Our Aims
To enhance the development and education of children under the statutory school age in a
parent involving community group.
To work in partnership with parents to help children learn and develop.
To promote a safe, secure and stimulating environment.
Offer children and their parents a service that provides equality, and values diversity.
Individuals
Your child will have fun and friendship with children and other adults.
Are assigned a key person who makes sure that they are making good progress
in their development.
Are within a setting which see parents as partners in helping their child to learn
and develop, building on what skills she/he already knows and can do.
There are opportunities for you and your family to be directly involved in the activities
of the group and in your own child’s progress.
Decision-making
The pre-school, a registered charity, is run by an elected committee,
this ensures that major decision making is in the hands of the parents who use the
group, the committee are responsible for reviewing both policy and practise, and for the
employment and appraisal of members of the staff. The elections take place at our
Annual General Meeting each October.
The committee is responsible for:

Managing the settings finances

Employing and managing the staff

Making sure that the setting has, and works to, policies that help it to provide a high
quality service

Ensuring that the setting works in partnership with the children's parents.
The Annual General Meeting is open to the parents of all of the children who attend the
setting. It is our shared forum for looking back over the previous year's activities and
shaping the coming year's plan.
We encourage all new parents to become involved as a committee member or ‘Friend’ of
the committee to assist with the running of the facility and necessary fund-raising.
Policies
The settings policies help us to make sure that the service provided by the setting is a high
quality one and that being a member of the setting is an enjoyable and beneficial
experience for each child and his/her parents. The staff and parents of the setting work
together to adopt the policies and they all have the opportunity to take part in the annual
review of the policies. This review helps us to make sure that the policies are enabling the
setting to provide a quality service for its members and the local community.
Parents/carers are welcome to view our policies at any time. There is a hard copy on
display in our cloakroom with a copy of our last Ofsted report. Staff would be happy to read
through our policies with parents, a copy can be downloaded from our website
http://gorefieldpreschool.webs.com, or we can email you a copy a to you on request.
Complaint Procedure
If you have a complaint to make about our policy, a member of staff or any other matter,
please follow this procedure:
1. Please speak to the Pre-School Leader about your complaint.
2. If you feel that due to the nature of the complaint that you cannot speak to the Leader,
then please speak or write to the Pre-School Committee Chairperson.
Most complaints should be resolved by this stage. If not then go onto stage
3.
3. A meeting will be arranged between the Pre-School Leader, Chairperson and parent.
They may be accompanied by a supporter. A written record will be kept of
the discussion, signed and a copy given to all concerned.
4. An external mediator (pre-school development officer) will have individual meetings with
everyone involved.
5. A final meeting for everyone involved to discuss with mediator the action to be taken. A
written record will be kept which everyone will sign.
Parents can contact Ofsted at any time during this process on 03001231231
or visit www.ofsted.gov.uk
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Fees
Our current fees are £10.00 per session (subject to change), payable IN ADVANCE. Failure
to do so could mean your child being excluded from the setting.
The fees can be paid on a weekly, monthly or per term basis. Arrangements for how
you wish to pay are to be agreed with our treasurer.
All children are entitled receive up to 15 hours free child care per week in the term following
their third birthday. All parents are required to sign a declaration form stating how many
sessions a week they would like their child to attend in our group.
Your child may be entitled to 2year old funding; this will entitled you to up to 15 hours free
childcare per week, staff will be able to guide you on how to apply.
Fees are payable even if a child is absent/sick.
NOTE: You are required to give one months notice if you no longer require your place
within our group. For your child to keep her/his place at the setting, you must pay the fees in
advance as agreed.
Attendance
Parents will inform preschool if their child is unable to attend their sessions either through
illness or other reasons. Where a child has not attended or notified the preschool of their
absence, we will contact the parent by phone. If their absence continues we will notify
parents by letter – continued unexplained absences may lead to your child being excluded
from the setting.
Starting at our setting
Opening Times
We are open 38 weeks each year, 5 days a week
Session Times are;
Monday to Friday full day care 9am – 3pm or half day 9am -12 noon, 12noon -3pm
We are closed for school holidays
Lunch club; When available we offer an extended session of 9am-1pm, this is where the
morning session is extended to include lunch, at an extra cost of 2 pound.
Breakfast club; we offer an opportunity for children to be brought into the group early for
their session, and runs from 8.20am on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning, this
is available to book at an extra cost of 2 pound per morning.
Lunch
Lunch is planned for 12.30pm, giving children joining us for an afternoon session
time to settle in before eating. Children are required to bring in their own packed
lunch, please be aware that we have no refrigeration options when choosing how
and what you plan to put in your child's lunch box, we also request that you provide
your child with a healthy choice of food and drink
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The First Days
We want your child to feel happy and safe with us. To make sure that this is the case; your
child’s key worker will work with you to decide on how to help your child to settle into the
setting. The setting has a policy on helping children to settle into the setting,
a copy is on display in our pre-school.
We hope that you and your child enjoy being members of our setting and that you both find
taking part in our activities interesting and stimulating. The staff are always ready and
willing to talk with you about your ideas, views or questions
Clothing
We do provide protective clothing for the children when they play with messy activities, but
there will be times that they get messy, please be aware of this and dress them in clothes
that they are able to fully join in and all games/activities.
We encourage children to gain the skills that help them to be independent and look after
themselves. These include taking themselves to the toilet and taking off and putting on
outdoor clothes and shoes. Clothing that is easy for them to manage will help them to do
this.
Term Topics
We do have planned themes each term; this enables us to introduce new interests and
activities to the children. These will be based on the time of year, e.g. Christmas, growing
sunflowers and hatching butterflies, and on familiar stories and rhymes such as the
Gruffalo, Thomas the tank or Humpty Dumpty. Providing different experiences, new
interests and learning opportunities to the children in our group.
To enhance your child’s development we plan our sessions to include any interest or skills
they already have, each week we sit together as a group and plan what we will be do the
following week. The children choose what snack they would like, what toys and equipment
they would like out at each session, and what art and craft activity they would enjoy. Staff
make suggestions and then the children have the opportunity to choose what games and
activities are of interest to them.
The Settings Timetable and Routines
Our setting believes that care and education are equally important in the experience that we
offer children. The routines and activities that make up the session in the setting are
provided in ways that:

