Inspection of Stepping Stones Pre-School

Bedford Road Lower School, Hillgrounds Road, Kempston, Bedford MK42 8QH

Inspection date: 19 October 2023

       Overall effectiveness                                                 Good

• The quality of education                                         Good
• Behaviour and attitudes                                        Good
• Personal development                                           Good
• Leadership and management                               Good
• Overall effectiveness at previous inspection       Good

What is it like to attend this early years setting?

The provision is good

From the moment children enter the inviting and well-equipped room, children are

ready to learn and play. They enthusiastically look around before choosing an

activity or area that interests them. Staff carefully set the room out with familiar

resources they know children enjoy, helping to enhance children's self-motivation

to experiment and explore. For example, children dip apples cut in half and small

pumpkins into paint to create their own artwork. Staff ask children open questions,

helping them to predict what might happen when they mix the autumnal colours of

the paint together. Children are not rushed when they describe what they see and

feel, helping them to gain confidence while they use increasingly complex

sentences.

The youngest children watch, copy and learn from the their older friends. Staff

ensure that their own interactions allow children to build on what they already

know and understand at a pace and level suitable for their general stage of

development. This contributes to the good progress that all children make. Staff

provide dedicated group times for children that complement their level of

concentration and stage of learning. For example, while the youngest children go

to a quiet area to focus on their communication and language skills, older children

are encouraged to recall what they remember about a story. Staff base questions

on the story, encouraging children to think about the world around them. This

helps children to consolidate what they already know and understand.

What does the early years setting do well and what does it need to do better?

• The manager and her strong team work very well together. They meet every

morning to help plan adult-led activities. Staff use their skills and judgement to

spontaneously adapt the activities to suit the numbers of children attending each

session. Through this, children learn in a memorable way.

• Key persons build good relationships with parents. As a result, parents feel able

to talk to staff about any concerns they might have about their children's

learning and development. In addition, staff are keen to support the families as

much as they can. This includes support for aspects such as guiding parents

through the school application process and, when necessary, signposting

families to other agencies and professionals. This helps to support children's

well-being at home and in pre-school.

• Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well

supported. Specialist staff work with professionals from outside agencies,

helping to ensure that strategies and plans put in place to support children are

effective. This helps children to make good progress.

• Children behave well in the pre-school. They recognise the music played when it

is time to tidy away the toys and equipment, enthusiastically helping staff in the

task. Staff gently remind children to share and to take turns, reassuring younger

children that they will have a turn very soon. This helps children to begin to

regulate their emotions and reactions towards others.

• Staff are keen to extend their own knowledge and understanding to help

enhance their teaching skills. When a member of staff attends a training course

or workshop, they share new ideas and what they have learned with the whole

team. This contributes to the consistently good quality of education children

receive.

• On enrolment, staff gather information from parents about their child's likes and

interests, medical needs, allergies and information about the family. This

contributes to staff's ability to ensure that children are kept safe and well in the

pre-school. However, staff do not always gather sufficiently detailed information

about what children already know and understand. As a result, they do not plan

how to support children's focused learning right from the start.

• Children have many opportunities to join adult-led activities and to lead their

own learning through their self-chosen play. They welcome the friendly staff to

join them. Staff ask children questions to help identify what children remember.

For example, they check to find out if children know what we use spices for

when children sniff the fragrant play dough. There are times, however, when

staff need further information to help them to support children's precise learning

needs effectively. Without easy access to this information, staff sometimes miss

opportunities to extend children's knowledge and understanding even further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff follow the clear procedures leaders have put in place to help ensure that any

concerns about children are recorded and reported in a timely manner. The

manager ensures that all staff regularly refresh and update their knowledge and

understanding about safeguarding through undertaking the relevant training. This

contributes to staff's continued understanding of their responsibilities to help keep

children safe. Management committee members and the manager carry out checks

to help ensure that all adults involved in the pre-school are suitable for their roles.

What does the setting need to do to improve?

To further improve the quality of the early years provision, the provider

should:

• gather even more information from parents to help identify what children need

to know and understand next right from the start

• review and find more ways to share children's precise learning needs effectively

so that all staff can build on children's experiences and knowledge in a well-

informed and focused way during self-chosen play and exploration.

Setting details

Unique reference number            EY356433

Local authority                                Bedford

Inspection number                       10301002

Type of provision                         Childcare on non-domestic premises

Registers                                             Early Years Register

Day care type                                 Sessional day care

Age range of children at time of

inspection                                       2 to 4

Total number of places                24

Number of children on roll        31

Name of registered person          Stepping Stones Pre-School Committee

Registered person unique

reference number                          RP518986

Telephone number                      01234 400114

Date of previous inspection       12 January 2018

Information about this early years setting

Stepping Stones Pre-School registered in 2007. The pre-school opens Monday to

Friday, during term time only. Sessions are from 9am until midday and from

midday to 3pm. The pre-school provides funded early education for two-, three-

and four-year-old children and receives funding for children with SEND. The pre-

school employs seven staff, six of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications

at level 3 and above. The pre-school is situated on the site of Bedford Road Lower

School and Daisy Hill Children's Centre. The pre-school is run by a management

committee.

Information about this inspection

Inspector

Katrina Rodden

Inspection activities

• This was the first routine inspection the provider received since the COVID-19

pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the

manager and has taken this into account in her evaluation of the provider.

• The manager and deputy manager carried out a learning walk with the

inspector. The inspector assessed the quality of education.

• The inspector observed activities in the pre-school and garden. She spoke to

staff and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

• The inspector carried out a joint observation with the deputy manager. They

discussed the quality of teaching they saw.

• Relevant documents, such as the evidence of suitability checks, certificates and

children's joining information, were viewed by the inspector.

• The inspector spoke to a small number of parents and took their views into

consideration in her assessment of the provision.

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years

Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the

statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the

early years foundation stage.

If you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted.