Rosegrove Infant School

Lakeside Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 119258 Inspection date 04/04/2011 Inspector Anne Faithfull

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Setting address The Community Centre, RMA Sandhurst, Camberley, Surrey, GU15 4PQ Telephone number 01276 412301 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

Lakeside Nursery has been open since 1982. The nursery is registered for 42 children on the Early Years Register. The nursery operates within the grounds of the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, Berkshire. The premises consist of a large hall and a smaller room; the large hall is split into two areas and caters for a group of toddlers and a group of pre-school children. There is a secure enclosed garden for children's outside play.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is open five days a week from 9.30am to either 12.30pm or 2.30pm term time only. The nursery serves both the military and civilian community of this military training establishment. There are currently 60 children on roll and the nursery is in receipt of funding. The nursery supports children who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs ten members of staff who work with the children; of these eight hold appropriate early years qualifications and two are working towards a qualification. The nursery receives support from the Early Years and Childcare Service and the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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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

The nursery provides a very inclusive and welcoming environment for all children and their families. Children are making good progress, owing to the knowledgeable and caring staff team in place. Overall, children's welfare needs are catered for and the majority of staff follow the procedures in place for recording information about the children and the observations they make. Excellent use is made of the resources and both the inside and outside areas to enable children to learn and develop through play. Good partnerships are in place with parents, carers and other professionals to ensure the unique needs of each child and their family are fully met. The evaluation systems completed by the staff team and committee ensure areas for further development are identified to enhance the outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further children's understanding of hygiene routines by ensuring they can independently access tissues when they require  make sure all staff consistently follow the procedures in place for completing and recording information and the observations completed on each child. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Staff have a secure knowledge of child protection issues and are aware of the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about a child in their care. Robust recruitment, checking and induction procedures ensure all staff working with the children are suitable to do so. Visitors to the nursery have their names and times of attendance recorded and no army personnel or workmen are permitted into the building for maintenance when children are present. A range of comprehensive risk assessments and the daily safety checklist ensure children play in a safe and secure environment where hazards are identified and minimised. Children regularly practice the emergency evacuation procedure to ensure they are aware of the steps to take and all staff are aware of their individual roles and responsibilities in the event of an emergency. Staff readily comment on how much they enjoy working at the nursery and how supportive the committee are in enabling them to

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the early years provision

attend further training to increase their knowledge and gain further qualifications.

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the early years provision

The nursery is well resourced with high quality toys and equipment. All resources are labelled throughout the nursery in both languages spoken by the children who attend to help them make independent choices. The exceptional outdoor area is used well to enable children to participate in a wide range of activities and experiences to help promote their enjoyment and early learning through play and exploration. Staff deploy themselves exceptionally well to ensure all children's individual needs are met and to provide additional support and guidance when required. Exceptional systems and resources are in place to ensure equality and diversity is effectively promoted and recognised throughout the nursery. Staff are able to speak to parents and children in their own language to ensure their individual needs and preferences are recognised, understood and met. Festivals and events in children's lives are celebrated and all staff totally support families

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the early years provision

and children who may have a parent who is currently in another country with the army.

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the early years provision

Good relationships are in place with the parents and carers. Parents receive a range of information and a copy of the nurseries policies and procedures before their child starts and all are available in different languages. Parent's reviews enable parents to have discussions with staff regarding their child's individual progress and the next step in their learning and development. The open door policy enables parents to visit the nursery at anytime and share their views or discuss any concerns with the staff in a confidential manner. Parents make many positive comments about the nursery including how very happy their children are at the nursery, how much the children enjoy getting messy and how supportive the staff are towards them and their children. The daily verbal information exchange with parents ensures they are aware of how their child has spent their time at the nursery. Effective systems are in place to work with other professionals

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the early years provision

involved in children's lives and information is shared with other settings the children attend to ensure continuity of their care and learning. The staff team and committee continually self evaluate the nursery in a variety of ways including seeking views from parents and children. The nursery has made many This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 improvements since the last inspection and all staff are committed to the continuous development of the nursery to further improve the outcomes for children.

