Little Friends Pre-School, Friends Meeting House

Little Friends Pre-School, Friends Meeting House 1 Hamlet Road, BIRMINGHAM, B28 9BG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16 June 2016 25 February 2016

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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 not improved her knowledge and understanding of the early years foundation stage and continues to fail to meet a number of legal requirements. Her insecure knowledge means that weaknesses identified at the last inspection have not been addressed, and the quality of the provision remains inadequate. This shows a limited capacity to improve the provision.  The provider and staff do not have a secure knowledge or practice of how to keep children safe. They do not identify all potential dangers to children or implement adequate vetting procedures for staff; this means children's safety is compromised.  Staff do not establish starting points for children's learning. They do not know how to plan challenging learning experiences for children or how to build on their learning. The quality of teaching remains weak. Staff do not assess children's progress effectively or identify and address any gaps in their learning. Consequently, children are not prepared

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This provision is inadequate

for the next stage in their learning.  Staff are not supported in their professional development in order to improve their teaching, planning and assessment. The monitoring of staff practice is poor and inconsistent and has not improved since the last inspection. The provider and staff continue to have a poor understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

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It has the following strengths

 Children are happy and secure at the pre-school. Staff take care of their health needs and help them to settle in. Children's behaviour is good and staff manage this well. Staff help children to gain independence and support their move to new settings.

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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

 develop knowledge and understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures, and implement effective procedures in line with guidance from the relevant Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) 16/08/2016

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Due Date

 evaluate staff practice through supervision, and identify and deliver training to improve their personal effectiveness and the quality of teaching 16/08/2016

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Due Date

 undertake risk assessments that identify all aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis, and take action to ensure those risks are removed or minimised. 20/07/2016

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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

 provide challenging and purposeful learning experiences for children based on observations of their levels of achievement, interests and learning styles 16/09/2016

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Due Date

 implement effective systems to monitor children's progress to ensure any gaps in learning are identified and addressed. 16/09/2016

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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's acting manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the acting manager, the provider and the local authority early years advisor. She looked at relevant documentation, such as the self- evaluation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the pre-school.  The inspector spoke to a small selection of parents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

Arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. Staff are not aware of some potential dangers to children and, therefore, do not take steps to eliminate these. The provider's lack of knowledge of the legal requirements for safeguarding has led to a member of staff being re-employed without the appropriate vetting procedures being put in place. This compromises children's safety. Staff know what to do if they have a concern about a child or if an allegation is made against them. However, the provider has a weak knowledge and understanding in this regard. The provider does not understand the implications of her lack of knowledge of the early years foundation stage requirements. She has previously relied on the manager's knowledge and experience in running the pre-school. As there is currently no permanent manager in place, there is extremely weak and tenuous leadership of the provision. Since the last inspection, there have been several

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

changes to staff, including the abrupt departure of the new manager. Poor performance management of staff has led to a lack of continuity and consistency in staff practice. The way that staff complete assessments of children's progress is poor and their knowledge of where children are in their learning is limited. This means children's progress is poorly monitored and gaps in their learning are not identified or managed. Self-evaluation is in its infancy and is not effective in identifying significant areas of weakness in the provision. Staff share some information with the other settings that children attend. However, they do not use this information effectively to complement or extend children's learning at the pre-school. There has been too little improvement in the quality of the provision since the last inspection. Several areas of significant weakness relating to children's learning remain areas for improvement, despite being identified at the last two inspections.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

Despite being well qualified, staff's teaching is poor. Staff do not encourage children to think about their play and learning through effective questioning. This means that children are not challenged and they do not take part in meaningful learning experiences. Staff do not plan effectively for individual children's learning or use a wide range of resources. The learning environment is not welcoming or stimulating for children, who sometimes become bored as a result of the lack of interesting activities. Staff interaction with children is poor and they do not guide or support children's play effectively. Children are too often left to drift from one activity to another with no purpose. While three-year-old children try to fit shapes into the correct spaces on cards, and do this correctly, there is no adult at the table, they do not gain any knowledge or challenge from this activity. Two-year-old

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

children play with different sized containers in the sand. Again, as no adult is there to support children's play, they soon lose interest and drift away, having gained little from the activity. This scenario is repeated with most of the activities available in the room, of which there are few. However, children who have special educational needs or disability are generally well supported. Staff work well in partnership with other professionals and parents to support such children. Outside agencies lead and guide staff in this support.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

Children's safety and welfare are not fully promoted, for example, staff do not notice or manage the hazards caused by an upturned electrical plug or trailing wires on the floor. This shows that the provider and staff have insufficient knowledge of how to keep children safe. However, parents state that children enjoy attending the pre-school and that their needs are met by the caring staff. Children arrive happily and have all settled well. They form good relationships with each other and staff. The key-person system ensures that children feel secure and have not been unsettled by changes to staff. Children wait patiently in line and know they must stick to the brick path to get to the fenced off outdoor area. This has been enclosed since the last inspection to keep children safe from any cars which enter the car park while they are outside. At snack time, children spread their butter and jam competently on crackers and may choose when to have their snack.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

They cut up slices of pear and pour their own drinks.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

Children are not developing the key skills they need for their future learning. They are beginning to make choices for themselves, for example, from glittery glue, glitter, paint, wool and sticky tape, to make and decorate models. However, this choice is limited due to the lack of resources and by the number of children who want to participate. Their creativity is severely curtailed. Some four-year-old children enjoy the activity and have their own clear purpose in mind. They decide to make a bed, then change this to a house and subsequently, a sleigh. Children engage in the activity for some time, but eventually lose interest due to a lack of challenge or guidance from staff. Children develop their physical skills outdoors, as they use the see-saw, the parachute and a range of other toys.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY434534 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 1041810 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 17 Name of registered person Simka Stars Ltd

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 25 February 2016 Telephone number 07411917943

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reference number

Little Friends Pre-School was registered in 2011. The pre-school employs four members of childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or 6. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday, during term time only. Sessions are from 9.15am until 12.15pm. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four- year-old children.

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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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