Sunflowers Nursery School

Sunflowers Nursery School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY388910 Inspection date 24/09/2009 Inspector Melanie Arnold

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Setting address Old School House, Church Lane, Saxilby, LINCOLN, LN1 2PE Telephone number 01522 702155 Email Type of setting Childcare on non-domestic premises to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 08456 404040, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as

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you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 08456 404040 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the setting

Sunflowers Nursery School was registered in 2009 by the current provider but opened in 1998 under the previous ownership. It operates from the old school house in Saxilby, Lincolnshire. Children are cared for in three different rooms according to age and ability. The baby room is on the first floor and has its own sleep room and nappy change area. Both ground floor rooms have self-contained toilet and changing areas and access to the kitchen. There is an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery opens all year round from 7.30am until 6.00pm Monday to Friday, apart from bank holidays and a week during the Christmas period.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register to provide care for a maximum of 50 children from birth to five years at any one time. There are currently 65 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. Twenty five of these children receive funding for early education. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery employs 23 staff, 13 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff holds a degree in Early Childhood Studies and five members of staff are working towards an early years qualification.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children's individuality is respected and valued by the caring staff team, resulting in their specific needs being met. Partnerships in the wider context are used well to ensure each child is fully supported and included, which promotes children's continuity of care and learning experiences. Effective policies, procedures and practices, contribute to children's health and safety being maintained. Children make satisfactory progress in their learning and development as some systems have yet to be further developed. The new owner has made considerable improvements in a short period of time, enhancing the provision for all children. She also has a highly effective system of self-evaluation in place to fully monitor the provision, leading to continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the observations and assessments to more accurately identify children's progress towards the early learning goals and use this information to identify learning priorities and plan relevant and challenging learning experiences for each child  provide further the opportunities for children to participate in a balanced range of adult-led and child-initiated activities delivered through outdoor play. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

All necessary records and documents are in place, completed with clear information and used effectively to promote children's well-being. Detailed policies and procedures, which staff understand and implement well, contribute to maintaining children's health and safety. For example, staff complete risk assessment records to ensure potential hazards are identified and minimised and their good knowledge of child protection, along with the robust safeguarding policy, ensures children are protected at all times. Children are further protected through the settings clear recruitment and induction procedures, which help to ensure the suitability of all staff working in the setting. The setting is organised well because children are cared for in three different rooms according to age and ability. This ensures children have access to a good range of developmentally appropriate toys and resources, which are stored to provide them with easy

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the early years provision

Children are respected and valued as unique individuals. Each child is supported in line with their specific needs and abilities, ensuring they all make progress regardless of their background. Children are encouraged to learn about differences and diversity as they engage in discussions and planned activities relating to the wider world. A clear policy relating to equal opportunities ensures inclusion is promoted throughout the setting, with any form of discrimination actively challenged. Effective partnership working in the wider context is used to promote the integration of children's care, learning and any extended services. Children's individual needs are met because staff ensure clear information is gathered and exchanged with parents and carers, enabling staff to get to know each child well. Through the use of notice boards, newsletters, daily diary sheets and progress discussions, parents are kept well informed of current information relating to the

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the early years provision

care and learning experiences of their children. Children with special educational needs are fully supported, enabling them to make good progress in relation to their specific targets. This is because the setting's special educational needs co- ordinator works well with parents and other professionals, sharing and exchanging clear information.

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the early years provision

The manager and staff are committed to improving outcomes for children. The staff work well as part of a team, developing good communication channels to ensure good practice is shared. The manager has made significant improvements to the setting in the short period of time since taking over the running of the provision. For example, induction and appraisal systems are now in place to ensure staff's training needs are identified, resulting in staff continually developing their knowledge and keeping up to date with current practice issues. The nursery room has been refurbished to a high standard, providing children with a bright and welcoming room, where toys and resources are stored to provide them with easier access. The manager uses highly effective strategies to monitor and evaluate the setting, resulting in a robust system of self-evaluation leading to the identification of clear targets for future improvement. For example, the manager has

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the early years provision

implemented a practice review folder, which encourages staff to identify how they promote specific outcomes for children. This is then evaluated at staff meetings, This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 with everyone discussing how they can further develop their practice, leading to continuous improvement.

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and outcomes for children

Children are cared for in a safe, secure, warm and welcoming setting. Space and resources are well-maintained and effectively organised to meet children's needs. Children's health is protected through staff implementing robust health and hygiene routines, which helps minimise the risks of cross infection. For example, children regularly wash their hands as appropriate, antibacterial sprays are used on all surfaces and individual sheets are used for children who require a sleep. Children's good health is further maintained by the settings clear exclusion policy. Children benefit from healthy, nutritious meals and snacks, which meet their dietary requirements. The accessibility of drinks of water in all rooms, results in children being able to independently access a drink when thirsty. Children learn about maintaining their own health and safety through daily practices, discussions and planned activities. For example, children brush their teeth after lunch, helping

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and outcomes for children

to promote their awareness of good dental hygiene. Visits from the police, fire service and Lollipop person, have further contributed to children learning about road and fire safety. Children's behaviour is predominantly good, with staff offering regular praise and encouragement to promote their self-esteem. The setting provides all children with a cake for their birthday, enabling every child to feel valued and unique on their special day. Children learn to share and they generally play co-operatively together. They learn to value other people's backgrounds and beliefs through their play and through staff acting as positive role models. All of which helps children to learn the habits and behaviour appropriate to good learners, to meet their needs, and those of others.

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and outcomes for children

Children are making satisfactory progress in their learning and development as they engage in an appropriate range of activities. Observations and assessments are in place, along with individual learning plans. However, these are not consistently understood and used in each room to accurately monitor children's progress and plan for individual children's next steps for learning. Therefore, planning is not always fully effective to ensure children are provided with challenging learning experiences tailored to meet their individual needs and abilities. For example, during a planned bumble bee sticking activity, staff provide the same activity for each child, as they direct the children where to stick the pieces. Although children have fun completing the activity, they are unable to freely express their creativity and the activity is not adapted to provide a challenging experience for older children. Also, activities are not always sufficiently

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and outcomes for children

planned for the outside environment, to ensure children's learning is effectively promoted during inside and outside play. These areas have already been identified as targets for improvement through the managers self-evaluation process. She has appointed a member of staff to oversee and monitor the planning, observations and assessments of each room and she plans to re-develop the outside environment to provide children with access to additional learning experiences covering all areas of learning. As these improvements are in the process of being currently developed, children have yet to benefit from improved practice in all This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 areas.

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and outcomes for children

Babies are happy as staff sit on the floor and engage in play with them. They enjoy participating in a generally good range of hands on learning experiences, like jelly play, painting and sand play, which promotes the use of their senses. Children in the nursery room freely access their play materials, with staff providing an appropriate range of adult-led activities to help keep them stimulated. Children within the pre-school room are provided with an interesting range of activities to help them make progress. They confidently access the computer and show skill as they complete various programmes. Staff choose a different letter of the alphabet each week, to help promote children's understanding of letters and sounds. Most children can recognise their name in print and identify the initial letter sound of their name. The accessibility of writing materials also enables children to freely develop their mark making skills. Activities relating to measuring the height of

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and outcomes for children

children, counting and the accessibility of a good range of resources to promote children's problem solving, reasoning and numeracy, enable children to develop key skills for the future. 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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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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and managed?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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Stage

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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