Allsorts Preschool - brightwellpreschool.org€¦ · Web viewAllsorts Preschool Self Evaluation Form. Allsorts preschool, Greenmere, Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, Oxon, OX10 0QH. Tel:

Allsorts Preschool

Early Years Self-Evaluation Form (SEF)

Setting name Allsorts Preschool

Setting unique reference number

133712

Setting address Brightwell Primary School

Greenmere

Brightwell cum Sotwell

Oxon

Postcode OX10 0QH

Completed by(name and role)

v3: Andrea Frost, Assistant Chair 2014-2015Sarah Stephenson, Early Years Practitionerv2: Alison Debney, Co-Chair 2013-2014v1: Abbie Stephenson, Chair 2012-2013This is a working document: previous versions are available from Allsorts Preschool

Date completed February 2015

Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation Form

Contents

Part A. Setting details and views of those who use the setting

Section 1. Your settingSection 2. Views of those who use your setting and who work with you

Part B: The quality and standards of the early years provision

Section 3. How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Section 4. The contribution of the early years provision to children’s well-beingSection 5. The leadership and management of the early years provisionSection 6. The overall quality and standards of the early years provision

Allsorts preschool, Greenmere, Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, Oxon, OX10 0QH.Tel: 01491 826387. email: [email protected]. Ofsted reg. no.: 133712

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Part A. Setting details and views of those who use the settingSECTION 1. Our Setting

Allsorts is a village preschool in a small but vibrant village in Oxfordshire. It is situated within the grounds of the village primary school and is open to all. We have our own website www.allsortspreschool.org from which you will be able to find our more information about the preschool.

Our building including the areas and rooms used

The building is a “chalet-style” single storey structure. Children are greeted in the decking area where they each have a peg and somewhere to keep outdoor shoes. There is a single large playroom with a large cupboard providing storage. There are three toilets for the children with sinks at an appropriate level. There is a separate staff and parent toilet which is fully accessible: this also contains a nappy changing table. Connecting to the playroom is a well equipped kitchen with a fridge and oven which is used for baking sessions. There is also an office which is used by staff and committee.

Our local area

Brightwell-cum-Sotwell is considered a semi-rural village in South Oxfordshire. The Allsorts site is in the heart of the village and is situated on edge of a residential area. It benefits from being next to a large park with children’s play equipment and also footpaths which allow safe access to most areas of the village. This enables the preschool children to make regular and good use of the village environment.

Access to our outdoor space

There is a substantial covered outside space “the decking” running alongside the playroom allowing free flow play between the two areas. There is also a large back garden which contains a play house, sandpit, mud kitchen and climbing frame plus a new 'all-weather' flat area. In summer, a canopy providing protection from the sun is erected. This area is secure and is enjoyed with appropriate supervision. There is an additional outdoor space at the side of the building with vegetable beds that the children tend. We are fortunate that the preschool children can use the secure space at the front of the building which is also utilised by the Reception class and regularly use the school playgrounds.

As our Early Years professional has nearly completed her Forest Schools training we have also now been given permission to use the allotment/community orchard area close to preschool which gives a "wilder" outdoor environment in which the children can play.


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation FormAccess to and within the building

We are part of the Brightwell Primary School footprint and behind their locked perimeter during school hours. We are found by walking past the school reception to the bottom gates with the school’s recycling to the left. We have a sign on the gates with a contact number for in-hours access. Visitors without a phone can contact us via school reception.

As a single story building there is good access to all areas including for wheelchairs or for those with disabilities. Access to the side and front is through raised pathways, which are suitable for pushchairs and wheelchairs. The secure back garden is slightly raised but accessible by a ramp, which is built from non-slip wetpour. The inside space is on one level with no potential obstacles at floor level.

The days and hours we operate

The preschool is currently open the following hours:

● Monday to Friday from 8.45am until 11.45am (morning session) for 2 1/2 years plus● Children over three years are also able to attend the lunch club which runs every day from

11.45 - 12.45. ● Afternoon sessions for the over threes run on Tuesday, Wednesday and from Term five 2015,

Thursday, from 12.45pm - 2.45pm. We encourage parents to send children for a minimum of two sessions per week.

Our team

There are eight staff members employed by the preschool. Their qualifications are as follows:

● One Early Years Professional - Supervisor - who has Leadership and Management Level 5 and CYPW Levels 3 and 4. She has completed specialist safeguarding training and is the safeguarding officer and SEN coordinator. She will complete her Forest Schools training in 2015

● One Early Years Practitioner - Deputy Supervisor - CEYP (Level 4 equivalent) undertaking SEN training from Term 4

● Three Early Years Practitioners - CYPW Level 3. ● Three Early Years Play Assistants

Plus● One bank staff - CYPW Level 2

Our staff have undertaken the following additional training:

● First Aid● Food Hygiene


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation Form● Musical learning ● Safeguarding.

One of our Level 3 Practitioners and one Play Assistant joined our team in Term 3 2015. Unfortunately the play assistant was off sick for most of the term and re-joined us in Term 4.

One of our Early Years Practitioners is also our office administrator. She particularly focuses on fee invoicing and the registration process. Other help we receive is from volunteer parents, grandparents and childminders.

