The Elmfield Nursery

The Elmfield Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 319169 Inspection date 20/01/2010 Inspector Shirley Peart

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Setting address 1 Westfield Grove, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE3 4YA Telephone number 0191 284 6060 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 0300 123 1231, 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: 0300 123 1231 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

The Elmfield Nursery was registered in 1996. It is registered on the Early Years Register. It operates from a converted three-storey house in Gosforth, a residential area on the outskirts of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. Children are cared for in groups according to their age and stage of development. There is an enclosed rear garden available for outdoor play. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am until 5.45pm for 51 weeks of the year. Children attend from a wide geographical area.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered to provide 75 places and there are currently 146 children on roll who attend on varied days and sessions. The group supports children with learning difficulties and disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. Jesmond Nurseries Ltd manages the group and there is a partner nursery situated in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne. There is a principal who oversees both nurseries and a manager is in place for the day-to-day organisation of the nursery. In total there are 19 full-time and 11 part-time members of staff employed to care for the children; some of the staff have senior duties and there is also an Early Years Professional employed. All staff have early years qualifications to National Vocational Qualification Level 2, 3 or 4, or a degree. The setting receives support from an early years advisor and playgroup network.

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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 clearly enjoy their time in the nursery as they are cared for effectively by a staff team who are competent and have a very good understanding of the needs of young children. Staff implement and use the Early Years Foundation Stage framework very well so that children's welfare, learning and development are successfully promoted. All areas of learning are well planned for indoors, although the outdoor learning environment is not yet fully developed. The provision has made suitable improvements as raised in recommendations at the last inspection and the self-evaluation process is ongoing, to ensure that the capacity for continuous improvement is good. Most systems are also good to support successful partnership with parents and other professionals, which ensures that all children, regardless of their ability, receive the best possible chances to fulfil their potential.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop systems to gain information between provisions where children are cared for in more than one early years setting so that continuity and coherence is in place  follow through plans to develop the outdoor environment, so that children's This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 enjoyment and learning experiences from being outdoors are developed further.

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the early years provision

All staff are vetted and clearance information is held on file. They update their safeguarding training regularly, relevant child protection posters are displayed throughout the nursery as reminders to staff and there are clear procedures in place if any staff have concerns about a child’s welfare. Written risk assessments, daily safety check lists, sleep check and nappy change charts also help to safeguard children effectively. Staff undertaking higher levels of qualifications take responsibility for certain projects, such as developing the use of books, music and movement, behaviour or partnerships with parents. This ensures that strong practice is developed and quality improves further for the children. A competent staff team is supported well by the Early Years Professional who shares and disseminates her knowledge with them on a regular basis and they all attend regular training, either in the nursery or within the local authority. The Early Years

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the early years provision

Professional is also taking responsibility for using and completing the Ofsted self- evaluation form in collaboration with staff. Suitable improvements have been made, as raised in the recommendations at the last inspection, but developing the outdoor area and using self-evaluation to identify strengths and areas for improvement are still ongoing areas currently being developed.

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the early years provision

The nursery and the staff team are very well organised. Children are grouped in rooms according to their age and stage of development. The same staff work in base rooms as key persons and a senior member of staff works between the rooms on their floor to oversee the care, learning and development of the children and to offer staff support. Toys and equipment are clean, in good condition and age-appropriate. Areas in rooms are changed as required to meet the needs and interests of the children. For example, as the pre-school children became interested in builders and construction due to nearby building work going on, staff changed the indoor role play area to a 'builders yard' and provide lots of interesting equipment, such as dumper trucks, high visibility jackets, safety hats, recyclable objects, wooden building blocks, books and leaflets.

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the early years provision

Staff find out all they can about children’s backgrounds when they start the nursery and plenty of useful information goes out to parents to ensure that they are fully up-to-date. There are informative noticeboards in each room and in the entrance way, and the recently introduced files that go out to parents on a regular basis ensure that they have good opportunities to keep staff informed of any significant events in their child’s life. The nursery has collected parents' views and act on any suggestions made for improvement. Positive comments include 'it's an excellent nursery, I can't think of anything I'd change' and 'we are extremely happy'. Partnership with other professionals, such as the community nurse and inclusion worker, are very good. For example, staff receive specific medical training or carry out individual learning plans and always work in close liaison so that effective partnerships are in place. This ensures that the individual needs of the

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the early years provision

children are very well met. However, there are limited systems in place to find out This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 if children attend any other early years setting, which can restrict the way in which continuity and coherence is provided.

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and outcomes for children

Nursery staff implement and use the Early Years Foundation Stage very well. They have a good knowledge of the uniqueness of each child in their care; therefore, children are nurtured and their individual needs are well met so that they thrive, develop and make good progress. Planning is flexible and based on children’s interests and charts are displayed in each room, which cover issues, such as 'our emerging interests' and 'what we are planning and learning', so that staff can plan effectively. Each child has a learning journey file which contains pieces of their artwork, written observations, photographs and tracker sheets to check that they are accessing all areas of learning, which provides very good evidence for parents to show the progress that their children make. Transition arrangements when children move rooms are very good; their key person goes with them for settling in visits and a transition form includes important details on the child’s routines,

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and outcomes for children

comforters, likes and dislikes. The pre-school staff also produce a statement on children’s achievements across the areas of learning, which is then sent to their school with parents' agreement.

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and outcomes for children

All children in the nursery are very happy and settled and a calm atmosphere is apparent throughout the rooms, which is due to the lovely staff team who are caring and attentive. They respond warmly to babies and young toddlers when they make attempts to communicate, praising them affectionately and offering them lots of physical comfort and verbal reassurance if they are upset. Young toddlers are very animated as they wiggle to songs and they love the staff to sing as they shout 'more' when a song is finished, and older toddlers clearly enjoy exploring the dry cereal in the trough. They have formed positive relationships and bonds with familiar adults so that they feel safe and secure in their environment. Two-year-olds love familiar songs, such as 'Wind the bobbin up' and join in enthusiastically to the actions. This activity is managed well by staff, who are able to engage children and thus help them to develop their communication and

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and outcomes for children

creative skills effectively. Younger pre-school children clearly enjoy moving to music and pretend play; they imagine that they are parrots by running around and flapping their 'wings', they laugh like hyenas or crawl around the floor pretending to be snakes. They dance enthusiastically when the music tempo changes and have lots of fun. Children in the pre-school room are confident, articulate and inquisitive. There is an abundance of activities on offer for children to choose from, which helps them to develop skills for the future successfully. They sit at the computer independently and successfully complete simple programmes; they paint enthusiastically on the clear plastic easel and make good attempts at copying their name during craft activities. Children are completely engrossed in what they do and staff are fully involved and engaged with children to support and challenge them, asking open-ended questions that make them think and respond, thus

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and outcomes for children

promoting their communication and language development very well.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit well from fresh wholesome food cooked on the premises. They This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 have daily opportunities to be outside no matter what the weather as they wear wellington boots and all-in-one 'wetsuits'. Therefore, they jump in puddles excitedly, freewheel down the small incline, pedal small bikes and push themselves on scooters, which ensure that they get plenty of fresh air and physical exercise. All children are confident and independent and their behaviour is very good. Children as young as two and a half manage to help serve the food at lunchtime and pre-school children proudly show off their work. They know the routine and how to keep themselves safe as they line up carefully and walk down the stairs in single file holding on to the banister. Children are also involved in planned activities, such as the road safety Beep-Beep Day and visitors, such as Early

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and outcomes for children

Twirlers and Musical Monkeez, and community professionals, such as police or dentist, visit to further promote children's understanding of being healthy and staying safe. 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 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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