Little Poppets Day Nursery

Little Poppets Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 256781 Inspection date 17/03/2011 Inspector Anna Davies

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Setting address 101 Fulbridge Road, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE1 3LD Telephone number 01733 562430 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

Little Poppets Day Nursery opened in 1995. It operates from converted premises in a residential area of Peterborough. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is open each weekday from 8:30am to 5:30pm for 51 weeks of the year.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early years Register. A maximum of 15 children aged from two to five years may attend the nursery at any one time. There are currently 30 children in this age range, on roll. The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs four part-time and one full-time member of staff. All of the staff hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 3. Two staff are working towards Level 5 qualifications. The setting provides funded early education for two, three and four-year-olds. The nursery is working towards a local quality assurance scheme called Ensuring Quality in Peterborough.

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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

A very warm and welcoming environment is provided for children, where they are valued and acknowledged as individuals. Staff build very positive relationships with parents to ensure the individual needs of children are effectively met. Children enjoy a wide range of activities and stimulating learning experiences which help them to make very good progress in their learning and development. Established observation, planning and assessment systems ensure that individual children's future learning is effectively planned for. Both the proprietor, manager and rest of the small staff team demonstrate a high commitment towards providing the best possible care and learning opportunities for children and they are enthusiastic about making and sustaining improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 provide more opportunities for children to see, hear and use their home language in their play and learning  enable children to gain a further sense of place, this specifically relates to planning activities that enable children to visit their local area and neighbourhood. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Robust recruitment and induction arrangements ensure staff who work with children are suitable to do so and have clear guidance about their roles and responsibilities. Appraisals have recently been formalised following training. Staff demonstrate a clear knowledge and understanding of safeguarding children procedures and effectively help children to understand how to keep themselves safe. For example, they encourage children to check that the balance beam pieces they are fitting together, are secure, so that they do not fall off. All staff attend child protection training which they update to ensure their knowledge is secure. Good quality, effective risk assessments are carried out regularly to ensure that hazards are identified and minimised to safeguard children. Comprehensive documentation is in place for the safe running of the setting and this underpins the good practice. Policies and procedures are implemented effectively by all staff and

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the early years provision

Staff have clear strategies in place to care for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and demonstrate that they are able to work effectively with many outside agencies in order to support children's needs. The staff are very confident in their roles, work well together as a small team and present very positive role models for children. The provision is well organised and staff are effectively deployed so children are safe and supervised at all times. Children benefit from good levels of adult attention and positive interaction and as a result, they behave very well. Staff are mindful of ensuring that they provide an inclusive service and actively seek training where they feel this can be further developed, for example, by attending a course about the different learning styles of boys and girls. They are keen to implement ideas from training for the benefit of the children they care for. Children have access to a good range of toys and resources

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the early years provision

displayed at low-level around the main room. Staff have thought about how to enable children to make further choices about which toys they wish to use from the walk-in cupboard, for example, by using photocards. The learning environment is stimulating with a lovely, spacious outdoor area which is well used for a wide variety of activities, covering all areas of learning. For example, the willow arch provides children with an obstacle course on their bikes, a den area for stories or a place to hide and explore during a 'bear hunt'. Children are very familiar with the routines of the nursery which ensures that they feel safe and secure.

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the early years provision

Staff work closely in partnership with parents and carers and they demonstrate a good understanding of the benefits of this. A detailed welcome pack gives parents clear information about the nursery and the service they offer. Clear information is gathered from parents about their child before they start so that staff know children's individual interests and needs, and those new to the setting, settle readily and feel secure. Parents are kept well informed about their child's progress and achievements and they have regular opportunities to share what they know about their child's learning at home. Parents speak highly of the nursery and its staff and say that they love the small, family feel. Staff take time to speak with all parents upon arrival or departure so that they are kept fully informed of their child's day. Although staff ensure that they find out about the children's home This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

language and gather some key words, children have fewer opportunities to use, hear and see their home language in the setting. This potentially affects their ability to confidently use their own language outside the home and build strong bilingual foundations when learning English. Staff fully understand the importance of working in partnership with other providers when children attend more than one setting, so that consistency is promoted. They have systems in place to share information as well as passing on pertinent learning and development information if children move on from their setting to another.

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the early years provision

The proprietor, manager and staff all share a clear vision about the high standard of care they want to provide. There is a strong emphasis on raising standards and continually improving the provision. Various, secure systems of self-evaluation are used effectively and all staff are involved in these processes which ensures that their opinions and thoughts are valued. For example, the Ofsted self-evaluation form has been completed and is reviewed regularly with action taken to address the identified priorities for improvement, noted. Parent's feedback is also welcomed through questionnaires or the comments box and staff respond positively to suggestions made.

