St. John's Pre-School

St. John's Pre-School St. Johns Pre-School St. Richard Room,St. John's Church,, St. John's Road, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 7QB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26 April 2017 23 March 2015

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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 Outstanding 1

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This provision is good

 Staff are good at modelling the communication and language skills children need to express their ideas as they play. Children become confident communicators with the vocabulary to make their ideas clear to others, for example, as they raise interest in their dance show or need a particular tool, like a wrench, to do a job.  The manager and deputy manager carefully monitor and review children's progress to identify and manage any gaps, delays or particular strengths in children's development. They quickly provide additional support where necessary and minimise the impact of any speech and language delays.  Staff create rich opportunities for children to explore, learn about and be safe in their local community. For example, children walk to the postbox and find out what happens to their letters. They see and hear emergency vehicles passing and staff chalk out a phone pad for them to practise calling 999.

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This provision is good

 Children thoroughly enjoy visits to local woodlands and streams, where they learn to assess risks in the environment and ways to keep themselves safe. Children notice changes in seasons and think about the clothes they need to keep them warm and dry.  Children become self-assured, confident to try new activities and ready for school.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 On occasions, individual children are not fully engaged in their learning and teaching is not of a consistently high quality.

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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

 improve team working so that all staff have very high expectations of what each child can achieve and engage every child in their learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed, listened to and talked with children as they played indoors and during outdoor play.  The inspector talked with parents and listened to their views about the pre-school and their children's progress.  The inspector looked at children's records and discussed staff's planning and evaluation of activities and how they exchange information with parents.  The inspector reviewed records and procedures relating to safeguarding and risk assessment and discussed a range of other procedures relating to children's welfare with the manager.  The inspector observed care routines and completed a joint observation with the manager. Together, they discussed how the manager's training had contributed to children's learning and development.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The manager and deputy manager are highly qualified. They continue to use their training effectively to evaluate and improve the pre-school to raise outcomes for children. Among many other improvements, children now access good quality opportunities to develop mathematical skills as they play. The manager's professional approach to staff appraisal, guidance and reflective practice underpins her success in introducing new ways to plan activities. Safeguarding is effective. Staff know how to respond appropriately to any concerns they have about a child's welfare. They have good security measures in place and use effective risk assessments to help to keep children safe.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Generally, staff observe children's play carefully to follow and extend their interests. For example, staff recognise children's enthusiasm for finding treasure and extend this to drawing treasure maps and hunting for the 'X'. However, on occasion, staff overlook quiet children and miss opportunities to extend their creativity and problem solving to the next level. Staff are consistently good at modelling new vocabulary in different contexts. For example, staff link a conversation about mixing the right consistency of sand and water to cement bricks together to other children mixing the right consistency of paint.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are outstanding

Staff are highly skilled and responsive in settling new children and developing trusting relationships with children and their parents. They quickly engage parents, who take an avid interest in supporting their children's development and the pre-school's visits into the community. Staff ensure children see and seek to copy a rich diversity of experiences. For example, children sew and nurture a variety of seedlings outdoors. They remember to find hard hats and ear defenders as they hammer wooden constructions. Children liken their behaviour to the puppets staff use when modelling resilience, persistence and kindness to others. Parents comment that staff teach an increased awareness of how to encourage younger children and that this transfers to children's behaviour at home.

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Outcomes for children are good

Clear assessments indicate that all children make good levels of progress from their starting points. This includes children who speak English as an additional language and those who receive additional funding. Children develop the confidence to explore, investigate and experiment. They communicate their ideas and feelings effectively and begin to understand their responsibility to care for each other and their surroundings. Children are well prepared for school. For example, older children enthusiastically find and order the letters of their name and practise writing letters and names for a purpose.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 511119 Local authority West Berkshire (Newbury) Inspection number 1091187 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 28 Number of children on roll 29 Name of registered person St. Johns Pre-School Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 23 March 2015 Telephone number 07814 155110

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reference number

St Johns Pre-School registered in 1998. It is a community group managed by a parents' committee. The pre-school operates from St. John's Church, in Newbury, Berkshire. It is open from 9.15am to 12.15pm on Mondays and Fridays, and from 9.15am to 3.30pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The pre-school is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education funding for two-, three- and four-year-old children. There are six members of staff, all of whom hold relevant qualifications at level 3 or above. The manager and the deputy manager hold relevant degrees.

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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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