Our children

The preschool is able to take up to 24 children in any session based on the Department of Education child: floor area ratios. We currently operate a maximum session number of 23 to allow for any emergency referrals from Social Services etc. Currently there are 31 children on roll (Terms 5-6 2015), aged from two and a half to under five years, who attend for a variety of sessions each week.

The children who attend the preschool are largely from the village although a small number come from surrounding towns, Wallingford and Didcot. They are predominantly from middle class backgrounds. All have English as their first language but a proportion are bilingual.

The preschool has supported children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those learning English as an additional language in the past and will continue to do so.

Our Links

Brightwell Primary School - being situated in the grounds of the village primary school, there is a great deal of interaction between the two organisations. Preschool regularly uses the primary school hall and we also have access to the outside front area and the library. Preschool children regularly have a joint play time with the foundation stage children and their teacher/TA. This facilitates easy transition for our children, the majority of whom move on to Brightwell primary school. Close to the time of transition, the Reception teacher will come and read to the Preschool children and we have ‘settling in days’ at the school which includes a joint sports day with foundation stage children, staff and parents. Preschool attends the school plays and participates in school fetes etc. The EY Professional and Committee Chair have regular meetings with the head teacher.

We have forged strong links with key parts of village life: the Church, local farms, the village shop and post office and organise reciprocal visits. We have recently sponsored a donkey at our local sanctuary and will use this to explore concepts of care and respect for others.


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SECTION 2. The views of those who use our setting and who work with us

Evidence of how we canvas and apply the views of others

Children

● Key persons - key persons are involved in regular dialogue with their key children and parents. ● Morning registration and welcome - the registration process each morning ensures that each child and parent is warmly welcomed into the preschool and there is a positive start to the day. It is a good opportunity to engage with the children to obtain their views. ● At the beginning of a session children can choose play sets/activities to put out. ● During sessions - Activities can be often be changed or extended at any point, in response to comments or wishes made at the time. If this is not possible, Post-it notes are used as a very quick aide memoire and this is then attached to the planning sheet and the feedback used to inform future planning - both short and medium term. ● Conversation - at specific times children (e.g. during snack time or lunch club) are asked by staff what they have enjoyed. This is fed into the planning. Staff are extremely adept at adapting planning (or changing it entirely!) to run with children’s interests. ● ‘Achievement/“What I can do” forms’ are sent home with the children at the end of term. This provides opportunity for the parents/carers to feedback current likes/dislikes of the children and to record any achievements outside preschool such as riding a bike or using a knife and fork. These likes can also be used as a basis for the curriculum planning. ● At any time – parents have the opportunity to share certain achievements at home.

Parents and Carers

● There is a weekly bulletin sent out to all parents which captures what the children have done that week, and includes any important information for the next week e.g. special requests for resources. This is available via email, the website, as a hard copy for those without computer access and is also displayed on the bulletin board at the front entrance. Parents and carers are regularly asked for feedback and reminded that they are very welcome to give it. If a specific response is required from parents e.g. to the change in date at the end of term then parents are emailed and asked to reply by a given date. ● Parent/carer coffee mornings – coffee mornings are held in order to get the opportunity to chat to parents in a more informal way. ● Parent comments – parents and carers are invited to write comments on the "what we have done today" sheets and this is reviewed by staff and Committee. Parent survey comments are posted on the website and also on the noticeboard as "word art".


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation Form● Parent Group Meeting (PGM) - the PGM held each term is an excellent forum for open discussion of ideas and we are fortunate that they are well-attended e.g. at this years’ Annual General Meeting (AGM) we had 21 people, 80% being parents of children currently on our roll. ● Registration and Collection - as many members of staff as possible and almost always the Early Years Professional make themselves available to talk to parents at the start and end of every session. ● Key persons - key persons have a commitment to speak to parents of their key children at least once a week. Parent meetings are held three times a year to discuss the child’s progress although meetings can be requested at any time. ● Parents and carers are sent surveys once each long term. We have recently tried to make these robust and replicable, hence more quantifiable and with a particular focus e.g. Term 2 = registration and start process. Term 4 = quality of session provision and key worker relationship. Term 6 = year setting overview/assimilation of ‘parent view’. There remains scope to individualise surveys to include current considerations e.g. in Term 2 2014 we asked whether to add an additional afternoon session. The surveys answers are anonymous. Results are discussed at the following committee and Parent Group Meetings and any action points noted and addressed. ● Noticeboards - are used within the setting to convey important information between committee, staff and parents.● Daily book - parents and carers find out what their child has been doing during a session through conversation with staff or reading the daily book. The information is kept, thus providing a long-term record of what the children have been up to each day, which can then be used to inform our planning. ● Termly newsletters - this contains information from both staff and committee. Weekly emails and termly newsletters are also sent out to childminders and other interested parties e.g. Brightwell Primary School, regular volunteer helpers.

Information is provided in different formats: verbally, via email, the website and also as hard copies for parents or carers that do not have regular access to IT.

External professionals

The preschool has a good working relationship with the local Health visitor.

Meetings and communications – our Early Years Professional has regular communication with the local children’s centre and other local preschools and nurseries at network meetings.

Regular meetings are held with the Head teacher of Brightwell Primary School, so that knowledge and resources can be shared and we can be involved with activities at the School where possible. We have always had a close working relationship with the Foundation Stage teacher at Brightwell School and have recently been invited to go in to the class to observe the current teachers practice.


