A preschool on the outskirts of Bristol now requires improvement following an inspection by Ofsted in October. Our Lady of Lourdes Pre-School in Kingswood was previously rated as ‘Good’ in 2019, but whilst children “enjoy their time at the pre-school”, the standard of education has fallen.
The early years setting provides education for 30 children on the school roll. At the time of the inspection, on October 22, the children were either two or three years old.
Staff at the preschool were praised for allowing children to build positive relationships with their key persons, as Ofsted described staff as “kind and friendly”. Staff support children’s care needs and well-being and recognise when children need reassurance or help.
The curriculum is not “consistently challenging” which means children are not able to build on what they already know and can do, despite knowing children’s development needs. The report said: “Older children in particular do not have enough opportunities that challenge them or extend their learning.
“At times, staff’s teaching is effective, they support children’s physical skills well as they spontaneously set up interesting structures outside for children to climb and jump. Staff help children understand risks, build their confidence and encourage them to have a positive attitude and keep on trying.
“However, the lack of inspiration and stimulation in some areas, both inside and outside, as well as the lack of challenge for older children, often causes children to become bored. This regularly leads to some challenging behaviour. Staff are constantly dealing with this, which takes them away from teaching and supporting children’s learning.”
The report added that whilst children are “curious and confidently select items”, children are often unable to follow their interests and can become disengaged. Staff do not pick up on these occurrences and do not adapt areas of the preschool to make sure children remain engaged.
Most children at Our Lady of Lourdes make steady progress from their starting points and are able to gain some independence through staff support. Children learn useful skills and show a desire to do things for themselves as staff encourage them and give tips.
Staff support ‘partnership working’ and build relationships with parents, sharing the achievements and offering ideas for development at home. Staff also seek support from outside professionals when needed and have close links with the nearby primary school in order to support children, in particular the older children.
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The report said: “Group times support children’s listening and attention. Staff have adapted these more recently, beneficially offering children a movement session before they sit down for circle time, helping their concentration. Staff lead useful spontaneous story times, reading with expression and capturing children’s interest well.
“However, staff do not always support children effectively to express themselves, which does not help to reduce children’s frustration or encourage their language development fully. This perpetuates behaviour difficulties and limits children’s ability to develop their social skills and make good progress.
“Staff add in extra routines, arrangements and support to help children regulate and manage their emotions. They are quick to help children when they are frustrated or upset.
“However, disagreements constantly arise. Often, too many children try to access the more interesting activities and resources, and many struggle to communicate their needs and interact appropriately with each other. These continual behaviour issues then adversely affect the learning opportunities for all children.”
The staffing team and committee meet regularly to discuss its practice and undertake some evaluation. A full evaluation does not take place to judge the effectiveness of the provision at present.
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