Coombes Community Pre School

Coombes Community Pre School

Unique reference number (URN): 2844477 Address: Coombes Community Centre, Burns Road, Royston, SG8 5PT Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 23/04/2025 Registers: EYR Registered person: Breakwell, Jessica Bunny

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children's welfare and wellbeing is given a very high priority across the setting. Leaders and staff are very nurturing and caring. They are successful in building strong relationships with parents and carers. Consequently, leaders and staff are highly responsive to children's varying needs and any changing circumstances and children develop a secure sense of belonging to the setting.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Settling-in procedures are extremely flexible to meet the needs of all children and their parents. Staff identify children with barriers to their learning very swiftly and monitor their wellbeing with extreme care. Parents comment that they are listened to and highly supported, and that staff welcome their children to the setting as unique individuals.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders and staff implement a very effective key-person system and have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the children in their care. This is highly effective in supporting children's emotional wellbeing and ensures that care is tailored to each child's unique needs. Children are actively encouraged to talk about how they are feeling, to share and take their turn. For example, children learn the importance of taking their turn on the slide to ensure their safety.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Embedded and well-structured routines actively support healthy habits. Staff teach children about the importance of healthy food options and appropriate table manners. They share a wide range of informative information with parents about food nutrition, food portion size and how to chop food safely to prevent choking. Additionally, children relish opportunities to be physically active in the fresh air. They eagerly use tools to dig in the sand and persevere as they learn how to use the balancing stilts. Children have lots of fun and smile with pride at their achievements. These opportunities provide a secure foundation for children's physical health.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders and staff provide a very safe and supportive environment for all children. They recognise that the barriers children face can be complex. Leaders and staff proactively access relevant training opportunities. This ensures that they have the skills to support individual children with identified needs. Leaders and staff fully understand the importance of creating an assessable and adaptable environment. This is highly effective in ensuring that children who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) remain safe and can participate in the same activities and routines as their peers.

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Inclusion Strong standard

There are robust procedures in place for identifying children with barriers to their learning, including the rigorous monitoring of their progress. Staff provide excellent support to children with SEND. They adapt their teaching to help children to access the curriculum and successfully use their knowledge and understanding of each child to plan individualised support. This successfully supports children's participation and focus at their chosen task.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Engagement with parents and carers and other professionals is strong. Leaders ensure that decisions about additional funding, including funding for disadvantaged children, are focused on what individual children need. For example, they have used early years pupil premium funding to hire 'borrow me' bags. These contain a range of resources and activities for children to share with their parents and carers at home. This has been very successful in enhancing children's learning and empowering parents to support their child's ongoing learning at home.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leadership and governance are very strong and effective. Since the opening of the setting, leaders have worked extremely hard to ensure they meet the unique needs of children and families in the local community, including children with barriers to their learning. Leaders are continually striving to improve practice. They frequently reflect on the quality of teaching, the needs of individual children and the setting's environment, putting swift measures in place to ensure there is continual improvement.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

There is a strong culture of expectations and professionalism. Staff have regular supervision meetings, which enables leaders to closely monitor staff and offer targeted training and advice to ensure continual professional development. For example, staff are actively supported to obtain higher childcare qualifications. They have completed autism training and training to enhance their teaching of imaginary, creative and outdoor play. This continued learning is making a positive difference to staff knowledge and the children's education and care.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders give staff's welfare an extremely high priority. Staff report that they are very well looked after and highly valued. Leaders and staff fully engage with parents and carers. They actively support parents when they need extra help. This includes signposting them to other agencies and professionals. Parents are extremely happy with the care and learning opportunities provided for their children.

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Achievement Expected standard

All children, including children who face barriers to their learning and wellbeing, develop a sense of belonging to the setting due to the receptive care they receive. Children achieve well from their starting points as they progress through the curriculum and are prepared for the next stage of development, including their transition to school. For example, children develop their sense of responsibility as they help prepare snack and tidy away the toys. Additionally, children's independence and social skills are enhanced during snack and lunchtime routines.

