Little Learners Day Nursery

Little Learners Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY334693 Inspection date 17/11/2009 Inspector Lynda, Margaret Ronan

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Setting address 57 Edge Lane, Stretford, MANCHESTER, M32 8PA

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Telephone number 0161 8653803 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

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.

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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

Little Learners Day Nursery is provided by Honeysuckle Care Limited. The nursery was registered in 2006 and operates from 10 rooms in a detached Edwardian building. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. It is situated in a residential area of Stretford, a suburb of Greater Manchester. Children attending come from the local area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register, to provide care for a maximum of 84 children at any one time. The facility is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.00pm for 51 weeks of the year.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 119 children aged from birth to under five years in total on register, and of these, 19 children receive funding for nursery education. The nursery employs 35 staff of whom 33, including the manager, hold appropriate early years qualifications. Two staff are working towards a qualification.

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Description of the setting

The nursery currently supports a number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and also supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language. The setting receives support from Sure Start.

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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 make good progress in all areas of learning and development, supported by skilled early years practitioners in an enabling learning environment. Children are kept safe and are safeguarded by attentive carers who value them as individuals. The management is proactive in developing strong relationships with parents and others who support the children in their care. Management very successfully identifies areas for development within the setting and is highly committed and effective in driving improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure babies' opportunities to experience the outside environment are planned and taken on a daily basis  ensure that there is a balanced curriculum delivered through outdoor play

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the early years provision

Children are safe and protected as the setting has highly effective policies and procedures in place which are understood and meticulously followed by all. Staff ensure children's safety through close supervision at all times, sensible risk assessments and the implementation of actions to reduce risk, such as installing This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 biometric entrance systems. They sensitively enable children to take reasonable responsibility for themselves and their environment, for example through tidying up after themselves, organised visits from the fire service and by using equipment and toys safely. The nursery has a detailed written safeguarding policy and an appointed safeguarding officer. All staff understand the policy which forms part of the induction procedure and many have attended specific training in this area. Procedures, such as recording all injuries to children including those that happen

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the early years provision

when not in their care, and the Collection of Children policy, are well followed and contribute very effectively to the wellbeing of children.

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the early years provision

The consistent practice throughout the nursery testifies to the clear management and shared vision of the staff which provides safe, consistent good quality care and education to the children. A very high proportion of staff are qualified to level three or above and the setting employs an early years professional. All staff are enthusiastic about providing good quality care and regularly attend in house and external training. They effectively share their training and use it to drive improvements, for example, a member of staff has trialled a tracking system for cohort achievement which has provided useful information about the nursery's curriculum and led to improvements in delivery.

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the early years provision

The settings' self-evaluation process is thorough and inclusive. Their highly effective use of reflective practice results in a proactive approach to driving improvement. The nursery, for example, hold a healthy eating award from Trafford Council and are pursuing a healthy nursery award which encompasses lifestyle and exercise as well as eating.

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the early years provision

Resources are well planned throughout the nursery to be challenging and accessible. Management have ensured that child to adult ratios required by legislation are exceeded; this allows children more one-to-one attention and enables management to cover staff absences, such as holidays and training, with known trained staff. This provides a settled and secure environment for children.

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the early years provision

The nursery has excellent two-way communication with parents and other carers. They build strong relationships with parents through; the initial settling in process, daily chats and very well thought out and used formal systems such as daily sheets, learning journals, welcome packs and newsletters. In addition there is an active nursery-parent liaison group that meet bi-monthly to discuss all aspects of the nursery and they share minutes of the meetings with all parents. The setting gives good written information to parents about the Early Years Foundation Stage and what the themes and activities for the room are and how their individual child has participated. This enables parents to be actively involved in their child's education. The nursery has developed strong relationships with others, such as Sure Start, and is working in partnership with the local Children's Centre. Parents report that children receive very good care and benefit from 'daily outdoor play

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the early years provision

and a relaxed learning environment'. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children are equipped with firm foundations to build learning skills as staff value their work, activities and opinions and recognise and foster their social skills enabling them to become effective learners. Staff take time to get to know the children in their key groups well which enables them to meet individual needs and provide children with secure relationships. Staff for example, recognise when a toddler is tired and put them to sleep mid-morning. They cuddle babies as they feed them and young children naturally cuddle up to staff when tired or upset.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn through play and exploration and lead much of their own play. Staff actively encourage creativity through art, music and role play thus children learn to use their imaginations and make connections between ideas, a key skill in learning. Children learn to investigate, concentrate and experiment. For example, babies investigate the feel of paint, toddlers play in jelly, gloop and dry pasta and pre- school children identify materials in jars just from their smell. Children spend time out of doors on a daily basis, becoming strong and healthy as they balance on wooden beams and boxes, ride bikes, climb on frames and chalk on the floor. They also regularly visit local parks. Plans for outdoor activities mainly focus on children's physical skills which does not fully support all children's learning styles. Babies access the outdoor area on a weekly rather than daily basis.

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and outcomes for children

Children's health and wellbeing are very effectively promoted by a well balanced diet of fresh foods which are all prepared and cooked by a qualified chef. All dietary needs are very effectively met. Effective policies and procedures to ensure hygiene routines and the care of children should they become ill, have an accident, or an allergic reaction are reliably put into practice and monitored closely by the manager.

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and outcomes for children

Children gain the skills needed to read and write as they listen to stories, recognise the first letter sounds of their names and their friends at circle time and sing. They gain writing skills stirring in circles as they bake, painting with fingers and brushes and gain control of their bodies dancing and balancing bean bags. Children frequently count during singing and in their independent play.

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and outcomes for children

Staff effectively observe and assess children and plan activities for each that provide appropriate challenge. They are beginning to monitor progress and evaluate this against the expectations of the early learning goals. Children are happy, confident, sociable and making good progress towards the early learning goals. 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 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 1 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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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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