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation FormStaff

● 1:1 Individual Supervision Agreements are conducted by the Supervisor with each staff member every term. This is to discuss child progress, new policy and any other feedback from staff.

● Professional Development Reviews (PDRs) – PDRs are held with all staff annually in the summer terms. These are conducted by the Chair and Early Years Professional

● Staff meetings - every four weeks to discuss planning, day to day running and training. Staff have created their own action plan as a result of their own reflective practice & this is reviewed at each staff meeting.

● Round Table Meetings – every three weeks the staff and the Chair or Deputy have a ‘round table meeting’. The team discuss recent events, any issues and plans. Again staff are free to present their views and it is decided how to take things forward. Any concerns to be discussed that staff wish to be in confidence can be placed anonymously in the suggestion box. The meetings are minuted.

● Committee meetings – a staff representative (usually the Early Years Professional) attends the preschool management committee and feeds in the views of the staff. The staff representative feeds back to the staff at their meetings.

All

A suggestion box has been placed in the playroom for all to place comments/ideas/concerns. These can be named or anonymous. The Chairs have sole access to the box. Contents are discussed at the round table meeting.

Examples of action taken in response to views of others

Examples of action taken to change provision as a result of the views of others, whether raised at PGM meetings, parent comment book, email, survey or conversation at coffee mornings include:

● An extra afternoon session on Thursdays has been implemented after the parent survey showed a desire for this. ● The registration process was streamlined in response to parent, survey staff and committee feedback; ● We now change the day on which special activities happen (with the exception of PE where we are constrained by the availability of the school hall) or special activities are sometimes repeated over the course of a week so that as many children as possible can participate - this was in response to a parent suggestion on email and then discussed at the next PGM.

Parent feedback:

“I look forward to my regular email summaries about the preschool's weekly activities."Allsorts preschool, Greenmere, Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, Oxon, OX10 0QH.

Tel: 01491 826387. email: [email protected]. Ofsted reg. no.: 1337128

Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation Form"I am aware that parents/carers are invited to join the Allsorts committee in named roles. There is flexibility within this structure to allow for shift persons such as myself to have a greater, but less rigid, input into the day-to-day running, assisting where possible."

"I receive invites to regular PGMs which I cannot always attend, but the minutes and feedback are swiftly available."

How parents are represented on Allsorts Preschool management body

● Allsorts Preschool is a charity that is run by a voluntary committee made up of family and affiliated members. ● By enrolling with the preschool, parents automatically become family members and can therefore attend the AGM. ● The committee is elected at the AGM from the parent members. Affiliated members can be elected – these are members with a strong connection with the preschool such as ex-parents or staff. ● All parents are welcome to stand for committee. The constitution is available on the parent’s indoor noticeboard● Additionally, Parent Group Meetings are held each term at which parents are invited to feed into the preschool management e.g. deciding staff pay rise, session fees etc. ● Parents also provide a significant amount of input into the day-to-day running of the school including volunteering for sessions, building maintenance, fundraising, providing specialist advice, building websites etc.

Quality Assurance Schemes

Aside from parent feedback we wish to focus our attention on OFSTED recommendations and aim to update our SEF regularly.

Previous versions of the SEF are available from the Chair and the preschool office.

Our Practice is:

Outstanding: my practice is exemplary

Good: our practice is strong Y

Requires improvement: my practice is not good enough and I know it needs to improve

Inadequate: my practice requires significant improvement

We work at a GOOD level to obtain the views of children, parents, carers, staff and external professionals


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation FormPart B: The Quality and Standards of the Early Years ProvisionSECTION 3. How well we meet the needs of the range of children who attend

Evidence of how our provision delivers a GOOD quality impact on our children’s learning and development

Planning the learning environment to support children’s play and exploration in and out of doors

Children have free access to a range of materials and toys, which may be in boxes or drawers, labelled clearly with pictures, which are at the correct height for the children to be able to see and select with ease. Space in the playroom is planned for the children to have enough space to move around freely and with clear zones so that the children become familiar with where to go to engage in a particular activity that they enjoy.

The environment is planned according to individual children’s specific needs, for example, recently children have identified who more actively engage in activities when they are placed outside, so we moved a table out on to the decking.

The preschool is full on certain days, which can make it a very busy, noisy place. In order to provide a calmer and quieter environment for those that prefer this, we can offer the children the choice to go and play outside on the decking or to stay inside. We also take the older children out to play with the Foundation Stage children, which gives the younger children some quieter time to explore the activities on offer.

The “home corner” is regularly changed, for example to a library, a farm shop, an aeroplane to offer the children new stimulation for role play.

The environment is changed in response to children’s play, for example a child cam in wearing a costume, which led to other children taking an interest in dressing up, so we moved the dressing up rail into the middle of the room with the mirror facing out and the children then spent some time playing at dressing up.

Parent feedback: “Preschool is set up to ensure the children's learning is promoted outdoors as well as indoors. There is an area of decking outside which is undercover which means the children are able to get outside and play each day. This is of great benefit to my child as he is able to concentrate better if he is able to get outside and let off steam. I don't think he has ever come home and said he wasn't able to play outside”.

Next steps: monitor effect of planning sheets to ensure children’s interests and development needs are delivered.

