St Helens Pre School (Brentwood) LTD

St Helens Pre School (Brentwood) LTD

Unique reference number (URN): 2758698 Address: Cathedral Parish Hall, 28a Ingrave Road, Brentwood, CM15 8AT Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 10/11/2023 Registers: EYR Registered person: St Helens Pre School (Brentwood) LTD

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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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Achievement Expected standard

Children make steady progress from their starting points. They showcase their developing communication and language skills as they engage in imaginative play and hold sustained conversations with staff and friends. Younger children show delight in reading with adults. They show independence in a range of tasks and show resilience to overcome difficult challenges such as using taps on water containers with required skill.

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Achievement Expected standard

The youngest children show their growing physical skills such crawling and walking. Older children confidently balance on planks, developing their ability to manage risk and challenge positively. Children get along well with and enjoy playing with others. They also feel secure to engage in individual tasks that require concentration and focus. They are developing essential social skills such as empathy and kindness.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children count confidently and recognise coloured blocks. They fill and empty containers and hear rich mathematical language. However, the teaching of mathematics is not always supported with examples to help children connect the language with what they see and experience.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders have set high expectations for children's behaviour. Children are supported to develop positive attitudes to learning and play. Staff use a consistent approach with regard to expectation such as how to use resources safely and with respect. They act as positive role models and demonstrate positive choices such as sharing and being patient. This helps children to play well with others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children manage feelings and emotions with support from trusted staff. When they feel overwhelmed, children are supported by kind and caring staff who help them to successfully manage their feelings and promptly return to play. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning have personalised support plans that help them stay engaged in learning. For example, children are supported to make choices about where they access learning, such as outside where they feel calm and relaxed.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children have secure attachments with their key person. They receive warm and attentive care that enables them to feel safe and enjoy their learning. Leaders have worked hard to establish expectations for children's attendance and punctuality. They are aware of the families who access their services and their needs. For example, they offer flexible breakfast times for children who arrive later in the morning because of home routines.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders ensure that they fulfil their roles and responsibilities with the early year's foundation stage. This includes safeguarding arrangements and robust policies and procedures that are followed by staff. Children show happiness and a sense of belonging. They have secure attachments with staff because of the effective key person arrangements. Staff know children well and tailor teaching to meet their interests and learning styles. This includes recognising children who learn best outside and those who need extra support such as children who are learning English as an additional language.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children are encouraged to manage their personal needs such as hygiene practices and managing their packed lunches. Leaders promote healthy approaches to food by sharing information with parents that supports healthy choices and children's oral health. Children know and understand the daily routines and as a result transitions are seamless. Younger children receive warm and responsive care during sensitive times such as intimate hygiene and sleep routines. Staff speak gently to them and place them safely on their backs. They provide an attentive watch over them until they wake. This ensures that children experience safe and secure care. Younger children experience positive examples of co-regulation such as cuddles and comforting words. Older children become familiar with a range of words that help them to describe feelings. As a result, children express themselves well and successfully regulate their behaviour.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders design a curriculum that prepares children well for the next stage in their education. They have identified the essential skills and knowledge children need to be successful learners. Children engage in a range of learning experiences. For example, they engage in lively conversations, sharing their ideas and experiences as they 'pack their suitcase and head for the village'. The youngest children are encouraged to learn through their senses, such as playing peek a boo and exploring damp sand. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported through adaptations to teaching, ensuring that all children access the curriculum equally.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff use assessment to establish what children already know and can do. They plan learning experiences to build on this. However, on occasion next steps in learning are too broad and do not consider the underlying skills children need to make rapid progress. For example, some next steps focus on outcomes such as using two-word phrases but do not include the social interaction and engagement that children need to achieve this.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Staff support children to feel safe and secure. They prioritise children's personal routines ensuring their individual care needs are met. From a young age children are supported to develop essential physical skills which lead to mastery and confidence including crawling and walking. Staff use broad vocabulary as part of their everyday teaching including mathematical language such as big and small.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders identify children's needs quickly and accurately. Staff use regular observation and assessment to recognise when children may be at risk of falling behind their peers and identify areas where children need additional support. Leaders work closely with parents and professionals to organise targeted support for children that helps them make progress from their start points. For example, they use specific engagement activities to help children to concentrate and interact with their friends. Trained special educational needs coordinators have grounded knowledge of their role and responsibilities. They have developed effective partnerships with the local authority to further develop training and support for staff including how to support children who have speech and language delays to make progress. This leads to successful delivery of learning experiences that promote children's progress.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders want the very best for children. They ensure that they use funding to close gaps for children and remove barriers to learning. Recent changes include monitoring of how funding is used and the impact on children's learning and development. Leaders and staff meet regularly with parents to review progress and discuss targets. Parents value the support and expertise the setting offers. They complement staff for how well supported they feel as parents as well as the progress their children are making.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders who are fairly new to their roles have made significant changes to the provision. They use effective self-evaluation to identify areas for development including how staff use assessment and how additional funding is used to best support children to close gaps in learning. Leaders and staff are supported by those with oversight and governance, including regular supervision and checks on wellbeing.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have developed robust processes to drive improvements in teaching, including staff supervision and professional development opportunities. Training for staff is considered and supports improvements in curriculum and teaching. For example, staff attend specific training that support their work with babies. This ensures that children receive tailored support for their needs. However, scrutiny of next steps for children does not always identify where staff need additional support to ensure teaching matches children identified needs. This means that whilst the curriculum is typically taught well, there are some minor inconsistencies in how well teaching is matched to what children need to learn next.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have developed essential partnerships with parents and professionals. Regular communication and sharing of key information ensure that all children are supported in the most beneficial ways, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who face barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. This includes helping children to settle quickly when they start at the setting and preparing them for the transition to school.

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

Children thoroughly enjoy their time at this warm and welcoming pre-school. Leaders have created a space where every child is valued and supported to thrive. At all times of the day, children show great enjoyment as they play with friends and discover new and engaging ways to learn. They relish being outdoors and have fun as they make potions and transfer water between containers using jugs and ladles. The youngest children show delight as they explore their senses in the sand tray. They use their hands to squeeze the sand and use different tools to scoop and dig. Staff use their knowledge of children to plan enjoyable experiences that build in what they already know. Children are supported to extend their emerging interests through the engaging environments that thoughtfully reflect the diverse range of abilities and learning styles. For example, children who enjoy being creative paint spring flowers while others enjoy building ramps for their cars to race down.

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

Older children are confident and show their increasing independence in a range of tasks. For instance they manage their personal belongings and care needs such as toileting and handwashing. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those who face barriers to their learning and /or wellbeing benefit from the organised and effective plans in place. Specialist and sensitive teaching ensures that all children access the curriculum and feel a secure sense of belonging where they flourish equally alongside their peers. Leaders have high expectations for all children. They understand their local community and have tailored the curriculum and support to meet the needs of their families. This personalised approach creates an environment that promotes open and respectful partnerships with parents and regular attendance for children.

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Next steps

Leaders should further support staff to plan more precise next steps in learning that consider the foundational skills children need to be successful with broader learning intentions. Leaders should consider ways to develop the curriculum to include more hands on, explicit teaching that further supports children to consolidate and embed a range of mathematical concepts. Leaders should continue to develop their use of evaluation in relation to high quality teaching so that any areas for development are swiftly identified and ensure ongoing improvements are made.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, parents 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

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Address:

Cathedral Parish Hall 28a Ingrave Road Brentwood CM15 8AT

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Registered person: St Helens Pre School (Brentwood) LTD

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 08:15 - 17:30

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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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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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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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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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