Hilltop Pre-School

Inspection of Hilltop Pre-School Holy Trinity Church Hall, Rectory Garth, Rayleigh, Essex SS6 8BA

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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

Staff implement effective key-person and settling-in systems, which enable children to settle into the pre-school at their own pace. Supervisors and staff provide a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. Children enter the pre-school with confidence and enthusiasm, separating well from their parents. Younger children look for any reassurance they may need from the welcoming staff. This supports children to feel safe and secure.

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The provision is good

Staff are positive role models. They join in children's play, show them how to use equipment and develop their learning by offering ideas. For example, staff encourage children to experiment with colour. They mix soft dough made up of different primary colours together and talk about the changes in colour they see as the colours blend. This helps to support children's understanding of mathematical concepts and their physical development. Children demonstrate a love of reading from a young age. They enjoy familiar stories and are encouraged to examine pictures and turn the pages in books.

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The provision is good

Staff give lots of praise and encouragement during activities, which supports children's confidence and self-esteem. Children learn to lead healthy lifestyles. They enjoy a variety of nutritious snacks. Staff encourage children to manage tasks for themselves. For example, they learn to put on their own coats and wellington boots when going outside. Children enjoy playing outside and express delight as they learn to roll the hula hoops and run around the play area.

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need to do better?

n Staff use their observations and assessments of children's development to plan interesting activities to help children achieve their next steps in learning. Children enjoy staff's company and choose to take part in activities with them. They enjoy playing imaginative games as they pretend to go shopping. They select play food, putting it in baskets and carrying it around with their friends. n Staff track the development of all children. This ensures that they can plan for the next steps in their learning. Effective partnerships with other professionals are improving staff's knowledge of how to support children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The supervisors and staff team use additional funding well to tailor activities to children's individual needs and interests and extend their learning further. n Staff have a kind and nurturing approach. They are good role models for

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need to do better?

children. They consistently praise positive behaviour and gently remind children of the rules of the pre-school. Children behave well. They are valued as unique individuals and staff form extremely respectful relationships with them. This develops children's confidence and self-identity.

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need to do better?

11 October 2019 n Staff promote healthy lifestyles well. Children squeeze their own oranges to make orange juice, enjoy healthy snacks and take part in activities that teach them about making healthy choices. They access a range of opportunities for exercise in the garden. This supports their physical skills and overall well-being. n Parents speak highly of staff. They say that they feel well informed about how their children are developing because the communication from staff is good. n The supervisors lead their team well in a programme of reflective practice and ongoing improvement. Staff benefit from a good range of useful opportunities to help keep their knowledge and skills up to date. They attend ongoing training and participate in regular staff meetings. n The supervisor uses staff meetings to set group targets. However, systems for assessing the quality of teaching have not been embedded. Occasionally, staff

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need to do better?

do not use opportunities to ask questions that test out and challenge children's thinking skills further. n The supervisor does not always ensure that the initial information obtained from every parent about their child's learning when they start at pre-school is sufficiently detailed in order to fully support their early identification of what children know and can do. n Children's varying levels of concentration and attention are not always considered by staff, for example when organising large-group activities. This results in children's attention not always being sufficiently captured.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Supervisors and staff have attended safeguarding training. They are aware of child protection and how to keep children safe. Staff know who the designated person for safeguarding is and they are aware of how to report any concerns they have about children. They know how to implement the pre-school's whistle-blowing policy. Staff identify and address hazards through risk assessment. The supervisors follow effective recruitment and vetting procedures to ensure that staff working with children are suitable to do so. There is always a member of staff with a paediatric first-aid qualification on the premises when children are present.

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should:

n build on arrangements for the professional development of staff, to enhance the quality of teaching even further n extend the range of information sought from parents when children start at the pre-school and establish an in-depth understanding of children's starting points n review and amend the organisation of large-group activities to maximise learning opportunities for all children.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 203666 Local authority Essex Inspection number 10062905 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Sessional day care Age range of children 2 to 4 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 42 Name of registered person Hilltop Pre-School Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 07967386414 Date of previous inspection 11 November 2015

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Information about this early years setting

Hilltop Pre-School registered in 1975. The pre-school employs 12 members of childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at levels 5, 3 and 2. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 9.15am until 12.15pm each day with the exception of Thursday, when they run from 9.15am to 2.45pm. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector observed the quality of teaching and the support for children's learning during activities inside and outside. n The inspector assessed how well the supervisors and staff understand and implement policies, and how they monitor children's learning. n A joint observation was carried out by the inspector and the supervisor to monitor the quality of teaching. n The inspector talked to parents, staff and children during the inspection and took their views into account. n The inspector undertook a walk around the pre-school with the supervisor to find out about the pre-school and the children who attend.

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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

11 October 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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