Four Seasons Pre School

Inspection of Four Seasons Pre School Roebuck Infant School, St. Margarets, Stevenage SG2 8RF

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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, confident and secure. They separate well from their parents and eagerly greet staff. They reflect the positive attitudes and high expectations of staff and are keen to play and explore. Children are kind to one another and are developing a good awareness of their emotions. Staff support children in identifying and expressing their feelings appropriately, aiding children in developing good social skills. Children are starting to gain a practical awareness of differences. They share their 'all about me' books, discussing photos of their family and noting different family members, types of home and different pets.

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The provision is good

Children enjoy many play opportunities that support the development of their physical skills. They eagerly join in with the 'wake and shake' session and understand that they need to warm up before starting more vigorous exercise. They use role-play dentist resources and learn about cleaning their teeth properly, helping to promote their understanding of how to keep themselves healthy. Staff are sensitive to the potential effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns. During these times, they kept in touch with all families, for example through sending regular videos of staff reading stories. This helped children to settle quickly on their return to the pre-school.

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need to do better?

n Staff work together to make sure that each child's development is supported. They offer activities that aid children in taking the next steps in their learning and in making good progress. Staff are clear about the intention of activities and review these to check what children have learned. n There are effective procedures in place to monitor children's progress and ensure that no child falls behind in their learning. The manager knows the children well and ensures that any additional funding is used to offer opportunities that aid children in gaining skills that support their learning. n Staff support children's communication skills well. They introduce new words and make sure that children understand these. They then help children to join words together. These gentle daily opportunities particularly support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language and they make good progress.

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need to do better?

n Staff reinforce children's learning and support them in remembering what they have previously learned. For example, children use dough cutters and mould dough into shapes to make characters from a favourite book. Staff members help them to remember the story and children enjoy referring to the book to check this. n Children develop a clear, early understanding of counting. For example, they play a game of 'What's the time Mr Wolf?' The children concentrate as they

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need to do better?

8 March 2022 count the right number of steps and predict how many more steps they can take before the wolf pronounces 'dinner time'. n Children display a love of books. They listen intently as staff members read. They use a puppet theatre to retell stories to their friends. Children actively engage in this and smile as they call out names of the props, such as 'cocoon' and 'butterfly'. n Parents think highly of the setting. They praise staff and appreciate their good communication and the support they offer in extending children's learning. Parents comment that staff work very well with any other professionals involved in children's lives, helping to ensure that children's care is consistent and their development promoted. n The manager and deputy manager review the work of the setting and implement improvements. They pay attention to staff well-being and ensure that staff workloads are manageable. However, managers do not always make the

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need to do better?

best use of training and development opportunities to support staff in further raising the quality of their teaching. n Staff, generally, offer children support in developing their independence. For example, children of all ages enjoy choosing what they would like to play with. However, on occasion, staff do things for children that they could do themselves, such as putting on their coats and providing assistance when this is not needed. This sometimes confuses children and does not promote their independence to the optimum.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Managers and staff demonstrate a secure understanding of safeguarding. This includes wider issues, such as the dangers of exposure to extreme views and practices and the potential risks associated with use of the internet. Staff complete regular safeguarding training to keep their knowledge up to date. They are aware of how to identify any concerns about a child's welfare and report these in a timely manner to the appropriate professional.

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should:

n enhance the use of professional development to focus more precisely on building staff's knowledge and understanding, in order to continuously raise the quality of teaching n support staff to follow the setting's agreed approaches regarding promoting children's independence.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY553889 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 10174542 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Sessional day care

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inspection

Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 46 Name of registered person Four Seasons Pre School CIC

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reference number

Telephone number 01438 489463 Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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Information about this early years setting

Four Seasons Pre School re-registered in 2017. The pre-school employs six members of childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday during term time only. Sessions are from 9am until 3pm on Monday to Thursday, and from 9am to 1pm on Friday. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Inspection activities

n This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The manager joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked about their curriculum and what they want their children to learn. n The inspector observed staff interaction with children during activities indoors and outdoors and assessed the impact this has on children's learning. n The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager. n Meetings were held between the inspector, the manager and the acting deputy manager. The inspector looked at relevant documentation and saw evidence of the suitability of staff. n The inspector held discussions with staff, children and parents at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views.

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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

8 March 2022 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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