Railway Children Nursery

Railway Children Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY342183 Inspection date 16/02/2011 Inspector Susan Marriott

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Setting address The Station Masters House, 61 Station Road, KETTERING, Northamptonshire, NN15 7HJ Telephone number 01536 522377 Email choochoonursery@aol.com 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.

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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.

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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

Railway Day Nursery was registered in 2006 and is privately owned. It operates from the refurbished Station Master's House situated close to the railway station in Kettering, Northamptonshire. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm throughout the year with the exception of a week at Christmas and Bank Holidays. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register to provide a maximum of 34 places for children in the early years age group aged from birth to five years. There are currently 76 children aged from three months to under five years on roll. Of these, 34 children receive funding for nursery education. Children come from the local area. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and also children who speak English as an additional language. There are 11 members of staff of whom, all hold appropriate early years qualifications in

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Description of the setting

addition to the owner and her business manager who are qualified teachers. A qualified cook is also employed to provide freshly prepared and cooked meals and snacks for the children and staff.

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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 owner has assembled an enthusiastic staff team of high calibre and they work very hard to implement the essence of the Early Years Foundation Stage in this very welcoming nursery with a lovely atmosphere. The nursery is an exceptionally safe, secure and stimulating place to be for the young children who attend. Their individual needs are fully met within this highly inclusive setting. Children make rapid progress in their learning and development and have tremendous fun in the process. Passionate, committed leadership and honest, realistic self-evaluation, secures the setting's excellent capacity for continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 enhancing the culture of reflective practice, self-evaluation, training and informed discussion to continuously identify the setting's strengths and priorities for development that will further improve the quality of provision for all children.

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the early years provision

Children's care, learning and welfare are significantly enhanced by the clear vision of the owner and the highly effective way in which the nursery is led and managed. Current safeguarding requirements are robustly met and all staff are This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 suitably cleared to work with children. Security measures are superb and ensure the safety of children and staff. Staff are extremely vigilant and alert the owner to the presence of any unidentified person arriving at the premises. Visitors are always asked to produce identification and their presence is suitably recorded. Thoroughly detailed risk assessments are carried out visually on a daily basis and written assessments are devised for every area of the nursery and for every type of outing. Regular practise of fire drills secures the safety of children and staff. Standards of hygiene are outstanding across all aspects of the nursery provision.

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the early years provision

All required documentation is readily accessible and effectively underpins the exceptionally safe and efficient management of the setting.

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the early years provision

Extremely effective links with the parents and carers, together with other professionals involved in the care and education of the children, enables the nursery school to tailor activities to the individual needs of children in their care. The nursery extends partnership working to other professionals outside the setting to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities when appropriate. The nursery is fully inclusive and meets the needs of all children, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who have English as an additional language. Policies and procedures are consistently implemented to promote equality and eliminate discrimination. The nursery is continuously extending resources and artefacts to incorporate a wide range of cultures, religions, disabilities and ethnic backgrounds and challenges any prejudicial attitudes by staff, parents or children.

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the early years provision

The owner is passionately committed to her vocation and receives enthusiastic support from her dedicated and loyal staff. They deploy themselves in a highly effective manner to ensure that children are constantly well supervised as they move around the indoor and outdoor environment. Continuing staff development is vitally important in this vibrant nursery and the resultant enhancement of staff skills and knowledge contribute substantially towards the rapid progress the children make. Staff demonstrate an exceptionally high level of knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage, thereby securing excellent learning and development outcomes for children. The nursery makes outstanding use of the space available and ensures that the six areas of learning are reflected equally outside and as well as indoors. Parents are actively encouraged to share their skills, knowledge and culture with the children.

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the early years provision

The organisation of the daily routine ensures that staff are always available to give daily feedback to parents and carers about children's activities and progress. A vast array of useful information is available in the hallway for parents. Activities are evaluated daily and observational notes are recorded in an extremely manageable format to enable staff to track children's progress and identify the next steps in their learning. Exceptionally effective planning systems ensure that the next steps are collated and fed back into the subsequent plans. The owner has identified that further enhancement of self-evaluation and quality improvement processes is practicable. Consequently, the setting has developed exceptionally reflective practice to monitor the quality of provision for children, demonstrating the nursery's outstanding capacity for continuous improvement. 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 extremely well supported in their learning and enjoy a superior enabling environment within this delightful nursery. The sessions have a set structure that the children know and can feel comfortable with and always involve time when they can choose to play inside or out. The highly attractive and inviting learning environment significantly promotes children's progression towards the early learning goals. This is a superior learning environment. The nursery is exceptionally well-presented, light, bright and child-friendly with an extremely high standard of display and presentation which demonstrates pride in the nursery and in children's achievements. For example, children use common shapes to create repeating patterns and their colourful work is displayed on the playroom walls. Staff place value upon the learning process rather than upon the end product, so artwork is the children's own unique expression. A wide range of techniques such

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and outcomes for children

as wax-resist, are introduced to the children, and they choose particular colours for a purpose.

