Little Hands Pre-School Nursery

Little Hands Pre-School Nursery Dengie Community Hall, Dengie Close, Witham, Essex, CM8 1DJ

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 2 November 2017 5 November 2014

p.1

3

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2

p.1

3

Outcomes for children Requires improvement

p.1

This provision requires improvement. It is not yet good because:

 Practitioners do not always challenge the children in planned activities to further extend their learning so that they make the best possible progress.  Supervision meetings do not focus enough on helping practitioners to improve their knowledge and skills and raise the quality of teaching to a higher level.  Self-evaluation is not thorough enough in reviewing the quality of practice and identifying areas for continuous improvement.

p.1

It has the following strengths

 Practitioners are caring and kind and the children form strong bonds with all members of the team. They are happy and enthusiastic learners who settle readily.  Interesting and topical activities are planned and the children learn about the world around them and how to take care of themselves.  Practitioners know the children well. They have good relationships with the parents who highly praise the managers and team of practitioners.  Some aspects of teaching are good. Practitioners encourage children to be independent and they are given opportunities to develop their confidence. They expertly pour their own milk and water at snack time and help themselves to healthy snacks.

p.1

What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

p.2

Due Date

 plan activities and experiences that challenge all children and promote good progress in their learning 02/12/2017

p.2

Due Date

 focus supervision meetings on raising practitioners' knowledge and teaching skills to a consistently good level to improve outcomes for children. 02/12/2017

p.2

Due Date

To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

p.2

Due Date

 use self-evaluation to identify areas for improvement and take action to implement identified changes.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children and practitioners, indoors and outdoors.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with management in the garden.  The inspector spoke to children, practitioners and management.  The inspector looked at a range of documentation, covering amongst other things children's development files, certificates and policies and procedures.  The inspector spoke to a number of parents and took account of their views.

p.2

Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

Managers do not make best use of their supervision meetings with practitioners to help them to raise the quality of teaching to a good level. The management team do not use self-evaluation effectively to identify areas for improvement and continuous development. Safeguarding is effective. Practitioners have a good understanding of the signs and symptoms of abuse and know how to report concerns. The management team is committed to keeping children and practitioners safe. They conduct regular risk assessments and swiftly address any safety concerns. The management team and practitioners have worked together for a long time. Partnerships with parents are good and children with additional educational and health requirements are well cared for. Practitioners introduce strategies to help these children to manage routines and make good progress.

p.3

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

The quality of teaching is variable. Some practitioners do not give enough consideration to the planning of activities, to ensure that children are fully challenged. For example, practitioners organise an obstacle course as a charity event. However, the organisation of the event is not carefully thought out. Children who are not engaged in the activity become restless. The children enjoy playing with shaving foam at an activity table. They explore how it changes texture from gel into foam and find it interesting when sycamore seeds from the garden and glitter, are added to it. The practitioner helps children to write letters in the foam.

p.3

Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children are settled and confident. They understand good hygiene procedures and know that they need to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet. They put on their wellington boots and coats efficiently to play outdoors. Children relish the opportunity to dig for worms in the garden and build a mud bonfire. They take turns and share the jugs and spades and are very well behaved. Children listen carefully to instructions. Practitioners know their key children well and they are kind and understanding of their individual needs and circumstances. Children have their own designated table area with their name on it; they are confident in taking their artwork and fetching their lunchboxes from there. This helps them to recognise their names and further develop their independence.

p.3

Outcomes for children require improvement

Weaknesses in the quality of teaching and assessment mean that children do not make the best progress possible in their learning. Nevertheless, children are independent and learn how to manage their own self-care needs. They guide their own play and enjoy learning in the outdoor environment. Children speak confidently and share their feelings with adults and other children. Children, including those who speak English as an additional language, are gaining the basic skills in preparation for their next stage of learning, such as school.

p.3

Setting details

Unique reference number 203764 Local authority Essex Inspection number 1103073 Type of provision Full-time provision Day care type Childcare - Non-Domestic Registers Early Years Register Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 53 Name of registered person Little Hands Pre-School Nursery Partnership

p.4

reference number

Date of previous inspection 5 November 2014 Telephone number 01376 511194

p.4

reference number

Little Hands Pre-School Nursery registered in 1994. It employs 11 members of childcare staff. Of these, 10 hold an appropriate childcare qualification at level 2 or above and one who holds qualified teacher status. The pre-school nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 9am until 3pm, term time only. The pre-school nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and health requirements.

p.4

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.

p.4

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.

p.4

reference number

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.5

reference number

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our website for news, information and updates at www.ofsted.gov.uk/user.

p.5

reference number

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

p.5