We would like to improve our use of the garden area: we would like to have an outdoor version of the playroom, meaning the children can be outside in all weathers and improving the learning experience as a whole. We are hoping that the Supervisors’s Forest School training may provide further ideas for the use of this outside space. We have recently


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation Formchanged the flagged paved track and now have a bright "wetpour" surface which provides a flexible, colourful addition to play. The Women's Institute have visited several times to improve the garden and make it more sensory and appealing, with scented plants and herbs, bulbs and strawberries.

The garden area is now the focus of our "40 years of preschool" celebrations and we are actively sourcing input from children, parents, staff and the wider village population.

Continuing to improve our PE provision to ensure the “physical literacy” of our children at a later stage - possibly by asking external providers to come in to give the staff ideas, although there are cost implications to this. Tatty Bumpkins Yoga is currently trialling

Providing the balance between child-led and adult-led activities

● Children are able to choose from a balance of child-led and staff-led activities each day which help them think critically, play and explore and be active and creative learners. The daily timetable reflects a mixture of structured activities and free flow play. The structured activities are often a development of an idea from the children, extending their learning. One table is generally kept free for the children to choose what to put on it. At least one table is has an adult led activity on it, perhaps a craft activity or a board game. We are very fluid in our activities throughout the session so that an adult may be read a story in the book corner spontaneously if a few of the children seem tired or request it, or if children are sat reading books as adult may simply actively supervise them. An adult may use their judgement to intervene in in child led play to further extend and develop the play, for example coming to the farm shop home corner to buy some food, or arriving with a new delivery of foods for the children to put out in their shop.

Evidence of how our provision delivers a GOOD quality impact on meeting the needs of each child who attends our provision.

Have high expectations for the children and enthuse and motivate them

● The staff always have high expectations for each child and use strategies to encourage and guide them to achieve more, recognising and praising any achievements made. ● Children take turns to be “special helpers” with responsibility for organising snack tables and ensuring that name tokens are correct for the children in setting that day.● Show and tell aims to build confidence within a supportive environment● The staffs premier concern is that the children feel happy in their environment, as this allows them to learn and develop with confidence, as well as enjoy themselves whilst making progress towards the EYFS goals.

Plan for individual children


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation Form● We are constantly reviewing our planning process in order to achieve the best outcome for the individual child. For the academic year 2014/15 we have adapted our planning to further take into account the needs of the individual child. Every child is observed frequently through a variety of methods, e.g. photos, checklist and snapshot observations. The child’s key person will then use the observations to plan and record the child's developmental next steps on a sheet, which all staff have access to. Under the guidance of the Supervisor, staff members are taking it in turns to plan the week’s activities in line with the EYFS framework to provide opportunities for individual children to progress in their next steps. Each member of staff contributing to planning further enables each child to be planned for as their key person is involved closely in planning. It also gives the staff earlier in their profession great experience and involves them closely with the running and shaping of the preschool.● The planning sheets identify the specific children whose next steps are being met through a particular activity, so that they can be encouraged to participate, can be further observed and have the opportunity to develop further.● Planning sheets are used carefully to ensure that in the short, medium and long term there is a focus on the EYFS goals. Planning is evaluated each week and particular strengths and weaknesses of the planning noted, as well as absorbing feedback from both parents and children.● All staff use observations, interaction with their key children and communication with parents to understand their key children’s interests and abilities, as well as their preferred ways of playing and learning, whilst understanding how to encourage them to try new things.● Regular staff meetings are held at which individual children’s needs are discussed and strategies put in place to support particular behaviours to ensure a consistent approach to an individual child’s requirements● The document “Development Matters” is used to track each child’s development and any gaps in observations or areas of concern can be quickly identified and included in the planning. For example, two key people identified a lack of observations taking place outside, perhaps due to our outside space being under renovation. This was quickly remedied with a focus on observations in the outside space and by adopting a checklist to ensure that all children are observed in our Forest School sessions.● Small group sessions are held for specific activities to enable time and attention to be spent focussing on specific development requirements of individuals. For example children may spend time in pairs in the playroom or the lobby where it is quieter and there are fewer distractions, focussing on cutting out items, to give time to helping them with their scissor skills.● The Supervisor is in regular contact with the local health visitor, as well as the area SENCO for advice and support where necessary. For example when a parent was concerned about their child’s speech, we were advised on the best channels to seek and ensured she was able to see the health visitor very quickly and through her gain a referral to a speech therapist. Through this process the parent felt "reassured that the advice given was up-to-date, wise and well-considered". ● Currently, all the children attending Allsorts have English as their first language. There are currently no children with recognised special educational needs or disabilities.


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation FormEvidence of how Allsorts helps each child to enjoy their learning and make progress towards their early learning goals.

Establish what each child knows when they first start and their continued development

● Before children start at Allsorts they are given the opportunity to attend for visits, during which they are able to start making a bond with their key person and the supervisor. ● Prior to starting, each child is sent a postcard naming their key person and with a picture of all the staff on the front. New parent feedback: “Our postcard was put up at home and showed to XX before his first day. It was a very nice touch to get preschool off to a great start and create a bond with his carers."

● Parent/s meet with the key person to complete paperwork and discuss their child during one of their child's introductory sessions. The staff endeavour to establish a child’s likes and interests as quickly as possible and find the “getting to know you sheet” sent out to parents in advance of their child starting helpful in allowing them to do this. In response to feedback from the parent survey, we now ensure that this sheet is sent out to parents no more than four weeks prior to their child starting preschool, so the information given to us is relevant and up-to-date.

