St Bernard's School

Little Acorns Pre-school Ifold Kelsey Hall, Chalk Road, Ifold, Loxwood, Billingshurst, West Sussex RH14 0UD

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Inspection date 28 February 2019 Previous inspection date 7 June 2016

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Good 2 Effectiveness of leadership and management Good 2 Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good 2 Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good 2 Outcomes for children Good 2

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This provision is good

n Since the manager has been in the role, she has taken effective action to improve the provision. She evaluates practice with care to assess how it can be improved. This includes listening to parents and staff. The well-considered changes she has made have contributed to better outcomes for children. n Staff support children's development of independence well. Children show confidence in leading their play and making independent choices. Staff provide them with good opportunities to learn how to carry out everyday tasks, such as getting ready for outdoor play or preparing their snacks by themselves. n Staff make informative assessments of children's progress. They demonstrate a strong understanding of how children have developed since they began in the setting. They set personal targets for children to help them meet their full potential. All staff recognise how they can support each child and work closely as a team to ensure key

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This provision is good

persons are aware of children's progress. n Children make good progress from their starting points. They develop confidence quickly when starting in the setting. They are supported well to build on their speech and language skills. Where children achieve below the typical outcomes for their ages, the manager works in partnership with other professionals to provide additional support. n Staff do not consistently allow children the opportunity to develop their own thoughts and ideas, such as working out how to solve the simple problems they encounter by themselves. n The manager does not focus her performance management systems strongly enough on supporting staff to develop and build on their good teaching skills further.

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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 offer children more opportunities to develop their own thoughts and to work out how to solve the problems they encounter with greater independence n strengthen the use of performance management systems to focus more closely on supporting staff to build on and extend their good teaching skills further.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

Inspection activities n The inspector observed activities indoors and outdoors. n The inspector talked with staff, children and the manager at appropriate times throughout the inspection. n The inspector looked at children's assessment records and staff planning documentation, and checked evidence of the suitability and qualifications of staff. n The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection. n The inspector carried out a joint observation of children's learning and staff practice, with the manager.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Safeguarding is effective. The manager ensures staff understand how to recognise if a child's welfare is at risk. Her team displays vigilance and a confident knowledge of how to keep children safe. The manager has made many changes which have helped staff to move forward as practitioners. This includes offering them opportunities to build on their knowledge and supporting them to gain qualifications. The manager assesses with care the progress children make and takes effective action to improve practice in areas of learning where children progress more slowly. As a result of her careful monitoring, children have better opportunities to develop early writing skills. Staff now plan carefully to incorporate opportunities for children to make marks throughout the environment.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

Staff allow children the opportunity to direct their own play and use this well to support their learning. For example, when children show a preference for hand painting over using brushes, staff change the planned activity and teach children about the different marks they can make with their hands. They incorporate additional areas of learning in to the activity by using their own handprints to promote an understanding of shape and space. Staff work in close partnership with parents, who understand well how their children are progressing and how they can support their development at home. They use the information parents provide about children's achievements and interests at home in order to plan appealing activities.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children are happy and confident in the setting. They have strong relationships with the staff through which they feel safe and secure. Staff support children sensitively to ensure they can manage changes, such as moving on to school. They help children to recognise aspects of the settings they are moving on to. Staff skilfully teach children to interact with other children positively and promote good behaviour successfully. Children have good opportunities to learn how to keep themselves safe, including learning about road safety and about how to deal with emergency situations. Staff successfully teach children to accept differences that exist between each other. For example, children enjoy celebrations linked to each other's beliefs and cultural backgrounds.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children develop good early literacy skills in preparation for future learning. They participate in activities which show their understanding of their favourite stories, for example using puppets to retell the stories they have enjoy. Children show emerging writing skills and make marks with meaning. For example, they identify the lines they draw with pencils as items on shopping lists or point out the parts of a caterpillar in the pictures they paint. Children develop good numeracy skills and enjoy solving simple number problems. For instance, when they sing number rhymes, they eagerly work out how many will be left when they have taken one object away. Children play together happily and exhibit good social skills. They often engage in play together, including games they make up themselves.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 113582 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 10066664 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Day care type Full day care Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 17

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Name of registered person

Little Acorns Pre-School Learning Alliance Committee

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 7 June 2016 Telephone number 01403 752 670

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reference number

Little Acorns Pre-school Ifold opened in 1973. It operates from a village hall in Ifold, West Sussex. The pre-school opens every weekday during school term times. Opening times are from 9.15am to 1.15pm on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 9.15am to 12.15pm on Fridays and from 9.15am to 3.15pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The pre-school is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. It employs seven staff, five of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications between level 3 and level 6.

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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.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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reference number

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

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