Delamere School

Westhill Nursery Pre-School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 106394 Inspection date 25/01/2011 Inspector Julie Neal

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Setting address West Hill House, Braunton, Devon, EX33 1AR

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Telephone number 01271 812938 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

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

West Hill Nursery Pre-School is situated in Braunton, North Devon. It was established in 1960, it is privately owned and has been run by the same family since opening. The purpose-built nursery is in the grounds of the proprietor's home. It is an open-plan building, consisting of three adjoining rooms. There is a large garden and patio areas suitable for children's use.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register, and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The setting may provide care for a maximum of 20 children under eight years of age, all of which may be in the early years age range. There are currently 47 children in the early years age group attending at different times. The setting provides funded early years education for three- and four- year olds. The setting is open Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm.

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Description of the setting

There are seven members of staff working with children, including the proprietor. All have early years qualifications at Level 3 and above.

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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

Children's individual needs are met extremely well. Children of all ages make extremely good progress towards the early learning and development goals relative to their starting points. They benefit from an immensely inclusive environment where difference and diversity is recognised and respected. Self- evaluation within the setting is extremely good and results in plans for the future that are very well targeted to promote, and sustain, high quality outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 reviewing examples of languages other than English within the setting, so that these include the languages spoken by children who are currently attending.

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the early years provision

Dynamic leadership and management has resulted in an extremely effective staff team who are confident in their implementation of the requirements of the Early This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Years Foundation Stage. This is demonstrated in the excellent practice within the setting that ensures children are well safeguarded at all times. Staff are very experienced in supporting children whose circumstances make them potentially vulnerable, working closely with safeguarding agencies to ensure children remain protected. Safeguarding policies and procedures are very well written, providing good quality guidance to staff, and giving clear information to parents regarding how their children will be protected from harm in the setting. Robust recruitment procedures and systems of staff checks ensure that all adults working with children are suitable to do so. Risk assessments are excellent, they are detailed and cover

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the early years provision

every aspect of the provision. These are reviewed frequently to ensure that the needs of individuals, or groups of children, are considered. For example, children immensely enjoy taking part in Forest School activities that include using a wide range of potentially hazardous tools. Staff consider which children are due to take part in such activities on a day-by-day basis, and re-evaluate risk assessments to ensure that these take account of the ages and abilities of each child participating. Documentation that supports children's welfare, learning and development is, overall, very well organised. Children's records are detailed and ensure that there is good quality information regarding their individual needs, for example, any dietary, medical, or cultural requirements. Policies and procedures that support children's welfare are clearly written and parents are provided with these. The setting also has the capacity to translate policies, and other documents relating to

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the early years provision

children's care, into parents' home languages to ensure they are kept fully informed and up-to-date.

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the early years provision

There is a strong culture of reflective practice within the staff team, and this results in extremely good evaluations of the effectiveness of the provision. Very good use is made of peer evaluation to focus on specific aspects of practice. For example, the team recently took part in an exercise to monitor how they use language with children, and to consider how words and phrases in everyday use may convey a positive or negative message. Parents are encouraged to share their views through discussion and through feedback questionnaires, and these are included in the self-evaluation process. Staff use their discussions with children, and their observations of how children engage in activities and use resources, to influence plans for improvement. For example, staff became aware that resources such as dressing up clothes, that support role play and imaginary play, were rarely used by boys. Discussions with the children identified why these resources were

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the early years provision

not appealing, for instance, boys wanted to be superheroes and pirates. This has been addressed, and has led to staff developing their awareness of children's individual learning styles and how these influence the way each child uses resources to make sense of the world through play.

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the early years provision

Staff promote an immensely inclusive environment where individual children's needs are recognised and respected. They develop extremely good partnerships with parents and with others involved in supporting individual children's needs. This results in very effective systems of sharing information, which ensures that individual children's learning plans are consistent in promoting learning and development. Strong relationships with parents ensure that staff have a good understanding of individual families' cultures. This enables staff to plan activities that introduce children to each other's traditions and ways of life, for example, learning about each other's languages and cultural celebrations. Children use a This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 good variety of resources that reflect positive images of difference and diversity within society. However, written examples of languages other than English are

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the early years provision

generic and do not necessarily include representations of the home languages spoken by children currently attending.

