Willow Nursery and Pre-School

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. Willow Nursery and Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY281171 Inspection date 08/07/2009 Inspector Susan June Stone / Beverly Anne Brimble

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Setting address Charlton Road, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, BA4 5PG

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Telephone number 01749 347006 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). This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Willow Nursery and Pre-school opened in 2004. The nursery operates from two buildings on the Shepton Mallet Leisure Centre site. The nursery is divided into the baby annex for children from three months to two and a half years and the pre- school for children from two and a half to five years. They share access to an enclosed outdoor play area and also have the use of other facilities such as a sports hall and extensive grounds. Both buildings have full disabled access.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register to care for a maximum of 43 children aged under five years at any one time. It does not provide overnight care. The nursery is open each weekday from 07.30 to 18.00, all year round. There are currently 69 children on roll including those who receive funding for nursery education. The setting supports children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs nine staff, including an administrator. Eight staff work directly with the children. The manager has a level four qualification, six staff hold level three qualifications, and one is qualified at level two and is working towards level three.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good. Children participate in a broad range of activities and experiences, both inside and out, they are happy and settled within all areas of the nursery and are making good progress in their learning and development. There are some good systems in place to help support children and ensure they are valued and included. The nursery has clearly made some noticeable improvements since the last inspection, which impact positively on the experiences of the children with particular regards to providing a safe and hygienic environment in the baby room. They are beginning to implement good systems for monitoring the provision and self-evaluation but these are not yet fully developed.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 use information gained from observation and assessment, to identify accurate next steps for each child which build upon what they already know and can do, to ensure children make the best possible progress  continue to develop systems for self-evaluation to help identify weakness or build on already good practice in order to promote continuous improvement of the provision and outcomes for children. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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provision

The leadership and management of the nursery are good as the staff and committee are working well together to provide for the needs of the children attending. Staff are committed and work well as a team, they have clear roles and responsibilities, and effective staff deployment means that children are well supported. Staff carry out risk assessments and visual daily checks, to ensure that children play in a safe environment, and the clear security measures ensure that children are protected from uninvited visitors. Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding issues, as they are well trained and knowledgeable about the procedures to follow in the event of any concerns, ensuring children are fully protected.

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provision

Good partnerships with parents and carers are established which helps to ensure children are cared for according to their individual needs. The nursery provides comprehensive information about the setting by way of a detailed welcome pack, displays, information boards and regular newsletters. Parent questionnaires allow parents to contribute their thoughts and ideas, and the setting is beginning to act upon their comments. Parents feel well informed about their children’s progress and achievements. They are encouraged to be involved in their child's learning by attending parent consultation meetings with key-workers and by commenting on their development and achievements.

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provision

The setting has made some good improvements as action has been taken to address the identified areas for improvement from the last inspection. This has improved aspects of assessment, planning and sharing information towards children's development, but some changes made have not been suitably reviewed to evaluate their effectiveness and contribution to children’s learning and development. There are some effective methods to help evaluate the provision, such as using a parent questionnaire and the form provided by Ofsted, but the committee have not been fully involved in this process. The present systems are not fully established to help identify weakness or build on already good practice in order to promote continuous improvement of the provision and outcomes for children.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children are offered a wide range of activities and play opportunities both inside and out. Staff interact well with the children and act as good role models for children as they speak to them in a calm and nurturing way. In the baby room staff mimic to show children what they could do, such as the water play, splashing and swishing to make bubbles or pouring from the containers from a height for the children to see. Staff have a secure understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and how children learn, and use this knowledge to plan a wide range of activities and play opportunities which enables children to make good progress in all areas of learning. Staff question children effectively such as when looking for bugs and insects they ask 'What do you think we will find?' and 'What do you think they are?' Throughout the nursery staff use ongoing observation and assessments 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

to monitor children's learning and development. All children have individual learning folders which include photographs, examples of work and purposeful observations which clearly record children's activities and what they have done. However, this information is not always accurately linked to the EYFS and present systems do not always effectively use the information gained from observations to accurately identify the next steps for learning across all areas, to ensure children's individual learning and development is continually promoted and built upon what they already know.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children in the pre-school demonstrate their independence as they find their name card on arrival and self-register. All children freely choose from the activities available both inside and out, making choices about their play and learning. They behave well as they know what is expected through familiar routines such as stopping what they are doing when the bell rings as they know this means it is time to help tidy away the toys and equipment. Their self-esteem and confidence is boosted by staff as they receive consistent praise and encouragement for effort and achievement. Children are generally well behaved as staff support children in managing their own behaviour and use effective strategies to manage unacceptable behaviour. Children make relationships with each other, they seek out friends to play with and enjoy each other's company. They work cooperatively together during play, for example, two children work together to negotiate how

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

they could both get into and out of a collapsible tunnel; they also take turns to share the resources like the remote control cars, and the magnifying glass to look at the bugs and insects. Children communicate well with each other during their play, and are confident to speak with unfamiliar adults. They tell the inspectors that they ‘like chalking’ when at pre-school and explain that ‘the people need to get on at the station’ when playing with the train track. Children independently access books and enjoy sitting in the book area, they are wearing police hats and find pictures of a policeman in a book, stating 'That looks like us', laughing together at their discovery. Children develop their mathematical skills as they count and compare the sizes of the different insects and bugs which they find, staff ask the nursery children if they think the worm is ‘long’ or ‘short’ and they laugh as they try to count all the woodlice before they scurry away; also

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

throughout the setting staff and children count to 10 out loud when playing hide and seek and chase. Children's creative and mark making skills are developed as they use chalks to draw roads on the ground for the remote control cars and they create their own pictures and designs at the painting easel. Through topics and themes the children learn about the world around them and freely explore nature. Pre-school children develop their hand-eye coordination as they use the desk-top computer where they effectively manoeuvre the mouse and follow the programme to fit pieces into a jigsaw puzzle programme.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children’s health and well-being is well promoted through having free access to fresh air and exercise, and the provision of healthy snacks and meals that are freshly prepared and cooked at the local school and brought to the nursery each day. Snack time and mealtimes are a very sociable occasion for the children where they happily converse with each other and adults present, and share what they know. Good hygiene is promoted with regard to nappy changing, cleaning tables and providing a clean environment, and from an early age children learn the importance of good hand washing routines. Children’s welfare is given high priority This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and they respond easily to the friendly, caring approach given by dedicated staff. They play in a safe environment and are effectively encouraged in keeping themselves safe through the clear, reassuring guidance given by staff, who

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

supervise closely when children use large scale apparatus like the slide and climbing frame, and explain to younger children to hold tightly onto the see-saw or they might fall or slip off. 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? 2 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? 2

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

How well are children helped to stay safe? 2 How well are children helped to be healthy? 2 How well are children helped to enjoy and achieve? 2 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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