Toybox Pre-School

Toybox Pre-School Ellen Newbury Hall, Chapel Road, Sarisbury Green, Southampton, Hampshire, SO31 7FB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 3 October 2017 15 May 2017

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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:

 At times, the provider’s risk assessments of new equipment are not thorough enough. She has not thought of effective ways to keep all hazards to a minimum.  The staff, and in particular the deputy, have not received effective training and coaching to upskill and develop their knowledge to enable them to be confident in their roles.  Children have irregular access to the outdoors, which hinders their progress in physical development and for children who prefer to learn outside.  Self-evaluation and improvement are ongoing but not fully effective. The provider does not have a clear enough view of the weaknesses of the setting and does not involve parents and all staff in development plans.

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It has the following strengths

 In general, children are keen and enthusiastic learners. They enjoy making choices in their stimulating indoor environment. Children receive reasonably strong teaching support from staff in most areas of learning.  Children build very positive, close relationships with the staff, whom they respect. They behave well and follow the routines willingly, learning key independent skills.  The friendly and communicative staff build strong and lasting relationships with parents. They get to know the families well and parents report positively about their child’s progress.

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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

 ensure all reasonable steps are taken to make sure children are not exposed to risks, particularly when new equipment is sourced 15/10/2017

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Due Date

 ensure there are effective arrangements in place for the supervision of staff, particularly the deputy, to provide training and coaching to improve their personal effectiveness for their roles 15/10/2017

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Due Date

 ensure children are provided with planned outdoor play activities on a daily basis, giving them challenging experiences to develop good physical skills. 15/10/2017

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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 effective use of self-evaluation, including all staff and users, so that any breaches in requirements or weaknesses in practice are quickly identified and swift action is taken, to raise outcomes for children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to children, observed the children's play activities indoors, looked at the available resources and read relevant documentation.  The inspector held discussions with provider, who is also the manager, about leadership and management, including self-evaluation methods.  The inspector spoke to a sample of parents and took account of their views.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the provider.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

Overall, the arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All staff show a secure understanding of recognising child protection concerns and the procedures to follow if they are worried about a child. The provider, who is also the manager, has made progress to improve the concerns identified at the last inspection. For example, she carries out suitability checks on new staff. Staff complete two-year-old progress checks to monitor and identify gaps in children's learning. The provider uses professional development to improve her own teaching skills and help her interest and challenge children better in play. However, the support for staff to develop their knowledge and teaching skills, and for the deputy to take charge in the manager's absence, is lacking. The provider is beginning to evaluate aspects of her provision to identify areas for improvement. However, self- reflection and development do not include the views of all users and cover requirements,

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

such as thoroughly risk assessing all new equipment.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Children enjoy a range of play opportunities, with the exception of outdoor play, which is not planned for well. Some staff show strong teaching skills. They build on children's experiences when they say they want to go to a party, by joining in imaginary pretend play about a theme park. Key persons know each individual child well and plan their next steps in learning. However, staff do not yet share information about how to support children's learning with each other as part of their ongoing professional development. Staff support children's love of stories through effective use of props and encouraging them to join in with elements of the story.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Overall, children feel happy and safe in the positive and calm atmosphere, alongside very caring staff. The manager does not thoroughly undertake risk assessments on new equipment. However, the risk to children is minimal as they are well supervised and learn how to handle the new objects with care. The staff teach children healthy routines, such as handwashing. Children eat healthy snacks but play outdoors is irregular, which affects children's physical development and well-being. Staff are good role models and offer plenty of praise and encouragement, which children thrive upon. Children love to see their work attractively displayed around the room and are proud of their achievements, such as a beautiful and very individual painting of a flower.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Children do not consistently make good progress in physical development, but in all other areas their development is more successful. For instance, they are keen to join in new activities, to mix and explore colours, media and materials. Children learn to manage tasks for themselves, such as laying the table for snack time. Children learn skills to prepare them for school. They learn to recognise and to write their names. Children have opportunities to count and older children learn to calculate quantities.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 109797 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 1100595 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 - 4 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 6 Name of registered person Christine Jones

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 15 May 2017 Telephone number 01489 576902

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reference number

Toybox Pre-School registered in 1993. The pre-school is open from 8.30am each weekday during school term time. It closes at 3pm on Thursdays and at 1.30pm on the remaining days of the week. The pre-school is in receipt of funding for the provision of early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The pre-school currently employs three members of staff who work directly with the children, two of whom hold recognised early years qualifications at level 2 and above.

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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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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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