Busy Bees Pre-school Playgroup

Busy Bees Pre-school Playgroup Grange Lane, Littleport, Ely, Cambridgeshire, CB6 1HW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28 March 2017 18 November 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 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

 The provision is not effectively managed. Children’s safety and welfare is compromised because procedures for checking and vetting committee and staff to ensure their suitability are not robust. Additionally, information about children is not handled appropriately.  The management committee does not ensure that the managers and staff are well- equipped to fulfil their roles and responsibilities of working with children effectively. This has a negative impact on the children’s learning and care needs.  Staff do not always have good knowledge of children's abilities. Teaching is not well matched to their needs to help them to make progress relevant to their individual abilities.  Staff are not deployed effectively throughout play sessions to engage children in meaningful activities that progress their learning.  Staff do not implement strategies that are in place to help children gain an understanding of acceptable behaviour.

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It has the following strengths

 Children spend time outside in the fresh air daily. They explore a range of resources using their whole bodies. For example, they crawl through tunnels, dig in the mud pit and jump in hoops.

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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

 supply Ofsted with the necessary information to carry out suitability checks on all committee members 28/04/2017

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Due Date

 provide evidence of DBS for every member of staff 28/04/2017  ensure information relating to children, including those of sensitive nature is handled in a way that ensures confidentiality 28/04/2017

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Due Date

 ensure all staff have the appropriate training, skills and knowledge and a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities 28/04/2017

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Due Date

 improve the quality of teaching so that all staff respond to each child’s emerging needs and interests, guiding their development through positive interaction 28/04/2017

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Due Date

 implement an effective method of observing, assessing and tracking children's development to identify next steps in learning and plan for their individual needs 28/04/2017

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Due Date

 deploy staff effectively to ensure children needs are met 28/04/2017  ensure strategies used to manage children’s behaviour are implemented effectively. 28/04/2017

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact this has on children's learning. The inspector staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector spoke to a small number of parents during the inspection and took account of their views.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the acting manager.  The inspector held a meeting with the acting manager and business manager. She looked at relevant documentation and evidence of the suitability of staff working in the setting.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

Arrangements for safeguarding are ineffective. Not all adults who have access to children have been fully vetted. Ofsted has not been notified of changes to members of the committee, and appropriate checks have not been carried out. This puts children at risk. Furthermore, careful consideration has not been given to who should be handling confidential information. This has presented a conflict of interest with matters of a sensitive nature. The committee who lead the pre-school do not enable staff to effectively carry out their job roles. The highly qualified acting manager has identified some underperformance among staff. However, the committee has failed to ensure that effective action has been taken to raise the quality of staff's teaching skills. This has a negative impact on the progress of children in the pre-school. Supporting agencies have provided training to both the committee and staff, however, these have had little impact

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

to improve the quality of the provision. Staff are aware of the signs of possible abuse and understand how to refer any concerns. Suitable recruitment procedures are in place for new members of staff. Professionals attend the setting to support disabled children and those with special educational needs. Systems are in place to ensure the security of the children.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

Teaching is weak. Staff do not consistently observe children. The planning to support children’s next steps in learning are not implemented effectively. Children try to complete puzzles but lose interest when no member of staff is available to encourage them to persist. Extending children’s thinking is variable between staff. For example, some staff ask a lot of questions that children already know the answer to. Staff are working in partnership with parents to support communication and language skills. For example, a speech activity bag is shared so that parents can support learning at home. A parachute game delights the children as they listen to instructions to run under it.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

Staff are not deployed effectively. While some continue to carry out organisational tasks, others are not ready to implement activities causing disruption to the routine. This has a negative impact on the quality of teaching. Despite the weaknesses in safeguarding, children have made attachments with staff and explore the resources available to them. They independently wash their hands before meal times. Staff implement hygiene routines to help promote children's ongoing health and well-being. Children have some opportunities to learn about keeping themselves safe. They use safety knives to cut up fruit and steer ride along toys with control.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

Children do not make good progress in their learning. Some groups of children do not meet age related expectations. This is because even though strategies and specific next steps are in place, they are not being implemented by staff consistently. The impact of spending specific funding to support children's learning is not clear due to the weaknesses in teaching. Staff encourage children to listen to stories at small group times. Older children practise writing their name learning to control the pencil. However, children are making insufficient progress in developing the essential skills needed for their next stage of learning, or in preparation for starting school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 221727 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 1088793 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 50 Number of children on roll 62 Name of registered person Busy Bees Playgroup (Littleport) Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 18 November 2015 Telephone number 01353 968606

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reference number

Busy Bees Pre-school Playgroup was registered in 1992 and operates from a purpose-built building in the grounds of the primary school. Opening times are Monday to Friday from 8.50am to 2.50pm, during school term times. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. There are 7 staff employed, including the manager. Of these, one staff holds a qualification at level 6, four at level 3 and two at level 2.

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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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