Leapfrogs TrustOfsted inspection, 5 Jul 2011

Leapfrogs Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 105876 Inspection date 05/07/2011 Inspector Sara Bailey

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Setting address Old Haywards Courtyard, East Street, Crediton, Devon, EX17 3AX Telephone number 01363 776474 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

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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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

Leapfrogs Nursery and Geckos Out of school club are run by The Leapfrogs Day Nursery Trust. They operate from two large rooms in the old school building adjacent to Haywards Primary School, Crediton, Devon. Two to three year olds are in one room with its own craft area, toilets and access to a small outside area, as well as the large communal playground for the whole nursery and a separate garden. Four year olds are in their own room, which is also used as the base for the Out of School Club in the morning and afternoon, when all of the nursery children move into together in the two and three year old nursery room. The older children access the toilets in the two to three year old nursery room.

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Description of the setting

Leapfrogs Day Nursery Trust is registered to care for no more than 40 children under eight years; of these, not more than 32 may be in early years age range, and of these, not more than 16 can be under three years at any one time. There are currently 66 children in the early years age range on roll in the nursery and 45 children on roll in the Out of School Club aged from five to eleven years of age. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The setting receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four years. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is open from 8.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday, 50 weeks of the year with a two week closure at Christmas. The Out of school club is open from 8.00am to 8.50am and 3.30pm to 6.00pm term time only. The Out of School Club was not seen during this inspection. Every Wednesday afternoon the trust runs a parent/carer toddler group for up to 16 children under the age of three to introduce them to Leapfrogs.

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Description of the setting

The Manager of the setting has a Deputy, Out of School Club Co-Ordinator, two Senior Nursery Nurses and eight nursery staff, who are supported by a further four supply staff, two administrators and cleaner. Seven staff hold a level 3 qualification and five hold a level 2 qualification. The deputy has a degree in Early Years and has Early Years Professional Status.

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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

Leapfrogs Nursery is highly effective at making sure that children make significant progress in their learning and development towards the early learning goals. In addition, all aspects of the welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are being promoted in an exemplary way. Excellent leadership and management systems already support the staff team extremely well in almost every area. There is a strong commitment to continuous improvement through training and an ambitious vision for the setting, which is secured with ongoing improvements to the premises and equipment. This all impacts on the exemplary This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 outcomes for children.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 extending systems for more experienced, qualified staff to monitor and support less experienced, newer members of staff to help them gain in confidence in all areas of promoting the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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the early years provision

Safeguarding children is given the highest priority by all staff. The nursery Manager, Deputy, Special Educational Needs Co-Coordinator (SENCO), the Out of School Club Co-Ordinator and a parent Trustee have all completed Level 3 training in safeguarding to ensure robust systems are implemented consistently. All other key workers have undertaken safeguarding awareness training. The safeguarding policy is regularly updated to reflect changes and new information staff learn from their courses, which shows excellent commitment to maintaining continuous improvement. Effective systems are in place to ensure the safety of children at all times, with key pad entry to the nursery, visitors monitored and the layout of the room and high levels of supervision protecting staff and children. Risk assessments are comprehensive and thorough, identifying and addressing any potential risks immediately, such as installing finger guards on doors to further protect children.

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the early years provision

The setting have made exceptional improvement since the last inspection. The manager has completed management training, which results in her being a very effective leader and there is a commitment to ongoing training for all staff. Morale is very high in the setting and the staff work exceptionally well as a team, despite current staffing issues in providing cover for maternity leave throughout the nursery. There are rigorous and extensive monitoring of staff with peer on peer observations and appraisals to ensure high standards are met and embedded in everyone, although some less experienced staff lack confidence in their own knowledge and ability. The manager is very visible within the nursery, leading by example and supporting her staff and students. All previous recommendations raised at inspection have been addressed in a highly reflective way, improving outcomes for children.

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the early years provision

Equality and diversity is effectively promoted in every way. The setting supports children with special needs, learning difficulties and disabilities in a fully inclusive way. One-to-one care is provided for children who require additional support by passionate, caring staff who know when to step back and allow children to explore for themselves and enable them to develop friendships with their peers. Toys and resources reflect diversity and many posters around the setting are in different This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 languages. Staff use basic sign language and visual props such as time lines, diagrams and labels to help communicate with children. Staff are proactive at identifying any gaps in children's learning and development achievements and sharing with parents and other professionals in order to meet children's individual needs effectively. Staff are very knowledgeable about individual children's needs

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the early years provision

and are highly committed to working in partnership with others, often taking a lead role in establishing effective working relationships. Other agencies are welcomed into the setting, such as Portage, Speech and Language Therapists. There are also excellent links with the school, such as weekly visits to the school hall for physical play, attending each others plays and annual meetings to discuss transition of individual children into school.

