The Centre Pre-School

The Centre Pre-School Straight Road Community Centre, 329 Straight Road, Colchester, Essex, CO3 9EF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30 June 2017 18 October 2016

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Previous inspection: Requires Improvement

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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:

 The manager and staff have not considered how to organise the environment effectively, to help children move easily between activities and around the setting.  The quality of teaching is not consistently good between staff. At times, some staff do not make the most of every opportunity to engage children and extend their learning.  The manager does not make effective use of self-evaluation to help her identify areas which require improvement to raise outcomes for children.  The current system for recording observations is repetitive and does not make effective use of staff's time. For example, staff spend time rewriting their observations rather than being able to fully focus on playing and extending children's learning.

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It has the following strengths

 Children settle easily. They arrive happy and have close relationships with their key person and other staff. They freely approach staff for cuddles and reassurance when needed, which helps to develop children's emotional well-being.  The staff and manager form positive partnerships with parents, local school teachers and professionals at other settings that children attend. They regularly share information to help maintain consistency in children's care and learning.  Staff make effective use of daily routines, such as snack times, to help children learn about where their food comes from. For example, they show children what fruit looks like before it is cut up and encourage them to think about where it grows.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage and the Childcare Register the provider must:

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Due Date

 improve the organisation of the environment, to help children move freely around the setting and between activities 21/07/2017

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Due Date

 develop further the quality of staff's teaching to consistently challenge and extend children's learning to help them make the best possible progress. 21/07/2017

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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

 make greater use of self-evaluation procedures to precisely identify strengths and areas to improve further to help raise outcomes for children  consider ways to simplify existing observation and assessment procedures, to enable staff to spend greater time with children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the staff interacting with children to assess the quality of teaching.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager and held discussions in relation to children's learning and progress.  The inspector spoke to children, parents, staff and the manager.  The inspector had a tour of the premises and checked relevant documents, such as staff's suitability checks, and safeguarding policies and procedures.  The inspector sampled children's learning records, including observations, assessments and group tracking.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

Safeguarding is effective. The manager, who has only been in charge for a few months, has made sure that all staff have an up-to-date knowledge of child protection matters. Staff know what to do and who to contact in the event of any concerns about a child's safety or welfare. Actions set at the last inspection have been met. The manager meets with all staff individually to help develop their practice and skills. The manager has drawn up action plans to help her make ongoing improvements, although sometimes, these do not precisely capture all aspects of practice, which require development. For example, at times, staff provide children with too many resources, which restricts the available play space.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

The quality of teaching is not yet consistent. At times, some staff miss opportunities to fully engage and extend children's learning. For example, they ask questions which only require children to answer with one word, such as 'yes' or 'no'. In addition, some staff do not make effective use of their time and continually rewrite their observations of children's play before adding them to children's learning journals. Other staff join in with children's play and extend their ideas and learning. For example, children pretend to cook tea for staff and talk about what they are going to make and the foods they like. Staff use small coloured plastic balls to help children develop their early mathematical skills. They encourage children to sort the balls by colour and count how many in each group.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Staff provide an inviting environment. However, at times, the abundance of resources hinders children from moving freely about and following their own play and ideas. Staff work with other professionals, such as health visitors to help support children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff agree children's next steps in learning with parents, which helps children to make steady progress in relation to their individual starting points. Children put their name on the balloon of the school they will move to which helps them to identify who else will be in their class. Children behave well. Staff encourage children to consider and respect each other's differences and similarities. For example, they explain to children in ways they will understand, why people dress differently and follow cultures and customs that are unfamiliar to them.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

The weaknesses in the quality of teaching does not fully prepare children for their move to school. However, they learn a range of practical skills which helps to support their independence and confidence. For example, children practise changing into their sports kit which helps them to learn to manage buttons, shoe laces and zips. Children have good speaking and listening skills. For example, they confidently share their special object from home in show and tell sessions and repeat familiar phrases in favourite books.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 650148 Local authority Essex Inspection number 1076842 Type of provision Full-time 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 53 Name of registered person Centre Pre-School (Colchester) Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 18 October 2016 Telephone number 01206 573 341

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reference number

The Centre Pre-School registered in 1973. It is based Colchester, Essex and is run by a committee. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday. Sessions run from 9am to Midday on Monday and Thursdays, with an optional lunch club to 1pm, and from 9am to 3.30pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The pre-school receives funding to provide free early education for children aged three and four years old. There are eight member of staff, of whom seven have appropriate early years qualifications.

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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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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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