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and outcomes for children

Recent themes include 'Dinosaurs' and 'Winter'. Children listen to a story about 'a bucketful of dinosaurs' and then paint delightful pictures of their favourite part of the story. Children are developing good hand-eye coordination, demonstrated by their pictures of 'dinosaur stencilling'. Younger children contribute to a display entitled 'Walking with dinosaurs'. They make boot prints, foot prints and plastic dinosaur foot prints. The nursery has new dinosaur toys which capture the children's imaginations and the older children chose to paint their own pictures of dinosaurs. Children talk about a winter walk and then use chalks to draw their pictures. Books and stories about wintry weather are attractively displayed around the nursery and are used to stimulate discussion and artwork.

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and outcomes for children

High quality planning is in place which takes good account of children's interests, ensuring that each child receives an enjoyable and challenging experience across the areas of learning. Staff evaluate activities effectively and give very good priority to promoting children's progress. They support children's learning with gentle questioning and develop learning appropriately. The nursery has an effective 'key person' system which contributes towards children feeling and being safe. Policies and procedures are robust, and adhered to by all staff. Children behave well and are polite as they respond to the praise and clear, consistent guidelines set by staff. Older children are familiar with and show some understanding of rules while all children enjoy the security of routines. Staff deal with unwanted behaviour consistently taking into account individual children's level of understanding and maturity. Children learn from an early age the importance of

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and outcomes for children

sharing and taking turns, such as at snack time and during card matching games. Some older children are developing friendship groups. Any children needing extra support are identified, and support given and/or outside agencies are involved. The nursery continually assesses practice and updates staff training where necessary.

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and outcomes for children

Play and exploration is planned and purposeful, with a balance of adult-led and child-led activities that results in children being critical, creative and active This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 learners. For example, staff sit with the toddlers after lunch, dividing the pieces of a large floor puzzle between them. These young children work cooperatively together to complete the puzzle with staff support. Children become very excited because they have pieces with 'purple spikes' and 'terrible claws'. When the puzzle is complete, the staff reward the children's efforts by singing their favourite song to accompany the story. Children enjoy an increasing range of books. Staff read stories to the older children, holding the book at children's eye level and giving the children time to contribute their own ideas to the discussion. Staff ask questions to make children think and value their suggestions and contributions. Children are

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and outcomes for children

clearly learning to handle books with care and respect as they carefully replace them on the bookshelf before going downstairs for a snack. Children develop high levels of independence at snack time and staff provide gentle support, explaining that the cook leaves prepared apple slices in the water with a little lemon juice to stop the apple going brown in the air.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy plentiful opportunities indoors and outside, to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world. Babies enjoy fresh air and experience the outdoors on a daily basis. Older children enjoy outdoor learning across all six areas. Although the area is small, books are always available at the picnic bench and activities are changed frequently to sustain children's interest. For example, they are currently observing and recording the weather and the play house provides regularly changing scenarios for role play. Children's physical skills are developed on a daily basis and they can choose from a wide range of small apparatus. Walks in the locality and regular use of the nearby recreational land provide further opportunities for activities which develop large muscles and provide opportunities for vigorous play.

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and outcomes for children

Information from observation and assessment is used exceptionally well to ensure that children achieve as much as they can in relation to their starting points and capabilities. Staff have high expectations of children and ensure that plans challenge and stimulate, fostering positive attitudes towards learning. The owner draws upon her extensive experience as an early years teacher to oversee planning, observation and assessment of the children. The nursery development plan identifies the implementation of a profile for all children and ensures that all areas of learning are covered. Learning intentions and outcomes are increasingly matched to the criteria in the Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Extensive photographic evidence on walls records the vast range of children's activities and provides parents and carers with information.

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and outcomes for children

The nursery aims to give the children a wide variety of learning experiences which will encourage them to develop their own confidence and self-esteem, enabling them to develop friendships and encouraging them to make their own choices in what they want to do. Throughout their play and learning staff encourage all the children to respect others around them and to understand that everyone has different needs and feelings, helping them to understand when something may have gone wrong and why and how they can help to make it better. Staff maintain lively levels of interaction with children of all ages and effectively meet their daily care needs with dedication. Children learn to stay safe because they are reminded to take care as they come down the stairs and to hold onto the handrail in case they slip. Children are encouraged to adopt healthy habits such as washing hands, This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

blowing noses, and putting tissues in the bin. This is managed by gentle and supportive encouragement increasing the child's independence and highlighting why these things are important. For example, children are encouraged to use wipes after lunch to clean their hands and faces before leaving the table. Children develop good habits, become independent learners, develop collaborative skills, problem solving abilities, creativity and creative thinking because they are happy, relaxed, supported and challenged by this stimulating, age-appropriate environment. 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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