Youngsters at a village preschool are settled and happy, Ofsted believes.
The conclusion was reached by inspector Beverley Devlin after a visit to Capenhurst Village Pre School which meets in the Village Hall on Capenhurst Lane, Capenhurst.
The inspector gave the group a ‘Good’ rating overall maintaining the standard the preschool achieved at a previous inspection in 2014. All main aspects were also said to be ‘Good’.
The preschool has 18 children on its books and four childcare staff. It opens Monday to Friday, term time only with sessions from 9am until 3pm.
During her visit the inspector undertook activities including observing the quality of teaching and considering the effect this has on the children’s learning, carrying out a joint observation with the manager and holding discussions with children and staff throughout the inspection. She also took account of the views of parents.
“Children are settled and happy,” she found. “They are cared for by staff who know them well and who support their social and emotional development very effectively.”
Partnership working with parents and other professionals is strong which helps to provide a shared approach which supports the children’s individual care and learning.
Staff join in with the children as they play and show a genuine interest and passion for their work.
Managers and staff at the group create a stimulating learning setting which captures the children’s interests and supports their curiosity.
The youngsters are ‘actively engaged’ in activities that support all areas of their development.
Staff make accurate assessments of how the children are getting on and plan the next steps to support their individual learning.
The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the preschool is good and the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
Information is shared with other settings the children attend which contributes towards supporting continuity of care and learning opportunities.
Parents’ comments are ‘very positive’.
Staff use their good knowledge of each child to plan purposeful activities and the children have regular opportunities to learn about the community and the wider world around them.
They make daily trips into nearby woodland and join in with cooking sessions at the village community centre.
The youngsters enjoy looking at a wide range of books and children of all ages and abilities at the preschool make good progress in relation to their starting points.
They acquire skills and knowledge that will help to support their future learning including their move on to school, the inspector believes.
She made two suggestions for further improvement at the preschool.
