Alpha Pre School Littlehampton

Alpha Pre School Littlehampton Baptist Church, Fitzalan Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex, BN17 5NY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 29 June 2017 25 June 2014

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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

 Children enjoy a safe, welcoming and well-organised learning environment. Staff provide a stimulating range of activities, indoors and outdoors, which reflects children's interests. Children are motivated and eager learners, and make good progress in their development from their starting points.  The manager and staff assess children's development closely and accurately monitor the progress they make. They quickly identify and address any gaps in children's learning, including in different groups of children. There are positive systems in place to provide additional support for funded children, such as by developing the outdoor environment for children who learn best outdoors.  Staff are very friendly and caring and children feel happy, settled and secure. Children enjoy positive relationships with all staff and happily include others in their play.  Parents are made very welcome and kept well informed. Staff successfully involve them

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This provision is good

in their children's learning. For example, they invite them to regular reviews and offer valuable suggestions for activities to continue children's learning at home.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 The monitoring of staff practice is not fully effective in raising the quality of teaching to a consistently outstanding level.  At times, staff do not consistently follow up behaviour issues with children in the best way, meaning children do not always recognise how their behaviour can affect others.

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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

 make better use of monitoring staff practice, to improve teaching consistently to the highest level  provide children with more consistent support for their behaviour to help them to fully understand how their actions can affect others.

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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 is good

The ambitious manager and her enthusiastic staff team provide a welcoming atmosphere for children and their families. They work well together to evaluate the pre-school provision and identify areas for further improvement to help children's outcomes. For example, they have improved the way they support children's understanding of diversity. Staff now regularly invite parents into the setting to share important aspects of their culture and children access a wide range of books and toys reflecting differences. Overall, the manager supports staff well and identifies relevant further training. For example, after recent training, staff have improved the way they plan for children's learning. Safeguarding is effective. The manager and staff are well trained and have a thorough and up-to-date knowledge of child protection concerns and the actions to take.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

The manager and staff regularly observe children's play. They meet at the end of each day to discuss children's interests and next steps, and to help plan challenging activities. For example, children enjoy exploring magnets in a fishing game. Staff support their learning well and encourage children to recognise numbers on each fish and to organise them from highest to lowest. Staff interact with children very well and encourage them to develop their ideas. For instance, children happily ride scooters and bicycles through a role-play petrol station in the garden. Staff ask children where they have been on their vehicles and effectively encourage children's imagination and thinking skills through play.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children are very confident and independent. They enjoy cutting up bananas for their snack and older children practise getting dressed to help prepare for the move to school. Overall, children develop positive social skills and enjoy playing together. They happily share out tools from a role-play builder's kit and decide together what to fix in the garden. Staff listen carefully to what children have to say. They show an interest in their home lives and value their opinions. Children grow in confidence and happily express their views and thoughts, such as during 'show and tell' sessions. Staff support children's physical well-being very effectively. For example, they plan daily physical sessions where children practise body movements. Children talk about how exercise affects their bodies and confidently know about different foods that help them to grow strong and healthy.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children learn many valuable skills that help to prepare them for their future learning and starting school. They have good early literacy skills, such as recognising their name and different letters. Children use their imaginations well, for example, cooking pretend meals in the role-play kitchen and pretending to be dogs in a dog show. They enjoy taking ownership of tasks throughout the day and happily choose when to play indoors and outside. Children develop impressive mathematical skills. They confidently count past 20, use mathematical language as they play and compare objects by size. Children are willing to try things and enjoy their learning.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 113355 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 1068396 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 24 Number of children on roll 19 Name of registered person Alpha Pre School Littlehampton

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 25 June 2014 Telephone number 01903 717961

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reference number

Alpha Pre School Littlehampton registered in 1992. It is located in the Littlehampton Baptist Church, in Littlehampton, West Sussex. The pre-school is open between 9.30am and 12.30pm each weekday, during term time only. The pre-school employs six members of staff. Of these, one holds qualified teacher status and five hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, 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

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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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