● The child’s key person works very closely with new starters, getting to know them, observing and assessing them. An assessment is then written within the first term they start preschool. For children aged 2.5-3 years this is the Two Year Check. The assessment is undertaken with input from parents and is used to assess child’s development under the three prime areas of development with additional comments on the other four areas. The assessment highlights areas that may need additional monitoring and/or support. Actions are set to be conducted at preschool and/or home to further support the child’s development. In all cases, next steps are recorded in the planning process so that the child is individually planned for.

● Progress is reviewed three times per academic year again focussing on the seven EYFS areas of development. Planning is put in place for areas requiring support.

● The assessments are conducted by the child's key person, are reviewed with the supervisor in the 1:1s and are discussed and inputted into by parents. Tracking is also undertaken and recorded at the end of the assessment sheet for the Supervisor to input and gain a wider view of how well the setting is covering the areas of development

Observation and Assessment to personalise support

● Key persons produce ‘learning journals’ which collate the regular observations of the children’s progress, and records of the child’s interests, abilities, activities and achievements. These are updated regularly, using snapshot observation forms as well as photographic evidence. ● Our tracking systems require updating and our paperwork appears cumbersome. We are liaising with Brightwell School and their utilisation of 2 Simple to streamline this process and provide a more robust system.


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation FormNext steps: Ensure that individual children have clear and appropriate targets to encourage good development, incorporating a trial of the 2simple programme in Term 5.

Support each child in their learning and involve parents and carers as partners in children’s learning and development

● Children are treated as individuals throughout their time at Allsorts and the overwhelming sense in the playroom is just how well the staff and committee know the children and their families and are therefore able to support them. The village and strong community ethos of the preschool are an enormous help in achieving our aim of the environment to be utterly supportive and nurturing for the children. We are conscious that this may make it more difficult for children coming from outside the village, but when asked about how welcome they and their children feel, these families claim to feel equally well supported and communicated with.● The child’s progress reports are discussed with the parents/carers. Within these are defined actions that can be undertaken at home to support the continued development of the child.

Our Practice is:


Good: our practice is strong Y



We make a GOOD contribution to our children’s wellbeing - our children feel emotionally secure and are physically and emotionally healthy.


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SECTION 4. The Contribution of the Early Years Provision to the Children’s Wellbeing

Evidence of how our children form appropriate bonds and secure emotional attachment with their carers

● The key person system has been very successful in helping children to flourish at Allsorts. Parent feedback: “My child talks about his key person at home a lot; this shows his bond with her”

‘X attended the Remembrance Sunday parade in the village and became quite tearful afterwards as "everyone seemed quiet and sad". The preschool organised a trip to the memorial the following week. X attended, and he was happy to talk to his key person about his feelings. Although I had briefed the staff about X's reaction to the parade, I feel this showed enormous trust on his part; outside the preschool environment and away from parental support’.

Our practices and routines are used to support children’s all round development and well-being

● We have a suite of policies that define our care practices, such as nappy changing, that have been designed to ensure children’s all-round development and well-being.● These are reviewed at committee meetings and added to as required. All are available to view in the foyer.● There is close liaison with parents and other carers about potty training etc. and staff deal with this development stage very sensitively, following the guidance in our personal care policy.● We have a comprehensive and full safeguarding policy to ensure that children are safe and well-looked after at preschool. Children are registered at the door on arrival at preschool and any messages between staff and parents are exchanged. The gate is locked promptly as soon as parents have left after drop off. At the end of the session parents/carers are let in promptly and the gate locked behind them. If an adult wishes to gain entry during the school day they can phone or use the bell to gain staff attention. Visitors are checked carefully, signed in to a register and asked for ID where appropriate. At the end of the session children are carefully checked to ensure that they have all their belongings and then let out with their parent/carer. If not going home with their usual parent/carer parents are asked to complete a form to this effect at drop off and this information is logged in the daily book. If someone other than expected collects a child a password system is used.● Fire safety equipment checks as well as drills and evacuations are done regularly. The fire drill file is reviewed regularly by the chair/Early Years Professional to check that drills are effective. ● There is a daily checklist which one member of staff has responsibility for to ensure that preschool is a safe environment for the children e.g. checks are made on temperature of room and fridge, checks for equipment being secure and in good working order. ● We have a health and safety policy which along with all our other policies is reviewed bi-annually or more often if need requires.


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation Form● There are incident and accident books which are regularly reviewed by staff and committee to detect any trends e.g. the wood decking ramp into the back garden was replaced after detecting a trend of children slipping on it when wet and replaced with non-slip slabs. Since then there have been no more accidents. We have also recently replaced the flooring with non-slip lino as the old carpet tiles were presenting a trip hazard. We took into consideration the risk of this floor being slippery and muddy when wet so ensured that in the doorways sturdy matting was placed down and reinforced the need for children to have 'indoor' footwear where possible.

Evidence of how our children behave well and develop good relationships with their peers

Children are learning how to behave well, play cooperatively and develop their independence

● Our EY professional is the behaviour management coordinator. ● Members of staff adhere to our behaviour management policy which means that they always

speak kindly but firmly to children. ● Children develop strong friendships while at preschool and are encouraged to do so by the

staff who model positive social interactions and friendships to them all the time. ● Children are aware of the boundaries and what to expect should they misbehave and this is

implemented with consistency by all staff, which helps to ensure secure attachments.

Parent feedback: "My daughter has created a special bond with one little girl in preschool who was new to the village, they now wait for each other in the mornings". “X is very sociable and has enjoyed extracurricular preschool activities such as the Halloween social and Sports day. He felt comfortable searching out his friends and playing without the need for mummy to be at his shoulder, demonstrating an increasing trust and independence.”

● Children's sense of independence and responsibility is also encouraged by making them special helpers so that they help with allocating seating, plates and cups, pouring drinks and even on occasion making the snack. Washing hands is always part of the pre-snack routine and there are visual signs to help children with this. Staff of course model this behaviour too.

Evidence of how our children develop characteristics of effective learning

Children are encouraged to explore their surroundings and use their imagination

● Our staff encourage children to explore and appreciate their surroundings and use their imagination for example our collaborative art project, our Term 1 farm trip and tractor trailer ride.● We have ‘forest school’ sessions at least once per week where the children are taken out of preschool to explore their surroundings. This might include paddling in the stream and making boats to sail; collecting leaves; jumping in puddles etc


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation Form● There are regular trips offsite; for example in past terms children have been to the village shop, the post office to send postcards home, trips round the village collecting leaves in order to make leaf crowns, visiting the library bus fortnightly, Highlands farm in the village to see the lambs, a walk to the war memorial with a 90 year old resident of the village after Remembrance Sunday, a trip to the allotments to pick pumpkins for Halloween. The children have also planted an apple tree in the village’s new community orchard. There are trips further afield e.g. visits to Beale Park. Accompanying parents also appreciate the opportunity to get to know each other better and see their children interacting with friends.

Parent feedback: "While building Lego at home, when asked what my child was building, he replied 'an allotment'. This shows the effectiveness of his learning after they were taken on a trip to the local allotments in preschool. He explained to me this is where food grows - we are now aiming to grow some at home!"

Helping children to talk and play with each other and the adults that care for them

● Play is supported by constructed discussions with the Allsorts Team● There are teacher-led structured, group activities that encourages the children to talk to each other and the adults● There are many reading/book sessions that again encourage discussion. ● ‘Show and tell’ is very popular and provides children with the opportunity to gain confidence in talking in front of their peers and to the teacher. It allows them to express opinions and share why something is important to them which helps language development and the art of conversation.

Helping children to develop an understanding of the importance of physical exercise and a healthy diet

● The children enjoy a very wide range of healthy foods offered at snack time which are eaten with staff and healthy foods are discussed regularly. We provide a variety of snacks to give the children some choice, hence more ownership and responsibility for this part of the day. Children are encouraged to bring in water bottles for use by them at any stage through the session. ● The benefits of fresh air and exercise are also apparent to the children; they do regular walks round the village and PE (using the school hall or outside if the weather is good) on a weekly basis, which introduces them to the idea of regular exercise. They also have the opportunity to play outside on a daily basis as well as use the decked area.


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Children are prepared for their transition into Reception Class of Brightwell Primary School or beyond

We strongly feel that children when they leave Allsorts are secure and confident in their friends and environment and ready for their move up to “big school”. The transition to primary school (especially Brightwell) is facilitated in a number of ways:

● Familiarity with packed /school lunches● Familiarity with school site and also use of hall, library and grounds.● Familiarity with the Reception class teacher and teaching assistants from regular visits to read to the children in summer term and also three visits of children to the classroom in summer term● Foundation Stage sports day in summer term for preschoolers and FS children● Joint fundraising activities with Reception class as there is much overlap between siblings and friends e.g. Halloween social and fundraiser at the village pub and a sponsored welly walk● School and preschool staff are in regular communication which aids transition and avoids repetition of topics.● There is a more formal liaison meeting between the Chair, Early Years Professional and Head of school on a 2-4 weekly basis● We endeavour to obtain pieces of uniform from other schools if children are moving further afield, to promote familiarity

Parent feedback: “My child is already looking forward to going to the primary school as he has told me he will be wearing a blue jumper and play in the big school. This is undoubtedly because he sees the primary children playing by his school and they are taken into the hall to play there sometimes I believe. The transition will be a lot easier as he understands and is comfortable there"

The Reception class teacher and teaching assistants have all commented on how well and quickly the Allsorts children settle into life at primary school.

Staff are also conscious of those children who will be staying on at preschool for an extra year and endeavour to prepare them sensitively for the fact that they will not be moving up with many of their friends.

Priorities for improvement

● Ensure that the behaviour management policy is reviewed regularly to keep up with current trends and thinking

● Ensure that, as all our staff are female, children have the opportunity to interact with male role models. We are fortunate in having regular male volunteers and regular input from fathers e.g. fathers coming into talk about their jobs in the NHS & police during our "people that help us" topic.


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation Form● Continue to develop a good relationship with primary school staff in order to ensure that children are as ready as possible for 'big school'

● From Term 5, we will introduce a child-centred, play based pre-literacy programme called Take Five to help prepare the pre-reception children for more formal learning. The aim is to introduce the children to “developmentally appropriate” multi-sensory play and activities that are precursors for numeracy and literacy. Once these activities are established we will incorporate elements into the playroom for children to enjoy e.g. creating a print-rich environment, signs and posters, story structures and sequencing games.

