Bare Necessities Preschool

Inspection of Bare Necessities Preschool Playgroup Bare Methodist Church Hall, St Margarets Road, Bare, Morecambe, Lancashire LA4 6EF

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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 and parents are warmly welcomed into the pre-school. They are greeted by happy and nurturing staff, who are genuinely pleased to see the children. Children are very settled and leave their parents with ease. Children's emotional well-being is well supported. Staff help children who have recently joined the pre- school to settle quickly. They provide lots of reassurance and help them to build friendships and understand the daily routine. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), seek out staff for comfort and cuddles. This helps to build their self-esteem and confidence.

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The provision is good

Children make good progress in their speech and language. Older children talk enthusiastically and recall what they have previously learned as they discuss road safety. They speak with confidence to visitors about using 'stop, look and listen' when crossing the road. Furthermore, all children listen carefully to a range of stories, ask questions, and talk about the pictures. Children demonstrate a love of reading and early learning.

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The provision is good

Staff support behaviour well. For example, they encourage the children to be kind to each other through stories and conversations. Furthermore, staff give gentle reminders to children to return toys once they have finished playing with them. Children of all ages understand that they have choices, and know their views will be listened to by staff. Therefore, children demonstrate good levels of respect for each other, staff, and their environment.

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need to do better?

n Children with SEND are given extra support throughout their time at the pre- school. Children receive one-to-one support when required. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) works closely with other professionals and parents to plan appropriate targets for each child to support their continuous development. Furthermore, funding is appropriately used. For example, the manager and SENCo identify and purchase resources to meet children's individual learning needs. Children with SEND make good progress. n Children develop their physical skills both indoors and outdoors. For example, children use rolling pins and shape cutters to make marks in the play dough to develop their small-muscle skills. Children have various opportunities to develop large-muscle movements in different ways. Children enjoy riding the bicycles around the church garden, and older children enjoy developing their climbing

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need to do better?

skills when exploring the indoor climbing frame and slide. However, some staff do not encourage some children to take age-appropriate risks, such as climbing up the slide. Therefore, these children are not consistently developing an understanding of risks and how to safely manage them.

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need to do better?

13 September 2023 n Staff report high levels of well-being and receive good support. The manager carries out regular supervisions. Staff say that they welcome feedback on their practice and feel that they can approach leaders to share any concerns. The manager has a good oversight of staff, and confidently identifies staff's strengths and areas that they would like to further develop. Therefore, morale at the setting is high and staff enjoy working as a team to ensure that children receive high-quality education and care. n Children are provided with real-life experiences in the local community. For example, the children enjoyed a visit from the local lifeguard. The children discussed the dangers of the beach and the sea before going on an outing to explore the local beach. As a result, children develop an understanding of the world around them. n Children learn about healthy foods and the importance of drinking water

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need to do better?

regularly. However, hygiene practices are not always consistent. For example, staff remind children to wash their hands after using the toilet. Yet, on occasions, some staff do not encourage children to wash their hands after sneezing, increasing the risk of infections spreading. Therefore, staff do not consistently support children to develop healthy lifestyle habits. n The manager and staff have built strong relationships with parents. Parents are complimentary about the pre-school. They comment that staff are friendly and nurturing. Parents are very happy with the communication and are kept up to date by their children's key person. Parents feel well informed and involved in their children's care and learning. They report that all staff know their children well, which helps them to settle into their day. n In the main, staff provide children with an ambitious curriculum. However, some staff do not consistently build on what older children already know and can do.

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need to do better?

This means that some activities are not pitched at the right level for older children. For example, some staff do not encourage older children to develop their critical thinking skills to keep children's interest maintained during activities. This means that, on occasion, some children lose interest in their learning.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff fully understand their responsibility to protect children from harm. They undertake training to continually develop their safeguarding knowledge. This helps them to be alert to signs of abuse in children's lives, including risks associated with exposure to drug related crime and online safety. Staff know the procedures to follow if they have concerns about the welfare of a child or misconduct of a colleague. Leaders follow robust recruitment processes to ensure that all staff are suitable to be working with children. They carry out daily risk assessments to ensure that the premises are safe for children.

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should:

n develop further the curriculum to ensure that it is even more ambitious to extend children's critical thinking, particularly for the oldest children n maximise opportunities for children to take appropriate risks and challenges to enhance their resilience and independence further n ensure that staff give clear messages to children about the importance of adopting healthy lifestyle habits.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 309226 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 10301433 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 20 Name of registered person Bare Methodist Playgroup Committee

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reference number

Telephone number 01524 415975 Date of previous inspection 12 January 2018

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Information about this early years setting

Bare Necessities Preschool Playgroup is situated in the Morecambe area of Lancashire and registered in 1978. The pre-school is open from Monday to Friday, during term time only. Sessions are from 8.30am to 3.30pm on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, midday to 4pm on Tuesday, and 9am to 1pm on Friday. There are five staff who work at the pre-school, all of whom hold relevant qualifications. The pre-school receives funding for the provision of 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 pre-school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the manager and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the pre-school. n The inspector spoke to staff at appropriate times throughout the inspection. n Children spoke to the inspector about what they enjoy doing while at the pre- school. n The inspector spoke to the special educational needs coordinator about arrangements for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. n The inspector spoke to the designated safeguarding lead about any safeguarding concerns. n The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager. n The inspector and manager carried out a learning walk together, and talked about the curriculum and what the manager wants children to learn. n The inspector spoke to parents about their views on the pre-school.

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Inspection activities

n The inspector viewed a range of documentation, including evidence of staff suitability checks and first-aid certificates.

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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 September 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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