Tots Pre School

Inspection of Tots Pre School Mobile Classroom c/o Bewbush First School, Dorsten Square, Bewbush, Crawley, West Sussex RH11 8XW

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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The provision requires improvement

Children are greeted by staff as they arrive, and receive a warm welcome. This helps them to feel valued and secure at the pre-school. On arrival, children independently find their name card and use this to make a decision about the drink they would like at snack time. Children are happy at the pre-school and generally play well with their friends. They have free access to a range of resources both inside and outside. However, the organisation of the environment and some routines do not fully support children's individual needs. For example, staff ask children to leave their play to sit and complete the register. As a result, some younger children are restless and not engaged as staff do not promote children's listening skills well enough. Staff understand that children learn through real experiences. They provide children with daffodils to support their understanding about how plants grow. However, staff do not provide children with enough time to

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The provision requires improvement

think and ask questions about the plants. Most children behave well. Those who need additional support to manage their own behaviour are helped to do so by their key person. However, not all staff are aware of how to support all children's needs as they do not fully understand their responsibility to do so. This means that sometimes, children who need additional support receive inconsistent care.

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need to do better?

n The manager identifies there is a weakness in the quality of the children's education. They are working in partnership with the local authority to make improvements with a focus to improve how staff communicate with children. However, this is very new and not yet embedded in staff practice. As a result, staff ask too many questions during children's play and do not give children time to think about their response. n Staff support children to manage their own personal hygiene and behaviour. For example, children are reminded to wash their hands before snack time and to wipe their own noses, and they are encouraged to share and take turns. However, not all staff are consistent in their approach to managing children's behaviour. For example, when children throw toys, staff do not talk to children about why this may be inappropriate, and instead, they pick the toys up and put them away. This does not help children to develop an understanding of their

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need to do better?

behaviour and the impact it may have on others. n The manager has not ensured that staff supervision is effective. For example, staff are being supported by an external speech and language agency to improve the way they communicate with children. However, the targets that the manager sets staff during their supervision, do not clearly reflect the improvements needed in staff knowledge and understanding in how to develop children's early communication skills. n The setting has an effective key-person system in place. Most parents feel happy

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need to do better?

10 March 2020 with the setting and their children's needs are being met some of the time. The manager has recently introduced a 'home-reading scheme' to support children's literacy and to encourage their communication and language development with parents. n Staff regularly observe children and use this information to plan activities based on what children can do and need to learn next. Staff identify that children are interested in counting and promote their mathematical development during small-world play. For instance, staff encourage the children to count the dinosaurs in and out of the sand, and talk about their size using words, such as 'big' and 'little'. n Most children are confident in selecting the activities they wish to explore. However, children are not able to listen and reflect on their learning, as at times the environment is overstimulating and noisy. For example, children ask staff questions about animals but are not heard due to the noise levels being too

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need to do better?

high. This has an impact on children being ready to move on to the next stage in their learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff know the signs to look for when identifying if a child is at risk of harm. They understand the pre-school's safeguarding policy and procedure. Staff are clear on their role and responsibilities to keep children safe, and know how to refer any concerns within the pre-school about children or staff members. They know who to go to and who the designated safeguarding leads are. The manager completes appropriate checks on staff to ensure they remain suitable to work with children. Staff know they must inform the manager should their suitability to work with children change.

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should:

n improve the arrangements for staff supervision to support effectively the development of staff skills and practice, to enable staff to clearly identify the areas of their practice they need to improve on to promote children's learning n review the organisation of the environment and group times, to enable children to have time to focus, listen and think about the things they are interested in n improve the ways staff communicate with children, extending children's language and critical-thinking to further develop their understanding of the things they are learning about.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 113796 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 10111782 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Day care type Sessional day care

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inspection

Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 72 Name of registered person Tots Pre-School Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 07811914153 or 01293 611799 Date of previous inspection 22 May 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Tots Pre School registered in 1990 and operates from a purpose-built unit in the grounds of Bewbush Primary School, Crawley. It is open each weekday from 8.45am to 3.10pm during term time. There are 17 members of staff, 16 of whom hold an early years qualification between level 2 and level 3. The setting provides funded early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector and the manager completed a learning walk across the pre-school to understand how the curriculum is organised. n The inspector observed the children's play, interactions between staff and children, and considered the impact on children's learning. n A joint observation was completed by the inspector and manager. n The inspector asked the staff questions to establish their understanding of how to safeguard children. n Discussions were held by the inspector with parents to gain their views.

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Inspection activities

10 March 2020 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

10 March 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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