Madginford Pre-School

Inspection of Madginford Pre-School Madginford Hall, Egremont Road, Bearsted, Maidstone, Kent ME15 8LH

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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

There are breaches of requirements that have an impact on children's safety. The manager, who is also the designated safeguarding lead, does not understand the necessary procedures to follow in the event of an allegation against a staff member. Additionally, she lacks knowledge of the 'Prevent' duty guidance relating to the risk of extreme views. Furthermore, some staff who work unsupervised with children have not had their ongoing suitability checked. This compromises children's safety and welfare.

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The provision is inadequate

Nevertheless, children are happy to see their friends when they arrive at the setting. They confidently separate from their parents. Children are warmly welcomed by staff, who help them with the daily routine. For example, they help them to hang up their coats and place their drink bottles on the table. However, staff do not always provide consistent support for children to help promote positive attitudes to learning.

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The provision is inadequate

Children develop their imaginations well. For example, they enjoy trying on different shoes in the role-play shoe shop. Additionally, they pretend to drive the truck they have built from crates and planks of wood outdoors. Children have fun during these activities, but teaching is not consistently of a good quality, to help them make the best possible progress.

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The provision is inadequate

Children are learning how to keep themselves healthy. They spend long periods of time learning outdoors, where they benefit from fresh air and exercise. Furthermore, they learn about food types when staff encourage them to make healthy choices from their lunch boxes.

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need to do better?

n Staff demonstrate an understanding of the learning needs of children. Small- group, adult-led activities enhance children's learning across several areas effectively. For example, children develop their understanding of nature and develop their physical skills when they make crabs from play dough. However, when all children are together in one room, staff are unable to implement their curriculum for younger children effectively. Furthermore, weak deployment often means staff are not available to support children to choose what they would like to play with. Therefore, younger children spend a lot of time moving from one activity to another and are not always engaged in purposeful learning. n Staff recognise that children need to learn good manners and social skills. They plan some strategies, such as 'golden rules', to help children learn about boundaries. However, these are not always implemented effectively. For

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need to do better?

example, staff do not always support children to respect resources. As a result,

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need to do better?

1 December 2022 the indoor learning environment quickly becomes untidy and disorganised. This makes it difficult for children to choose activities. n Staff use strategies, such as a reward system, to help children celebrate their achievements. Additionally, they give children roles, such as a 'helper' at snack and lunchtime, which helps to promote their self-esteem and confidence. n Staff have strong bonds with children and their families. Parents are very complimentary of the care and teaching their children receive when at the setting. They comment that they are kept fully up to date with their child's learning and development. Additionally, they talk about how happy their children are and the progress they have made. n Staff do not have regular opportunities for supervision. Current arrangements for monitoring staff performance are not good enough to ensure weaknesses in teaching are identified. Therefore, the quality of teaching is variable. For

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need to do better?

example, staff provide a more stimulating environment outdoors, where children's levels of concentration and involvement are better than indoors. n Recruiting and vetting procedures are not good enough. The manager does not ensure that ongoing suitability checks are completed for all staff. Furthermore, some records to evidence safe recruitment, such as references, were not available for inspection. Therefore, it is not clear how recruitment procedures fully ensure that adults working with children are safe to do so. n The manager does not ensure all necessary records are available for inspection as legally required. This includes paediatric first-aid certificates, staff qualifications and staff files. n The special educational needs coordinator understands her role well. She works closely with parents and values their contributions when making personalised plans for children. Furthermore, she swiftly refers to outside agencies so children

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need to do better?

get the extra help they need to continue to make progress.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

There are gaps in the manager's knowledge and understanding of child protection and safeguarding. For example, she does not understand 'Prevent' duty or the professionals to contact if there is an allegation against a staff member. Furthermore, the manager does not complete ongoing suitability checks for all staff. However, the manager and staff have a good understanding of the signs and indicators that a child may be at risk of harm or neglect. Staff complete checks to ensure the environment is secure.

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Due date

1 December 2022 ensure all recruitment and vetting checks are accessible and available for inspection 15/12/2022

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Due date

ensure all those with lead safeguarding roles understand the procedure to follow in the event of an allegation against a member of staff 15/12/2022

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Due date

monitor ongoing suitability to ensure staff remain suitable to work with children 15/12/2022

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Due date

ensure all required documentation is available for inspection, including paediatric first aid certificates and staff qualifications 15/12/2022

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Due date

ensure staff are deployed effectively so all children, particularly the youngest, always receive good learning experiences 15/12/2022

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Due date

strengthen arrangements for supervision and monitoring of staff performance so that support and guidance are available to ensure staff provide consistently good learning experiences for all children. 15/12/2022

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should:

n improve behaviour management strategies to support children to respect their toys and the environment, to enable them to engage better with the activities on offer.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 127361 Local authority Kent Inspection number 10221181 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 28 Number of children on roll 30 Name of registered person Madginford Pre-School Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 01622 739973 Date of previous inspection 11 January 2022

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Information about this early years setting

Madginford Pre-School registered in 1991 and is located in Bearsted, Kent. The setting is open Monday to Thursday, from 9am until 3pm, and on Friday, from 9am to 1pm, during term time only. It receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The setting employs seven members of staff, six of whom hold relevant early years qualifications at level 3.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector discussed any continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with the provider and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the provider. n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk together to understand how the early years provision and curriculum are organised. n The inspector talked to staff and parents at appropriate times during the inspection and took account of their views. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided, indoors and outdoors, and assessed the impact that this was having on children's learning. n The manager and the inspector carried out a joint observation of an activity.

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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

1 December 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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