Stoke Prior Primary School

Willow Tree Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 116736 Inspection date 17/03/2010 Inspector Gordon Jackson

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Setting address 2 Chapel Road, Flackwell Heath, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP10 9AA Telephone number 01628 533445 Email willowtree@countrysidenurseries.co.uk. 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 .

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You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as 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

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

Willow Tree Nursery is one of six nurseries run by Countryside Nurseries. It registered in 1995 and operates from three fully accessible rooms attached to Carrington Junior School, Flackwell Heath, Buckinghamshire. A maximum of 25 children may attend the nursery at any one time. It is open all year round from 7.45am to 6.00pm. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and both parts of the Childcare Registers. There are currently 35 children aged from two and a half to under five years on roll, of whom 18 receive funding for nursery education. Children come from the local area. The nursery supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and they can support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery employs six staff. Four of the staff, hold appropriate early years qualifications and two are working towards a

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The nursery provides an outstanding education for its children, based on the work of the very well-qualified manager and the highly dedicated staff. The nursery is fully inclusive and welcomes children of all abilities and from all backgrounds. The manager has ensured that appropriate actions on all the recommendations from the previous report have been undertaken and looks in detail at ways in which provision can be further improved. The nursery has outstanding capacity to maintain the high standards observed.

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further?

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

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further?

 continue to monitor security procedures of the outdoor area so as to be able to respond to all eventualities.

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the early years provision

The manager has a very good understanding of essential administrative and educational practices associated with working with young children and ensures that all the children’s needs are fully met. She is very well supported by the Willow Tree Nursery organisation and her area manager, together with the nursery team of staff, all of whom are fully dedicated to their role and keen to obtain further training. All safeguarding requirements are fully met. Activities are carefully planned to develop children’s educational and social skills. Children’s learning and progress are tracked very carefully to ensure that all have equal opportunities to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 succeed in this highly inclusive setting. The manager, aided by her colleagues and drawing on information from parental questionnaires, undertakes regular reviews of the work of the unit and takes appropriate action to improve as required. A

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the early years provision

thoroughly well developed self evaluation document also exists which is used to focus attention on future needs of the nursery and to identify staff training needs. The manager and other nursery staff have good links to other area nurseries and regularly attend professional development workshops to enable exchanges of ideas with other settings. Reception staff from the various infant schools visit the nursery to facilitate transition arrangements and ensure a smooth transfer of information when children move to the next stage of their education.

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the early years provision

The manager and her staff share a common goal in trying to identify new and exciting learning activities based on the children’s own experience. Weekly staff meetings ensure that routine administration and both short term and long term planning occur. Safeguarding and health and safety issues are fully considered and are well implemented. Whilst existing procedures are secure, constant revision is still required to keep abreast of all possible eventualities, however unlikely. An ‘open door’ policy and regular newsletters to parents, in addition to informal discussions, joint activities and parental questionnaires, ensure that communications are clear and effective. Annual parent-teacher meetings to discuss progress of the children are provided, in addition to informal sessions with key workers. Parents frequently volunteer their help with a variety of talks and contribute to the various activity and theme days. A genuine welcome is provided

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the early years provision

to parents, whose comments indicate that they clearly appreciate the facilities offered by the nursery.

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and outcomes for children

Overall, children make very good progress in acquiring a broad range of valuable skills and developing self-confidence. Older children have the opportunity of acting as ‘buddies’ to new and younger children, which contributes to their social awareness and joint learning opportunities. Particularly important is the fact that children have access to all play areas, which creates opportunities for the children to make choices in all activities. As a result, the children are happy as they feel safe and secure and clearly enjoy their time in the unit. Staff interact very well with the children and as a result, very good levels of progress are made in terms of the children’s development. Staff carry out informal observation of activities undertaken by children whilst they are at play. These observations are noted and discussed at weekly staff meetings and enable a clear written development profile to be obtained which is helpful both to parents and the school the child will attend

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and outcomes for children

as it gives a focus for future work with particular children. Key workers ensure that the fully detailed pupils’ folders provide extensive evidence of the work and progress of each child. These are readily accessible for both children and parents to see and provide useful information of the child’s ‘learning journey’ whilst in the unit.

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and outcomes for children

Cultural diversity is celebrated through a range of activities and displays, including religious festivals and foreign food eaten on certain days. Staff never waste an This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 opportunity to expand the children’s vocabulary. The very well resourced outdoor based activities are very popular and used in all weathers, with appropriate wet weather clothes provided for the children. The garden area is used to grow a variety of consumable produce in the summer, which contributes to discussion on healthy eating awareness. Health aspects have high priority with children being reminded of the need to wash their hands after using the toilet and before and after eating food. Children also clean their teeth after eating lunch. Of particular note was the fact that children helped to set the tables at meal times and each child had their own named placemat and metal cutlery, which they used sensibly.

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and outcomes for children

It was also noted that during these sessions counting activities helped with number development. Such skills demonstrate that the setting prepares children very well for later life.

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and outcomes for children

Children are very friendly and cooperate exceptionally well with the staff and with each other. Numerous wall displays indicate that they are particularly keen to show the result of their craft-work activities and these are complemented by a wide range of photos of activities involving pupils. The unit is very fortunate in having a good-sized and well designed outdoor area, including a small garden area for growing plants. Regular organised trips into the local community areas provide variety to the curriculum provided by the nursery. Overall, the children are very well looked-after and they make very good progress in each of the various areas of learning and development. Although there were no children currently on roll identified as requiring special educational needs and/or disabilities, the nursery has trained staff and appropriate provision to meet their special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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and outcomes for children

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 1 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 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 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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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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