Kids Planet Kettering

Angels Nursery School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 260734 Inspection date 18/04/2011 Inspector Susan Marriott

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Setting address 113 London Road, London Road, Kettering, Northamptonshire, NN15 7PH Telephone number 01536 519926 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

Angels Nursery School opened in September 2001 and is privately owned. It occupies the ground floor of a purposely converted house on the outskirts of Kettering town centre. Children share access to four outdoor play areas. The nursery school is registered on the Early Years Register to provide care for a maximum of 55 children in the early years age group, of whom, no more than 15 may be aged under two years. It is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year, with the exception of bank holidays and three days between Christmas and New Year.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 113 children aged from three months to under five years on roll. Of these, 52 children receive funding for nursery education. The nursery serves Kettering and the surrounding areas. The nursery school provides support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and for children for whom English is an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is managed by the owner and employs 19 members of staff to work with the children. All staff hold appropriate qualifications. A part-time administrator, a chef and cleaning staff support the childcare staff. The nursery school is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

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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 well-qualified and highly skilled staff team work hard to meet the diverse and individual needs of all children and families using the nursery. This nursery school is an exceptionally safe, secure and stimulating place to be for the young children who attend. Their individual needs are fully met within this homely setting which has a fully inclusive approach to care, learning and development. Children make rapid progress in their learning and development and enjoy themselves on a daily basis. Committed, strong leadership and continuous reflective practice ensures that the setting has 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?

 ensuring that the existing procedure for checking the identity of visitors is implemented at all times. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children's care, learning and welfare is significantly underpinned by the clear vision of the owner and the highly effective way in which the nursery school is led and managed. The owner has a very hands-on approach to her business and this enables her to monitor every aspect of the provision in close detail. Careful and precise organisation ensures that all children are very well cared for by professional, qualified and dedicated staff, with high levels of knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Current safeguarding requirements are robustly met and all staff have been suitably cleared to work with children. Generally robust security measures ensure the safety of children and staff. The presence of visitors is suitably recorded, but identification is not checked in every instance. Thoroughly detailed risk assessments are carried out visually on a daily basis and written assessments are devised for every area of the nursery

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the early years provision

school and for outings in the local area. Regular practise of fire drills secures the safety of children and staff in an emergency.

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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. All required documentation is meticulously organised, readily accessible and effectively underpins the exceptionally safe and efficient management of the setting. The nursery school 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. Staff use sign language and find 'talking pens' most useful when supporting families whose first language is not English. Policies and procedures are consistently implemented to promote equality and eliminate discrimination. Children learn about their own culture and the beliefs and culture of other people because the nursery actively gathers information about

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the early years provision

the cultural background of the children attending, ensuring that relevant festivals and celebrations are acknowledged and shared. The nursery has an extensive range of resources and artefacts, which represent positive images and a wide range of cultures, religions, disabilities and ethnic backgrounds.

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the early years provision

The owner 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 freely between the indoor and outdoor environment. Continuing staff development is strongly encouraged 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 school makes outstanding use of the space available and ensures that the six areas of learning are reflected equally well outside and indoors. A recent improvement includes the creation of a 'Woodland area' in the garden and children put food out for the birds and squirrels and help to care for the nursery rabbits and

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the early years provision

fish. Several visiting professional teachers share music and physical exercise skills with the children. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Partnership working is reflected in the genuine efforts to strengthen links with other providers and in working with other professionals outside the setting to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities when appropriate. The nursery school makes every effort to work in partnership with parents and carers who value this personal care, support and attention. 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 huge range of useful information is available in the entrance porch for parents and this is effectively supplemented by an annual parents consultation meeting and written reports.

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the early years provision

Staff have appropriately high expectations of the children and children make very good progress towards the early learning goals given their starting points. 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 school has developed exceptionally reflective practice to monitor the quality of provision for children, demonstrating the nursery school's outstanding capacity for continuous improvement.

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and outcomes for children

Children move around the various areas of the nursery during the day and enjoy a succession of interesting and well-organised activities, delivered at a good pace to capture and sustain their interest. There is always something exciting to choose so children develop an extremely positive disposition towards learning. Nevertheless, staff ensure that children are given generous amounts of time to explore and investigate. The staff know that children learn best when they are relaxed, comfortable, secure and happy and so create a loving, stable environment, where children have time to experiment and develop their play. Visiting professionals enrich the weekly programme of activities. For example, during the structured music activity which echoes the theme of the week, the teacher hides a plastic egg in 'The bag', containing a small furry chick. Each child is given the time to open the egg, hold the chick and describe what it feels like, before passing it onto the next

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and outcomes for children

Staff behave as responsive partners in communication with the children. They engage with children's ability, interest and activity, effectively encouraging children to respond and interact with peers and other adults. This nursery school has a large enthusiastic staff team, which work very closely together and have a strong commitment to enabling children to be highly independent, confident and communicative learners. Babies are set the challenge of finding the hidden plastic farm animals in pink and yellow shredded packing material. They gaze in awe and wonder, sharing their 'finds' with familiar staff. A child shows fascination at the changing pictures on the digital photograph frame and is lifted up so he can see it This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 more easily. Very young children are encouraged to count as they place one brick on top of another and they are copiously praised for their efforts.

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and outcomes for children

Children experience a wide range of activities covering all areas of learning. This is supplemented with additional stimulating activities linked to the weekly theme. Younger children visit the local bakery to buy Hot Cross Buns for their tea. Staff encourage the children to spread their own butter on the buns before eating them. Older children explore wet rice and lentils in a tray and mix cornflakes into melted chocolate to make Easter nests, counting out the chocolate mini-eggs. They develop a sense of community and make connections between different parts of their life experience as they visit the elderly residents of a retirement home nearby to sing summer songs and Christmas carols.

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and outcomes for children

The nursery makes outstanding use of the space available and views any difficulties as challenges to be overcome in the best interests of the children. The nursery is based in the owner's home and 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, at regular intervals, a valued piece of children's work is selected to be in the frame in the entrance hallway. Full use is made of the small garden to provide daily outdoor activities in the fresh air. There are an excellent range of opportunities, both inside and outside, for children to access which develop their physical skills, knowledge, language and vocabulary. For example, children are dressed in 'Easter rabbit' outfits and practise their bunny hops around the play area as they announce that they are 'crunching and munching' their

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and outcomes for children

carrots. Staff have drawn 'burrows' for them to live in as their home.

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and outcomes for children

Each child is acknowledged and praised because staff employ the philosophy of 'catch them being good' to underpin their behaviour management techniques. Primary consideration is given to promoting children's independence wherever possible. For example, children are encouraged to manage the fastenings on their own coats and shoes and can select outdoor equipment from the pictorial catalogue. Staff place value upon the learning process rather than upon the end product, so artwork is the children's own unique expression. For example, surrounding a group collage of a friendly tiger from a familiar story, children have painted their own delightful interpretations of what the tiger looked like. Children are encouraged to adopt healthy habits, such as washing hands, 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

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and outcomes for children

things are important. 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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