Stone Cross Independent Pre-School

Stone Cross Independent Pre-School Stone Cross School, Adur Drive, Stone Cross, Pevensey, East Sussex, BN24 5EF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 5 May 2017 25 June 2015

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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:

 Staff do not consistently manage some children's behaviour to help them understand how their actions, such as making loud noises indoors, can affect others.  Self-evaluation is not used effectively to help identify and address key weaknesses to targets aspects of practice to improve.  At times, the noise levels in the play area are too loud for children to be able to hear each other and fully engage in meaningful play.

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It has the following strengths

 The caring staff build positive bonds with children, who are happy and confident. Children are sociable and make positive friendships. Staff encourage children to share their views and value their achievements.  Staff work well with parents and other professionals. They share expertise with local speech therapists and inclusion advisors and implement effective support plans. All children, including those with special educational needs make some good progress from their starting points in learning.  The manager and staff quickly identify any gaps in individual and groups of children's development. They track children's progress effectively and use their observations and assessments to help plan the next steps in learning for each child.

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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

 improve the consistency in how staff manage children's behaviour to help children learn how their actions can affect others. 05/07/2017

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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

 monitor noise levels in the play area more consistently to fully support children's engagement in play at all times  make greater use of self-evaluation to identify weaknesses in staff practice and improve children's experiences.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed teaching practices and the impact this has on children's learning.  The inspector held discussions with the manager, staff, children and parents.  The inspector read some of the setting's documentation, including the safeguarding policy and procedures.  The inspector sampled children's development information and records.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager and discussed children's play, learning and progress.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

The manager regularly evaluates staff practice and encourages further training. For example, after recent training, staff have introduced fun new opportunities for children to explore making marks creatively. The manager encourages feedback from parents and other professionals to help identify improvements. For example, they have introduced a very well-resourced outdoor mud kitchen, which encourages children to measure, create and explore. However, the manager has not sufficiently identified and acted on the inconsistencies in behaviour management and how this impacts on children's play. Safeguarding is effective. All staff have up-to-date knowledge of the procedures to follow if they are concerned about a child's well-being to help protect them from harm.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Staff know children well and use their good knowledge of children's interests to help plan fun activities. For example, children enjoy exploring the role-play train station and act out the roles of the train driver, passenger and ticket officer. Most of the time staff extend children's learning well. For instance, they encourage children to create their own train tickets and to talk about train journeys they have been on. However, the weaknesses in behaviour management affect children's learning. At times children cannot concentrate fully and do not get the most out of activities. Staff support children's early literacy skills well. For example, children find their name cards to register themselves and write their name on finished artwork. Staff keep parents informed of children's development and share helpful ideas to support learning at home.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Children are independent and know the importance of healthy lifestyles. For example, they confidently talk about fruit giving them energy. Staff support children's physical development effectively and children skilfully walk on mini-stilts and complete challenging obstacle courses. Some children do not consistently behave well. Staff miss opportunities to help children learn to consider how others might feel when they shout and play too loudly. Children learn to understand and respect differences.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Overall, children enjoy their learning and confidently lead their play from a wide variety of activities. They develop strong mathematical skills and confidently work out simple number problems. Children enjoy sharing their experiences. For example, they proudly show photographs of their time outside of the setting with the special pre-school teddy bear. Children have a good understanding of technology and confidently use toy tills, telephones and keyboards in their imaginary play. They gain some useful skills for the next stage in their learning and for school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 109525 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 1089040 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 3 - 4 Total number of places 25 Number of children on roll 42 Name of registered person Stone Cross Independent Pre-School Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 25 June 2015 Telephone number 01323 740 149

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reference number

Stone Cross Independent Pre-School registered in 1999. It operates from within Stone Cross Primary School in Stone Cross, East Sussex. The pre-school is open between 8am and 4pm each weekday, during term time. The pre-school employs six staff, all of whom hold relevant qualifications at level 3. The pre-school receives funding to provide free early education for children aged three and four years.

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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

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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