Sutton-On-Trent Primary and Nursery School

Abinger Common Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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122678 Unique Reference Number 16 October 2007 Inspection date Joanne Lindsey Caswell Inspector

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The Evelyn Hall, Abinger Lane, Abinger Common, Dorking, Surrey, RH5 6HZ

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E-mail

Abinger Common Nursery Registered person Integrated Type of inspection Sessional care Type of care

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E-mail

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are outstanding. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are outstanding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

Abinger Common Nursery has been registered since 2000. It is managed by a committee and operates from The Evelyn Hall, Abinger Common, Surrey. Children have access to a hall and toilets and hand washing facilities. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play. The nursery is set within a rural village and serves the local area and surrounding towns. A maximum of 18 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open during term time only, Monday to Friday, from 08:45 to 12:15.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

There are currently 18 children, aged from two to three years, on roll. This includes 14 children who receive funding for nursery education. The nursery supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

A team of six staff and one student work with the children. Of these two hold recognised early years qualifications. A further two staff are currently working towards a qualification. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is outstanding. There are exceptional procedures in place which successfully help to promote children’s health. The premises are bright, clean and airy with plenty of natural light streaming in. Children develop an excellent understanding of good personal hygiene routines and clearly recognise why they must wash their hands after toileting and before eating. Hand washing routines are fully effective in order to prevent the spread of infection. For example, children use liquid soap and paper towels and booster steps in the bathroom help to encourage independence. Staff are particularly vigilant in keeping the premises consistently clean and free from infection. The tables are cleaned thoroughly with anti-bacterial spray and staff wear gloves during nappy change routines. Parents are made clearly aware that their children must not attend nursery if suffering from infection, helping to prevent the spread of illness between children and staff. In addition, staff

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Helping children to be healthy

display information on outbreaks of illness and the signs and symptoms of infectious illness, in order for parents to quickly identify these and exclude any infectious children. There are comprehensive records maintained which promote children's health and welfare. A full record of accidents is maintained and additional information is provided for parents following any injury to a child involving a bump to the head. This ensures that parents are fully aware of all necessary information relating to children's welfare.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children develop extremely positive attitudes towards healthy eating and clearly recognise the importance of nutrition. Snack time is an integral part of the nursery morning and children excitedly look forward to ‘sandwich time’, where they enjoy healthy choices, such as sandwiches and pieces of fresh fruit. Children take turns to help make the sandwiches and enjoy helping themselves to drinks of water during the morning. This helps children to develop independence. Nursery topics and themes successfully help to reinforce children’s understanding of healthy eating. As a result, children have an excellent awareness of why nutritional food is good for them.

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Helping children to be healthy

There are extensive opportunities for children to develop their physical skills. They spend regular time outside, enabling them to benefit from plenty of fresh air and exercise. There is an excellent selection of resources available, enabling children to develop spatial awareness and co-ordination. For example, children play parachute games, they crawl through tunnels, climb on the climbing frame and enjoy manoeuvring wheeled toys around obstacles. Children stop and start competently and have very good control. Staff organise extensive physical activities within the daily routine, such as nature walks and visits within the local area. This enables children to enjoy activities outside, such as feeding the ducks, visiting the park and local gardens and going blackberry picking. This encourages children to adopt extremely healthy lifestyles.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. The premises provide an extremely homely and thoroughly welcoming environment for children. Staff organise the resources extremely effectively in order to provide ample room for children to play and move around freely and safely. Excellent staff deployment ensures that children are fully supervised at all times. The premises are fully secure and staff are extremely vigilant in promoting children’s safety and welfare. All areas of the premises are frequently checked for any hazards and staff ensure that all external gates and doors are kept securely closed, preventing children from leaving unsupervised. Staff have completed specialist training in

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 health and safety, including fire safety, ensuring their knowledge of safety is kept consistently up-to-date and nursery practice complies with relevant legislation. Prior to all outings and visits away from the nursery, staff carry out comprehensive risk assessments, ensuring that children’s safety and welfare is consistently promoted.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children play with an excellent selection of toys and play materials. All equipment and furniture is in very good condition and is safe for children. Toys and resources conform with safety standards and are continually checked for any hazards, helping to ensure children’s safety.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children develop an exceptional understanding of how to keep themselves safe. They explore topics, such as 'People Who Help Us' and learn about the role of the police, fire service and ambulance service. Staff give children clear explanations about why they must be careful. For example, children clearly understand why they must not run inside as they may fall and hurt themselves. Whilst making the sandwiches with a staff member, children fully understand why they must be careful when handling a knife. Children clearly recognise they must not climb on the steps in the outside area as this could result in an injury and they must be careful whilst using the wheeled toys. As a result, children have an excellent understanding of the importance of safety and how to protect one another from harm.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children’s safety and welfare is extremely well promoted as staff have a very good knowledge of their responsibilities regarding safeguarding children. Staff have completed appropriate training and have relevant contact details available in their written policies. This ensures that they can take appropriate action, if they ever have any concerns about a child’s welfare.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is outstanding. There is an extremely fun, vibrant and busy atmosphere within the nursery. Children are exceptionally happy and thoroughly settled and develop extremely positive attitudes towards learning. They spend a highly stimulating morning at nursery and benefit from very warm, happy relationships with staff. Staff are highly attentive towards all children and provide plenty of support, affection and reassurance. They know all the children exceptionally well and are clearly aware of children’s individual needs. There are a wealth of opportunities for children to experience a wide range of play and child-initated learning, based around interesting and imaginative topics. This makes learning exceptionally fun and immensely enjoyable for children. As a result, children arrive at nursery excitedly and enthusiastically and keen to engage in play.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children’s care needs are met extremely well and excellent support is provided for the younger children. Staff are very aware of the Birth to three matters framework and use this effectively as a basis for activity planning and assessment. Staff carry out frequent, high quality observations to ensure that they clearly understand children’s different learning and development needs. As a result of this, staff successfully adapt all activities to provide relevant challenge for all children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The quality of teaching and learning is outstanding. Staff have an excellent understanding of the Foundation Stage curriculum and ensure that children’s progress towards the early learning goals is closely monitored and planned for. Meticulous curriculum planning covers all elements of the Foundation Stage with clear learning intentions for all activities. Highly effective long-term planning gives a comprehensive overview of annual topics and ensures complete

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 coverage of all six areas of learning. Staff empower children to become competent learners as they skilfully plan activities which interest children and encourage them to explore, experiment and develop curiosity. The excellent combination of rich, quality play experiences and worthwhile, fun outings make learning come alive for children and help them to become confident in developing their knowledge.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Staff make excellent use of the local community to support children’s learning. For example, children regularly visit the village school, the church, park and other local places of interest. As part of topic work on Down on the Farm, children enjoyed a visit from a Countryside Ranger and his tractor. To further develop this topic, children talked about different farm animals and enjoyed an outing to a nearby farm. This consolidated their learning from activities at nursery and enabled them to develop their knowledge and understanding through first-hand experiences.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

There are extensive procedures in place for monitoring children’s development. Observations are extremely detailed and clearly reflect children’s progression in learning. The assessment process is detailed and all activities are closely evaluated in order to inform further planning. As a result, staff maintain an exceptionally accurate knowledge of all children’s personal learning needs and provide for this accordingly in daily practice.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children develop exceptional social skills. They play extremely happily together and clearly understand the importance of sharing and taking turns. Children co-operate together extremely well in their play and are polite and kind to one another. Staff rarely need to remind children to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and children begin to show real empathy towards the needs of others. For example, they recently enjoyed a visit from a sight-impaired person and a guide dog. As a result, children have a real awareness of the differing needs of others and show kindness and sensitivity towards others.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children’s language skills are extremely well-developed. They confidently engage in lengthy discussion and conversation with their peers and adults and competently ask questions. There are extensive opportunities for children to develop their vocabulary through topic work. Children have excellent opportunities to develop mark making and early writing skills. The writing table is extremely well-resourced with an excellent range of materials, such as different pens and pencils, stencils and a variety of paper. This encourages children to enjoy mark making and develop an understanding of using writing for a purpose. For example, when children talked about birthdays, they designed and made their own birthday invitations. Children spontaneously write their names on their work and have very good letter formation. There is excellent provision for children to learn about letters and sounds. They explore different letters of the alphabet

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

each week and reinforce their understanding of sounds, as they learn different rhymes.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children develop a clear love of books and staff successfully incorporate different stories into curriculum planning to support topics and activities. Outings and visits, such as to the local theatre to watch a production of the ‘Gruffalo’s Child’, make a real impression on the children and help them to thoroughly enjoy and recall their favourite books.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision for mathematical development is excellent. Children clearly understand numbers and value and explore many mathematical concepts throughout all aspects of the nursery routine. For example, as part of topic work on My Home, children recognise different shapes in houses, such as square-shaped windows and rectangular-shaped doors. Children use their thorough knowledge of mathematics to record data and make graphs. For example, children record information on children’s birthdays and record them in a graph. There is an excellent

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 selection of mathematical resources freely available to children, enabling them to develop a clear understanding of the concepts of colour, shape, size, time, pattern and weight.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children have exceptional opportunities to learn about the community in which they live and the wider world. The nursery is fully integrated into the village and children have excellent opportunities to visit the village school, church and park. They visit the school on a weekly basis, enabling children to feel totally confident before their transition to school. Children make full use of the rural area in order to extend their opportunities to explore and investigate. For example, as part of topic work on 'My Home', children visit local gardens in the village to observe different types of houses and gardens. Children regularly go for walks in the nearby woodland and observe seasonal change. This enables children to learn through first-hand experience and use the local environment to support and extend their knowledge and understanding.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

As part of topic work on 'People Who Help Us', staff utilise every opportunity to invite visitors to the nursery to help children develop awareness of the role of others. For example, children learn about the emergency services through visits from the fire service, police and ambulance service. Innovative teaching methods, such as the use of Duck’s Holiday, enable children to learn about different places in the country and wider world as children excitedly look at postcards from Duck’s visits and talk about his journeys and travels.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

There is very good provision for creative activities. Children particularly enjoy ‘Messy Monday’ when they experiment with an extensive range of media. There are extensive opportunities for children to express themselves freely, particularly with rich, valuable role play experiences. Children experiment with many textures and materials and enjoy very good provision for model making, using different techniques and resources. For example, children excitedly build models of their houses out of wood. They paint freely and enjoy chalking and free drawing. They use the computer competently to design their own pictures and patterns.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children use creative language in their play. For example, whilst playing with the dinosaurs in the soil, they excitedly bury the dinosaurs and squeal with delight as they announce to the staff “we’re squidging them!”

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. Children are highly regarded as individuals as staff know each exceptionally well. All areas of nursery practice clearly reflect anti-discriminatory practice and treat all children fairly and equally. Children feel extremely comfortable and at ease within the nursery, due to the strong emotional attachments they form with staff. All children demonstrate a very strong sense of belonging and show how much they feel valued as individuals. They know staff listen attentively to them and feel confident to share their thoughts, feelings and ideas. Children see many photographs of themselves on display and thoughtful presentation of the cloakroom area includes a named photograph on each child’s peg. This enables children to feel extremely comfortable within the setting and to clearly see where their belongings are stored. For example, a younger child confidently knew where his boots and bag were, as he could easily see his

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Helping children make a positive contribution

There is excellent provision for children to understand and respect diversity. Staff organise curriculum planning to ensure that children celebrate a range of different festivals and religions.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 In addition, children learn about different customs and recognise different family backgrounds. As a result, children’s social, moral, spiritual and cultural development is fostered.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are supported extremely well. Staff have a thorough knowledge of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice and ensure good partnerships are established between parents and any supporting agencies. Detailed documentation clearly reflects children’s individual learning needs with clearly recorded assessments and personal targets.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children behave exceptionally well. They are extremely courteous to one another; play happily together and show kindness and empathy for each other. Staff promote an extremely fair, happy and positive environment for children. All children’s achievements are fully acknowledged and celebrated, helping to boost children’s self-esteem and confidence. For example, children proudly show their work and staff display it prominently for children to show their parents. Children consistently learn acceptable behaviour levels as staff give clear explanations and use fair and age-appropriate strategies. This enables children to very quickly understand acceptable behaviour boundaries.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents and carers is outstanding. Staff utilise every opportunity within the daily routine to involve parents in the delivery of the Foundation Stage curriculum and share in their child's learning and development. For example, comprehensive information is shared with parents regarding forthcoming activities and topics. Parents contribute items from home to support activities and take a keen interest in promoting children's learning. Informative parents' meetings help parents to clearly understand the value of rich quality play experiences in helping to support and enhance children's learning. Parents' feedback regarding the nursery is totally positive and parents praise the staff highly, commending them on the levels of care and commitment staff show, in supporting their children and making the nursery experience a positive one.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Innovative strategies, such as the Baker's Child, help to strengthen the partnerships in place between home and nursery. As a result, children see their parents and the staff as equal partners in their learning and development. Staff make themselves freely available to parents at all times, in order for parents to discuss any concerns regarding children's development.

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Organisation

The organisation is outstanding. The nursery is exceptionally well-organised. The leadership and management are outstanding. The Nursery Leader is a strong and dynamic leader. Excellent support is provided by the Nursery Supervisor. The staff team have worked together for many years and show professionalism, total dedication and commitment to their roles. They are highly motivated and are keen to update their knowledge and skills through the completion of further training. The support offered by the management committee fully enhances the provision and ensures that all aspects of management are fully covered. Effective staff deployment, meticulous planning and total dedication from all staff ensures that the Foundation Stage curriculum is delivered to an outstanding standard.

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Organisation

Relevant vetting procedures are in place to ensure that all staff are cleared to work with children. A comprehensive induction programme ensures that new staff, students and volunteers clearly understand their role and are familiar with nursery policies and procedures. This contributes towards the smooth and effective organisation of the nursery and daily routine.

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Organisation

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Children enjoy a very busy, stimulating and varied morning at nursery with an excellent range of child-initiated learning and play opportunities. A pictorial routine is clearly displayed for children, helping them to understand the routine and become familiar with the organisation of the morning.

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Organisation

All relevant documentation is in place to support the care and development of children and to meet the requirements of the National Standards. Policy documents are frequently reviewed and updated and contain all necessary detail.

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Organisation

The setting meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides care.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last Care inspection, two recommendations were raised. These related to the written policy regarding lost children and the safety of the outside area. Staff have addressed both these issues. There is now a written safety policy in place relating to the procedures to follow in the event of a child being lost. The outside area has been improved and all relevant precautions are in place to ensure that this area is safe and secure for children.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last Nursery Education inspection, one point for consideration was raised. This related to the provision for children to learn about different cultures and customs. Staff have addressed this issue. Children now have many opportunities to learn about diversity within society through well-planned topics and activities. This enables children to develop understanding of the cultures and customs of others.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted which required the provider, or Ofsted, to take any action in order to meet the National Standards.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the care are outstanding. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE AND NURSERY EDUCATION

The quality and standards of the nursery education are outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the care

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of care are outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of nursery education are outstanding.

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the nursery education

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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