Roundabout Nursery

Roundabout Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY334821 Inspection date 20/10/2010 Inspector Daphne Prescott and Lisa Toole

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Setting address Whitehawk Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 5FL

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Telephone number 01273 294 780 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 assesses 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.

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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

Roundabout Nursery was registered in 2006 and is owned and funded by the local council. They operate as part of a Children's Centre in the Whitehawk area of Brighton, East Sussex.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is in a separate building next to the Children's Centre, and children have sole use of three dedicated play rooms. There is also a family room and one to one room for use as required. There are a number of secure outdoor areas available next to each play space.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 86 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open from 8am to 6pm five days a week, for 51 weeks of the year. There are currently 118 children aged from five months to under five years on roll. The setting is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and fours years old. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children with English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 24 members of staff, 22 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. Two members of staff are working towards a qualification.

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Description of the setting

Additional services available at the Children's Centre include midwives, health visitors, a soft play area, mother and toddler group and a speech and language therapist.

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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 extremely welcoming and inclusive environment for all children and their families. They have excellent strategies in place to meet the needs of all children, recognising their uniqueness and supporting them so that no group or individual is disadvantaged. Effective planning and assessment systems are in place to support and enhance children's learning and development thus all children are making very good progress given their starting points. Children benefit from the outstanding partnerships that have been established with their parents, and with other professionals involved within their care. The exceptional attention given to self-evaluation enables them to continually develop the service that already meets the needs of all children and their families extremely successfully.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  develop further girls' interest in construction materials.

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the early years provision

The management team and practitioners have created a wonderful place where children are very happy, secure and particularly confident in their environment. They take their responsibilities for safeguarding children very seriously and have a comprehensive awareness of child protection issues. The staff team are extremely clear about their roles and responsibilities with regards to working in partnership with parents and outside agencies to ensure that children are safe. The setting gives high priority to ensuring children's safety within the setting, with detailed and highly effective risk assessments and daily checks being meticulously carried out. The management team have developed comprehensive records, policies and procedures to support the safe and efficient management of the provision. Robust recruitment, vetting and very detailed induction systems are in place to ensure that all staff are experienced and suitable to work with children.

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the early years provision

The staff team are deployed very effectively around the setting to enable them to interact with children during play and respond to any individual needs. This is further supported by the very successful key person system which supports all children to feel secure in their environment. The key person is also responsible for the continual monitoring of children's care and learning progression. Children confidently access their child friendly environment as resources are extremely well organised to promote many early independence skills. Consequently, children have successful opportunities to make choices about their play and thus initiate their own ideas. The staff team promote equality and diversity exceptionally well within the setting; this supports children's awareness of the society in which they live. Furthermore, all children are fully integrated into the nursery environment. For example, practitioners make excellent use of visual sequencing cards to assist with

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the early years provision

communication skills and use sign language throughout the day. Children are also skilled in using the visual sequence cards as they look at photos and signs displayed to find out what is happening next.

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the early years provision

The setting has established excellent partnerships with parents. Right from the start home visits are used to build the foundation of positive partnership working, to improve the outcomes for children. Parents are kept exceedingly well informed about their children's progress as staff share children's achievement records and meet with them both formally and informally throughout the year. Parents are provided with high quality information about the early years provision and the policies and procedures that are followed within the setting. Parents are extremely happy, feel involved with the setting and know their children thoroughly enjoy their day. There are highly effective partnerships with outside professionals who offer additional support to children with special educational needs. Children with additional needs are encouraged to become competent learners with outstanding support by practitioners, as well as space and the freedom to play by themselves.

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the early years provision

These valuable relationships ensure that children are given skilled support and interaction which enhances their overall ability to enjoy and achieve within the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 setting. The whole staff team are extremely effective in ensuring the needs of all children are met and are skilful in taking steps to narrow the gaps in children's achievements. For example, they recognised that they needed to improve the achievements of boys in their creative development, which they have very successfully achieved. They have also identified as an area for improvement, developing girls' interest in accessing construction materials to further improve the outcomes for children.

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the early years provision

The excellent leadership and management team have built a very effective staff team. The management team and practitioners are passionate about the setting and have a very clear, shared vision of what it is they want to achieve, to make a positive difference to the children and their families. They take self-evaluation very seriously as a means of ensuring continuous improvement with staff, parents and children all fully involved in the process. For example, it is evident that they are continually reviewing their planning and assessment systems as they adapt and change these to make them more effective. Excellent use is made of the Ofsted self-evaluation form alongside the setting's own well-thought-out action plans, which clearly identify strengths and areas for development. Furthermore, the recommendations in the previous report have been very successfully addressed. Consequently, the outcomes for all children and their experiences are extremely

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and outcomes for children

Children are flourishing in a truly enabling environment because of the commitment, care and attention given to them by the practitioners. Inclusive practice is at the heart of the nursery, meaning that every child matters and is appropriately supported. This results in all children fully participating and making a positive contribution to the nursery. Younger and older children eagerly explore both in and outdoors independently where they learn how to socialise, negotiate and play cooperatively together. The recently renovated garden for the older children is a superb resource, which is exceptionally well used by everyone. This helps to ensure they get plenty of fresh air and exercise, whatever the weather. Children delight in learning about road safety and the space around them as they ride around on tricycles, while others problem solve how to roll a large tyre by working together. Practitioners act as inspirational role models for all of the

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and outcomes for children

children, asking open-ended questions to challenge their thinking, encourage problem solving and develop communication skills. For example a general conversation about rainbows encourages children to think about how they are made, with children responding with superb answers about how it is the rain and sun at the same time. Excellent technology resources are readily available and help children develop important skills for the future. For example children very confidently use an interactive white board, as they problem solve and develop their number skills by counting and sorting objects on the screen. Younger children quickly settle into free play activities, exploring with great enthusiasm and confidence. They relate well to each other and are developing important social skills as they join in conversations and bring books to practitioners to look at with This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

them, while they snuggle close and talk about what is happening in the books. They express delight as they spontaneously dance and sing to music that is playing and join in with the actions and movements. This results in children being able to distinguish sounds, tunes and develop good body control. There are wonderful opportunities provided for babies to build on their natural curiosity as learners. Babies sit with practitioners and delight in exploring different textures as they investigate the heuristic bags. Practitioners provide a lovely range of objects and various textures to excite and encourage babies' interests. The quality of planning, observations and assessment are exceptionally good. This means that all of the children receive a purposeful, challenging and enjoyable learning experience across all six areas of learning that truly reflects their unique needs and interests.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn to become resilient and keep safe in the nursery through the very high levels of care, supervision and attention given by practitioners. Their emotional well-being is given a great deal of consideration, with children and babies offered cuddles and reassurance when needed, especially when new children are settling in. All of the children are treated with considerable respect and are encouraged to do so with their peers too. Consequently children behave very well, learn important messages about equality of opportunity and thrive on the positive messages they receive from adults. This helps them feel comfortable and secure within the nursery environment.

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and outcomes for children

Children's health is recognised as an integral part of their overall well-being and is given a high priority by the nursery. The children learn important messages about dental hygiene, hand washing and eating a healthy diet. Parents too are encouraged to be involved in promoting their children's health, for example, with partnership working about how to wash hands thoroughly and brush their teeth each day. Snack and meal times are sociable occasions where children eat a lovely range of nutritious food. Drinking water is also readily available as part of their healthy diet. The nursery is maintained to a high level, ensuring that risks of cross infection and accidents are appropriately reduced. 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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Early Years Foundation Stage

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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