Bobtails Preschool

Inspection of Bobtails Preschool St Francis Church Hall, Balcombe Road, Horley, Surrey RH6 9AY

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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 Outstanding

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The provision is outstanding

Children beam with excited faces as they arrive at the pre-school. They show that they know the routines extremely well as they put their things away and select items at the snack bar. Staff expertly use this opportunity to check on their well- being and guide them through the healthy choices available. Children's ideas and voices are highly valued. For example, the snacks available are chosen on Fridays by all children and a shopping list is created. This has a very positive effect on children's self-esteem and sense of belonging at the pre-school.

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The provision is outstanding

Children thrive as they embrace the rich experiences that the curriculum has to offer, led by their own imaginations and democratic decisions. Staff have set up very effective systems and routines for children to have a meaningful say in what they learn and how the pre-school is set up. For example, children place pebbles in different-coloured buckets to vote for which story they want to hear that day. The manager and staff know the children and families exceptionally well, and have very high expectations of the children. This has a powerful effect on children's highly positive attitudes to learning.

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The provision is outstanding

Children's achievements are celebrated by the whole community. Parents are encouraged to share 'wow' moments from home on cardboard stars, which they write as they arrive and share with their child's key person. Staff expertly use this opportunity to build children's language skills and confidence as they chat about the achievements and share them with other children and staff. Children can then choose whether to put the star into their memory books, which they very much enjoy reading through and sharing with each other.

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need to do better?

n The inspirational pre-school manager has extremely high expectations for the children and provides a highly ambitious curriculum. It has a rich set of experiences that enable the children to develop their skills and knowledge across the seven areas of the curriculum. These experiences and activities are carefully considered and sequenced to build on children's learning over time. For example, the home corner inside the pre-school is filled with real items. However, china cups and crockery are only provided later in the year once the children have learned and understood how to carefully use the real items. n The manager's vision to help children to have a real sense of belonging at the pre-school and to be confident and independent learners is entwined in everything that they do. All staff show a secure understanding of how the curriculum is intended to support each child and the best way to do this. As a

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need to do better?

result, children are flourishing at the level they are working at, and staff expertly help children to thrive.

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need to do better?

13 June 2023 n The manager encourages all staff to work very closely with families to find out what the children know and can already do. The staff team is incredibly reflective of practice. They adapt the curriculum, experiences and environment to support children's next steps. This level of reflective practice about what each child needs is carried out on a daily basis. Staff make children's emotional well- being a priority in everything they do. n Staff have had training on how to support children's speech and language skills. They are highly focused on supporting children to interact with each other and improve their vocabulary. This approach has been highly successful and has had an outstanding impact on the children's speech and language development in the pre-school. n Children with special educational needs have exemplary support to meet all their needs and make excellent progress. The extremely knowledgeable special

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need to do better?

educational needs coordinator works very closely with parents, the local authority and other professionals to implement support plans. Furthermore, she organises the staff to attend appropriate training in the strategies that children need. These strategies are also shared with parents. This has an extremely positive effect on children's progress and swiftly reduces gaps in their learning. n Staff develop excellent relationships with parents. The manager and staff share ideas for home learning with parents on daily basis. There is a book loaning library available for parents to borrow from every day. Pre-school rhyme booklets are developed and sent home on a six-weekly basis to encourage children to sing along at home. These are adapted according to the development and interests of the children. Parents speak extremely highly about the pre- school team and the impact they have had on their children. Parents describe

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need to do better?

how their children's language, vocabulary, focus and attention has significantly improved.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a very secure safeguarding culture at the pre-school, and staff complete regular training to keep their awareness of child protection issues up to date. The manager ensures that staff are fully equipped to safeguard children, such as through regular supervision and continuous professional development opportunities throughout the year. The manager fully understands her role and responsibilities as the designated safeguarding lead. All staff have an excellent understanding of specific safeguarding issues, such as preventing radicalisation and extremism. They recognise signs of abuse and understand the internal and external referral procedures for child protection issues. All staff are aware of the procedures for managing allegations against staff. Managers and the trustees have safe recruitment and vetting procedures in place to ensure that staff who work with children remain suitable to do so.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY491638 Local authority Surrey Inspection number 10285445 Type of provision Childcare on non-domestic premises Registers Early Years Register Day care type Full day care

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inspection

Total number of places 35 Number of children on roll 36 Name of registered person Bobtails Pre-School Horley CIO

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reference number

Telephone number 01293 775534 Date of previous inspection 5 October 2017

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Information about this early years setting

Bobtails Preschool is one of two provisions run by a board of trustees. It is located in Horley, Surrey and registered in 2015. The pre-school is open Monday to Friday from 8.45am to 2.30pm, during term time only. The pre-school provides funded free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. There are eight members of staff who work directly with the children. Of these, one member of staff holds an early years qualification at level 5, and five hold a qualification at level 3.

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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 their evaluation of the setting. n The manager and the inspector completed a learning walk together of all areas of the pre-school and discussed the early years curriculum. n The manager and the inspector took part in a joint observation. The inspector asked staff questions about their work and spoke to and interacted with children during the inspection. n Parents shared their views of the setting with the inspector. 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.

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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

13 June 2023 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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