Help each child to feel that she/he is a valued member of the setting

Ensure the safety of each child

Help children to gain from the social experience of being part of a group

Provide children with opportunities to learn and help them to value learning
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The Session
We organise our sessions so that the children can choose from – and work at a range of activities and, in doing so, build up their ability to select and work through a task
to its completion. The children are also helped and encouraged to take part in adult-led
small and large group activities, which introduce them to new experiences and help them to
gain new skills, as well as helping them to learn to work with others.
Outdoor activities contribute to children's health, their physical development and their
knowledge of the world around them. The children have the opportunity – and are
encouraged – to take part in outdoor child-chosen and adult-led activities, as well as those
provided in the indoor playroom.
Absences
If your child is ill/absent please inform the pre-school staff by 9.30am.
Telephone 01945871042
Snacks
The setting makes snacks a social time at which children can choose when they would like
to join in. our snack time runs 10.30 until 11.00, children may join the table for snack when
they are ready. An adult sits with the children to offer support where needed.
We plan snacks so that they provide the children with healthy and nutritious food.
Do tell us about your child's dietary needs and we will make sure that these are met.
Working Together For Your Children
In our setting we maintain the ratio of adults to children in the setting that is set through the
Welfare Requirements. We also have volunteer parent helpers where possible to
complement these ratios. This helps us to:




Give time and attention to each child
Talk with the children about their interests and activities
Help children to experience and benefit from the activities we provide
And allow the children to explore and be adventurous in safety
We aim to ensure that each child:







Is in a safe and stimulating environment
Is given generous care and attention, because of our ratio of qualified
staff to children, as well as volunteer parent helpers
Has the chance to join with other children and adults to live, play,
work and learn together
Is helped to take forward her/his learning and development by being
helped to build on what she/he already knows and can do
Has a personal key person who makes sure each child makes
satisfying progress
Is in a setting that sees parents as partners in helping each child to
learn and develop
Is in a setting in which parents help to shape the service it offers
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Children’s Development and Learning
The provision for children's development and learning is guided by
The Early Years Foundation Stage (DFE 2012). Our provision reflects the four key
overarching principles of the statutory framework for the early years Foundation Stage.
A Unique Child
Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient,
capable, confident and self assured.
Positive Relationships
Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.
Enabling Environments
Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their
experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership
between practitioners, parents and carers.
Learning and Development
Children develop and learn in different ways. The framework covers the education
and care of all children in early year’s provision including children with special
educational needs and disabilities.
How we provide for Development and Learning
Children start to learn about the world around them from the moment they are born. The
care and education offered by our setting helps children to continue to do this by
providing all of the children with interesting activities that are appropriate for their age
and stage of development.
The Areas of Development and Learning comprise:
Prime Areas

personal, social and emotional development;

physical development;

