The Cygnets Milton Pre-School

The Cygnets Milton Pre- School Humphries Way, Milton, CAMBRIDGE, CB24 6DL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21 February 2017 Not applicable

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3

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2

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3

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2

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This provision requires improvement. It is not yet good because:

 The provider does not have a secure understanding of the requirements of the early years foundation stage. Ofsted has not been provided with the relevant information for all committee members to enable them to carry out the full assessment process to check the suitability of these individuals.  The initial information that staff obtain from parents when children first attend is not sharply focused to fully support their initial identification of children's precise learning needs. Staff have not yet achieved highly effective partnerships with providers of all other settings that children attend to provide excellent continuity of learning.  The use of self-evaluation is not yet successful in identifying whether the pre-school meets all of the statutory requirements. The manager does not seek the views of parents.

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It has the following strengths

 The effective key-person system enables the well-qualified staff team to form secure and trusting relationships with children and their family. Children in the pre-school demonstrate that they are happy and confident.  Children enjoy a wealth of stimulating learning activities that ignites their curiosity. For example, they immerse each hand in different coloured paints, close they eyes, then rub their hands together. Children are astonished that when they open their eyes they have create a new colour.  Children learn how to respect and carefully handle living things, such as a small reptile.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage the provider must:

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Due Date

 provide Ofsted with relevant information to enable the full assessment process of all committee members to be completed. 28/02/2017

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Due Date

To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

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Due Date

 extend the level of initial information obtained from parents about children's development in order to plan more precisely for their continued progress from an early stage  strengthen the partnerships with all other early years providers where children attend, to support their continuity of learning  review the current evaluation system in place to ensure that all legal requirements are met and the views of parents are sought.

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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 spoke with staff and children during the inspection.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager, administrator and both deputies. She looked at relevant documentation and evidence of staff working in the pre-school and committee members.  The inspector spoke to parents and grandparents during the inspection and took account of their views.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

The provider has not made arrangements to provide Ofsted with the relevant information to enable them to complete the full assessment process for some committee members. However, there is minimal impact on children. This is because Disclosure and Barring Service checks have been carried out on these individuals. They do not have unsupervised contact with children and are not responsible for the recruitment of staff in the pre-school. The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of how to identify any children who may be at risk of harm. They know the action to take if they have concerns about a child's welfare. Clear arrangements for staff supervision and opportunities for regular training help to promote good outcomes for all children. The manager closely reviews the range of learning activities and children's ongoing progress. However, self-evaluation does not successfully identify breaches in requirements or seek

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

the views of parents. Partnership working with other providers is not yet highly effective.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

All children are motivated and demonstrate a positive approach to learning. For example, they persevere at identifying and correctly matching pictures together. Children use complex sentences to talk about the types of weather that create a rainbow. They positively respond to staff's creative abilities as they make their favourite nursery rhymes come alive. This helps to develop children's listening and attention skills. Children use their vivid imaginations as they pretend to make chocolate cakes in the mud kitchen outdoors. They experiment and discover how some tools are better than others to mix the mud and water together. Staff use a wealth of visual aids, which is one of the ways they support children who speak English as an additional language. They also work in successful partnership with other professionals to help support children who have special educational needs and disabilities.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Staff are good role models. They consistently use good manners when talking to children and each other. Staff express a genuine interest in what children have to say. For example, as they talk about the different healthy foods that they like to eat. Children behave well. Parents appreciate the home visits that help their children to swiftly settle when they first begin to attend. They are very complimentary about the service the staff provide and describe them as lovely and very welcoming. Children develop good physical skills. They learn to pedal tricycles and push themselves along on scooters at speed.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children are making good progress in relation to their starting points, including those who speak English as an additional language and children who have special educational needs and disabilities. Children independently manage their own personal needs. They also learn how to operate technological equipment for particular purposes. These are just some of the skills that help to prepare children for their move to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY491073 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 1024803 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 44 Number of children on roll 63 Name of registered person The Cygnets Milton Pre-School Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01223 712286

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reference number

The Cygnets Milton Pre-School was registered in 2015 and is run by a voluntary committee. It employs 13 members of childcare staff. Of these, eight hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 or above. The pre-school opens from 9.05am until 3.05pm, Monday to Friday, during term time only. It provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The pre-school supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children who have special educational needs and disabilities.

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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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