Dartmouth Pre-School

Inspection of Dartmouth Pre-School South Ford Road, DARTMOUTH, Devon TQ6 9QS

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

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

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The provision is inadequate

Weaknesses in leadership and management mean that children's welfare is at risk. Leaders have not ensured that staff have a good enough understanding of safeguarding procedures and they do not share information that suggests children may be at risk of harm with the relevant agencies. Staff are not gathering the range of information needed when children first start to ensure they can keep them safe and well.

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The provision is inadequate

Children arrive each day happy and keen to attend. They explore confidently and staff supervise them to help them feel secure. Children form close relationships with staff, who they laugh with and invite into their play. Children behave well and learn to share, take turns and play kindly. They benefit from the positive role modelling by staff, who manage children's disagreements calmly and consistently. Children enjoy regular outdoor play and physical activities. They run, climb, ride wheeled toys and play ball games outside. Children join in creative and imaginative play with enthusiasm. For example, they make 'meals' in the garden mud kitchen with staff, enjoy music and movement activities and build large constructions with their friends. However, staff do not gather relevant information about what children can do when they first start at the setting. This means that they are not planning and providing a curriculum that enables children to get off to the best possible

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The provision is inadequate

Staff have adapted their practice in the setting to keep children and families safe throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, they request that parents drop off and collect children from the door and they provide hand sanitiser for all adults and children to use before entering the premises.

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need to do better?

n The setting has undergone significant staff changes over the last year. The provider notified Ofsted of the appointment of a new manager, who started three weeks ago. However, prior to this, the provider failed to notify Ofsted of several changes to the management structure. This is a breach of requirements. n The management team does not monitor staff's knowledge and understanding of their roles and responsibilities effectively. The new manager has started to monitor the quality of teaching and has begun to arrange training. However, she has not identified the weaknesses in staff's knowledge of safeguarding issues and procedures. n The management team does not obtain and record all the required information from parents for every new child starting at the setting. For example, they do not have the date of birth, emergency contact details or healthcare information for every child attending so that staff can meet children's needs safely.

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need to do better?

2 November 2021 n The manager and staff have made some improvements since the last inspection. Staff now use successful strategies to manage children's behaviour and provide more time in the garden for children who prefer outdoor play. The new manager has started to review the systems for obtaining more information about children when they start at the setting. However, she has not yet made sufficient progress with this to have an impact on improving the quality of education. n The manager and staff have started to work closely with external professionals and parents to support the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This includes helping parents to obtain appropriate funding for them to use to support the children's development in readiness for school. n Some staff use good questioning techniques to encourage children's communication and language development. For example, they adapt questions

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need to do better?

to help children understand and answer questions and they provide one-to-one activity time to help children learn new words to build their vocabulary. n Staff help children to develop an interest in books. For example, staff read stories with enthusiasm and change their voices for the characters. They encourage children to share toys relevant to the story to help them understand what words mean, such as 'tweezers' and 'stethoscopes' in a story about a hospital.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff do not have a sufficient understanding of the policies and procedures to ensure that they safeguard children's welfare. Designated safeguarding leads have not followed procedures to ensure that concerns received about a child's welfare are acted on. Staff have gaps in their knowledge and understanding of safeguarding children. They have a limited understanding of the risks to children in relation to extreme views and female genital mutilation. The provider follows robust recruitment procedures to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Staff maintain safe and secure play areas for children throughout the premises.

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Due date

ensure that the designated safeguarding leads respond in a timely way to any information or signs that a child might be at risk of possible abuse and neglect 16/11/2021

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Due date

2 November 2021 improve staff development to ensure that all staff have a good up-to-date understanding of safeguarding issues and the signs that a child might be at risk of possible abuse 16/11/2021

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Due date

obtain and record all required information for each child attending the setting 16/11/2021

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Due date

improve the use of assessments to ensure that staff understand what children know and can do from the start, to plan their learning more effectively. 30/11/2021

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Setting details

Unique reference number 106107 Local authority Devon Inspection number 10115330 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Registers

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

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inspection

Total number of places 18 Number of children on roll 13 Name of registered person Dartmouth Pre-school Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 01803 834449 Date of previous inspection 26 June 2019

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Information about this early years setting

Dartmouth Pre-School opened in 1961 and registered in 1992. It operates from a school hall in Dartmouth, Devon. The pre-school is open between 9am and 3pm from Monday to Friday, during term time. It receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. There are five members of staff employed. The manager holds an early years qualification at level 6, one member of staff is a qualified primary school teacher and two staff hold early years qualifications at level 3.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the setting received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the manager and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the setting. n The manager completed a learning walk around the premises with the inspector and explained how they meet children's needs and deliver the curriculum. n The inspector observed activities and the quality of staff's interactions with the children. She discussed the quality of staff's teaching skills with the manager. n The inspector sampled documents and discussed the manager's knowledge of the requirements of the early years foundation stage. n The inspector took account of the views of children and parents.

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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

2 November 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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