Little Gems 3

Little Gems 3 United Reformed Church, Harestone Hill, Caterham, Surrey, CR3 6SX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14 July 2017 22 January 2014

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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 Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate 4

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This provision is inadequate

 Not enough action is taken to protect children. Some hazards on the premises have not been made safe. Risk assessments lack detail. Staff and managers are not fully aware of all aspects of safeguarding.  The record of children's attendance is not maintained accurately. Staff do not record children's times of arrival and departure. This puts children at risk in the event of an emergency.  The leadership team has not monitored the setting closely enough to recognise the breaches in legal requirements and to improve practice.  Staff are not planning accurately for children's individual learning needs or monitoring the progress they make. Records for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities lack sufficient detail.  Staff are not checking that different groups of children, such as boys and girls, are making progress from their individual starting points.  At times, some children, particularly those who are quieter, younger or not as

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This provision is inadequate

confident, have less interaction from adults than other children. This impacts on their learning and the progress they make.

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It has the following strengths

 Parents are happy with the pre-school. They feel their children are well prepared for starting school.  Staff care about the children and form positive relationships with them.

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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

 ensure all staff are fully aware of their responsibilities in understanding the 'Prevent' duty and the wider aspects of safeguarding children, including internet safety 01/09/2017

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Due Date

 make better use of risk assessments to ensure all areas of the premises are consistently safe for children's use and any hazards are quickly addressed 01/09/2017

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Due Date

 maintain an accurate record of children's attendance, including their actual times of arrival and departure 01/09/2107

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Due Date

 make the steps to the outside area safe for children to use 01/09/2017  improve the quality of teaching to make sure staff continually take account of the individual needs, learning styles and developmental ability of all children, including those who are quiet and less confident 31/10/2017

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Due Date

 make better use of assessment information to ensure staff accurately identify children's individual learning needs and plan for these in all activities 31/10/2017

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Due Date

 use assessment procedures more precisely to track the progress of all children, including different groups of children, to make sure any gaps are closing 31/10/2017

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Due Date

 ensure all records relating to children who have special education needs and/or disabilities are accurate and are used effectively to monitor children's learning, care and development needs. 31/10/2017

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the pre-school routine and evaluated the quality of teaching inside and outside.  The inspector talked to staff and children at convenient times during the inspection.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the pre-school supervisor to assess how well leaders monitor the quality of practice.  The inspector held discussions with the pre-school manager and the pre-school supervisor to identify how well leaders monitor the setting and know what to do to make improvements.  The inspector talked to a small number of parents at the beginning and end of the session and took their views into account.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

Safeguarding is ineffective. The steps children use to access the outside area are unsafe and pose a potential risk of injury. Leaders are aware of this, but have not been able to make the necessary improvements. The pre-school's risk assessment is basic and lacks detail. It has not taken account of all the potential hazards on the premises, such as the communal use of some areas of the church. Staff know how to protect children from these risks, but they have not ensured that specific areas are regularly checked to identify whether any practice needs to be reviewed. Staff have some awareness of child protection arrangements. They know what to do to report any concerns about children's welfare or if an allegation is made against an adult. However, they have not updated their knowledge to take account of new guidance. Therefore, they are unfamiliar with the 'Prevent' duty and do not know what to do to protect children from any extreme views and behaviour.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

Staff have also not considered the wider aspects of safeguarding, such as how to ensure children and parents understand the risks of using the internet. Partnerships with parents and the local schools are well established. Parents comment they know who their child's key person is and receive regular updates about what their children are learning. Although arrangements are in place to monitor the provision, improvement plans fail to identify weaknesses in teaching. A new manager has been appointed who demonstrates a secure understanding of what needs to improve. However, it is too early to see the impact of the changes she is beginning to make.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

Staff provide a range of activities for children. However, these are not always planned to sufficiently take account of each child's learning needs. Provision for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is particularly weak. Monitoring of children's progress is not good enough and some targets lack focus. Staff are not confident in accurately assessing children's abilities and sometimes they think children can do more than they actually can. Some resources and activities have limited challenge and do not engage children for long enough. For example, on the day of inspection, children enjoyed using the wheeled cars inside. A staff member helped them to recognise numbers and children used red and green signs to remind them when to stop and go, and move around safely. However, later in the session, children's play in this area lacked purpose and became disruptive, resulting in one child falling and having an accident. When staff have

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

children's attention, some of the learning is purposeful. For example, they use practical activities to help children's counting and mathematical skills. There are arrangements in place for staff to regularly meet with the supervisor and discuss their performance. Some staff have benefitted from extra training and this has helped to make a small number of changes to how activities are planned. For instance, after a staff member completed a cookery course, different resources were provided in the role-play area. This increased children's interest in imaginative play.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

The weaknesses in leadership and management impact on children and mean they are not fully protected from possible harm. At times, younger, quieter and less confident children spend more time on their own and have less interaction from the staff. When staff do notice children are alone, they do not always attempt to engage them in activities with others, or to play alongside them as much they could. The attendance register is not accurate. Staff do not record the times when children arrive or go home. The current system suggests that if children are not collected at 12.15pm they are staying for the lunch club, but this is not always the case. Therefore, should an emergency situation arise after the morning session, there is no accurate record to show exactly which children are still on the premises. Children generally behave well and older children show confidence in managing their feelings and working out any minor disputes together. Children form warm

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

relationships with the staff and approach them happily for comfort and support.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

The weaknesses in teaching and inaccurate assessment arrangements mean some children do not make as much progress as they could. It is not clear whether all children achieve as well as each other. For example, staff have not made sure that children who receive funding achieve as well as those who do not, or that boys make as much progress across all areas of learning as girls. This means, staff cannot be sure that any gaps in children's learning are closing. Despite this, children do enjoy their morning at pre-school. They arrive happily and quickly engage with their friends. They talk to adults confidently and older children are particularly excited to discuss their move on to school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 122423 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 1068438 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 41 Name of registered person Little Gems and Little Treasures Ltd

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 22 January 2014 Telephone number 01883343678

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reference number

Little Gems 3 registered in 2000. It is one of three privately owned settings. The pre- school is open on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9.15am to 12.15pm during term time only. A lunch club operates each day until 1pm. Funding is accepted for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. There are six members of staff who work with the children, including the manager. Of these, five hold recognised 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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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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