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and outcomes for children

Children are happy, confident and secure. They readily leave their parents and carers and greet staff and each other enthusiastically. They are confident, active learners as staff effectively use their knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage to provide a good balance of adult and child led range of activities and experiences. All children make good progress in their learning and development as the staff ensure all of the activities and experiences cater for each child's individual stage of development and needs. Systems are in place to gain information from parents regarding their child's development and likes and interests before they start and to record the observations the staff make. However, not all are followed consistently by staff to ensure every child's form is completed and the date when the observations were completed.

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and outcomes for children

Children's early communication skills are developing well as staff ask open ended questions and the new 'chatter box' system enables children to bring in items from home and talk about them to staff. Everyday events are used well to encourage children to independently count such as, counting the items of fruit in the story and the number of children around the table. They are beginning to learn about volume and size through playing with coloured water and seeing how much they need to fill the different containers. Children are beginning to be aware of nature as they grow a range of plants including sunflowers for mother's day. Staff readily sit with children and support them in their play, for example helping the children to find the correct pieces of puzzle.

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and outcomes for children

Children celebrate a range of festivals and events in their lives. They are aware of the local community on the army base and the surrounding areas. Children who have English as an additional language are supported well as nursery staff are able to speak to them and read them stories in their own language. This effectively contributes to showing children that their home language is valued. Sign language displays around the nursery enable children to learn different ways to communicate with each other if required. Children are becoming confident in using a range of technology; they independently use the computer and look at pictures of themselves at play on the digital photo display. They are beginning to be aware of environmental issues as they put paper they have used in recycling bins and access a range of used boxes and other items for junk modelling.

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and outcomes for children

Children are very well behaved. They are aware of the routines in place and readily help staff to sweep the floor and put away the toys at tidy up time. They readily share and include each other in their games for example, pretending they are pirates outside or helping each other change the dolls clothes. Children demonstrate a very strong sense of belonging, they are extremely confident and readily approach staff and visitors to talk about what they have been doing and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 encourage them to participate in their play. Children are very independent and make choices about where they want to play and the resources they wish to use. Their art work and photographs of them at play are displayed at their height so they can look at them with their friends and family. All staff know the children very well and trusting relationships are established and maintained. Children's

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and outcomes for children

behaviour is exemplary; they show care and concern for each other and readily share and take turns. They help to support and look after each other and readily respond to any requests to help each other for instance when a child asked another child to help them dig in the dirt. Children comment to the inspector how much they enjoy being messy and painting.

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and outcomes for children

Younger children thoroughly enjoy dancing and clapping to the nursery rhymes the staff sing to them and independently choose the musical instrument they wish to shake and bang to make a range of different sounds. Children's spontaneity is recognised for example, when a child found a worm and asked to take the worm home; staff helped the child find a container and some dirt to put in so they could take the worm home. Children participate in a wide range of creative activities and experiences for instance; they have great fun helping to make the red coloured play dough.

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and outcomes for children

The nursery promotes healthy eating well. Children are able to independently go to the snack table when they require and choose from a range of healthy foods, including grapes, apples and bananas. They are beginning to lean how to safely use knives to cut up the fruit they have chosen and staff readily offer support and guidance when required. Lunchtimes are a sociable occasion as staff sit and talk to the children who readily tell them who has prepared their lunch. Younger children are able to eat at their own pace and readily try the different snacks on offer. Children are beginning to understand about some health and hygiene practices, such as, hand washing routines. However, not all children can readily access tissues independently when they require. Children's physical skills are fully promoted as they participate in a range of activities and experiences. They enjoy playing in the well resourced garden where they use a range of equipment which

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and outcomes for children

enables them to climb, play and balance on. The free flow system between the indoor and outdoor environments, enable children to play and learn in the fresh air and all different weathers. 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 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 1 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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