Abbotsham and Alwington Pre-School

Inspection of Abbotsham and Alwington Pre-School The Old School Room and Major's Office, Abbotsham, BIDEFORD, Devon EX39 5AP

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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

Children enter the setting at the start of the session confidently and eager to explore the attractive environment that staff have created for them. They have close relationships with staff and feel happy and safe in their care. Staff are kind and respectful. For example, they give children a warning before tidy-up time, so the children are able to finish their play in their own way. This helps to prepare children for transitions throughout the day, so they are ready to move on to the next activity. Children behave very well and understand staff's expectations. They respond immediately when staff play a musical instrument by stopping what they are doing and listening to and following instructions.

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The provision is good

Staff have high expectations for children and provide a wide range of stimulating activities and resources. Children enjoy investigating and testing out what they know. For instance, they are fascinated to learn about different materials when they use metal detectors, excitedly calling out to staff when the devices beep. Staff are encouraging and supportive, which helps build children's confidence to try new things. They patiently explain to children how to catch a ball and help them to climb over obstacles, and cheer enthusiastically when children succeed.

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need to do better?

n The manager leads a strong team. Staff morale is high and they all have close relationships with each other and the manager. They are committed to providing high-quality experiences for children. The manager is a highly skilled practitioner and acts as an excellent role model for staff. For example, when reading a story to the whole group, she uses theatrical voices, pauses to allow children to join in with repeated refrains and makes excellent use of questions to obtain their ideas. All children listen intently and are completely engrossed. Although the manager promotes staff's professional development, the support and coaching she provides are not as focused and highly effective as they could be, to enhance staff's teaching to a very high standard consistently. On occasions, staff do not recognise when they could extend children's learning further. n Staff work closely with parents to enable very good consistency for children.

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need to do better?

They provide parents with regular updates on their children's progress and suggest how parents can extend children's learning further. Parents value this advice and share with staff the outcome of the activities their children do at home. n Staff are particularly skilled at modelling language and teaching children new words, for example talking about spheres, hexagons, avocados and segments. They routinely repeat what children say before responding, to model the correct pronunciation of sounds. Children develop good speaking skills and express themselves confidently.

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need to do better?

27 February 2020 n The manager is reflective and makes changes to the setting to benefit children. She has moved the role-play area to the main playroom after realising its popularity with children, to allow the other children in the smaller, quieter play area to concentrate better on their chosen activities. n Children are independent in their self-care. They are all eager to help prepare the fruit for snack. They pour their own drinks, manage their toileting needs and put on their coat, asking for help from staff only to fasten the zip. n Staff support children to count throughout the day and teach them to link numbers with quantities. Children often clap each time they say a number when counting to keep a steady pace, which helps them come to the correct answer. Children develop good mathematics skills. n Children learn good social skills to help them build friendships. They take turns, use good manners without prompt and offer to give cuddles to their friends

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need to do better?

when they are upset. Staff celebrate children's positive behaviour and motivate them to be kind and caring, for example by presenting them with 'kindness balls' in front of the rest of the group, which children receive proudly. n Staff encourage children to persevere and solve problems. For example, when children struggle to turn on a technology toy and go to give up, staff patiently suggest they try again and the children then succeed. This helps to build their self-esteem and to develop a can-do attitude. Children are creative and confidently select the resources they want, for example deciding which tool will be the most effective at digging sand to 'rescue' a buried toy.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The manager and staff have a secure understanding of their responsibilities to keep children safe. They have completed up-to-date training to help them recognise potential signs that a child's welfare is at risk of harm and how to report any concerns. The manager implements robust recruitment and vetting procedures to ensure all new staff are suitable and fully aware of their role. Staff carry out effective risk assessments to provide safe and secure play areas for children, for example counting the children as they move between the garden and playroom to check that everyone is present.

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should:

n provide more targeted support and coaching for staff to help them recognise how to extend every child's learning as much as possible.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY474609 Local authority Devon Inspection number 10075718 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Sessional day care Age range of children 3 to 4 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 47

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Name of registered person

Abbotsham and Alwington Playgroup Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 01237 478175 Date of previous inspection 9 March 2016

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Information about this early years setting

Abbotsham and Alwington Pre-School re-registered in 2014. It operates from The Old School Room and Major's Office in Abbotsham, Devon. The pre-school is open from 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday, during term time only. There are seven members of staff. Of these, five hold a qualification at level 3, one holds level 2 and the manager holds level 4. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of free early years education for children aged three and four years.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector spoke with children, their parents and staff, and sampled parents' written feedback, to take account of their views. n The manager gave the inspector a tour of the premises and explained how the setting is organised and how they promote children's learning. n The inspector observed children's interactions with staff, their self-chosen play and their participation in adult-led activities, inside and outdoors. n A joint observation was completed by the manager and the inspector, to evaluate the quality of teaching and learning during a planned activity. n The manager participated in a leadership and management meeting and provided a sample of documents for the inspector to look at.

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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

27 February 2020 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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