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the early years provision

Partnership with parents is equally as impressive. Staff support parents through unfamiliar processes such as attending meetings with other professionals regarding their children or filling in of forms. Parents form part of the Trustees of the setting, which means they are involved in decision making. They are fully involved in their children's care, with excellent information sharing through a wide range of effective methods. For example, an informative notice board, policies file, welcome pack, newsletters and wipe-on boards to tell parents about the setting and daily routines. There are also regular parents meetings to discuss their individual children, freedom to access their children's learning and development files at any time, information from parents about their child to ensure consistency of care by staff. Partnerships between parents and children's key person are particularly strong, which benefit the children.

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the early years provision

The staff are extremely well deployed around the setting. They manage the different age groups, rooms and access to outside space really effectively. Both age groups have large, open spaces to play in as the rooms have been opened up to give maximum space for exploration yet designated cosy areas for looking at books or circle time and designated areas for messy play. Staff encourage free- flow to the outside space at some times during the day and also have designated times for everyone to go outside to ensure all children have fresh air and exercise. The environment both inside and outside promotes learning as it is safe, well managed and attractively laid out with a wide range of exciting toys and activities. Walls are covered with educational posters, children's work with labelling of words and numerals to stimulate their learning. The effective leadership ensures that resources are cared for and each year something larger or more expensive is

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the early years provision

developed in order to promote and maintain continuous improvement, such as a new canopy for the outside space to allow children to play outside all year round, what ever the weather.

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and outcomes for children

Children are making significant gains in their learning from the stimulating environment and staff support they receive. Children are fully engrossed in a range of exciting play activities, some planned and others child initiated, which meets their individual needs exceptionally well. Children make choices in their play, self- This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 selecting toys from the wonderful range available to them. They engage in fun, lively activities such as a group, hand-painting to music activity, developing their physical and creative skills as they move their whole bodies to the music, making patterns. Children develop great rhythm through everyday experiences to explore music, sing songs and use both instruments they make and a wide variety of other unusual ones. They also enjoy circle time with staff talking about special news and listening to stories, which they show excellent concentration and ask meaningful

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and outcomes for children

questions, developing their communication, language and literacy skills. Children relish in organising staff and their peers, all running around with clothes and sponges pretending to wash the toys and equipment. They have excellent imagination, which is enhanced with their easy access to puppets in the book corner to experiment with as they choose, dressing up and role play resources. Young children spontaneously and confidently use the computers with skill, working together on problem solving tasks and taking turns really well. These are all excellent skills for the future.

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and outcomes for children

Children are extremely well behaved as they are so happily involved in age and stage appropriate activities. They learn how to share and co-operate as they feel valued and have a sense of belonging to the setting, this helps them develop an awareness of responsibility and take care for the toys and each other. Their relationships with their key person and other staff are strong, having fun and interacting confidently and spontaneously with each other in a relaxed way. All children flourish as their self-esteem is high through much praise and encouragement.

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and outcomes for children

Children show a strong sense of security and feel safe within the setting. They are unperturbed by visitors to the setting as they have strong relationships with the staff and are fully engaged in play activities. Children know which areas they can access and move around freely within these areas safely. They learn how to keep themselves safe through discussions and excellent role modelling by the staff, such as keeping safety gates closed and encouraging children to step back from them as they open to allow people through safely without bumping them. They know doors with high handles are areas out of bounds to them and show no interest. Children are aware of staff counting the children when lined up to ensure they are all present. Children are involved in regular fire evacuation drills to keep them safe in the event of an emergency. Children use tools with skill, such as knives to chop salad vegetables for snack. They develop independence in all they do due to the

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and outcomes for children

effective layout of the rooms. For example, children safely use the bathroom without being accompanied as staff can see in from the playroom to monitor them.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from many physical activities both inside and outside. They learn the importance of the correct clothing for different weathers and activities, putting on their coats themselves with minimal intervention from staff, to play outside in the rain and taking off their shoes and socks for PE in the school hall and dressing again afterwards in order to prevent them from slipping. Children help themselves to drinks of water from a jug and beakers as required. They make healthy choices of milk or water at snack time with fresh fruit or vegetables. Children greatly benefit from nutritious hot meals or sandwiches for lunch from the school or enjoy packed lunches from home, which are monitored by staff to ensure children eat their healthy food first. Children routinely wash their hands before eating and after This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 using the toilet using liquid soap and paper towels to prevent the risk of cross

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and outcomes for children

infection. They have wet wipes to use after eating. Children enjoy a visit from the Environmental Health with a special machine to see germs under ultra violet light and help in their understanding of effective hand washing. Children's individual health, physical and dietary needs are met to an exceptional standard through clear recording of allergies, medication, accidents and other documentation. 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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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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