Good Practice
The Bristol Standard
In order to help us continually develop and improve our provision, the pre-school is participating in the Bristol Standard, a self-evaluation project that is externally validated and is endorsed by Surestart's 'Investors in Children'.
We submitted our first entry in November 2005 to the external validation panel and were delighted to have our submission approved and validated. The assessors commented on “an exemplary submission, and that the children were clearly at the centre of our practice”. We have continued to submit an annual update to the validation panel, maintaining our Bristol Standard accreditation.
Good Practice Guide
We were delighted to be included in the Good Practice Guide for Wiltshire in June 2006, and again in 2009 in recognition of the excellent practice in our setting. We have also been included in the Special Educational Needs good practice guide.
Inclusion development Programme
During November 2007 we were invited by the Primary Strategy Team of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (dcsf) to contribute to training materials which are being released nationally. The resulting dvd and training package features advice and lots of examples of good practice when supporting children who have delays and disorders in their language and communication skills. (Ref: Inclusion Development Programme Supporting Children with speech, language and communication needs: Guidance for practitioners in the Early Years Foundation Stage)
OFSTED Report
Our latest published OFSTED report in February 2006 recognised many aspects of our practice as outstanding. A copy of the report can be viewed at www.ofsted.gov.uk, or can be requested from the pre-school.
Here are a few of the highlights!
“Children relish their time in the setting and thrive under the staff's expert practice, praise and encouragement”
“They enjoy access to an exciting range of resources, which are accessible, innovative and inspire the children within their play. Activities are stimulating, interesting, well resourced and fun, encouraging the children to be eager and enthusiastic in their participation.”
“Children are respected as individual learners.”
“Children are exceptionally confident in their learning and are excited and motivated.” “independent”, “developing excellent language skills”,
“The partnership with parents and carers is outstanding”
Investors in People
The approach at pre-school ensures that each child is fully supported in their development. We regularly review and evaluate our practice to ensure that it meets the needs of all the children.
Similarly, we recognise that it is important that each adult is supported in their development and has a contribution to make to the development of the pre-school. Committed, enthusiastic, well trained staff are essential to the success of the child-centred approach we have adopted at Pitton Pre-school. The pre-school gained the Investor in People award in September 2004, as a recognition of its commitment to developing its team members, and this was renewed in September 2007.
Early Years Professional Status
Committed to developing all the staff at pre-school, Carrie was one of the first to gain Early Years Professional Status. This is a recently introduced government initiative aimed at encouraging people to take a leading role in raising the quality of early years provision. Carrie is now an assessor for others seeking Early Year Professional Status, and regularly contributes to training and articles for other early years staff.