Emscote House Day Nursery

Emscote House School & Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY413446 Inspection date 09/06/2011 Inspector Jan Burnet

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Setting address Emscote House School & Nursery, 46 Warwick Place, LEAMINGTON SPA, Warwickshire, CV32 5DE Telephone number Email lynda.gostelow@childbase.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

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

Emscote House School and Nursery was registered in 2010 and operates from a converted house in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. It is one of 40 settings operated by Childbase. On the first floor of the building there are four playrooms registered for children aged two years and under. On the ground floor there are four classrooms, a gym and a library. During term time the classrooms are occupied by independent school children aged up to eight years. All children share a secure outdoor play area. There are steps to the main entrance at the front of the building and a ramp can be fitted at the back entrance when required. Operational hours are Monday to Friday from 7.30am until 6pm.

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Description of the setting

The setting is registered on the Early Years Register for a maximum of 32 children at any one time aged under three years. There are currently eight children aged two years on roll. The setting holds independent school status and is registered with the Department for Education (DFE). A team of three staff currently care for the children and all hold early years qualifications.

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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

Staff meet children's individual developmental needs successfully and promote children's welfare effectively. Safety of the building and garden is good, although the risk assessment record does not include all potential risks. The provider and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to ensuring sustained improvement. They are aware of strengths and areas for improvement and they work very well together to ensure that the needs of children, parents and carers are met. Information obtained from parents is comprehensive and so helps staff to identify children's differences. However, not all information provided by parents is being used effectively to address linguistic diversity and aid assessment systems with regard to each child's starting points.

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further?

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

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further?

 enhance the partnership with parents by using information on each child's starting points and interests to plan learning and by valuing children's linguistic diversity  practise the fire drill and review the risk assessment record with regard to evacuation from the first floor and preventing children's access to the stairs. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children are cared for in a stimulating, warm and welcoming environment. The first floor of the large converted building has recently been refurbished to accommodate children aged up to three years and currently a group of children aged two years are cared for in one of the playrooms. Staff assess and successfully minimise risks on a daily basis. However, safety issues are not fully addressed because the fire drill has not been practised with these children and the risk assessment record does not include practice for ensuring that children do not access the stairs. The provider ensures that procedures for recruitment, selection and induction are excellent. Staff members' suitability is thoroughly checked before they have unsupervised access to children and the provider ensures that staff are fully aware of their responsibilities with regard to protecting children from abuse in accordance with the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage

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the early years provision

requirements and the Warwickshire Safeguarding Children Board procedures. Good health and well-being are promoted effectively and necessary steps are taken to prevent the spread of infection.

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the early years provision

Systems to ensure sustained improvement are strong. The provider and staff are working extremely well together so that Childbase systems and the knowledge and experience within the team are meeting the care and learning needs of children effectively. Priorities for improvement are identified as enhancing and extending outdoor experiences for children and encouraging the older children to mentor and role model for the younger ones. All staff are qualified and are motivated to continually improve their knowledge and skills. Advice and support from local authority development workers is sorted and valued. Required documentation and records are kept up-to-date and in generally good order.

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the early years provision

The partnership with parents is strong. In discussion, parents are extremely happy with the service provided and the systems for communication. Some parents have past experience of the setting as older children attended the school and others have attended 'play and stay' weekly sessions. A settling-in procedure is arranged with each parent according to their child's needs. Written information provided for parents is comprehensive and includes all required policies and procedures, regular newsletters and information on the Early Years Foundation Stage areas of learning. Information obtained from parents is equally thorough with regard to each child's backgrounds and needs. However, information is not currently used effectively with regard to providing opportunities for children to use their home language in their play, and using starting points identified by parents to plan learning.

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the early years provision

Children are encouraged to recognise their own unique qualities and characteristics they share with others. Toys and play equipment reflect diversity and effectively meet the developmental needs of the children who attend. A focus within the school is to make sure that any learning differences between boys and girls are identified and addressed. The provider and staff have experience of liaising with external agencies or services to ensure that a child gets the support he or she needs. Staff are aware of the benefits of establishing links with other providers in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 order to provide consistency of care and education for children attending different settings.

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and outcomes for children

Children are making good progress and staff are clear of their responsibilities with regard to ensuring that all children are challenged effectively. The range of resources and activities meet their needs well. Each child has a folder that contains observations and photographs and parents are asked to provide information on achievements at home so that staff can plan next steps in learning. Personal, social emotional development is strong. Children are confident and happy. A settling-in period is agreed with parents according to individual needs to ensure that children feel settled and secure. Children's independence is promoted effectively as opportunities for them to choose and select resources are very good due to well- organised storage in the playroom. Young children play cooperatively alongside each other and enjoy the involvement of staff in their play. Social skills are developing well and turn-taking and sharing is being promoted by staff.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop good manipulative skills as they play with a variety of small toys and tools. They choose different colours as they make marks on large pieces of paper and talk with a staff member about their drawing. She then asks each child what they would like their drawing to be called and labels the drawing for them. Children enjoy easy access to a range of books and staff invite children to choose a book and then sit with them for a story. Photographs and name labels are attached to each coat peg to enable children to recognise their name in print. Children recite numbers as they play and staff promote children's development effectively as they encourage counting with 'one-to-one' correspondence. They are learning to recognise numerals. Children fill containers with sand and talk with staff about them being full or empty. They explore the texture of the sand as it sprinkles into their hands through the bottom of a container and talk about it being

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and outcomes for children

Children's creativity is promoted well. They enjoy the support of staff as they play with resources in the home corner. Staff encourage learning effectively as children are asked to find certain foods in different quantities and then compare as they decide which ones are the same. Children are learning how to keep themselves safe, for example, as they walk up and down the stairs. They are active and gain skills and confidence as they practise balancing, play ball games, and play on challenging large physical play equipment. Children currently attend for a morning session and go home for lunch. They are provided with a healthy snack and they adopt healthy habits such as good hygiene practices. 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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