Little Hoppers

Little Hoppers St Philips Church Hall, Wadgate Road, Felixstowe, IP11 2LX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21 February 2017 19 March 2013

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3

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Outcomes for children Requires improvement

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

 Management and staff do not always put appropriate interventions in place when they identify that individual children are not working at typical levels of development for their age.  The quality of teaching is variable. Staff do not provide consistently high-quality teaching to effectively support the play and learning experiences offered to children.  Staff do not pay sufficient attention to recognising and supporting children's home language in the setting.  The supervision of staff is not regular enough to be a fully effective aid to monitoring, supporting and improving staff practice.  Children become restless and quickly lose interest in whole-group activities. Staff do not organise these well enough to support children to listen and concentrate.

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It has the following strengths

 Partnerships with parents are friendly and trusting. Staff build good relationships with parents and keep them up to date about their children's care and learning.  The views of parents are sought when planning for improvement. Management has accurately identified what needs to be done to bring about improvements in the quality of teaching and better outcomes for children. An action plan is in place.  Children are happy and settled. They feel safe and secure in their relationships with staff. They develop close attachments, seeking out staff to share in their play.  Children are taken on walks in their immediate environment where they learn about the physical world and their local community. They further develop their physical skills on the indoor climbing frame and in the enclosed garden.

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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

 put necessary interventions in place to support any child who is identified as not making the expected progress for their age 24/03/2017

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Due Date

 improve staff's skills and teaching to ensure that children receive consistently good quality learning experiences 26/05/2017

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Due Date

 provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in the setting 24/03/2017

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Due Date

 implement a more regular programme of supervision opportunities for staff to support and monitor their performance and improve practice. 24/03/2017

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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

 improve the organisation of times when all children are sitting together, to support them in developing their ability to listen attentively and concentrate.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities and assessed the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspector spoke with staff at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the provider/manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the provider/manager and the deputy manager.  The inspector looked at relevant documentation, such as evidence of the suitability of staff working in the pre-school. She also talked with the provider/manager and the deputy manager about self-evaluation processes.  The inspector looked at activity planning, records of children's learning and a selection of policies and other records.  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 requires improvement

Although management has begun to monitor groups of children to identify gaps in the educational programme, they do not always take appropriate action where it has been identified that individual children are not making progress. As a result, not all children make the best progress that they can. Recruitment is effective to ensure that those working with children are suitable to do so. However, staff do not have sufficient opportunities for meetings to discuss practice issues and to identify how practice can be improved. Parents report that they are happy with the service that is provided. They describe staff as friendly, welcoming and approachable and state that their children are happy in this pre-school. Safeguarding is effective. Staff have a good awareness of the signs and symptoms of abuse and know how to report concerns.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

The quality of interactions between children and staff does not consistently encourage children to be motivated to play and learn. Although the quality of teaching is occasionally good, staff often do not use opportunities to build on children's learning and challenge their thinking. In addition, whole-group activities are not organised well. Staff do not consider the length of time children sit on the carpet for whole-group times. They do not respond when children lose interest and concentration but keep on with the routine. Despite this, staff do know the children well and talk confidently about what they like to do. Observation and assessment and planning takes into account children's interests and next steps in learning.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Staff do not provide enough opportunities for children to use their home language in play and learning. Children initiate interactions with each other and know the consistent ground rules. For example, children talk confidently about using indoor voices and walking feet. However, during whole-group activities children become disinterested and their behaviour deteriorates. Staff are calm and gentle as they remind children of the rules. There is a key-person system in place that ensures each child has a named person to take responsibility for their daily well-being and plan for their learning and development. The key persons build friendly and trusting relationships with children and parents.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Despite the weakness in meeting the learning needs of children who are identified as not making sufficient progress, most children do develop some key skills needed for the next stage in their learning, such as moving on to school. Children benefit from an interesting and varied range of resources that promotes all areas of learning. Following registration they are able to self-select from the low-level shelving, enabling them to lead their own play during the main part of the session. They understand that print carries meaning and readily give meaning to the marks they make. Children manage their own self-care needs, relevant to their age.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY451655 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 1066203 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register Age range of children 0 - 4 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 50 Name of registered person Little Hoppers Pre-School Partnership

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 19 March 2013 Telephone number 01394 286998/07866065762

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reference number

Little Hoppers was registered in 2012. The pre-school employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of these, nine hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday during school term time. Sessions are from 9am to midday and from 1pm to 4pm. There is an optional lunch club that runs from midday to 1pm and a breakfast club from 8am to 9am except on Thursdays. Except for Thursdays, there is an after pre-school club that is open from 4pm to 6pm. A holiday club runs during the school holidays and is open from 8am until 6pm. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It 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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reference number

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reference number

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