St Mark's Preschool

St Mark’s Preschool c/o St. Mark's Church Office, The Old Vicarage, Vicarage Road, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 5JA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12 May 2017 18 May 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

 Staff establish positive relationships with children. For example, they visit them in their home environment when they start. This helps provide a good link between the setting and home and supports children to settle confidently and happily into play.  Children develop good communication and speaking skills. For example, staff ask them challenging questions and reinforce positive pronunciation of words.  There are good opportunities for children to develop their early reading skills. For instance, they look at a wide range of reading materials and recognise simple words.  The manager closely monitors the quality of teaching and care. For example, she observes individual staff teach and discusses their performance with them.  Children develop positive attributes and learn the importance of being polite and they behave well. For example, they say 'please' and 'thank you' with no reminders.  The manager and staff effectively evaluate their practice. For example, they have daily

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This provision is good

discussions to evaluate the day's events and weekly meetings ensure that staff have time to discuss new ideas and make beneficial plans together.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Staff miss some opportunities to engage children and build on their interest in technology further.  Staff do not make the most out of partnerships with other early years professionals at settings children also attend, to enhance the consistency of their shared learning.

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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

 extend children's opportunities to engage and develop their interests in technology further  strengthen the range of ways that staff communicate with other early years settings children also attend, to improve the consistency in care and learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff's interactions with children.  The inspector viewed the indoor and outdoor environments.  The inspector looked at written documentation, including a sample of policies and procedures, risk assessments and staff training records.  The inspector spoke to children, parents and staff, and took their views into consideration.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is good

The manager and staff are proactive at ensuring that they keep up to date with new ideas and attend regular training to help extend their skills and knowledge further. For instance, staff learn how to develop children's communication skills in more ways, such as using visual prompts. The manager and staff closely monitor children's progress. This helps them to promptly highlight any gaps in their development and provide children with individual support to help them catch up in their learning. Staff establish positive relationships with parents. For instance, they encourage them to share achievements from home and staff use the information to enhance their planning. Staff effectively use additional funding to meet children's individual learning needs. Safeguarding is effective. Staff have a good knowledge of the safeguarding procedures to follow to help protect children's welfare and know who to contact to follow up any concerns or seek advice.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff effectively support children to manage the changes that they may encounter when they move on to school. For example, they teach children how to use dinner trays to help them understand their new lunchtime routine. Staff skilfully build on children's play. For instance, when children enjoy exploring light boxes, staff encourage them to build dens and explore the concept of light and dark using torches. Staff provide children with good opportunities to learn about the natural world. For example, they participate in bug hunts, use magnifying glasses and look at nature books to identify the insects they find.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children have good opportunities to challenge their physical skills. For example, they make obstacle courses to complete in 'hobby horse' activities, as they 'ride' their horses and jump over and balance on balancing beams. Children develop good hand-to-eye coordination. For instance, children use water pistols to knock off balls balanced on cones. Children develop a good understanding of the importance of healthy lifestyles. For example, they are keen to actively help prepare healthy snacks. Children develop a good understanding of other peoples' similarities and differences in the wider world, such as dressing up in costumes associated with other countries, such as saris.

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Outcomes for children are good

All children, including those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress in relation to their starting points. Children gain good skills to support their future learning. For example, they learn good early mathematical skills as they confidently count. Children build meaningful friendships and develop good social skills, and they play games that require teamwork and help each other to complete tasks.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 103847 Local authority Medway Towns Inspection number 1088942 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 34 Number of children on roll 41 Name of registered person Committee of St. Mark's Preschool

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 18 May 2015 Telephone number 07807577836

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reference number

St Mark's Preschool registered in 1983. It is located in a church hall in Gillingham, Kent. The pre-school is open on Monday to Friday from 9.15am until 12.15pm, during term time only. The provider receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The pre-school employs six members of staff, two of whom hold a relevant early years qualification at level 3 and one member of staff holds early years professional status.

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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

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

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