communication and language;
Specific Areas

literacy

mathematics

understanding the world

expressive arts and design
For each area, the level of progress children should be expected to have attained by the
end of the Early Years Foundation Stage is defined by the Early Learning Goals.
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These goals state what it is expected that children will know and be able to do by the end of
the reception year of their education.
The ‘Development Matters’ guidance sets out the likely stages of progress a child makes
along their learning journey towards the early learning goals. Our setting has regard to
these matters when we assess children and plan for their learning.
Our programme supports children to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding they
need for:
Personal, social and emotional development

making relationships

self confidence and self awareness

managing feelings and behaviour
Physical development

moving and handling

health and self-care
Communication and language

listening and attention

understanding

speaking
Literacy

reading; and

writing
Mathematics

numbers

shape space and measure
Understanding the world

people and communities

the world and

technology
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
Expressive arts and design

exploring and using media and materials

being imaginative
Our approach to Learning and Development and Assessment
Learning through play
Play helps young children to learn and develop through doing and talking, which research
has shown to be the means by which young children learn to think. Our setting uses the
Early Years Foundation Stage ‘Development Matters guidance to plan and provide a range
of play activities which help children to make progress in each of the areas of learning and
development. In some of these activities children decide how they will use the activity and,
in others, an adult takes the lead in helping the children to take part in the activity. In all
activities information from the Development Matters guidance to the Early Years Foundation
Stage has been used to decide what equipment to provide and how to provide it.
Characteristics of effective learning
We understand that all children engage with other people and their environment through the
characteristics of effective learning that are described in the Development Matters guidance
to the Early Years Foundation Stage as:

playing and exploring – engagement

active learning – motivation

creating and thinking critically – thinking
We aim to provide for the characteristics of effective learning by observing how a child is
learning and being clear about what we can do and provide in order to support each child to
remain an effective and motivated learner.
Assessment
We assess how young children are learning and developing by observing them frequently.
We use information that we gain from observations, as well as from photographs or videos
of the children, to document their progress and where this may be leading them. We believe
that parents know their children best and we ask them to contribute to assessment by
sharing information about what their children like to do at home and how they as parents
are supporting development.
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We make periodic assessment summaries of children’s achievement based on our ongoing
development records. These form part of children’s records of achievement. We undertake
these assessment summaries at regular intervals as well as times of transition, such as
when a child moves into a different group or when they go on to school.
The progress check at age two
The Early Years Foundation Stage requires that we supply parents and carers with a short
written summary of their child’s development in the three prime learning and development
areas of the EYFS: personal, social and emotional development; physical development; and
communication and language; when a child is aged between 24 - 36 months. The key
person is responsible for completing the check using information from ongoing
observational assessments carried out as part of our everyday practice, taking account of
the views and contributions of parents and other professionals.
Records of achievement
The setting keeps a record of achievement for each child. Staff and parents working
together on their children's records of achievement is one of the ways in which the key
person and parents work in partnership. Your child's record of achievement helps us to
celebrate together her/his achievements and to work together to provide what your child
needs for her/his well-being and to make progress.
Your child's key person will work with you to keep this record. To do this you and she/he will
collect information about your child's needs, activities, interests and achievements. This
information will enable the key person to identify your child's stage of progress. You and the
key person will then decide on how to help your child to move on to the next stage.
Working together for your children
In our setting we maintain the ratio of adults to children in the setting that is set through the
Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements. We also have volunteer parent helpers where
possible to complement these ratios. This helps us to:

give time and attention to each child;

talk with the children about their interests and activities;

help children to experience and benefit from the activities we provide; and

allow the children to explore and be adventurous in safety.

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Key Persons and Your Child

Our setting uses a key person approach. This means that each member of staff has a
group of children for whom she/he is particularly responsible. Your child's key person
will be the person who works with you to make sure that what we provide is right for
your child's particular needs and interests. When your child first starts at the setting,
she/he will help your child to settle and throughout your child's time at the setting,
she/he will help your child to benefit from the settings activities
The Staff Working At Our Setting
Christine Kaye Pre-School Manager
Diploma in Pre-School Practice
Designated Child Protection Co-ordinator
Designated Equal Opportunities Co-ordinator
First Aid
Hannah Curson Pre-School Deputy Manager
BTEC National Diploma in Nursery Nursing
Designated Special educational needs co-ordinator
Deputy Designated Child Protection Co-ordinator
Food and Hygiene Level 2 Award
First aid
Pat Rouse Senior Pre-School Assistant
NVQ Level 2 Certificate in Pre-School Practice
CACHA Level 3 Diploma in preschool practice
Deputy Designated Special educational needs co-ordinator
Amber Limpus Pre-School Assistant
NVQ Level 2 in child care and education
Deputy Equal Opportunities Co-ordinator
NNEB diploma in child care
Sophie Hircock Pre-School Assistant
CACHA Level 3 DIPLOMA IN Pre-school practice
one to one support assistant
In addition we have volunteer staff members.
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How Parents Take Part in the Setting
As a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, our setting recognises parents as the first
and most important educators of their children. All of the staff sees themselves as partners
with you in providing care and education for your child.
There are many ways in which parents take part in making the setting a welcoming and
stimulating place for children and parents, such as:

