Little Owls Woodland Preschool

Little Owls Woodland Preschool Itchen Valley Country Park, Allington Lane, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 3HQ

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Inspection date 22 November 2018 Previous inspection date Not applicable

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Outcomes for children Requires improvement

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This is a provision that requires improvement

n On one occasion, children were not supervised as well as possible and a child had a minor accident that staff heard but did not see. n Although new staff have an induction, it is sometimes not rigorous enough. Not all staff are fully trained to support children's care and welfare. n A few assessments of children's progress are inaccurate and staff are sometimes not engaging well with children to aid their learning successfully. n Self-evaluation and improvement have not been strong enough since the registration. For example, liaising with other providers to share information about children's learning and development is inconsistent.

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It has the following strengths

n Children are excited and motivated learners. They develop their physical skills well and learn about their own safety, for example, during activities such as cooking on a fire. n Children are happy and settled. They behave well, build trusting relationships with staff and show confidence with friends. For example, they work together well to gather firewood for the log store. n Overall, parents' feedback is positive. They are happy with the communication from the management team and see the benefits outdoor learning brings to their children. n The new provider is in the process of reorganising their leadership team. Managers thoroughly check staff's suitability and staff understand child protection procedures.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must: Due date ensure that staff are always deployed effectively so children are adequately supervised and their needs are consistently met 07/12/2018

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

improve induction training so all staff have a secure knowledge of their health and safety responsibilities 07/12/2018

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

improve the children's assessments and staff's teaching to ensure the learning outcomes for all children are consistently good. 07/12/2018

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

n develop stronger links with all other settings children attend to enable continuity in children's care and their learning and development n develop self-evaluation methods, to identify successfully strengths of practice and what needs to improve.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

Inspection activities n The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day. n The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager. n The inspector held a leadership and management discussion with the manager and the nominated person and looked at relevant documentation. n The inspector observed children's play and learning activities and talked to children.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

The management team does not reflect well enough on all aspects of the provision. As a result, it has not identified in a timely manner areas where improvement is needed. However, following a complaint, the management team has identified some weaknesses and started to address these. Although children are supervised, on one occasion a minor accident occurred which was not fully witnessed by staff. Managers do not monitor the accuracy of staff's assessments of children's progress or the effectiveness of their teaching well enough. As a result, these are not consistently of a good standard. Staff are offered coaching and help to gain a recognised qualification, but their induction at the woodland setting lacks rigour. Although there are enough qualified first-aiders, not all staff can carry out their specific roles successfully. Safeguarding is effective. Designated staff for safeguarding are fully trained and all staff are aware of their reporting roles

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

Teaching is inconsistent. Staff do not always liaise with other settings children attend to share information, to have a consistent approach to their teaching and learning. Staff observe children as they play and plan for some progress, but not all assessments are accurate. Some children are learning well in key areas of learning, such as in their communication and language, social and physical skills. Staff provide good extension in children's thinking skills during whole-group firepit activities. However, overall, staff do not use all the information effectively to plan activities to engage individual children well enough. This means that, at times, some older children run around unchallenged in their learning. Staff miss teaching opportunities to extend children fully, such as in their pre- writing skills.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare require improvement

The leadership systems, such as staff deployment and induction training, are not as effective as possible. However, children are very settled and build strong relationships with staff and friends. They are independent and very much enjoy doing small tasks, developing a keen sense of responsibility. Children behave well, and staff are good role models for the children. They remind the children of the setting's rules and boundaries on how to keep safe. Children quickly become confident and develop good self-esteem. Children enjoy an outdoor picnic with friends in the cold weather, wrapped up warmly.

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Outcomes for children require improvement

Children enjoy their time at pre-school, but not all children make the best possible progress in all areas because of the weaknesses in teaching. Older boys or those identified as needing extra support in learning lack specific teaching support. Children learn some skills that help them prepare for starting school. For example, they sit and listen well to instructions during firepit cooking, and contribute their thoughts and ideas. Children have fun with their friends, show imagination and show good large movement skills. They love the challenge of balancing on ropes or climbing up a tree.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY556184 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 10085195 Type of provision Sessional day care

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register

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Day care type

Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 45 Name of registered person Youth Options Centres Ltd

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reference number

Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01794525510

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reference number

Little Owls Woodland Preschool registered in 2018. It is an outdoor forest pre-school. The pre-school is open Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 3pm, term time only. Seven staff work with the children, three of whom hold qualified teacher status. The pre-school is in receipt of free early education funding for children aged two, three and four years.

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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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procedures set out in the guidance Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . 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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, 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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