Grange Pre-School

Inspection of Grange Pre-School Grange United Reformed Church, Circuit Lane, READING RG30 3HD

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

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

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The provision is outstanding

Children benefit from a staff team that nurtures every child as a unique individual. The impact of this shines through. For example, children are extremely polite and delight in introducing themselves and their friends to the inspector. They sit down and discuss their families, traditions and backgrounds, and listen to what their peers say with genuine interest. Children's behaviour is exemplary. They illustrate this as they create a hairdressing salon and negotiate different prices for a cut, colour and blow dry. Staff consistently give children the support they need so they flourish and succeed in what they want to achieve. They skilfully use visual displays, such as pictures of different hairstyles, to engage children in discussion. This particularly supports non-verbal children and those who speak English as an additional language.

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The provision is outstanding

Children demonstrate high levels of perseverance and are extremely motivated to complete their goals. For instance, older children demonstrate excellent control and practise different skills, such as turning upside down as they climb up ropes. This builds on their core strength exceptionally well. Their younger peers learn to take safe risks. They carefully negotiate their way over the climbing wall, showing outstanding coordination for their age. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make excellent progress from their starting points.

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need to do better?

n Staff meticulously assess children's progress and swiftly identify any concerns. They embed the learning intentions for all children into the exceptionally well- planned curriculum. Staff work extremely closely with parents and the highly experienced special educational needs coordinator to provide outstanding early intervention. They ensure all children have every opportunity to reach their full potential. n Staff promote children's mathematical understanding exceptionally well. For instance, children show excellent problem-solving skills. They follow picture instructions and persevere until they successfully link one end of the train track to the other. Children think critically about differences in size. They make predictions as to how many train carriages will fit onto the track at the station. n Children's understanding of the importance of healthy lifestyles is outstanding. They confidently discuss the life cycle of the fruit they have planted. Children

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need to do better?

passionately describe how the flowers on their strawberry plants provide nectar for bees, and with water and sunlight will grow into delicious fruit. They explain that vegetables contain vitamins and eating these daily will help them to grow strong and healthy. n The manager and staff team have high aspirations for all children. Parents

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need to do better?

19 May 2022 recognise this and say that staff nurture their children and tailor the support they provide for each child. They describe the outstanding progress their children have made, and say that staff offer them extensive advice to help them support children's learning at home. n Staff are highly skilled at supporting children's vocabulary and communication development. They grasp every moment to model words and extend children's sentences. Consequently, gaps in children's developing speech and language close rapidly. For example, children delight in exploring textures as they walk through sand, jelly and over shells. They make facial expressions and excitedly exclaim, 'It feels crunchy', actively describing how it feels. Staff seize this opportunity to engage children further in discussion and ask them where they might find these different materials in the wider world. n Staff benefit from a management team that fosters their professional

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need to do better?

development. They have attended substantial amounts of training and demonstrate outstanding practice. For example, staff recently shared their new knowledge of promoting healthy lifestyles with parents. This has had a significant impact on the food parents provide for their children. On the day of the inspection, children discussed and thoroughly enjoyed the nutritious food in their lunch boxes. n Children demonstrate excellent independence skills for their young age. They take responsibility for small tasks and sweep up sand without prompting. Older children take their younger peers under their wing and help them to put on their indoor shoes. They are incredibly kind and use the visual displays at the cleaning station to demonstrate and help them to blow their nose. Children manage their personal care needs exceptionally well. They independently and without prompting apply hand gel and talk about the importance of removing germs.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff have an excellent knowledge of how to keep children safe. They have an exceptional understanding of the signs that may indicate that a child is being abused. This includes wider safeguarding issues, such as internet safety and witchcraft. Staff work closely with outside agencies to ensure all children are safeguarded. The manager continually tests the staff's knowledge of safeguarding through scenarios and questions. Staff constantly supervise children to minimise accidents and keep them safe. There are first-class recruitment and supervision procedures in place to ensure staff's suitability.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 116829 Local authority Reading Inspection number 10234092 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 35 Number of children on roll 54

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Name of registered person

The Grange Playgroup Association Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 0118 956 8528 Date of previous inspection 1 March 2017

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Information about this early years setting

Grange Pre-School registered in 1989. It operates from the Grange Free Church at Southcote, in Reading, Berkshire. The pre-school is open each weekday from 8.50am to 3.20pm during term times. There are 13 staff who work with the children. Of these, eight hold qualifications at level 3 and two hold level 2. The special education needs coordinator holds the level 3 SENCo award. The provider receives funding to provide free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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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 provider and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the setting. n The inspector looked at a selection of documentation and checked the suitability of staff working with the children. n The inspector carried out a joint observation with the special educational needs coordinator. n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk together. They observed staff's teaching practice during activities and discussed the curriculum. n The inspector held a meeting with the chair of the management team, the deputy manager and the manager. She looked at various documents, including those related to the suitability and qualifications of staff. n The inspector spoke with staff, children and parents during the inspection.

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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

19 May 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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