Exchanging knowledge about their children's needs, activities, interests and
progress with the staff

Contributing to the progress check at age two

Sharing their own special interests with the children

Helping to provide, make and look after the equipment and materials
used in the children's play activities

Being part of the management of the setting

Taking part in events and informal discussions about the activities and curriculum
provided by the setting

Joining in community activities, in which the setting takes part

Building friendships with other parents in the setting

We welcome parents to drop into the setting to see it at work or to speak
with the staff
Learning Opportunities for Adults
As well as gaining qualifications in early years care and education, the setting staff take part
in further training to help them to keep up to date with thinking about early years care and
education. The setting also keeps itself up to date, with best practice in early years care and
education through the Pre-school Learning Alliance's magazine ‘Under Five’ and
publications produced by the Pre-school Learning Alliance. The current copy of ‘Under Five’
is available for you to read.
The Preschool learning Alliance offer events and courses to parents to promote the learning
and development to children in their early years.
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Special Needs
As part of the settings policy to make sure that its provision meets the needs of each
individual child, we take account of any special needs a child may have.
The setting works to the requirements of the code of practice 0-25 children’s and families
act 2014
Our Special Educational Needs co-ordinator is
Hannah Curson
Safeguarding Children
Our setting has a duty under the law to help safeguard children against suspected
or actual ‘significant harm’ Information will be shared with other agencies on a need to know
bases to ensure the safety of a child in our care
Our employment practices ensure children against the likelihood of abuse in our settings
and we have procedures in place for managing complaints or allegations against a member
of staff.
Our way of working with children and their parents ensures we are aware of any problems
that may emerge and can offer support, including referral to appropriate agencies when
necessary, to help families in difficulty.
Our named child protection co-ordinator is
Christine Kaye.
Equality of Opportunity
Our setting is committed to valuing diversity by providing equality of opportunity and antidiscriminatory practice for all children and families.
We aim to:
Provide a secure environment in which all our children can flourish and in which all
contributions are valued
Include and value the contribution of all families to our understanding of equality and
diversity
Provide positive non-stereotyping information about gender roles, diverse ethnic and
cultural groups and people with disabilities
Improve our knowledge and understanding of issues of anti-discriminatory practice,
promoting equality and valuing diversity
Make inclusion a thread that runs through all of the activities of the setting
Our settings named co-coordinator is
Christine Kaye
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Our OFSTED Report
Gorefield Pre-school
69 High Road, Gorefield, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE13
4NB
Inspection date 12/12/2014
Previous inspection date 09/12/2010
The quality and standards of the early years provision
This inspection: 2
Previous inspection: 2
How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children
who attend 2
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
2
The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years
provision 2
The quality and standards of the early years provision
This provision is good
 Staff provide a stimulating environment, both inside and out, where children
are able to follow their own interests, investigate and explore according to
their own needs. Consequently, they make good progress in all areas of their
development.
 Teaching is strong. Staff know how to interact with children effectively to
promote their thinking by questioning and comment and where appropriate,
leaving them to discover their own solutions to problems.
 Staff build strong attachments to children in the setting. This results in
children feeling secure in their surroundings and generally enjoying their time
at pre-school.
 Staff have a good awareness of safeguarding procedures and therefore children
are able to play and learn safely without fear of harm.
It is not yet outstanding because

There is room to improve the partnerships with parents with regard children's
learning, helping them to fully understand things they can do at home to
promote children's progress even further.
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Inspection judgements
How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend
Children arrive at the setting with great enthusiasm and are ready to learn. They separate from
parents happily and are soon engrossed in activities and keen to follow their own interests or
continue their learning from the day before. For example, children are eager play with dough and
imagine their creations are cakes and biscuits, carefully baked in their pretend oven. They show
great dexterity as they handle the dough and mould it into the required shapes for their imaginary
play. This type of activity helps to strengthen children's developing muscles and effectively prepares
them for a time when they will need to learn to write or use their hand-eye control with greater
precision. Staff support children effectively during these times because they understand how
children learn through play. They allow children to decide what they want to do, ask probing
questions and comment on children's actions, promoting them to think and puzzle things out for
themselves. All in all, activities of this type help children to progress into inquisitive and active
learners who make good overall improvements in their development.
Staff observe children carefully as they play and make accurate assessments of their development.
They are skilled in determining children's next steps in learning and plan stimulating activities to
help children's good level of progress toward the early learning goals. Parents are encouraged to
share their information about children's skills and abilities when they first start the setting. However,
current methods to further engage them with children's learning at home are not always exploited
and as a result, there are some learning opportunities missed to promote children's learning further.
For example, parents have yet to routinely inform staff of weekend family activities or children's
achievements at home to enable staff to build on learning experiences or interests effectively in the
pre-school.
Staff have high expectations of children and work hard to ensure they are able to learn and develop
to their best of their abilities. Those with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well
supported in their all-round development and staff liaise with others readily to ensure the best help
is given at all times. Children learning English as an additional language learn to appreciate their
heritage as staff display examples of different languages and scripts in the environment to reflect
the different backgrounds of children attending. Children are well prepared for their next stages in
learning including school. Adult led activities are especially successful in focusing children's
attention and developing the concentration skills needed for school. Children are also encouraged
to recognise letters, sounds and numbers in the environment and most children readily write their
own name to demonstrate their growing literacy skills.
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of the children
Children are happy and demonstrate a sense of security as they move independently
around the pre-school. This is because staff are skilled at forming good partnerships with
parents and they are well informed of children's preferences and care needs. Children soon
develop good independence skills at pre-school as they generally manage their own shoes
and coats and attend to their personal care needs. Children also make decisions about
their activities and actions throughout the session. Staff have good procedures in place to
support children's behaviour and these are implemented in a consistent manner by
everyone. Children's safety in the pre-school is also assured as staff are mindful of hazards
as children play and learn in the setting. Staff also help children to begin to take small risks
for themselves and because of this, children play outside giving good consideration for
others. They pedal cars and tricycles, steering around each other with great precision.
Staff encourage children to consider their good health as they serve nutritious snacks and
drinks at the pre-school. Staff take every opportunity to encourage children to consider
what is good for them, especially as they demonstrate how the heart rate is increased
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during exercise. Most children take full advantage of the free flow of activities to the outside
area where development can continue over all seven areas of learning. Here, children can
learn in the fresh air and promote their physical development effectively.
Staff understand what interests children and provide a stimulating environment where
resources are equally of a good quality. Children are able to safely access their own
playthings and appreciate the displays carefully selected to promote children's
understanding of their local surroundings and community. Children's emotional well-being
is further enhanced as they face changes to their lives. Staff support them well as they
make moves to school by photographing the school environment and discussing routines
and new teachers. Overall, children have a happy and fulfilling early years experience at
the pre-school and are well prepared to progress even further.
tThe effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision
Leadership at the pre-school is good. The manager and committee have a thorough
understanding of their responsibilities under the Early Years Framework and work hard
to ensure that children's best progress is the foremost consideration. Self-evaluation is
embedded in practice and strengths and areas for development have been clearly
identified. Action plans are focused on outcomes for children and demonstrate a good
level of drive for improvement. The manager monitors staff practice and in this way, any
underperformance is quickly identified and addressed to ensure children only
experience the best teaching possible. Monitoring of children's progress is equally
careful and because of this, support needs are swiftly noticed and the appropriate
strategies used to make sure children's needs are met.
Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding procedures for their local area. They
have attended training and know how to identify and report concerns they may have for
children in their care. A wide range of policies and procedures support them in their
work and this further supports children's safety and well-being in the setting. Effective
recruitment procedures are in place and this includes background checks to ensure that
only the most suitable staff are employed to work with children. Professional
management systems are in place giving staff the opportunity to learn from each other
during peer observations and following a targeted approach to ever improving their
teaching, skills and knowledge. Staff attend training whenever possible. This has been
especially effective with regard to behaviour management where staff have cascaded
messages to ensure consistent strategies are used to help all children.
Partnerships with parents are good. Parents especially appreciate the welcoming
approach from staff and say how their children thoroughly enjoy coming to pre-school.
Parents speak of children's confidence levels and how their communication skills have
improved since starting. Partnerships with other providers are strong including those
with local childminders who share the care of some children at pre-school. The two-way
sharing of information is effective in ensuring there is a coordinated approach to
children's care and learning and their needs are met whichever setting the child is
attending.
If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone
0300 123 4234, or email [email protected].
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