not taken sufficient action to address weaknesses that have been highlighted previously.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

Some staff spend most of their time supervising children, rather than supporting their learning. Changes in staffing, and weak arrangements for checking how well all children are learning, means staff do not know what children can do. Where staff have monitored children's progress, such as through the two-year-old progress check, they have not shared this information with parents, or made sure that any additional help needed is provided. This means any delays in children's learning are not picked up at an early stage. New sessions introduced by the manager to improve children's communication skills are not always effective. During singing and story sessions, staff do not support the younger children, and those who are less interested, to join in. Insufficient focus is given towards developing children's early reading and writing skills and awareness of letters and the sounds they make.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

Children's safety cannot be assured because procedures to ensure the suitability of the staff and management of the pre-school are not good enough. Children's behaviour deteriorates during the session because they are not sufficiently challenged and become bored. Younger children, in particular, become fidgety and are distracted during group sessions because activities are not pitched at the right level for them. Although staff give children praise, they do not help them to understand why some behaviour is not acceptable and how their actions impact on others. Children are not helped to understand how to stay safe, for there are no fire drills and staff do not the know the procedures to follow in the event of a fire.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

Children are not achieving as well as they should be. Gaps in their learning are not always identified and are not acted on quickly enough. Consequently, some children do not receive the extra help they need early enough. This impacts on how well some children are prepared for school. Children have limited opportunities to explore and investigate to develop their curiosity about how things work and why. Their learning and imagination is hindered because they are limited in what they can do during sessions and are not always actively engaged in their learning. For example, children are prevented from taking resources into different areas. They lack opportunities to learn to work together with their friends and solve problems by thinking things through and testing their ideas. The new manager has, however, started to encourage children to take on responsibilities, such as helping to prepare snacks or tidy away at the end of the session.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 109848 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 1051351 Type of provision Sessional 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 24 Number of children on roll 20 Name of registered person St Lawrence Playgroup And Pre-School Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 9 September 2015 Telephone number 07947437352

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reference number

St Lawrence Playgroup & Pre-school opened in 1974 and registered in 1992. It is located in Alton, Hampshire. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. It is open Monday to Friday during school term time from 9am to 12 noon. The pre-school employs four staff, including the manager, all of whom hold level 3 early years qualifications.

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reference number

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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reference number

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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reference number

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reference number

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reference number

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