Crondall Stepping Stones

Crondall Stepping Stones The Old Gym, Croft Lane, Crondall, Farnham, Hampshire, GU10 5QF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23 March 2017 27 January 2015

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding 1

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This provision is outstanding

 The enthusiastic and inspirational manager is extremely effective. She successfully motivates a highly efficient team of staff. They are dedicated to providing children with the very best care and learning. This shines through in every aspect of pre-school life.  The quality of teaching is excellent. Staff provide memorable experiences to support and challenge children's thinking. They skilfully follow children's interests and make learning exciting and relevant.  All children make outstanding progress, including those who require extra support and those in receipt of additional funding. A rich learning environment gives children the capacity to reach their potential.  Children are extremely happy and settled, and their behaviour is exemplary. Staff are exceptionally caring and sensitive in helping children to form trusting and secure relationships.  There is excellent partnership working at all levels. Staff work highly effectively with

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This provision is outstanding

parents and professionals to ensure they meet children's learning and physical needs.  The management team, the committee and staff strive for continuous improvement. Robust improvement plans are rigorously implemented and evaluated by the management team to help promote consistently high-quality teaching.

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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

 continue to evaluate older, most-able children's progress in early writing to support the ongoing commitment to targeting teaching as precisely as possible.

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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 held meetings with the managers and chairperson of the committee, and spoke to staff and children.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the pre-school manager  The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including children's records, safeguarding procedures, and a range of other policies and procedures.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to during the inspection.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

Safeguarding is effective. The manager and staff have an in-depth understanding of how to manage any child protection concerns. Policies, procedures and risk assessments are meticulously applied. Staff are deployed very effectively. Managers implement a highly effective professional programme for staff through supervision, coaching and training. Managers and staff meticulously track the progress of each child and different groups of children. When they spot gaps in children's learning, they quickly provide excellent support to help close them and improve provision. This has led to consistently high-quality teaching, for example, for children's reading. The manager now plans to evaluate older, more-able children's progress in their early writing in further depth.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

Staff are exceptionally skilled at building on children's interests and extending their learning while they play. For example, during pretend play, older children solved the problem of helping toy dinosaurs to become camouflaged. Staff encouraged the children to create the best places for different dinosaurs to hide in the large play tray. Staff stimulate children's speaking and listening skills extremely well through practical experiences. For example, adults use mystery props from the 'song sack' during song time. Older children create models as they solve problems from stories. Additional funding is used extremely well to purchase resources to suit children's learning needs.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Children settle extremely quickly into the pre-school. Staff make every effort to ensure that children are offered a settling-in procedure that is carefully tailored to suit their particular needs. Children are consistently kind, polite and considerate towards each other and make friends easily. For example, when acting out stories together, they share much loved resources saying, 'everyone needs a turn'. Children take other's needs into account very well. For example, they sometimes use signing to help younger children to share their feelings. Children's physical development is prioritised, for example, through daily play in the very well-resourced outdoor area and the nearby local park.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

All children are exceptionally well prepared with the key skills they need for the next stage in their learning or the move to school. Children practise their excellent speaking and language skills and are very confident communicators. They make excellent progress in mathematics. For example, younger children accurately count the number of jumps they can do. Older children count higher numbers and add one or take one away. Children develop a love of reading and make excellent progress in understanding sounds and letters. Children have extensive opportunities for developing their mark-making skills.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY241601 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 1085788 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 39 Number of children on roll 28 Name of registered person Crondall Stepping Stones Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 27 January 2015 Telephone number 01252 850055

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reference number

Crondall Stepping Stones registered in 2003. It operates from the old gymnasium behind the village hall in Crondall, near Farnham in Surrey. The pre-school is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 2.30pm during term time. The pre-school employs four members of staff to work with children. Of these, three hold an appropriate early years qualification at level 3 or level 4. The pre-school receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years. It also receives additional funding to support some children at risk from educational disadvantage.

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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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