Great Shefford Under Fives

Great Shefford Under Fives Village Hall, Station Road, Great Shefford, Hungerford, Berkshire, RG17 7DR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 29 March 2017 7 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 highly experienced and inspirational manager uses her in-depth knowledge and her skills effectively. She leads by example to ensure her staff continue to develop their practice to maintain the highest standards.  Teaching is of a very high standard. Staff use accurate assessments and children's interests to provide a wonderful variety of rich and exciting learning experiences. Staff skilfully encourage children to think creatively and find their own solutions. Children are inquisitive and very eager to learn. They make rapid progress.  Staff build excellent partnerships with parents and carers, helping provide the best start for children. They use regular meetings and workshops to share information about children's progress and help parents find ways to support their children's learning at home.  Staff gain a real understanding of each child and of their family. They visit children at home and warmly welcome children into the pre-school. Children settle very quickly,

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This provision is outstanding

they feel happy and secure and are ready to learn. Behaviour is exemplary.  Children gain an excellent understanding of how to lead healthy lives. Staff arrange for a dietician to talk to the children and parents about healthy eating. Children are tremendously active and become strong and agile. They thoroughly enjoy running, climbing and balancing as they gain confidence in their own abilities.

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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 review and enhance the provision for outdoor play in order to maintain high standards of practice and the excellent outcomes achieved for children in outdoor learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed and spoke with staff and children during activities in the pre- school and on a walk. She assessed the impact of teaching on children's learning.  The inspector undertook a joint observation of an adult-led activity with the manager. They discussed how the manager monitors and improves the quality of teaching.  The inspector spoke with several parents and took account of their comments.  The inspector sampled documents, including children's records and evidence of staff training and suitability.  The inspector discussed with the manager how she keeps children safe, the quality of provision and the pre-school's plans for improvement.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is outstanding

The manager observes staff daily and holds formal meetings to give constructive feedback on the quality of teaching. She schedules time each week for staff to reflect on the impact of their work on children's learning and well-being. The manager welcomes challenge and advice. For example, there are regular support visits from an advisory teacher and staff attend training at a teaching centre. The manager studied how to make the most of outdoor learning by visiting a Forest School in Norway and they now place great emphasis on this type of play. Recent training has inspired staff to consider how they can continue to enhance children's outdoor learning opportunities. For example, they plan to create an enclosed outdoor space so children can use water on a larger scale. Safeguarding is effective. Excellent procedures ensure that all aspects of children's health and welfare are promoted. Staff use rigorous risk assessments effectively.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

Staff are exceptionally skilled at helping children make their own discoveries and do things for themselves. They equip children with buckets and magnifiers to 'investigate' their finds on a walk. Exciting activities are used to encourage early writing skills. For example, staff tape pens to long sticks and children use these to make patterns and pictures. Staff ensure children can find resources to develop their play. For example, children are absorbed in building a landscape for model animals. They sort animals by size, with much discussion, then use a large strip of paper to make a river for the big animals. They busily colour the river blue and use a bridge they made from junk materials for vehicles to cross. An adult suggests they may need to hold the water in with a barrier. Children work together to build it, one showing another how to place the bricks for a strong structure. They build another from boxes and decide which is strongest. They are totally engrossed,

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

using original ideas and rich language to describe what they are doing.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Staff pay great attention to meeting children's needs. Their observations and outstanding partnerships with parents enable them to tailor care and learning precisely for each child. Staff respond sensitively to children, who flourish in the highly positive environment. Children eagerly try new experiences and relish challenges, such as building dens. They express themselves confidently, such as telling the Easter story, because they know adults listen. These thoughtful interactions build children's self-esteem and emotional stability, giving them an exceptionally secure base on which to develop their learning.

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Outcomes for children are outstanding

Children are gaining an excellent understanding of mathematics through practical activities, such as finding ways to make a party bag or using a stick to measure the depth of a mole hill. They hear sounds in words and some can read simple words. Children are extremely active and independent, and they approach learning with great enthusiasm.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 507899 Local authority West Berkshire (Newbury) Inspection number 1085773 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 25 Number of children on roll 17 Name of registered person Great Shefford Under Fives Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 7 January 2015 Telephone number 07765508867

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reference number

Great Shefford Under Fives registered in 1971 and operates from the village hall in Great Shefford, near Hungerford in Berkshire. It is a voluntary organisation with a management committee. The pre-school receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The group opens on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays during school terms. Sessions are between 9.30am and midday and from midday until 2.30pm. Children may stay for the whole of this time. There are four members of staff who work with the children. The manager holds early years professional status and all other staff hold relevant 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

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