Stonehouse Park Children's Centre

Stonehouse Park Children's Centre The Park Primary School, Elm Road, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, GL10 2NP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25 November 2016 2 June 2014

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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

 Caring and friendly staff understand children's individual needs and routines well, which helps children to feel safe and secure. New children settle in quickly.  Staff complete regular and precise assessments of children and use these effectively to plan suitably challenging activities. Children are keen to explore the well-organised play areas and make good progress in their learning and development.  There is a strong commitment to partnership working with parents, external agencies and other carers should staff have a concern about a child's development. Leaders monitor children's progress and collate all information to form individual plans to help close any gaps in learning.  Leaders give good support to staff and encourage their continued professional development to extend their teaching skills further. For example, following behaviour management training, all staff are consistent in their routines and management of

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This provision is good

behaviour, and children behave well.  Leaders and staff evaluate practice regularly. Ideas from parents and children help to identify the most significant actions to raise the quality of the provision even higher.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 At times, staff do not support children to extend their thinking skills further.  Staff do not make full use of all opportunities to support children's understanding of letters as part of their early literacy development.

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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

 enrich children's thinking skills to higher levels during their play, learning and daily routines  increase opportunities to extend further children's understanding of letters and their sounds.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed interactions between staff and children and the impact these have on children's learning.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector examined a range of documentation, including children's records, staff planning, risk assessments, some policies and recruitment procedures.  The inspector held discussions with two senior managers, the setting's manager and staff, and talked with children and parents.  The inspector checked evidence of staff's suitability checks and qualifications.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

Leaders have a clear understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the requirements of the early years foundation stage. Safeguarding is effective. Staff have a strong understanding of how to safeguard children's welfare. For example, staff have up-to-date skills and knowledge to deal with any concerns or accidents. They maintain documentation well and keep parents fully informed of any changes to policies and procedures, and about their children's development. Parents' testimonials are very complimentary in their praise of the setting. They state that their children are 'extremely happy' and 'thrive since joining'. Leaders have addressed the recommendations from the last inspection. For example, all resources and activities are well labelled and easily accessible to support children to make choices in their learning.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff engage themselves fully in children's play, extending their language through positive interactions and timely discussions. They support children's numeracy skills well. For example, staff provided damp sand for the youngest children to make pies, which they handled confidently, developing their physical skills. Staff described and counted the pies, increasing children's vocabulary and awareness of number order. The oldest children explored interesting resources as they discussed dental hygiene. Staff extended their learning, hiding laminated pictures of teeth with numbers on them for children to find. Staff encouraged children to recognise numerals and introduced new vocabulary, such as 'molars', as they talked about what was happening.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children are very happy and they frequently smile and laugh as the friendly staff join in with their games. Staff place a keen focus on developing children's communication and social skills, for example, through the use of hand signs and songs for daily routines. Staff display kindness, respect and consideration for the feelings of others, and children copy this thoughtful behaviour. The welcoming play areas provide all children with easy access to age-appropriate toys and activities, including those that reflect the local community and wider world. Staff support children's health and physical development through daily routines and indoor and outdoor play times, including forest activities.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children are confident and well-motivated to learn. They become increasingly independent, for example, by finding their own bags and coats, and self-register on their arrival. They develop their mathematical skills, learning to recognise numbers. All children, including funded children, make consistently good rates of progress from their starting points. They are well prepared for their next stage of learning, including school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY463717 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 1069366 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 78 Number of children on roll 78 Name of registered person Hill Valley & Vale Children's Centres

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 2 June 2014 Telephone number 01453 821 631

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reference number

Stonehouse Park Children's Centre registered under the current management in 2013. It is located on an infant school site in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire. It operates from the Red Lodge Building. The children's centre is open each weekday from 8.30am until 4.30pm, all year round. The early years provision is open term time only from 9am to 3pm. The setting receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. A team of 12 staff works directly with the children. Of these, one holds early years professional status, one holds qualified teacher status, and eight hold a relevant childcare qualification at level 3.

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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

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

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