Our practice is:


Good: my practice is strong Y



We make a GOOD contribution to our children’s wellbeing - our children feel emotionally secure and are physically and emotionally healthy.


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SECTION 5. Leadership and Management

Evidence of how we meet the responsibilities of the learning and development and safeguarding and welfare requirements of the EYFS

Effective planning ensures the responsibilities of the EYFS are met. Planning is delivered through the following mechanisms:

● Each staff member takes a turn to plan the week activities with the Supervisor/deputy overseeing to make sure all seven Development Matters areas of learning and development are covered. Unqualified staff members will plan sessions with the assistance of the supervisor/deputy

● There is a strong drive by the staff and committee to continue to build exceptionally high standards.

● The staff enjoy working collaboratively to plan and to meet children’s needs.● The staff build on observations of children’s enjoyment and relating these to their stages of

development and planned next steps. ● The staff harness children’s ideas for activities on the ‘idea tree’. ● The EY Professional and her deputy are experienced and fully aware of the requirements of

EYFS and OFSTED and very good at disseminating this information to both the newer members of staff and committee. Equally if the less experienced staff learns something as part of their training which they feel would be of benefit to preschool they are very happy to share this.

● 1:1 meetings are conducted between supervisor and staff.

Evidence of how all areas of learning are included in the educational programmes and self-evaluation and improvement planning are used to drive standards

● Staff and parents have had input into the SEF and we have a continuous improvement policy, which encourages regular review and reflection of our policies and practices.

● Staff and a representative of the committee (usually the Chair/deputy) meet every three weeks at a round table meeting, which is an opportunity for everyone to raise any issues of any nature.

● Staff meetings are held at least termly, to discuss children and any concerns, planning, resources, progress records, observations etc.

● Parent questionnaires are sent three times a year to capture, analyse and deliver areas of improvement.

● An Action Plan is compiled annually by staff, committee and parents to plan the preschool year, including training needs, planning needs, building maintenance, partnership development, safeguarding and fundraising priorities. This is to drive continual improvement.


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation Form● The staff track progress of the children which is overseen by the supervisor. Needs are built

into the education programme to drive improvement of standards.

Evidence of how we have a clear overview of the progress of all children who attend

● We have an equal opportunities policy and a member of staff is responsible for the implementation of this.● An initial assessment of all children is conducted on starting Allsorts● Progress Assessments are made three times per year by the key person: these are reviewed with the supervisor.● Key persons prepare Learning Journeys for each child regularly overseen by the supervisor● All assessments are discussed with parents three times per year.● All staff make observations of each child and share with key persons. ● Our supervisor works with local health visitors and two year checks are made against the Development Matters goals at preschool.● Our supervisor draws the assessments of the progress of each child at the end of each academic year

Evidence of how we work in partnership with parents and others

We work in partnership with parents in the following ways:

● Our preschool is a registered charity. All registered families become members of the charity. As such each member is eligible to contribute to the running of the preschool.● The preschool is managed by a committee that is comprised of elected family members i.e. the preschool is managed by parents on a voluntary basis. ● In addition to the daily running of the preschool, parents work in partnership to deliver the maintenance of the preschool (we have termly work parties and ad hoc contributions); fundraising; preparation of the annual Action Plan; contributions to the Self Evaluation Form; leading practical sessions e.g. PE, art, cooking, specialist interest; covering staff sickness; developing and maintaining the website, auditing the accounts etc.● We also have strong partnership with the adjacent primary school and we work with them for curriculum planning and for effective transition. We are able to use school facilities such as the school hall for PE and the library● We attend special events in the school including Christmas show, joint sports day, Christmas and summer fetes etc.● Both staff and committee have contacts and links with other preschools for example we have linked with the Chair of Paddocks preschool in Wallingford in order to discuss the SEF. The EYP regularly attends network meetings where she finds the opportunity to engage with other professionals invaluable. ● EY Professional and the committee Treasurer attended the Preschool Learning Alliance Committee Day.


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Evidence of how we safeguard children

The safeguarding of the children and compliance with the EYFS is paramount - all staff and committee are DBS checked. Our central record of DBS checks is regularly updated and checked. Staff and committee are familiar with and understand the requirements of our safeguarding policy. All staff have received safeguarding training as part of their training courses which is then supplemented by our Supervisor and Deputy who have specialist safeguarding training. Safeguarding requirements such as fire drills and equipment checks are conducted regularly. The Chair and Supervisor welcome openness and confidential concerns can be addressed via the suggestion box.

Evidence of Performance Management and Professional Development

All staff have an annual appraisal in the summer months where targets are reviewed and set. This includes identifying any training needs. During term times, the supervisor also conducts 1:1s with the staff, where developmental needs can be discussed, advice sought and targets progress checked. We are fortunate in that staff are very keen to be involved in all aspects of preschool life - they have willingly taken on extra roles and responsibilities, so that the work load is divided equitably. All staff are keen to further their knowledge and expertise with further training and have particular interests which they are keen to pursue e.g. collaborative art projects, SEN training, music and singing etc.

How we have tackled identified areas for improvement, including those highlighted in the last OFSTED inspection (2011)

Extend opportunities for adult interactions and promoting purposeful talk when children are engaged in self-chosen activities

● All staff are aware of communicating positively with the children and take the opportunity to promote purposeful talk when children are engaged in self-chosen activities.

