St Gabriels Catholic Pre-school

Inspection of St Gabriels Catholic Pre- school St. Gabriels RC CP School, Well Lane, Alsager, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST7 2PG

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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The provision is good

This long-established pre-school operates at the heart of the local community. Leaders actively promote an ethos of tolerance and respect for all. Children and families feel welcome and valued. For example, children proudly show the contents of the 'treasure boxes' that they bring from home. They talk about the family photographs and remember where they found the bird feather.

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The provision is good

Partnerships with other settings are a particular strength of the provision. This helps children to transfer smoothly between settings. For example, some children attend the pre-school and the out-of-school club. Practitioners make sure that they exchange information that promotes continuity for children's care and well-being.

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The provision is good

Practitioners plan activities that help children to make good progress. They ably weave the areas of learning into a curriculum that children are eager to engage with. That said, the organisation of the day sometimes limits the time available for children's self-directed play. On occasion, practitioners ask children questions that do not promote their learning really effectively.

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The provision is good

Managers establish procedures that help to keep children safe. For example, they teach children to follow consistent rules for playing on outdoor equipment. Leaders and managers evaluate the provision and make improvements.

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need to do better?

n Leaders and managers demonstrate vision and ambition for the pre-school. The partnership with the school is strong. Improvement planning helps the team to raise the quality of the care and education that they offer. n Parents praise the friendly, attentive practitioners. They say that new children are supported to settle in quickly. They comment that children gain confidence at the pre-school. Parents like the daily information that they receive about activities. They feel well informed about matters such as children's accidents. n Supervision and training help the well-qualified practitioners to improve their professional knowledge and skills. The team work together effectively to review and improve practice. For example, they wanted to build on the existing arrangements for preparing children to start school. They worked with school practitioners to ensure that children were confident about new routines. This

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need to do better?

included, for example, teaching children to carry their lunch on a tray to the table. n Children arrive at the pre-school ready to explore the interesting toys and activities indoors and outdoors. Practitioners plan daily routines so that children often have time to direct their own play. However, on occasion, the organisation of the day does not give children enough time to develop their own ideas and

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need to do better?

16 September 2019 deepen their thinking. n Practitioners establish clear expectations for children's behaviour. This helps children to feel secure and to develop self-control. For example, children quickly line up, ready to be invited onto the carpet for register time. Practitioners skilfully incorporate specific learning into the routine. For instance, they point to the letters printed on the carpet and tell children which letter they must sit on. This helps children to begin to learn about written letters and the sounds that they represent. n Practitioners invent activities that arouse children's curiosity. For example, children busily thread small beads onto vertical sticks. This helps to promote their concentration and physical development. Practitioners join in and encourage children to count the beads. This teaches children to associate numbers and counting with quantity. n Practitioners ask children questions that help them to extend and consolidate

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need to do better?

what they know. For example, they ask children whether they think the weather is cloudy or very cloudy today. This helps to develop children's understanding of familiar words in a meaningful context. However, sometimes, practitioners do not match questions precisely enough to what children know and are ready to learn next. This means that some questions are not meaningful enough and children do not know how to respond.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The manager and practitioners attend training that updates and refreshes their knowledge of child protection matters. They know the action they must take if an allegation is made against a member of staff. All practitioners demonstrate an intention to seek advice and to report suspected abuse and neglect. The provider follows safe recruitment procedures. New practitioners are carefully vetted before they start work in the pre-school.

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should:

n review procedures to ensure that relevant changes are notified to Ofsted in a timely way n strengthen questioning techniques, so that practitioners ask precise questions that promote children's learning really effectively n give children more time to instigate and follow their own lines of enquiry.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 305319 Local authority Cheshire East Inspection number 10062151 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Sessional day care Age range of children 3 to 3 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 14 Name of registered person St Gabriels RC Church Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 01270 875770 Date of previous inspection 2 July 2015

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Information about this early years setting

St Gabriels Catholic Pre-school registered in 1979. The pre-school employs three members of childcare staff. Of these, two hold qualified teacher status and one holds a qualification at level 3. The pre-school opens from Monday to Thursday during school terms. Sessions are from 8.30am until 3pm. The pre-school provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector held meetings with the pre-school provider, the manager and members of the committee. n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk. The manager explained how the indoor and outdoor areas are organised to promote children's learning. n The inspector met with four parents and carers. She also took account of written feedback from parents. n A joint observation of teaching was carried out by the inspector and the pre- school manager. n The inspector looked at a sample of the documents used in the provision. This included records and monitoring of accidents and injuries to children.

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Inspection activities

We carried out this inspection 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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Inspection activities

16 September 2019 regulates and inspects to 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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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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Inspection activities

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