Ickwell Pre-School

Ickwell Pre-School Ickwell Village Hall, Ickwell Green, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, SG18 9EE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10 May 2017 21 January 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 Good 2

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This provision is good

 The manager and staff have developed effective procedures to support the efficient running of the pre-school. Staff are aware each day of their role and responsibility. They are deployed well to support and supervise children in all areas of the building.  Children enjoy exploring the natural world in the recently developed woodland area. Staff trained in a specific approach to outdoor learning and teach children very well. Children enjoy looking for insects under logs and use magnifying glasses to examine them closely.  Staff's support and care for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is very good. They establish effective partnerships with parents and external agencies in supporting children's sustained progress. Staff meet together regularly to discuss children's ongoing needs and development.  Children swiftly develop close relationships with their key person. This helps them to

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This provision is good

quickly settle and feel secure in the pre-school.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 The manager's tracking of children's progress is not always rigorous enough to ensure all staff have the best possible understanding of how different groups of children are developing.  Staff do not always support children to develop their conversational skills in order to help them to form even deeper friendships with each other.

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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

 enhance the strategies in place for tracking the progress that different groups of children make, in order to promote children's learning to the highest possible level  provide further opportunities for children to engage in conversations with each other to help them to build even stronger friendships.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities both indoors and outside.  The inspector spoke with staff and children at appropriate times during the day and held a meeting with the manager and deputy manager.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the deputy manager.  The inspector looked at children's records, planning documentation, information about the pre-school's self-evaluation, evidence of suitability of staff and a range of other documentation, including policies and procedures.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The manager and committee have established robust recruitment procedures to help ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children. New staff are supported well through their induction and soon feel valuable members of the team. Staff talk confidently about the impact of training on children's learning. For example, they have developed their knowledge of how to support boys to learn in highly effective ways, such as outdoors. Arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All staff know the possible signs of abuse and when and where to refer any concerns they may have about a child in their care.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff use their teaching skills well. They plan and provide interesting, exciting and challenging activities that entice children to learn. Outside, children enjoy pretending to be builders. They use blocks to build walls and gain further ideas for building from looking in books. Staff support children to learn as they play in sand. They use mathematical language, such as full and empty. Staff help children to learn about volume as they count how many scoops of sand it takes to fill a bucket. Staff observe what children know and can do and use this to plan for their individual next steps in learning. They involve parents in children's learning and regularly receive updates on what children are doing and their interests at home.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children behave very well. They are polite and kind to each other and to staff. Children play cooperatively together, sharing toys and taking turns. Staff help to promote children's good health. They ensure that children have regular opportunities to enjoy and learn about the benefits of fresh air and exercise. Children enjoy riding bicycles. They show their good physical skills as they steer and negotiate their way around the play area. Children are provided with healthy foods at snack times and they are learning how to attend to their own care needs. Strong partnerships with parents are evident. Parents speak very highly of staff. They feel their children are happy and grow in confidence at the pre-school and this prepares them well for moving on to school.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children are making good progress from their starting points. They enjoy listening to stories, which they choose from the wide variety of books available to them. They learn to count and recognise numbers as they use the wide range of resources, both inside and outdoors. Children are developing into independent learners as they choose where and with what they want to play. They are swiftly gaining the skills they need to be ready to move to their next stage of learning or on to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 219263 Local authority Central Bedfordshire Inspection number 1090039 Type of provision Sessional provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 33 Number of children on roll 49 Name of registered person Ickwell Pre-School

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 21 January 2015 Telephone number 01767 627742

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reference number

Ickwell Pre-school registered in 1992 and is managed by a voluntary management committee. The pre-school employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of these, nine hold an appropriate early years qualification at level 2 or above. The pre-school opens during term time, from 9.15am until 3.15pm on Monday to Thursday and from 9.15am to 12.15pm on Friday. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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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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