Westside Pre-School

Westside Pre-School

Unique reference number (URN): 2757060 Address: 29 Howard View, Basingstoke, RG22 6LF Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 11/09/2023 Registers: EYR Registered person: Ilett, Victoria Mary

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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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Inclusion Strong standard

Highly experienced and committed leaders identify children's individual needs at the earliest opportunity, beginning with home visits before children start at the setting. They gather and use detailed information throughout an extensive transition process, to provide effective support for children and their families. This includes close-partnership working with a range of professionals, including family, medical and education support services, to ensure that children receive the right support at the right time. Leaders model targeted interventions for staff, and rigorously monitor the impact on children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who face other barriers to learning. They regularly review these children's progress with parents and carers to evaluate the effectiveness of support, reducing barriers to learning and making timely adaptations when necessary. As a result,

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Inclusion Strong standard

these children make secure, ongoing progress.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders make well-considered decisions about the use of additional funding to ensure that children from disadvantaged backgrounds are well prepared for their move on to school. For example, they provide enriching experiences, such as coach trips to places of interest, including 'Bird World', to make wonderful memories for children who may not have yet experienced such opportunities. Leaders have high aspirations for children and their families, providing highly effective support to promote their wellbeing. This thoughtful and targeted approach makes a significant difference to children's lives, helping the most vulnerable to overcome barriers, thrive and get the best start to their education.

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Achievement Expected standard

Overall, children achieve well from their starting points, particularly those who face barriers to learning. Some children join the setting with delayed speech, or are in the early stages of learning to speak English as an additional language. These children make rapid progress in their communication and language skills. For example, children who share the same home language communicate confidently, before naturally switching to English to ask and answer questions during their independent play. They eagerly describe the 'frog soup' they are making, naming the ingredients for the 'hungry dinosaurs' in their imaginative water play.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children explore the stimulating indoor and outdoor environments, developing their physical skills well. They demonstrate impressive core strength and coordination as they push large truck tyres around the garden, skilfully avoiding obstacles along the way. Other children carefully paint large outdoor structures with water, ensuring they cover every part as they pretend to decorate them. Experiences such as these strengthen children's hand-eye coordination and help to prepare them for more precise skills, such as using scissors. However, some children who are capable of solving problems on their own do not always have the chance to do so before staff step in.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Leaders have very high expectations for children's attendance and punctuality. They carefully check patterns of absences and identify any barriers affecting families. Leaders take prompt, appropriate action to support parents and carers to improve attendance. For example, they use additional funding to enable disadvantaged children to attend additional sessions at the setting. Through the personalised support and guidance, children benefit greatly from attending as regularly as possible, promoting consistent routines and continuity in their development.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Overall, leaders and staff establish a calm and welcoming learning environment. Most children understand the rules and routines and typically follow them with gentle reminders from staff. Children, particularly the younger ones, demonstrate kindness and respect towards one another. Staff in the younger room consistently support children to play cooperatively and develop positive social skills. These children learn to use effective strategies, such as sand timers to wait their turn when they want the same toy. They patiently watch the sand run through the timer before excitedly swapping places with their friends, who willingly wait for their own turn. However, consistent and effective approaches are not yet fully embedded in the older room. Although staff help children to develop positive friendships, they do not always respond promptly or effectively enough to support some children who find it difficult to regulate their emotions. Consequently, minor disputes

