Felixstowe Nursery School

Felixstowe Nursery School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 251479 Inspection date 20/06/2011 Inspector Deborah Kerry

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Setting address Ambulance Hall, Ataka Road, Felixstowe, Suffolk, IP11 9DH

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Telephone number 01394 670766 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

Felixstowe Nursery School opened in 1987. It operates from two rooms in the St John's Ambulance Hall in Walton, Felixstowe. The nursery serves the local and surrounding area. Children have access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is fully accessible.

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Description of the setting

A maximum of 36 children may attend the nursery at any one time all of whom may be on the Early Years Register. The nursery opens five days a week during school term times. Sessions are from 9.15am until 12.15pm every morning with the option of an early start and late pick up from 8.45am until 12.45pm. There are currently 17 children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-olds. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs five staff, three of which, including the manager hold appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff is working towards a recognised early years qualification. The nursery receives support from the local authority and 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 good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children's welfare, learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage is supported effectively by the staff. Children's individual needs are fully understood and their interests and the next steps in their learning are clearly identified and included in the plans each week. The setting has good relationships with parents, other settings and seeks support and advice from other professionals to ensure children's individual needs can be fully understood and supported. The nursery has a range of policies in place and the majority of their procedures ensure children's learning is supported well. Staff regularly review, evaluate and monitor their good practice and areas for continuous improvement have been clearly identified.

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further?

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

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further?

 review the organisation of toys and activities to provide children with more opportunities to independently initiate their own play and follow their own interests. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The staff have a good understanding of the procedures for safeguarding children. This ensures that children's welfare and safety is a high priority. There are clear policies and procedures in place to support staff and recent training attended has further developed their knowledge on promoting children's welfare. As a result the policies have been reviewed and updated to reflect changes to staff knowledge on safeguarding children. A daily checklist is completed each morning before children arrive to ensure that they are protected from any potential hazards. Annual risk assessments are undertaken each year to ensure that all areas of the setting are safe for children. The emergency evacuation procedures are practised on a regular basis to help ensure that children have a good understanding on what to do to keep themselves safe.

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the early years provision

Parents are provided with a range of policies and procedures that reflect the nursery's good practice. They are kept informed of their child's progress through feedback when they are collected. Children's learning journey records are shared with them on a regular basis so that they can share children's interests and learning from home with staff by adding regular comments to their child's records. This ensures that staff are kept updated with any changes so that children's learning is fully supported. The nursery provides parents with regular newsletters that keep them informed on any topics, activities or changes within the nursery. Questionnaires are sent out to parents for their feedback on any proposed changes to the nursery's practice. Parents can also support their child's early education at the nursery through joining the committee. There is a good relationship between the primary school and staff to ensure that children are fully supported for a

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the early years provision

smooth transition when they start full-time education. Staff have developed good relationships with other settings that the children attend to ensure consistency in their learning.

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the early years provision

The staff are supported with attending further training for their professional development. This knowledge is then cascaded to the rest of the staff to benefit children's ongoing progress and development. This helps to enhance their knowledge and experience to ensure outcomes for children's learning and development remain positive. Practice is reviewed at regular staff and committee meetings. Areas for development have been identified through the self-evaluation process to maintain continuous improvement.

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and outcomes for children

Children's health is promoted as they have a variety of foods at snack time that meets their individual dietary needs. Staff sit with children at snack time making it a social occasion asking them questions which helps to promote their thinking This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 skills. Children's independence and self-care skills are promoted as they clear away their cups when finished. Children have developed a good understanding of why they need to wash their hands before eating or after using the toilet. Children have regular access to the outside play area where they can access a wide range of equipment to promote their physical development well. All accident records are kept up to date and include parents' signatures to ensure they are kept fully informed on any concerns regarding their child's health.

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and outcomes for children

Children's confidence and self-esteem are promoted as they are encouraged to speak in front of the other children to tell them about their news. Staff ask children about what they did at the weekend and they are able to express themselves well. Children are able to recall past events and activities in their lives which help to promote their thinking skills well. Children learn about their environment as they fill pots with compost; they plant flowers and know that they need water to help them grow. Children have good self-care skills as they manage their own toileting needs well; they wash their hands afterwards and before eating snack. Staff read stories to children about a well-known elephant; they mix different coloured paints together as they paint and recreate the different colours of the elephant. Children are provided with a range of resources in the outside area for them to explore; they use binoculars and magnifying glasses as they look and observe the outside

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and outcomes for children

area. Children access push button and pop up toys to support their understanding around technology. Children are provided with paper and a variety of media to draw and write for a purpose. They use chalks and blackboards in the outside area and pencils inside. Staff help children to learn abut time through counting up to 20 as they talk about the day and date. They can count how many children are present when in the outside play area to develop their knowledge on numeracy. Staff set out resources before children arrive which are set out into different areas. The nursery has mobile units containing a range of resources to support the different areas of learning. However, these are not put out on a consistently regular basis to ensure that children are able to make choices in what they play with. Children dress up and use their imaginations to recreate scenarios and act out different roles from stories they have heard. Children enjoy exploring sand as

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and outcomes for children

they fill and empty containers; they notice what happens when the sand falls through and turns a wheel. They enjoy listening to and joining in with songs and action rhymes which helps to develop their language and physical skills.

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and outcomes for children

All staff have a good knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and work together to plan a range of activities around children's interests to support their ongoing progress. Children's learning journey records show that regular observations are completed by staff. These are linked to the six areas of learning and include the next steps in children's learning. The weekly plans include children's next steps to ensure that children make progress in their learning. Staff undertake a focussed activity each day to target specific areas of learning and to support individual children to extend and support their learning effectively. Children's records show what they can do, have achieved and are clearly linked to the six areas of learning and show how children are making good progress in their 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 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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