Crowhurst Preschool

Inspection of Crowhurst Preschool Crowhurst Youth Club, Crowhurst, Battle, Sussex TN33 9AT

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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 Not applicable

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The provision is good

Children are happy and settled at pre-school. They arrive with excitement, eagerness and anticipation for the day. As parents are currently unable to enter the premises, staff make sure they share sufficient information with them. This helps keeps parents fully informed about what children are learning and the progress they are making. Good attention is paid towards keeping children safe. Staff are vigilant in checking for any potential risks and take prompt action to keep the premises secure. Partnerships with parents are good. Parents praise the staff highly and say how much their children enjoy their sessions at pre-school. Staff plan an exciting range of activities based on what they know children enjoy doing. They teach children well and have high expectations of every child. Children behave well. They form close relationships with their peers. Older children are particularly kind and respectful of the younger children. The pre-school manager is a strong leader.

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The provision is good

There have been several changes to staff recently. However, the manager and management committee have made sure this has caused minimal disruption to the children. New staff have quickly settled into the setting and got to know the children and parents well.

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need to do better?

n Teaching is good, overall. Despite some of the staff being relatively new to the setting, they know each of the children well and respond quickly to children's changing ideas. For example, when children decide to water the flowers and vegetables they are growing, staff encourage this. They make observations with the children and talk about which plants are growing and compare the lengths of the different shoots. However, the staff team is still new. The manager has not yet had sufficient time to organise an ongoing programme of professional development to further improve the quality of teaching. At present, very occasionally, staff do not always organise activities of the highest quality to support children's learning. For example, they provide a threading activity for children, but do not always make sure children have access to the relevant resources to complete this easily. n Staff meet children's care and well-being needs well. They are very 'in-tune' with

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need to do better?

children and quickly recognise when a child may need extra help and attention. Staff actively encourage children to express their emotions and talk about how they are feeling. Children learn to understand that, sometimes, they may feel angry or upset and staff teach them effective ways to help them manage this. n The curriculum offers a rich programme of fun and interesting learning activities. All areas of the early years foundation stage are covered, both inside and outside. Children explore different ideas and gain information which will support their future learning. For example, they understand which foods can be recycled and which can be composted. Following a recent topic around boats and

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need to do better?

9 June 2021 beaches, children learnt about the different safety flags used by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). n Funding is used well to make sure children who need extra help with their learning are supported effectively. Extra staff are brought in to give children individual help. Staff complete relevant training to make sure they have the skills and knowledge to support every child's needs. n Children are prepared well for starting school. They develop positive attitudes towards learning and show interest and curiosity to try new things. Even the younger children persevere when tasks are more complex, such as threading wool through pasta tubes. They celebrate their achievements proudly by saying, 'I did it'. n Leadership is good. The pre-school manager works closely with the management committee to make sure all legal requirements are met. Stringent procedures are followed to check that all new staff are suitable to work with children. The

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need to do better?

manager regularly reflects on practice. She recognises further improvements can be made to ensure teaching is outstanding and has identified a realistic programme of ongoing staff training. n Partnerships with parents, other professionals and the local school are good. Pre-school staff liaise closely with all those involved in children's care and learning to make sure information is appropriately exchanged when necessary. Despite the restrictions imposed by the COVID19 (coronavirus) pandemic last year, staff organised a joint project with the Reception teacher and parents. This enabled children to take part in activities at both pre-school and home and then see their work displayed in the Reception classroom, when they joined the school last September. This contributed towards a smooth transition for children and enabled them to see their parents and teachers working closely together.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are vigilant in making sure children are always protected from harm. They know what action to take if they have any concerns. The manager regularly shares information with parents to help them understand how to keep children safe at home. For example, by making sure children use social media safely and under appropriate adult supervision. Staff help children to learn how to play safely. For example, children are allowed to climb a tree in the garden. They know how to manage this safely and become increasingly confident in doing this independently when they feel ready.

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should:

n continue to develop the staff team to ensure teaching is outstanding overall.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY562122 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 10194222 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 Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 13 Name of registered person Crowhurst Playgroup Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 07780649516 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Crowhurst Preschool has been registered in its current premises since 2018. However, it has been established in the village for over 45 years. It operates from the youth club and opens Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, term time only, from 9am to 3pm. Funding is accepted for the provision of free early years education for children aged two, three and four years. A team of three staff work with the children. Of these, one is qualified to level 3 and one is qualified to level 2. An unqualified member of staff is due to start level 3 training.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the setting received since the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the staff and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the setting. n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk around the setting together. They talked about which activities are planned and how they support children's learning. n The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager. They watched an activity together and assessed the quality of teaching. n Children spoke to the inspector about what they like doing at pre-school. n Parents talked to the inspector and spoke about how the pre-school supports their child's learning and development.

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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

9 June 2021 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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