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

occasionally arise, such as children breaking one another's models.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders carefully consider the context of the setting, including the children and families they serve. They create a nurturing and safe environment where children typically form secure attachments with the adults who care for them. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive additional support on arrival and sensitive encouragement from staff with their personal care routines, such as toileting. Staff sit alongside children at mealtimes to promote their safety, support smooth transitions and strengthen relationships through meaningful conversations. All children have regular opportunities to develop their independence skills. They confidently feed themselves and access drinking water throughout the day. These consistent routines help children feel valued, included and settled.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders gather purposeful information about children's home experiences and use it effectively to broaden their learning. They provide rich opportunities for children to experience activities they may not otherwise encounter, such as growing, tending and eating fruit from the garden. In this way, children develop positive attitudes towards healthy eating. Leaders also work closely with parents and carers to encourage nutritious, balanced lunchboxes. Children proudly share the contents of their lunchboxes with staff, receiving certificates to celebrate their healthy choices. This shared approach helps children develop a suitable understanding of how healthy eating contributes to keeping fit and well.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders design a broad curriculum that identifies what children should learn. They place a high priority on meeting children's individual developmental needs, particularly in communication and language, and personal, social and emotional development. Overall, staff introduce new vocabulary and encourage children to apply it in meaningful contexts. For example, at the 'ice-cream parlour', staff model flavour names using the different coloured scoops, suggesting that the yellow scoop could be lemon flavour. Typically, staff engage children in purposeful two-way conversations, asking simple questions that extend their mathematical thinking, such as encouraging them to create a two-scoop ice cream by choosing flavours from the full range available.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Most staff deliver the curriculum effectively, and demonstrate particular expertise in adapting their teaching to support children who face barriers to their learning. For instance, during a discussion about building houses with construction bricks, staff clearly model the names of different rooms in English, helping children who speak English as an additional language to broaden their vocabulary. However, on occasions, some children who are otherwise capable do not consistently have opportunities to solve problems independently before staff intervene. For example, when children build large structures using interlocking pieces, some staff complete the tricky parts for them instead of guiding them to persevere and allowing them the time to work out a solution independently. Consequently, some children do not consistently have opportunities to think for themselves or apply what they already know.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are passionate about their roles and demonstrate a commitment to supporting children and their families. They have a clear vision and continually drive improvements to strengthen the quality of provision. For example, as they prepare for the new term, leaders plan to involve staff more in home visits, so they can develop an accurate understanding of each child's individual needs and any barriers to their development. This will further help to promote continuity in children's care and learning, from the outset.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders provide staff with a broad range of professional development opportunities to support their knowledge and practice. Training, coaching and mentoring, particularly in supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, equip staff to precisely deliver strategies effectively and consistently. However, leaders do not yet monitor the quality of each staff's interactions rigorously enough to identify their precise areas for development. As a result, some staff do not consistently recognise or de-escalate children's heightened emotions effectively, which occasionally results in minor lapses in their behaviour.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders work tirelessly to build firm, trusting bonds with parents and carers, helping children to continue to thrive. They engage with parents in timely discussions about their children's ongoing progress and share practical ideas to extend learning at home. These collaborative partnerships help to promote continuity in children's learning and development.

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

Children flourish at this welcoming and highly inclusive setting. They greet staff with beaming smiles and confidently separate from their parents and carers. Children independently put away their belongings before quickly settling into activities that capture their interest. They feel safe, secure and valued in the appealing environments, indoors and outdoors.

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

Typically, children play cooperatively and show genuine care and consideration for one another. For example, they notice when others need help building a dome with large interlocking construction pieces and readily offer a helping hand. When occasional disagreements occur, children are generally supported to resolve these quickly and calmly, helping them to develop positive relationships and appropriate social skills. In general, children understand and follow the setting's rules and routines, and remain engaged during group times, such as listening attentively to stories. Those who find it more difficult to manage their emotions, mostly receive targeted support to help them regulate their feelings and respond more appropriately to situations that cause them upset. As a result, most children, particularly the younger ones, develop increasing emotional resilience.

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

Each child's unique needs are fully understood by leaders. Children who need additional help respond well to swift individual action that is targeted to reduce barriers. Children who are non-verbal when they first join the setting make remarkable progress in their communication. They begin by naming familiar objects before confidently using short phrases. Children rehearse real-life experiences and repeatedly practise newly acquired language in their imaginative play. For example, those initially identified with speech delay delight in balancing pretend scoops of ice cream onto cones. They listen carefully to instructions to make a strawberry-flavoured ice cream, select the pink scoop and proudly say, 'here you go'.

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

Children's attendance and punctuality is robustly monitored and precise systems are in place to promote regular attendance and punctual arrival. As a result, children benefit from the rich experiences the setting provides, supporting continuity in their learning and development.

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Next steps

Leaders should support staff to act effectively and promptly to address any minor behaviour concerns. Leaders should strengthen performance management to address inconsistencies in the quality of teaching, such as ensuring learning challenges all children and encourages

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Address:

Type: Childcare on non-domestic premises

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 09:15 - 15:45

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Facts and figures used on inspection

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

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with leaders, staff, children and parents 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. This data is from 16 July 2026

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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. 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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