The Cornerstone Pre-school

Inspection of The Cornerstone Pre- school 149 Canterbury Road, Leyton, London E10 6EH

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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The provision requires improvement

Children are happy, settled and show that they feel safe in this welcoming environment. Staff are kind and caring and give regular praise as children play. This boosts their self-esteem. As a result, children behave well. Children have lots of opportunities to develop their physical skills. For instance, they enjoy climbing up onto slides, balancing on stepping stones and crawling through tunnels. They also participate in regular active sessions with sports coaches. This supports their agility and coordination.

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The provision requires improvement

Children enjoy participating in planting activities and discuss seeds and vegetables. This helps them to learn about growing and the natural world. They also have fun digging in mud and counting stones, which supports their early mathematical knowledge. Furthermore, children explore coloured shaving foam and sea creatures and experience different textures and smells. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive good support with their learning. However, not all children benefit from consistent challenges and extension in their learning. Some staff do not maximise opportunities that arise during play to model new language and encourage children to explore their own ideas. This means that children, sometimes, move on from activities quickly and not all children show consistently good levels of engagement.

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need to do better?

n Staff provide children with regular opportunities to listen to stories. Children enjoy joining in with recognising animals when staff read them the 'Dear Zoo' story with additional props. This helps to develop children's listening skills and early literacy development. n Staff effectively support children to learn about leading healthy lifestyles. For example, they have recently participated in the 'Mayor of London' healthy eating award, where children learn about the value of eating nutritious foods and developing good oral health routines. n Parents are extremely complimentary about their children's experiences at the setting. They state that communication is very good between them and the nursery and staff plan a wide variety of activities. They discuss that staff are very committed, supportive and love their work. n Partnership working with others professionals is a strength. Staff regularly liaise,

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need to do better?

share information and devise targets with early years specialists, which helps children to close gaps in their learning. Children that require extra help with their learning are supported very well. n Children have frequent opportunities to learn about different cultures and backgrounds. This is evident when staff plan celebrations during festivals, such as Eid, Chinese New Year and Easter. Staff teach children about their similarities

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need to do better?

22 March 2022 and differences and help them to develop respectful attitudes. n The quality of teaching is inconsistent. Some staff do not offer clear explanations to help children gain new knowledge during activities. Furthermore, some staff do not skilfully question children to help them to extend their thinking skills and help them to demonstrate what they know. This means that not all children make the full progress they are capable of. n Staff ensure the indoor and outdoor environment is well resourced. They plan a range of activities that link well with the different areas of the curriculum. Although most children show enjoyment in the activities, due to staff having variable teaching skills, not all children show consistently good levels of engagement in their learning. n Staff do not always maximise opportunities for children to practise their independence. For instance, some staff serve some children food at snack time

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need to do better?

and hang up their coats on arrival. This means some children do not practise skills that they are capable of doing themselves. n Leaders are passionate and knowledgeable and make regular evaluations of the setting. They provide staff with ongoing coaching and engage in regular supervision meetings. Staff also have opportunities to update their professional development. However, when making these evaluations, not enough attention and focus has been given to raising the quality of education to a consistently good level. n In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders and staff devised a range of activities to support children's learning at home during the restrictions. In addition, staff provide regular updates about their children's learning on the nursery app and also offer virtual parents' meetings to discuss children's learning and progress.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders follow thorough recruitment and vetting procedures to help ensure staff are suitable for their roles. They also regularly check their ongoing suitability as staff are on the Disclosure and Barring Service update service and sign annual suitability declarations. Staff understand possible signs and behaviours a child may present to indicate they are at risk of harm. They also know how they will report any concerns about a child's safety or welfare. Staff complete daily checks and risk assessments of the environment to make sure the toys and resources are safe and suitable.

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Due date

22 March 2022 improve the quality of teaching to ensure that staff fully support and challenge children's learning and engagement to help them to make the full progress they are capable of. 20/05/2022

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should:

n build on children's opportunities to develop their independence.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 155085 Local authority London Borough of Waltham Forest Inspection number 10138118 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 Sessional day care

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inspection

Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 44

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Name of registered person

The Parochial Church Council of the Ecclesiastical Parish of Leyton St Catherine and St Paul

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reference number

Telephone number 0208 5568585 Date of previous inspection 9 July 2015

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Information about this early years setting

The Cornerstone Pre-school registered in 1998. It is situated in Leyton, in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The provision is open each weekday from 9am to 3.30pm, during school term time. The provider is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. The provider employs 11 members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications from level 2 to level 6.

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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 provision. n The manager and inspector completed a learning walk together and discussed the curriculum and what they want children to learn. n The inspector and the head of pre-school carried out several observations of the quality of education together. n The inspector considered the views of parents and children 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

22 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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