Absolute Beginners

Absolute Beginners St. Giles Centre, Church Road, Farnborough, Orpington, Kent, BR6 7DB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 6 February 2018 10 November 2014

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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:

 Although staff are making observations of the children's play, they are not consistently using this information to make accurate assessment of the children's achievements. They do not effectively use this information to plan challenging activities that enable all children to make good progress.  The provider does not ensure communication with parents is effective. Staff do not inform parents about who their child's key person is when their child initially starts. This does not fully encourage a positive partnership from the start.  The manager does not effectively use self-evaluation to identify all weakness in practice.  Staff do not use all opportunities to engage all children during some daily routines and group activities.  At times, staff miss chances to enhance children's understanding of letters and the sounds they represent.

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It has the following strengths

 Caring staff develop a positive relationship with children. Children are happy and enjoy their time at the nursery.  Staff work well with external agencies, such as health visitors and social workers, to support children's individual needs.  Children easily access the attractively arranged resources covering all areas of learning.

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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

 improve the assessment and planning systems to ensure all children enjoy challenging play opportunities and make good progress in their learning and development 02/03/2018

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Due Date

 improve communication with parents and inform them of their child's key person from the start. to establish a good exchange of information. 16/02/2018

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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

 use self-evaluation more effectively to identify weaknesses in the practice and where improvement is required  support staff more to ensure all children are fully engaged at all times  continue to improve children's understanding of letters and the sounds they represent.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities and the quality of teaching.  The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including key policies and procedures, and children's development records.  The inspector took account of parents' views through discussions.  The inspector spoke to the provider, members of staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector and manager observed and discussed a planned activity. The inspector held meetings with the provider to discuss children's progress, staff supervision, safeguarding and how she evaluates practice.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management requires improvement

Safeguarding is effective. Staff understand their role in recognising and reporting concerns to help protect children from harm. The provider informs parents about their child's key person after six weeks, however this limits the opportunity for effective communication and information sharing about their child's care and development when the child first starts. The manager provides regular supervisory sessions and training for staff to update their knowledge. However, this does not always improve teaching and staff practice. Parents are complimentary about the staff and the variety of different activities that children complete. The manager is not fully evaluating the quality of the nursery effectively to recognise all weaknesses and areas to improve.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Staff have recently changed their system for observation and assessment. At present, this is not effective as some staff are not making assessments across all areas of learning, to securely know about children's development needs. This makes it difficult for the manager to monitor the children's progress accurately. Occasionally, this impacts on the activities planned as they are not challenging all children to extend their learning and enable them to make good progress. Staff support children's knowledge of traditional stories and develop a range of activities to encourage children to understand the characters and order of the story. However, some staff are not highly confident with their support for children's developing awareness of letters and the sounds they represent. Staff communicate with parents about their child's learning achievements, for example, through emails and daily discussion.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

Staff are kind and caring, and support the children well with their care needs and emotional development. However, staff do not consistently plan group activities that interest and sustain the attention of all the children involved. Staff support children to develop their physical, personal and social skills. For example, children develop their small muscles as they link construction toys together and their large muscles as they use a slide, where they also develop an understanding of taking turns and safety. Children gain knowledge and an awareness of other people as they learn about festivals from cultures around the world.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Not all children make good progress due to inconsistent assessment and planning. Nevertheless, overall, children gain basic skills needed in readiness for school. They develop their independence, for example, as they learn to manage their own personal care needs and confidently carry out simple tasks. Children enjoy developing an understanding of mathematical language as they, for instance, talk about height when building towers with interlinking blocks and planting sunflowers.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 137266 Local authority Bromley Inspection number 1070288 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 - 4 Total number of places 23 Number of children on roll 22 Name of registered person Debra Pedder

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 10 November 2014 Telephone number 07714 661035

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reference number

Absolute Beginners registered in 1994 and operates in Farnborough Village, Kent. The pre- school is open from 9.15am to 2.30pm on Monday, Thursday and Friday and from 9.15am to 12.15pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, during term time only. There are five staff, two of whom have a relevant childcare qualification at level 3 and one member of staff at level 2. The provider receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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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

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

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