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Achievement Expected standard

Information about children's interests, personality and learning needs are obtained at the start of the placement, and ongoing assessment is successfully used to identify areas where children need support. For example, children take part in storytelling and singing activities to promote gaps in their language and recall skills. Children recall their learning, identifying animals in illustrations and reciting phrases within familiar stories.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Relationships between the staff and children are positive. Leaders and staff model kindness, care and respect to each other and children. They recognise that some children need more support to interact with others. Staff have high expectations for children's behaviour and attitudes to their learning. Children happily enter the setting at the start of the day and eagerly select activities and resources they would like to play with.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Overall, staff support children to understand boundaries. They quickly intervene to resolve disputes and support children to manage their emotions. Staff encourage children to be kind to their peers, take their turn and share resources. Children receive praise for their achievements, which supports them to persist at their chosen tasks.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Staff embed routines and help children to know what to expect next. For example, children know that they need to wash their hands before eating and help to tidy away ahead of group activities, such as story and rhyme time. Leaders closely monitor children's attendance and have procedures in place to address absences and ensure children's ongoing wellbeing if they fail to attend.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff gather a range of information from parents and carers at the start of the placement to help them understand children's interests, personality and learning needs. This helps them to tailor the curriculum to meet children's individual needs, including children who face barriers to their learning and wellbeing. Staff ensure all children receive the experiences they are entitled to. There is a clear focus on the development of children's communication and language, physical skills and personal, social and emotional development. This supports the foundations for children's learning and progress, including their transition to school. Overall, the quality of teaching across the staff team supports children to make progress. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the quality of teaching. They have identified areas for improvement to enhance staff's interactions with children to consistently promote opportunities for them to excel in their learning and development.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff support children as they play, building on their interests, prior knowledge and skills. For example, they incorporate the counting sequence into children's play as they throw beanbags into tyres. They introduce phrases such as 'ready, steady go', as children slide down the slide. Additionally, staff adapt their interactions with children who have barriers to their learning. They use objects of reference to support children with communication difficulties and to help them to anticipate what will come next.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children enjoy their time at this welcoming and highly inclusive setting. On arrival, they find their name card, self-register and independently select their choice of activity. The individual needs of all children, including children who experience barriers to their learning, are a priority to staff. Interactions are highly effective in supporting children's wellbeing and emotional development. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure, developing a sense of belonging. For example, children help staff to prepare their snack by helping to cut up the apples, and know they can seek support and reassurance if needed. Children visit a local care home. They take gifts and enjoy singing songs with the residents. Additionally, staff use walks around the local community to support children to learn about their natural environment. They encourage children to observe wildlife, and collect leaves and conkers.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children explore sensory resources, such as dough. Staff show them how to use rollers and cutters and introduce them to language such as 'roll' and 'squash' as they play. Additionally, children learn to differentiate between big and small pieces of dough. Children enjoy creative art activities. They use paint to make marks on paper and create collage pictures using colourful sequences and wooden sticks. Children demonstrate their hand–eye coordination skills as they use tools to spread glue onto paper. Older children proudly share their drawings.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Staff give children's language development a high priority. They develop their listening and concentration skills during circle time activities and enjoy singing activities. Children learn rhymes such as 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes'. They march as they sing 'The Grand Old Duke of York' and pretend to stomp their feet and roar like a dinosaur during the dinosaur song. Additionally, staff use activities such as 'What is in the bucket?' successfully to encourage children to describe the revealed object. Children demonstrate excitement as they anticipate what object they will discover next.

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Address:

Coombes Community Centre Burns Road Royston SG8 5PT

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: Breakwell, Jessica Bunny

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 09:00 - 15:00

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Next steps

Leaders should continue to develop staff's practice to consistently deliver highly effective teaching.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff and children during the inspection.

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About this inspection

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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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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