Church House Pre-School

Church House Pre-School Rickards Hall, 72 High Street, Edenbridge, Kent, TN8 5AR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22 May 2017 5 June 2015

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Outcomes for children Requires improvement

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This provision is inadequate

 The arrangements in place for recruitment and vetting of staff are not robust. This results in poor procedures to check that staff are suitable or safe to work with children.  Supervision of managers and staff is not effective enough to enable strong leadership and consistent quality of teaching.  Staff have an inconsistent approach to managing older children’s behaviour so the room becomes very noisy at times. This impacts on the quality of teaching and learning.  Recent changes in management and staffing have adversely affected the quality of the provision. The requirements of the early years foundation stage are not met and leaders do not have a clear overview of what the setting needs to do to improve.

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It has the following strengths

 Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to support children's individual care, learning and development needs.  The pre-school has a range of suitable resources inside and outside that provide children with a choice of exciting activities.  Staff are caring practitioners who have developed positive relationships with children.

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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

 put effective recruitment arrangements in place to ensure that practitioners are suitable to work with young children and take steps to assess their ongoing suitability 30/06/2017

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Due Date

 ensure that all people involved with the recruitment and retention of staff know what would make a person disqualified from working with children in an early years provision so that they can take appropriate action 30/06/2017

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Due Date

 ensure that all staff have a consistent approach to teaching children about boundaries and behaviour 30/06/2017

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Due Date

 develop effective staff supervision arrangements that include a sharper focus on the quality of teaching, and provide effective supervision and support to managers. 30/06/2017

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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

 develop robust systems for self-evaluation to identify the strengths of the provision and clearly target areas for development in order to improve outcomes for children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspection was conducted following Ofsted's risk assessment process.  The inspector observed the quality of teaching and the impact on children's learning.  The inspector spoke to parents during the inspection to take account of their views.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the deputy and held a meeting with the managers.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including records of children's learning, safeguarding policies and staff files.  The inspector spoke with staff and children at suitable times throughout the inspection.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective as recruitment and vetting procedures are weak. The inspection was conducted due to concerns that were raised regarding leadership and management at the setting. The recent changes in management have affected the management team’s ability to identify and address weak practice. Supervision and training systems are in place and the current managers are keen to make improvements. However, there is scope to improve staff supervision, to strive for consistently high-quality teaching. Furthermore, the arrangements for the supervision of the manager have not been effective due to the committee's lack of oversight of the manager's role. The educational programmes are generally well monitored. Leaders have a clear picture of the progress of individual children and how well groups of children are achieving. They identify when some children need specialist support and are proactive in

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

seeking intervention from other agencies.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

The quality of teaching is variable. Staff provide ample resources which enable children to explore, investigate and make choices. Staff seek relevant information from parents and observe and assess children's learning. They take into account each child's interests and stage of development when planning activities. However, there are occasionally times when the hall becomes chaotic as older children scream and shout. Staff do not always manage this well. Therefore, they do not teach children that their behaviour affects others. Consequently, the noise levels make it difficult for people to hear each other or for other children to concentrate. This limits children’s preparation for future learning and their readiness for starting school.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

The failures to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements compromise children's safety. Parents describe staff as caring and kind and say that they know their children well. Children particularly enjoy the outdoor area. They use space to run, jump and stretch as they explore the natural environment around them. Children eat healthy, freshly prepared snacks. Staff promote their well-being, teaching them about the importance of keeping safe and good hygiene. They teach younger children to share and take turns. However, when the hall becomes excessively noisy there is a lack of calm. This sometimes affects younger children's emotional wellbeing as they become unsettled and upset.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Most children are confident and enjoy developing ideas as they learn through play. For example, they create large construction towers, sharing ideas and listening to others as they take turns. Staff support children to become independent and try things out for themselves as they prepare to play outside. They offer praise and encouragement which helps children to become confident. However, at times less confident children give up on talking and sharing their ideas when the room is noisy. Therefore, the inconsistencies in the quality of teaching mean that some children do not make the best possible progress.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 127110 Local authority Kent Inspection number 1098162 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 - 5 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 33 Name of registered person St Peter and St Paul (Edenbridge) Church Playgroups Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 5 June 2015 Telephone number 07748 673798

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reference number

Church House Pre-School opened in 1963. It is run by an independent charity governed by an elected committee. The pre-school is open each weekday from 9.15am to 12.15pm, term time only. There are seven members of staff who hold appropriate early years qualifications. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four- year-olds.

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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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