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and outcomes for children

Children's welfare, learning and development are promoted extremely well. They make excellent progress towards the early learning goals because staff use their very good observations of each child most effectively to plan the next steps in individual development. Extremely good communication between staff ensures children's progress is consistently monitored, and parents are encouraged to be involved in identifying learning objectives. Children enjoy a very good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities, and staff are extremely adept at setting the scene for an activity and then allowing children to take the lead. For example, staff organise a'?magic carpet ride' with children, and encourage them to think about the things they might see from high in the sky. Children decide they will fly over the arctic to look for polar bears. They talk about the ice and snow. They 'see' lots of mountains and have an animated discussion about how they can use different

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and outcomes for children

resources, for instance plaster of Paris, to make their own mountains and volcanoes. Children's ideas are included into planning so that all children will have the opportunity to make mountains if they wish.

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and outcomes for children

Children are eager and enthusiastic learners. They are very confident communicators who are keen to share their thoughts and ideas. For example, children take great pride in helping to look after the settings' chickens. They describe what chickens like to eat, and how they should be taken care of. Children collect the chickens' eggs and have lively discussions regarding how they can use these in baking. Children learn extremely well about the natural world, and activities that develop their knowledge and awareness are used most effectively to promote their skills in all areas. For example, children ensure the bird feeders in the garden are checked daily, and they conduct their own survey of the birds they see at different times of the year. Children have taken photographs of birds and loaded them onto the computer. They use these to make tally sheets, which they print off; they carefully make marks against the pictures of each bird and calculate

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and outcomes for children

how many of each they have seen, and are they seeing more or less of each type. Children take part in meaningful activities that raise their awareness of difference and diversity in their community. For example, following visits from a guide dog trainer they considered what it would be like to be blind. Children worked in pairs, taking turns to be blindfolded and guided around the setting by their friends; this was followed up extremely well with discussion, to encourage children to talk about how they felt being unable to see. Children are very confident and demonstrate high levels of self esteem. They are extremely well behaved and show care and concern for each other. For example, during play, a child bumps into another, who is startled and cries. The child who has accidently caused distress to their friend apologises and they give each other a big hug before they continue to play. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children's welfare is supported extremely well. Children enjoy a clean and safe environment because staff are conscientious in implementing daily routines and procedures that protect children from harm, and from the risk of illness and cross- infection. Children show an extremely good awareness of how to keep themselves safe from harm. Daily excursions into their local community are used most effectively to teach children about road safety and how to conduct themselves safely. For example, very young children understand that where possible they should use safe crossing places, and they know they must wait for the 'green man' to appear before they cross the road. The extremely good organization of fire drills ensures that all children have frequent opportunities to practice and learn the setting's emergency evacuation procedures. Older children take an active part in evaluating these, and consider what they could do better next time. Health

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and outcomes for children

promotion with children is very good. Children demonstrate a very good awareness of personal hygiene and quickly develop independence in managing their own needs. Children learn very well about the importance of a healthy, balanced diet. For example, they thoroughly enjoy cooking and preparing food to enjoy at snack time, such as home made soup and bread. While preparing vegetables, children learn about the importance of having a variety of these in their diet; they know that a simple way to ensure this is to eat different coloured fruit and vegetables. Mealtimes are extremely sociable, with children of different ages sitting together with adults in small groups. This is most effective in promoting social skills and good manners, encouraging older children to be role models for younger friends. Food is also used very well in activities that raise awareness of different cultures and ways of life. For example, children understand that, in some cultures, cutlery

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and outcomes for children

is not generally used and people use their hands to eat. This is because children have enjoyed preparing and eating meals from different places and have experienced sharing a bowl and using their fingers. The extremely well organised extended learning environment ensures children enjoy the health benefits of plenty of fresh air, being able to play outside as they choose. Physical activity is promoted well in different contexts to ensure children have good opportunities to exercise their bodies. For example, as well as making extremely good use of the well equipped garden for spontaneous energetic play, children thoroughly enjoy activities in the nearby woodlands where they can run, climb, balance and jump. 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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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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