Dent Pre-School Ltd

Inspection of Dent Pre-School Ltd Haygarth Room/Memorial Hall, The Laning, Dent, Sedbergh, Cumbria LA10 5QJ

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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 Good

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The provision is good

Children thrive in this small, nurturing setting. Staff value children as individuals and focus on their needs and interests. Children enjoy this focused attention. They display strong attachments with staff as they seek them out for assistance. The pre-school is alive with chatter as children talk about what they are doing. Staff think about what the children are learning and ask questions to check their understanding. For example, children choose to plant and water seeds. Staff talk to them about plants growing in the raised beds. They ask children why they are watering them. Staff skilfully guide children to order their ideas about growth into sentences. As a result, children make connections in their learning.

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The provision is good

Children behave well and demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. They help to tidy up and follow nursery routines. They choose activities and focus during play. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, children have their own colour-coded resources as an extra hygiene measure. They look after them by putting them in their trays or hanging them in the correct place. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour. They teach children to take turns with resources and model how to ask for something politely. Children smile as they receive praise for showing kindness.

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need to do better?

n Leaders have a clear focus for what they want children to know and be able to do. The environment is well planned to support children's learning. For example, children can choose to make their own art, use digital cameras or weigh food in the greengrocer role play. Staff carefully plan focused activities to support each child's next steps for learning. They lead children in thinking through how to complete a task. Children listen carefully to staff. They grow in confidence as they test out their own abilities. n Links with the adjoining school mean that children have access to larger equipment. Staff take the children to ride bikes and scooters in the playground each day. Children develop their large muscles as they climb and balance along the obstacle course. n Communication and language are a key focus. Staff use their knowledge, training and experience to help children make good progress with their speaking

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need to do better?

skills. Parents comment that their children's speech has come on in 'leaps and bounds' since beginning pre-school. Staff help children build their vocabulary by reminding them of new words. For example, they ask children to name the cocoon and talk about butterflies fluttering during story time. As a result, children talk confidently about what they know. n Partnership with parents is strong. Parents are well informed about their child's learning through online journals and newsletters. They use this information to talk to their children about what they have been learning and doing. Staff know

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need to do better?

23 May 2022 children and their families very well. They work with parents, offering support and advice on a range of child development topics, such as toilet training. This ensures continuity of care for children. n Staff teach children about other cultures through celebrations. Children try new foods from around the world and explore how different people look. They read books about 'all kinds of bodies'. They learn what makes them similar to and different from other people. However, children's learning about life just beyond their immediate local community is less well planned for and as a result, their understanding of the modern world has limits. n The pre-school has a strong focus on self-evaluation. The close-knit team works together to regularly evaluate what activities and resources have worked well. If an activity or resource is not accessed, staff think about how they could adapt it to better meet the needs and interests of the children. Staff ask children about

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need to do better?

what they enjoy at nursery. They find out what they would like to use the following week. This helps children to stay engaged in their play and learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are knowledgeable about child protection. They recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and know what to be alert to. Those in leadership have a high level of safeguarding training, which they use to refresh staff knowledge regularly. There is an ethos of acceptance and inclusion at pre-school. Staff understand how to sensitively manage and report concerns, including extremist views. All staff have paediatric first-aid, food safety and dealing with anaphylactic shock training. Links with the Cumbria Early Years Service offer further support and advice to staff should they need it.

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should:

n consider ways to introduce children to life in modern Britain beyond their small, rural community.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY460094 Local authority Cumbria Inspection number 10236116 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 14 Number of children on roll 7 Name of registered person Dent Pre-School Ltd

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reference number

Telephone number 07582083047 Date of previous inspection 1 December 2016

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Information about this early years setting

Dent Pre-School was registered in 2013. The pre-school employs three members of childcare staff. Of these, one has early years professional status. The others both hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The pre-school opens from Monday to Friday and term time only. Sessions are from 9am until 1pm. 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 nursery 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 nursery. n The manager and the inspector jointly observed an activity and discussed the quality of education together. n The inspector observed interactions between staff and children. n Parents and carers shared their views of the nursery with the inspector. n The inspector observed the quality of education, spoke with staff and assessed the effectiveness of safeguarding and care procedures. n A sample of documents was viewed by the inspector. n The manager and inspector went on a learning walk together. The manager told the inspector how the curriculum was planned and sequenced. n A leadership and management meeting was held. The inspector talked to the manager about her role and continuing professional 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

23 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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