Little Squirrels Nursery

Little Squirrels Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY418558 Inspection date 03/05/2011 Inspector Anne Nicholson

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Setting address St. Marys Church Hall, Church Street, WALTON-ON- THAMES, Surrey, KT12 2QS Telephone number 07598159248 Email chloedaysh@littlesquirrelsnursery.co.uk 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

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 Squirrels Nursery was registered in 2010 and started operating in January 2011 from three room areas within St Mary's Church Hall, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. Children have access to an outdoor play area, which is enclosed with temporary fencing, each day. It is open each weekday from 9.15am to 12.30pm with an option to stay for a lunch club between 12.30pm and 1.15pm, term time only.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 40 children between two years and five years may attend the nursery at any one time, of whom no more than 20 may be under three years. Currently there 37 children in the early years age range on roll. The nursery has processes in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disability and those who have English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are six members of staff including the manager who has a level 3 qualification. Two other members of staff hold appropriate childcare qualifications and one other member of staff is currently working towards NVQ level 3. Three staff hold valid paediatric first aid qualifications.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

In its short time of operating the nursery has established good partnerships with parents and is developing links with local schools. Overall children's welfare, learning and development needs are met, although systems for assessing their progress are still evolving and not yet fully effective. Most of the required documentation is in place, however evidence that suitability checks are carried out on all staff is not accessible on site. Resources are in place to effectively support progress in most areas of children's learning. The nursery has recently started a local authority quality improvement scheme and is identifying areas for development to improve outcomes for children, demonstrating a commitment to maintaining continuous improvement.

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further?

To meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 keep records easily accessible and available for inspection particularly those that demonstrate staff suitability has been checked (Documentation) 17/05/2011 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 review systems to ensure that the individual needs of all children are met, particularly those linked to children's learning and planning  develop the use of planning, observations and assessments to ensure that there are clear starting points, staff share observed achievements with each other and that planning promotes children's identified next steps for learning  develop further daily opportunities for children to develop their problem solving, numeracy skills and have access to information communication technology and programmable resources.

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the early years provision

There are satisfactory procedures in place to ensure that children are appropriately safeguarded. For example, the premises are secure to prevent unauthorised access and daily risk assessments are completed. All staff undergo suitability vetting, however no records are on site to demonstrate that staff are suitable to work with children and this does not meet the regulatory requirement to keep records easily accessible and available for inspection. Equality and diversity is promoted with children as they participate in creative activities that develop their awareness of cultures and countries and explore their local environment. Children generally have access to an acceptable range of resources to promote their learning and development. They can self-select from tables and low level storage units and planning ensures staff rotate resources to provide children with variety each day. Children currently have more limited access

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the early years provision

to resources that promote their awareness of information communication technology such as electronic and programmable equipment and this is an area the owner is planning to develop. Learning is extended to the outdoor area each day although children do not generally move freely between the indoor and outdoor environments. Opportunities for children to develop their numeracy and problem solving skills are inconsistently promoted throughout the session and generally are reinforced during planned activities. The nursery management are involved in a system of self-evaluation to identify areas for improvement, such as the planning of resources, staff training and self- reflection and are taking positive steps to address these. Information from training sessions is shared amongst staff and currently the manager is sharing new systems for recording observations and progress to improve how children's progress is recorded. As a result they are making plans to improve outcomes for

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the early years provision

children for example, with regards to planning, deployment of resources and profile recording. The nursery has established good partnerships with parents and attends local authority cluster meetings to build links with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. Parents are supplied with regular newsletters and information to enable them to support their child's learning and development. There are systems in place for parents to communicate with key persons and their views are regularly sought. Effective partnerships ensure that overall children's This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 individual needs are met.

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and outcomes for children

Children happily enter the nursery environment and access the range of resources set out for them by staff and this supports their ongoing developmental progress. Staff develop good relationships with the children and this promotes their sense of belonging and assists them with settling in to the nursery routine. Children enjoy taking part in a variety of activities to promote their learning. For example, children enjoy sitting listening to stories that reflect the current mini-beast theme. They take delight in saying the words of the story before the staff member can read them and enjoy talking about the objects they have brought in for ‘show and tell'. This encourages them to interact with the staff and the other children and promotes recall of the activities and information they have already learned about insects. Older children talk confidently about activities they have taken part in. They use pens and markers confidently, writing their name on their work, which

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and outcomes for children

demonstrates an understanding that print carries meaning. Children gain an understanding of how to adopt a healthy lifestyle as they regularly play outside riding tricycles, bicycles and using scooters which develops their larger muscles. Healthy eating is promoted with young children who enjoy a variety of fruits, raisins and cheese and crackers during the self-select snack session. They develop their independence skills by selecting their snack and pouring themselves a drink, supported as needed by staff. Children enjoy learning about countries, celebrations and the natural world as they explore various cultural festivals throughout the term. They regularly participate in activities that promote their coordination and creativity including painting, drawing, making recycled material models and role-play. They enjoy making 'bees' from paper, card, tissue and glue and during these activities staff talk to them to

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and outcomes for children

encourage their communication and language skills. There are opportunities during the session for children to develop their problem solving and numeracy skills however these generally tend to be during planned activities and not during the everyday activities such as snack time, lining up and outside play. Children are developing confidence in using information communication technology and have access occasionally to a laptop and programmable toys. Their independence is promoted as they self-select equipment, ask to go to the toilet and try using resources for themselves without staff help. Children behave well and are happy and settled. They play agreeably together, say 'please' and 'thank you' and need minimal intervention from staff to share. Overall staff work well together to implement the planning and new recording systems. They are gaining confidence in how to use these although currently starting points and overall progress are not yet clearly recorded to show how far

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and outcomes for children

children have progressed in their learning at the nursery. The manager completes the planning and as yet children's next steps of learning are not identified by staff within this to ensure that planning meets their individual needs. Staff undertake observations on their key children, but as yet do not routinely share with each other observations they make of other children's achievements. Therefore planning and use of observations are not yet fully effective in promoting individual children's This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 learning and development. 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 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 3 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 3

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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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