Hilltop Children's Centre Pre-School

Hilltop Children's Centre Pre-School Latimer Road, Cinderford, Gloucestershire, GL14 2QA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11 January 2017 21 January 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

 Managers and leaders monitor staff well. They encourage staff to continue their professional development and build on skills that help them plan effectively for children's learning and development.  There are strong partnerships with parents. Staff regularly exchange information with parents and visit children at home to share learning opportunities. Children benefit from consistent experiences at home and in the setting.  Managers and leaders use feedback from staff, parents and children well to make changes and improvements to the provision.  Staff make accurate assessments of children's learning and monitor their progress well. All children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress.  Staff are vigilant about children's well-being and safety. They act quickly to support vulnerable children and keep all children very safe.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Staff miss opportunities to support all children to understand what is expected of them when taking part in group activities or helping to look after the play environments.  Staff miss chances to extend children's ideas and learning when they are involved in different activities of their own choosing.

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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

 provide clearer messages for children about what is expected of them at different times during the day and to help them understand the importance of caring for their environments  support staff to make better use of opportunities that arise to encourage children to think through their ideas to develop their understanding as fully as possible.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of the teaching inside and outside.  The inspector took into account the views of parents spoken to on the day.  The inspector carried out a joint observation of children's learning with the manager.  The inspector spoke with the manager, staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector sampled paperwork and computerised documents, including children's records, planning, policies and procedures, incident and complaint records, and self- evaluation.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The managers and leaders listen carefully to everyone to make improvements. For example, to help develop children's literacy skills they introduced library visits and sharing books for reading at home. Communications between staff and parents about children's learning have improved. For example, the new online system lets parents see what children are learning at the setting and they can add comments and photographs showing what children do at home. Arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All staff know what to do in the event of concerns about the welfare of a child. Managers and leaders keep accurate records of any concerns and act swiftly to keep children safe. Staff successfully use new skills and knowledge from professional development, such as using signs to support children who are learning English as an additional language or who need extra support with talking and expressing themselves.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff monitor children's learning well. They plan engaging activities based on children's current interests, needs and abilities. For example, children had fun using tweezers to pick different shapes out of a basket. Staff helped the children to sort the shapes they found according to colour and then encouraged them to count how many they had collected. Children use their imaginations well. For example, they made the different farm animals 'talk' to each other and 'play hide and seek' in the toy farm buildings. Outside, children readily explored the mud kitchen. They made mud pies, laughed as they added too much water, and made a muddy puddle.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Staff form secure attachments with children and their families, and they help prepare children for changes and moving on. For example, children have a familiar face when they start in the setting as staff visit children at home and, where possible, children have the same key person during their time at the setting. Children learn to make healthy choices, such as through discussions at mealtimes. Children develop good physical skills. For example, they raced each other up and down the small slopes and rode round the decking area on the trikes, parking them in the marked spaces before going shopping.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children are eager to explore and learn. They develop good self-care skills, such as when they pour their own drinks or attempt to put on their coats and shoes. Children develop early writing skills, such as when they copy staff in recording what they have done during the session. Older children learn to recognise and order number cards from one to nine, with help from staff. Children are prepared for moving on in their learning, such as through visits to the local school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY465544 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 1069494 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 37 Name of registered person Barnardo's

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 21 January 2014 Telephone number 01594827595

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reference number

Hilltop Children's Centre Pre-School opened in 2007 and re-registered in 2013 under the ownership of Barnardo's. It is situated in the children's centre next to Forest View Primary School in the rural town of Cinderford, in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. The pre- school opens each weekday during school term times from 8.45am to midday for children aged from two years and from 12.30pm to 3.30pm for children aged from three years. The pre-school is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. There are three members of staff working with the children, who all have appropriate early years qualifications 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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