St Thomas Methodist Pre School

Inspection of St Thomas Methodist Pre School St. Thomas Methodist Church, Cowick Street, St Thomas, EXETER, Devon EX4 1JE

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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 support children's emotions through forming secure attachments with them. Children show that they feel safe and secure in the environment and have a positive attitude to their learning. They seek comfort from staff if they need reassurance. Staff treat children as individuals and help them learn about their own uniqueness. For example, they support children to identify and talk about themselves in photographs. Children are confident to talk to visitors about their play and what they enjoy in the setting.

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The provision is good

Children have opportunities to learn from a wide range of activities. Staff provide a good selection of equipment and resources, and children enthusiastically explore using their imagination and creativity. For example, children stir and mix ingredients and make pies in the mud kitchen. They enjoy taking part in a nativity play for parents, joining in, clapping and shouting along enthusiastically.

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The provision is good

Staff help children to understand about turn taking and sharing toys, and use resources such as sand timers to support children to be independent in managing disputes or difficulties. Children support each other if they are struggling to manage their emotions or behaviour, offering comfort and help. Management and staff place a strong emphasis on supporting children's speech and language, identifying needs quickly and implementing good-quality, consistent support.

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need to do better?

n Staff know the children well and use a range of strategies consistently, including the use of visual cues and hand signs to support children's understanding and communication. Staff identify children's speech and language needs quickly, implementing the appropriate support for them to make good progress. Staff work well with other agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, resulting in a fully inclusive environment. n Partnerships with parents are strong. Staff keep parents well informed of their children's learning and progress, and parents speak very highly of the setting. Staff provide parents with ideas to extend their child's learning at home. n Staff provide an interesting and stimulating outdoor environment which promotes children's curiosity and interest. Children have opportunities to develop and practise their physical skills, for example by completing a balance course or

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need to do better?

making marks using brooms and water. Staff expose children to a literacy-rich environment, and children enjoy books and self-select these in the outdoor space. In the indoor environment, they investigate natural resources with tweezers and magnifying glasses to enhance their exploratory skills. n Children have secure attachments with staff through a well-established key- person system. This supports their sense of belonging and confidence to

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need to do better?

6 December 2019 engage. Children have a positive attitude to their learning. However, sometimes the stop and start of routines interrupts their focus and engagement, resulting in them not being able to complete tasks. n Staff support children and encourage them to be independent in their play through the provision of resources available to them. For example, play dough and drawing tables are set up with tools they can choose to use nearby. Children know where things belong and help themselves from a choice of paper and pencils. Staff support children's skills through routines. At snack time, for instance, children use spoons or tweezers to pick fruit for snack to strengthen their hand muscles for early writing. They use small jugs to pour drinks and wash their plates and cups. This helps develop their independence in preparation for school. n The manager has only been in place for a short time and has begun to identify

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need to do better?

plans for improvement. However, staff and management do not focus on identifying support and training through meetings to raise the quality of teaching to a higher level. n Staff use children's interests when planning activities or their next steps. For example, children enjoy playing with ice and explore different ways to melt the ice, and staff encourage them to predict what might happen. Children use new vocabulary, such as 'tinkle' and 'crackle', when asked to describe what they can hear when trying to melt the ice. This supports their exploration and language skills well.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff can identify the signs and symptoms that may be a cause for concern, including a broad understanding of wider safeguarding issues such as 'Prevent' duty. Staff are confident in the procedures to follow if they have a concern about a member of staff, taking into consideration changes to behaviour or demeanour. The provider shares a brief safeguarding policy to all visitors on entry to the setting. All staff have first-aid training. Staff deployment is good and children are well supervised and kept safe.

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should:

n review the routines of the day to allow children time to persevere and complete tasks to their satisfaction n develop coaching and training to focus on raising the quality of teaching to the highest level for both staff and management.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 106042 Local authority Devon Inspection number 10060839 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 24 Number of children on roll 35

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Name of registered person

St.Thomas Methodist Church Pre School Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 07896 286 830 Date of previous inspection 19 October 2015

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Information about this early years setting

St Thomas Methodist Pre School registered in 1993 and is situated in Exeter, Devon. The pre-school is open Monday to Friday during term time only, from 9am until 3pm. There are seven members of staff, most of whom hold appropriate childcare qualifications at levels 2 to 4. The pre-school receives funding for children aged two, three and four years.

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Inspection activities

n The manager completed a learning walk with the inspector, discussing the set up of the environment and the curriculum. n The inspector spoke to children and parents and took account of their views. n The quality of teaching and the impact on children's learning were observed. n The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager. n A sample of documentation was viewed, including policies, staff suitability checks and first-aid certificates.

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Inspection activities

6 December 2019 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

6 December 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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