● This might include asking children leading questions such as why they are doing things and what they hope to achieve etc.

Enhance the outdoor play area

● Since the last inspection, we have had a covered outside decking area installed which has supervised free access at all times of the year.

● Now the covered area is completed, we have prioritised fundraising for the back garden, which we hope to improve this academic year as this coincides with our 40 year celebrations.

● We are working with the primary school to improve the communal area to the front of the school.


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation Form● Our Supervisor completes her Forest School training in 2015 and we regularly use the rural

village setting for nature activities.

Improve assessment records so that they chart progress consistently and inform the children’s next steps in learning planned activities

● The children have Learning Journeys that chart the progress during the time they have spent at preschool. They are prepared by the key person and regularly discussed by the supervisor. They include images, observations, progress reports, feedback from parents. They are discussed with parents three times per year.

● Progress reports are conducted three times per year by the key person. These track development in the seven key areas of identified in Development Matters.

● 1:1 conducted with key person and the supervisor to check progress and discuss any issues. These are then discussed with the Chair in another 1:1.

● Our Supervisor has undertaken training in the initial Early Years tracking tool. As of Term 4 she is awaiting a further instalment update date.

● The assessment records are shared with the Reception teacher for the 5 years tracking exercise. Likewise, we work closely with the health visitor for the two year check.

Parent Survey feedback:

"X's key worker is very open and honest; I can really talk to her and know I'll get honest up to date information. She has discovered that X prefers to write with her L hand (as do I) so we have talked about what to focus on when she moves up to school"

Ongoing areas for improvement (Feb 2015):

● Ensure that time is built into the termly plans for staff supervisions to take place regularly allowing an opportunity for open and one-to-one discussion, possibly using bank staff to cover for staff, but without affecting children’s well-being or learning

● Develop a more formal approach to document observations to ensure the development needs of each child met. The round table meeting at the end of Term 4 resulted in a unanimous decision to trial the “2 simple” tracking system in Term 5 to further improve our documentation and aim towards a simpler, paper-reduced system.

● Continue liaison meetings with school and maintain links with other preschools in particular Paddocks and Crowmarsh in Wallingford to share ideas and expertise.

● Add a 'current parent' area to the website to include relevant and timely information for existing parents


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Our practice is:





We have effective leadership and management at a GOOD standard


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation FormSECTION 6. Overall quality and standards of the Early Years Provision

Allsorts charts the progress all children make in their development and learning relative to their starting points and their readiness for the next stage of their education

● We are proud of our attention to detail especially in terms of planning. This includes as much feedback as possible from both children and those who care for them and ensures that our children make good progress in all seven areas of the EYFS, but perhaps most notably of all in terms of their personal, emotional and social development.

● Children leave us exceptionally well-equipped to make the transition to primary school, whether it is in Brightwell or further afield. We all enjoy seeing the children flourish as they grow up.

Evidence of how our practice meets the needs of all of our children

● We currently have no children who are from disadvantaged backgrounds or who need additional support because of their home background.

● There are no children with diagnosed special educational needs however our team are experienced and confident in identifying possible issues.

● Where behaviour management is required, the team work closely with the child and the parents to give a consistent approach.

● The village setting for our preschool means that we get to know all the children and their families very well. This enables the preschool to meet the needs of all of the children to an outstanding level.

Evidence of children’s personal and emotional development, including whether they feel safe and are secure and happy

● Allsorts Preschool is OUTSTANDING in the way it makes the children feel safe, secure and happy. This is continually being fed back by parents.

● We feel that we do our utmost to help the children under our care have an enjoyable and rewarding time when they are with us at preschool.

● We feel privileged to have such a lovely environment to work in and also that we continue to see our children thrive as they move on to primary school.

● For many of our children the preschool is their first experience of community outside their own families and we think that the experience is an extremely positive one.

Parent feedback: "I cannot recommend the preschool enough. I rave about it to my friends because I feel they provide a high level of teaching, support, care and safety to every child that attends. No child is left behind".


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Allsorts Preschool Self Evaluation FormHow the children’s safeguarding and welfare requirements are met

● The team are up to date with the safeguarding and welfare requirements through their on-going training and put these into practice in the work place

How effective we are in evaluating our practice and securing continual improvement

● Our targets for improvement from the last inspection have been addressed substantially and in a very positive way. All staff are aware of communicating positively with the children and take the opportunity to promote purposeful talk when children are engaged in self-chosen activities. Staff and committee are continuing with plans to enhance the outdoor play area to the front, side and rear of preschool to enable extended opportunities for children's learning and development across the curriculum. Our assessment records for each child have been substantially improved so that they chart progress consistently and inform the children's next steps in learning in planned activities.

● Our reflective practice and our collaborative working practices (as a staff team, with parents and carers and also with the wider community) mean that we are constantly seeking to improve the experiences of children attending our setting. This is delivered through our Action Plans, round table meetings, parent group meetings parent surveys and staff appraisals with 1:1s.

Our practice is:

Outstanding: our practice is exemplary Y




We strongly believe that Allsorts Preschool provides an early years provision of GOOD quality and standard with some OUTSTANDING features


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Documents

Allsorts Preschool - brightwellpreschool.org€¦ · Web viewAllsorts Preschool Self Evaluation Form. Allsorts preschool, Greenmere, Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, Oxon, OX10 0QH. Tel: