Parsonage Farm Day Nursery Limited

Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated. Parsonage Farm Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY276134 Inspection date 11/06/2009 Inspector Stacey Sangster

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Setting address Parsonage Farm, Wardsbrook Lane, Ticehurst, East Sussex, TN5 7DL Telephone number 01580 201263 Email Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Parsonage Farm Day Nursery was registered in March 2004. It operates from a single storey converted building in a rural area of Ticehurst. Children are cared for in seven rooms dedicated to childcare, including a separate sleep room. Other rooms predominately used by staff include the office and kitchen. Children have access to four fully enclosed outside play areas. The group serves the local area and surrounding areas.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 56 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 08:00 to 18:00 all year round. Children attend on a sessional or full time basis and the setting is registered to accept Nursery Education Funding.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 75 children on roll in the early years age range. The setting take children from six months to five years. Of these several receive funding for nursery education. The group supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and English as a additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 12 full time staff all of whom are qualified to NVQ level 3. One member of staff holds the Early Years Professional Status and another two staff are undertaking a degree in early years. The majority of the staff are first aid trained. The setting has access to a number of unqualified, but experienced staff to provide cover for sickness or holiday. The group receives support from the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership (EYDCP) and The Pre-school Learning Alliance (PLA).

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the nursery provision is outstanding. The nursery have very clear and cohesive working practices which support all children’s individual needs and helps them to make excellent progress in all six areas of learning. Staff have successfully merged fun and exciting routines with a calm, caring environment. Effective self-evaluation procedures are fully embedded and the setting continually reflect on their practice, and make excellent use of the skills of their Early Years Professional.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 consider identifying within the assessment records the information that has been shared by parents in order to reflect the value that is placed on parental contribution to assessment  consider exploring opportunities to support other settings so that the expertise developed within the setting is able to impact on childcare within This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the wider community

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provision

The setting is led with an enthusiasm and vigour which is reflected by the whole staff team. All involved in the setting are committed professionals dedicated to ensuring the children in their setting receive the highest levels of education and care in a fun, nurturing environment. The setting in its entirety strives to continually improve the opportunities for children.

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provision

The role of the staff member with Early Years Professional Status has developed to include specific time each week, spent with the sole purpose of reflecting on what the setting do and consulting with staff on ideas of how to make it even better. All staff demonstrate a commitment to the process and are encouraged to put forward their ideas. The views of parents and the children are canvassed both formally and informally as part of the ongoing review on how the setting meet the needs of each individual child.

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provision

Staff development is a key strength of the setting. As all staff are highly qualified, the setting have opened up their training budget to now extend to areas of personal and professional interest to the staff. Recent training enjoyed by the staff has included baby massage, which supports babies in bonding with their key workers, provides a positive relaxing and calming one to one time which is special for that child and is considered to promote positive health benefits. Staff have shared their knowledge gained from the course with parents so that children may continue to benefit at home. The setting are very knowledgeable about the training opportunities available to childcare staff locally and nationally and take full advantage of a wide range of courses. Training is funded by the setting and staff receive paid time off to attend training. This makes training inclusive to all staff and supports high attendance.

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provision

The setting consider changes carefully, prioritising to ensure that everything that they plan and do will impact positively to enhance the arrangements in place for children.

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provision

The setting make excellent use of their contacts with outside agencies and specialists. They are proactive in working with other local EYFS providers, attend and contribute to cluster meetings involving other settings and have made positive links with local schools that their children will be moving to.

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provision

The management seek out information to supply to parents and staff about ways in which they can support children positively. An example of this is the setting's promotion of the government drive to promote healthier eating and the benefits of exercise for the whole family. The setting signed up for information and distributed this as well as linking topic work to the subject and inviting parents to sign up to the scheme. The management understand the links between supporting families and the impact that this has as a result, on the wellbeing of the children overall. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children flourish in this setting. They are nurtured and supported by staff who clearly love their work and enjoy the company of young children. Key workers build special relationships with the children in their charge, getting to know them well and using their skills and childcare knowledge to plan activities which they know the children will enjoy.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Activities are selected which enable children to experience challenge and fun at a pace which suits them as individuals. The staff make time to listen to the children, as a result children approach adults frequently to discuss their thoughts, ideas or recount something that they want to share. Relationships are mutually affectionate, with staff offering children cuddles when needed as well as constant praise and recognition for their achievements. Children are relaxed and appear confident that their needs will be met, without the need to compete for attention. This is in part because staff are so skilled at attending to the needs and demands of more than one child. Many examples of this can be observed throughout the session. Examples seen included a key worker gently stroking the head of a child, who is flagging at the end of the morning while finishing a chat with a child who is excitedly telling her something that happened at home, before scooping up the

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

tired child for a cuddle and organising a quiet slower paced activity.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The staff work together seamlessly. Many have worked together for a number of years and this is reflected positively in the way that they interact and support each other. There is a good sense of camaraderie, with staff having as much fun at times as the children. The atmosphere promotes positive attitudes and children get caught up in the fun of trying new things. There is lots of happy chatter, produced in a busy purposeful pursuit of learning. Children can regularly be heard laughing with each other and with staff. They ask lots of questions and the staff extend their knowledge at every opportunity exploring with them potential solutions to problems, ideas for testing theories and suggestions for using resources imaginatively and creatively.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children are provided with gentle reminders of how to behave positively, with kindness towards others being noted by staff and demonstrated frequently between children. Children understand how to keep themselves and each other safe as well as understanding the systems in the setting which are safety related. Staff are clearly skilled at conveying important messages without alarming children. One child on chatting about the setting and explaining to the inspector about the 'important things you need to know', spontaneously started talking through the fire drill procedure; advising that when a grown up blows the whistle you have to stop what you are doing and get ready to go out of the building. She showed an excellent awareness of the fire exits, the expectation that everyone would need to be calm and quick and ended by reassuring the inspector that if she followed everyone else she would be safe. The child remained cheerful and matter

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

of fact throughout her description, despite conveying the seriousness of the need to leave in case it was a fire.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The layout of the setting lends itself to encouraging children's independence and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 this is extended further by the way in which the setting do all that they can to give children opportunities to try things for themselves. Doors to the toddler and pre- school room are kept open to enable children to access the child sized toilets and hand washing facilities. Staff monitor the toilets from a distance, offering verbal help before stepping in to offer physical assistance if needed. Children learn from each other and offer reminders about washing their hands, demonstrating that the routines are effectively supporting children's knowledge of how to keep themselves healthy. Children who want to explore further can sometimes be found helping in the office with photo-copying or loading the printer with paper, these opportunities

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

to engage in real tasks using full size equipment and undertaking real tasks prove invaluable at giving children skills that they may need in the future as well as making them feel important and helpful. This ethos has been extended to the kitchen where children are provided with a low level work surface following their requests to 'help' with making drinks and snacks. Assisting in the kitchen and office are activities which happen spontaneously, as such they are usually initiated by children at the point at which they are most interested in taking part and as such gain more from it.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Although the baby room door is kept shut, older children can go in to visit siblings or just pop in for a play at any time. This supports children's relationships within their family groups as well as giving children opportunities to spend time with other age groups and learn valuable social skills in the process. Great thought has been put into the furnishing of the baby rooms. One area provides a colourful living room setup, with comfortable arm chair and soft lighting, leading past a gently lit cosy sleep room and onto a light bright attractively resourced play room with washable flooring and very low level storage to support self selection.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Throughout children's time in the nursery, from the baby room to the oldest children preparing to move on to school, the staff document the children's achievements, identify their unique learning styles, personalities and idiosyncrasies and use these records to identify where children are in their learning and how they plan to support their next steps. Parents are kept fully informed and have regular access to the records. The information shared both formally and informally by the parents in parent consultations as well as verbal exchanges at drop off and collection times is used, although not always formally recorded, to develop a picture of the child as an individual and plan for their developing needs.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The setting strives to support every child as individually as they can in a family atmosphere, driven by competent capable childcare experts. Children in this setting thrive on the support that they are given, developing into enthusiastic, inquisitive, independent children. They develop a good sense of how they need to conduct themselves in order to maintain successful relationships, find out about the world around them and use their knowledge to build on what they already know. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

How well does the provision promote inclusive practice? 1 The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement.

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Foundation Stage led and managed?

How effective is the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement? How well does the setting work in partnership with parents and others? How well are children safeguarded? 1

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

How well are children helped to stay safe? 1 How well are children helped to be healthy? 1 How well are children helped to enjoy and achieve? 1 How well are children helped to make a positive contribution? How well are children helped develop skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being?

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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