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and outcomes for children

Staff have a very good knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage; this enables them to offer a wide range of activities and practical experiences to support and extend each child's learning and development. Planning is based on adult themed activities, children's choices, interests and individual next steps in their learning. This ensures that staff can be responsive to children's changing needs and interests. A wide range of information is gathered to assess children's learning. Regular observations are recorded together with photographs and feedback from parents about children's learning at home which helps to get a complete picture of each child's progress. Staff effectively differentiate activities to meet the learning needs of individual children. For example, during a shape game, more confident and able children are challenged to predict the shape that they are going to pull out of the bag without looking at it

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and outcomes for children

first, using their sense of touch, whilst younger children pull the shape out to have a look at it before saying what the shape is and matching it to the correct picture card. Staff take time to ensure that every possible learning opportunity is explored. For example, when a large piece of paper needs displaying, children work together to cut pieces of sticky tape to attach the paper to the wall. Children with English as an additional language are supported well through good use of gestures to support the spoken word and props to aid understanding. For example, children sing '5 little speckled frogs' wearing numbered bibs and hats and jump into a chalked pool of water. Effective use of open-ended questions such as 'How do you know it is a square?' encourages children to think before they reply 'because it has four sides'. Staff encourage children to solve problems and skilfully give time for sustained

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and outcomes for children

thinking. For example, one child puzzles over how to get his bridge to balance whilst another decides on the most effective way to fold up the car mat. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children display much confidence and feel a strong sense of belonging. They have good relationships with each other and staff. Meal and snack times are relaxed, social occasions where they are developing independence as they pour their own drinks, get their own knives and forks and help themselves to more food. Children feel that their contributions are valued, for example, by selecting a job that they wish to do when they arrive. Children have good opportunities to write for different purposes, for example, in the themed role play areas or outside as they write their names on paper for the relay races later on. They are encouraged to enjoy books and favourite stories which enable children to get engrossed in activities associated

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and outcomes for children

with the story, such as, a treasure hunt, making a crumble and display work, giving them opportunities to recall their activities. They are beginning to see that print carries meaning as they recognise their names when they self-register and notice letters on toys. Children are confident communicators and, for example, are able to use language such as 'squeezy' and 'messy' to describe how paint feels. Children are beginning to develop early calculation skills, for example, as they count the number of boys and girls present and add the two numbers together. They use maths language in everyday conversations; they differentiate between bigger and smaller, for example, looking through binoculars from both ends, and label shapes. Children use number in their play, for example, as they count 16 bricks. They learn to care for the pet rabbits 'Rolo' and 'Nonny' who run free in the garden, helping to feed them and watching to see when their water needs topping

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and outcomes for children

up. 'Victor' the tortoise provides children with opportunities to learn about hibernation. They grow many fruit and vegetables in the garden which helps children to understand where food comes from and about what they need in order to grow. Children use a good range of equipment to promote their technology skills, such as, a freely accessible computer and a digital camera, where they take photographs and learn how to look at these and print them off. They enjoy visitors from the local community and parents come in to share information about their job roles. However, there are limited opportunities for children to make visits out into the local neighbourhood or area to gain a sense of place. A good range of resources and activities enable children to gain positive messages about diversity. All of these simple activities begin to lay secure foundations to support the children's future economic well-being.

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and outcomes for children

Children have regular fresh air and exercise in the spacious garden. Here, there is a good range of equipment to develop and challenge their physical skills. For example, younger children experiment walking across the balance beam, carefully steadying themselves with one foot on the ground and the other on the beam to build up their confidence. They enjoy action songs such as 'Here we go round the mulberry bush', dancing and moving their bodies in different ways. They are developing an awareness of how to stay healthy through discussions at meal times, for example, about vegetables and the benefits of eating them. Children's creativity is promoted through a good range of role play, art and craft, imaginative and musical activities. Children are encouraged to develop and build on their imaginative ideas and staff are skilled at taking the children's lead, helping children to explore ideas such as how to create a recycling factory from duplo bricks.

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and outcomes for children

Effective systems are in place to support and promote children's welfare. For example, nappy changing procedures are effective in minimising the risk of cross- contamination. Staff understand the importance of good hygiene practices. For This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 example, antibacterial gel is sited next to the rabbit hutch outside so that after children have touched the animals, they can clean their hands. Children independently follow good hygiene routines, for example, using individual flannels to wash their hands before snack and washing their hands with liquid soap before meal times and after using the toilet. All meals and snacks are cooked onsite using organic vegetables and produce where possible; food provision is very healthy, balanced and nutritious. Fresh drinking water is available throughout the day from a water cooler placed at child-height which ensures that children can get a drink

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and outcomes for children

when they wish. All children are encouraged to relax, rest or sleep after lunch and appropriate facilities are provided to enable them to do this. All staff hold valid first aid qualifications which enables them to deal with any minor injuries effectively. Records relating to accidents that occur or short or long term medication needing to be administered, are well maintained and stored in a confidential manner. Staff have a good understanding about behaviour management and encourage children to share and take turns when using popular equipment, during songs and during everyday activities such as meal times where they are reminded to pass the bowl round to one another. Parents particularly comment that their children have learnt to use very good manners through being at the nursery. 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 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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