Holders Farm Kindergarten

Holders Farm Kindergarten 43 Osea Way, Springfield, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 6JS

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Inspection date 26 June 2019 Previous inspection date 28 January 2019

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Inadequate 4 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 The provider and staff team have worked hard to drive improvements. They have all completed training and have addressed the actions raised at the last inspection. This has had a positive impact on children's safety and the quality of teaching. n Children are eager to attend the kindergarten. They benefit from a range of stimulating resources that fire their imaginations and help motivate them to explore, investigate and experiment. Children make good progress and develop the skills they need for future learning. n Staff are positive role models and know each child well. They are sensitive and caring towards the children. They recognise when children require extra support and promptly attend to their needs with genuine care and concern. n Staff work well with parents. Information is frequently shared to involve parents in their children's achievements. They know what their children's next steps in learning are so

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This provision is good

they can support these at home. Parents are extremely complimentary about the care and attention the staff show their children. n Good links with local schools and other specialist professionals helps to build the collaborative approach to support children's learning and to assist a smooth transition onto full-time education. n The new arrangements for performance management have only recently been implemented. This means the provider is not yet monitoring staff's practice sharply enough to help raise the quality of teaching to an even higher level. n There is a very strong focus on developing children's early reading and writing skills. However, staff do not as consistently promote children's emerging awareness of mathematics in their environment and encourage the vocabulary to describe it.

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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 monitor staff's practice more precisely to help raise the quality of their teaching to the highest level n strengthen strategies for promoting children's awareness of mathematics in their environment and developing an appropriate mathematical vocabulary.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

n The inspector observed the quality of teaching during activities indoors and outdoors and assessed the impact this has on children's learning. n The inspector carried out joint observations with the provider and the deputy and viewed a sample of the children's development records. n The inspector held discussions with the provider, staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection. n The inspector reviewed evidence of the suitability and qualifications of the staff, self- evaluation, risk assessment and policies and procedures. n The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and from their responses to surveys organised by the kindergarten.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

The provider and staff team have worked closely with the local authority adviser to make improvements. Training has inspired the staff team to change play spaces and their approach to planning activities, with positive results to children's engagement. Arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All staff have now completed safeguarding courses. This ensures that they are clear about what to do if they have any concerns about a child's welfare and understand wider safeguarding issues. Staff are vigilant and supervise children through effective deployment. The provider is now beginning to observe staff's practice more effectively and holds individual supervisory meetings. The daily routine has been reviewed. Sessions are now well paced. Children have more opportunities to access varied and purposeful learning experiences.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

The well-qualified staff consistently demonstrate good-quality teaching practice. They involve children in conversations, model and rephrase language to extend children's understanding of the world, and to help them learn new words. Staff effectively encourage children's curiosity, imagination and interests. For example, children experiment with flowers and food colouring. They predict what might happen and show awe and wonder as they watch the flowers change colour. The provider and staff regularly observe and monitor children's progress to identify any gaps in learning. This helps them tailor support for individual children. Individualised resources and targeted activities are used effectively to help children catch up quickly.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Children behave well and understand staff's expectations. Staff support children to be kind, caring and polite to each other. Children make friends quickly and interact well as they organise games amongst themselves, such as role playing police officers or fire fighters. They make bigger decisions and vote when choosing larger group activities. Children learn about healthy and safe lifestyles. They enjoy healthy foods at snack time and talk confidently about what are healthy foods. Children use tools, such as scissors, carefully. They learn about road safety and confidently discuss how they might call the fire service in an emergency. Children have good opportunities to be active indoors and outside. They develop good control of their finer and larger movements. For example, they move expressively to music and make marks confidently with their fingers in salt or use chalks, pens and pencils with growing competence.

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Outcomes for children are good

Children make good progress from their different starting points. This includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. Children become confident communicators and develop good levels of independence. They confidently select activities and become competent at managing their personal needs. Children develop good early literacy skills. They look at books with pleasure and enthusiastically learn about letters and sounds. Children gain key skills in preparation for starting school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 203670 Local authority Essex Inspection number 10094610 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Sessional day care Age range of children 2 - 4 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 35 Name of registered person Colyer, Pauline

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reference number

Date of previous inspection 28 January 2019 Telephone number 01245 262593

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reference number

Holders Farm Kindergarten registered in 1971. The kindergarten employs nine members of childcare staff. Of these, seven staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and one member of staff holds qualified teacher status. The kindergarten opens from Monday to Friday during school term times. Sessions are from 9.30am to 3.30pm. The kindergarten provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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

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