Elham Pre School

Inspection of Elham Pre School Elham Village Hall, High Street, Canterbury CT4 6SX

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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

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The provision requires improvement

Staff greet children and families with a warm welcome. Children go in happily to meet their friends and display positive self-esteem. Staff encourage children to choose what they want to play with. Children enjoy setting up foam shapes to climb on together. Staff help them balance, providing praise and reassurance. This promotes children's confidence successfully.

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The provision requires improvement

Leaders have worked hard since their last inspection to make improvements. For example, staff have developed the learning environment to focus on specific skills, such as creating cosy corners for children to enjoy exploring books. This successfully prioritises children's language and communication skills. However, some changes are not yet sufficiently embedded. The arrangements to monitor staff's practice and the impact of training are still not fully established. This affects staff's understanding of their roles and responsibilities as well as the support they receive to further develop their practice and sustain any improvements made.

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The provision requires improvement

Staff plan a curriculum based on children's needs and interests. For example, staff consider children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) well, adapting activities to ensure they can all join in. Children enjoy exploring craft activities, making bracelets for staff with pasta and pipe cleaners. Staff offer frequent praise, encouraging children's positive attitudes. Children in the main behave well, where they need support, staff gently remind them to share and take turns. All children make progress.

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need to do better?

n Since the last inspection, staff have developed their safeguarding knowledge effectively and receive strong support from the local authority. Staff are committed to making further improvements such as completing additional training and qualifications. However, the oversight of the committee is not yet robust enough in monitoring the impact of this. Not all managers receive enough support to help them fully understand their roles and responsibilities. This impacts on the overall effectiveness of the setting. n Staff encourage children to be polite and to display good manners. Children are eager to help staff, quickly washing up their own plates and bowls when they have finished their snack. However, staff do not always offer children enough support to help them to resolve conflicts themselves. This means, at times, older children do not have opportunities to practise working things out between themselves, to encourage their personal development and social skills.

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need to do better?

n Older children know the routines of the setting well. They immediately get up when they see the lunch trolley approach to wash their hands. However, staff do not fully consider the needs of younger children or those with SEND at these

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need to do better?

3 December 2024 times. For example, they do not explain to all children what is about to happen, to help them understand these daily routines and staff's expectations, At times, this leads to some children being unsure. This does not fully support all children to feel secure or consistently promote their personal development. n Staff promote children's independence effectively. They praise children for putting their coats and bags away. Children persevere when using tongs to choose healthy snacks. Older children proudly announce 'I washed up' when clearing lunch things away. Staff celebrate with them, supporting children's emotional well-being. n Staff successfully focus on children's language and communication skills. All children enjoy listening to stories read by staff, who are good role models for language. They explain to children what different words mean, aiding children's learning. Younger children join in with rhymes, developing their listening and

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need to do better?

attention skills well. n Staff successfully prioritise children's mathematical knowledge. They develop attractive areas to promote this and children enjoy spending time stacking different puzzle pieces together, developing their concentration and colour matching skills. Staff use language such as 'front', 'back', 'forwards' and 'backwards' when explaining to children how to dress their teddies, aiding their understanding. n Children with SEND benefit from specific toys to interest and motivate them. For example, staff use funding well to purchase train sets, which children spend a long time playing with. Staff track children's progress well to identify specific next steps. Staff liaise effectively with external agencies and local settings to support smooth transitions to school. n Communication with parents is effective. Parents are provided with daily updates about their children's learning. They appreciate the flexibility of the sessions to

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need to do better?

help their children settle in. They talk highly of the kind and caring staff and how well they have been supported as parents. They say their children make good progress in their language, confidence, and social skills.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts children's interests first.

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Due date

3 December 2024 ensure that all leaders, managers, committee members and staff receive appropriate training, coaching and support to understand and fulfil their roles and responsibilities. 14/01/2025

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should:

n strengthen staff's skills in supporting older children to resolve conflicts themselves n develop staff's understanding of how to help all children to understand the daily routines, to consistently promote their well-being and personal development.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY500776 Local authority Kent Inspection number 10360877 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 8 Number of children on roll 9 Name of registered person Elham Pre-School

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reference number

Telephone number 01303 840041 Date of previous inspection 16 July 2024

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Information about this early years setting

Elham Pre School registered in 2016 it operates from the village hall in Elham, Kent. The pre-school is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 3pm, during term time only. The provider is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. The provider employs two members of staff, who both hold appropriate early years childcare qualifications at level 3.

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Inspection activities

n The manager joined the inspector on a learning walk and talked to the inspector about their curriculum and what they want their children to learn. n The inspector spoke to children, to find out about their time at the setting. n Staff spoke to the inspector at appropriate times during the inspection and the inspector took account of their views. n The inspector observed the quality of education being provided and assessed the impact that this was having on children's learning. n The manager joined the inspector in carrying out a joint observation of an activity. n Parents shared their views of the setting with the inspector.

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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

3 December 2024 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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