St Josephs' Preschool

St Josephs' Preschool The Parish Hall, Highview Crescent, Hutton, Brentwood, Essex, CM13 1BJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26 September 2016 28 September 2015

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Requires Improvement

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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 Good 2

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This provision is good

 The provider has successfully addressed all issues raised at the last inspection. A new manager and staff team have been appointed and now provide some stability for the pre-school. They are well supported by the pre-school committee.  The manager is highly qualified, innovative and very knowledgeable. She has high aspirations for the pre-school and provides strong leadership for an effective and well- qualified staff team. They are determined to provide care and education of the highest quality.  Teaching is rooted in the good knowledge of the learning and development requirements and an understanding of how young children learn. Staff teach basic skills well and children make good progress.  Staff have highly positive relationships with parents and support them in promoting their children's learning at home. Parents are kept well informed of all aspects of their children's learning and development. They speak very highly of the staff and appreciate

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This provision is good

the quality of learning and care provided.  The pre-school maintains strong links with the receiving school on site, and is forging good links with other settings that the children attend. This aids the move on to school and helps to ensure continuity of care and learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 The new systems for tracking children's progress have not yet been fully analysed to monitor the achievement of specific groups of children, in order to target planning and teaching more sharply.  There are fewer opportunities for children to gain a deeper awareness of the different roles and occupations of people in the community.

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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

 embed the new systems for tracking the progress of different groups of children, so that planning and interventions are well targeted, resulting in more sharply focused teaching  provide more opportunities to enhance children's growing awareness of different occupations and ways of life of people in the wider community.

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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 manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the pre-school manager and provider. She looked at relevant documentation, such as evidence of the suitability of staff working in the pre- school.  The inspector spoke to a small number of parents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The manager and her staff team are highly committed to securing the best outcomes for the children. Arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff are well trained to recognise the signs of abuse and know how to report concerns they may have about a child. Staff use risk assessments effectively to identify hazards and take effective measures to keep children safe. Staff are safely recruited to ensure that they are suitable to work with children. Effective systems for monitoring staff performance and supervision helps identify staff training needs, contributing well to their professional development. There are good systems in place to evaluate the quality of the provision incorporating the views of parents, children and staff. This helps ensure that the setting continues to improve.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff complete regular observations and assessments of the children. They use information from their observations to plan challenging learning opportunities that engage all the children. Staff successfully gather detailed information from parents about their child's emerging interests and achievements over the long summer holidays. Staff pay particular attention to promoting children's language and communication skills. They engage in meaningful conversations with the children, supporting and extending their language. Staff use different ways to ignite children's love of stories and books. Children identify letters in the sand, make marks and practise letter formation in coloured sand. Staff take every opportunity to develop children's mathematical skills. Children enthusiastically hunt for shapes, and use mathematical language of size and colour as they copy patterns. They learn to mix different colours as they make their own play dough and talk about texture.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Children investigate bugs and learn about life cycles.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Staff provide a stimulating, calm and well-organised learning environment for the children to learn, play and explore. There are effective arrangements in place to ensure that new children settle in well. Children move freely in and out of the room and engage in their chosen activity. Staff are at hand to support and extend children's learning and develop their thinking skills. Staff are good role models. Children are particularly well behaved and polite. Staff acknowledge and praise children's efforts. Children are learning good social skills of sharing and taking turns. There are good opportunities for children to be active on a daily basis both inside and outdoors.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children progress well towards the early learning goals. Children for whom the setting receives additional funding also make good progress. They are developing the necessary skills that prepare them to move on successfully to the next stage in their education. Children are happy and are developing in confidence. They demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. Staff encourage children to be independent. They are learning to manage their self-care needs successfully.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 402029 Local authority Essex Inspection number 1029730 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 10 Name of registered person St Joseph's Pre-School (Brentwood) Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 28 September 2015 Telephone number 01277 212591

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reference number

St Josephs' Preschool was registered in 2000. The pre-school employs six members of childcare staff. Of these, five hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above including one with qualified teacher status. The pre-school opens term time only. Sessions are from 9am until 3pm on Mondays and Tuesdays, and from 9am to midday on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The pre-school provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. The pre-school supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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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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