Accelerated Learning Service

St Paul's Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 134024 Inspection date 25/07/2011 Inspector Angela Cole

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Setting address 119a Walton Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 6AH

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Telephone number 01865 270686 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

St Paul's Nursery is a private day nursery, registered in 1992, and has been established for over 28 years. It was initially established as a work place nursery, for staff of Somerville College and now serves the wider community. It operates from a college house and children are cared for in one large room, which has separate areas for the 'under twos' and sleeping. There is a small, enclosed, safety-surfaced area with cover for all year round outdoor play. Staff take the children into a private garden in Somerville College and for walks in the grounds. They also use the nearby university parks. The nursery is open each weekday from 9.00am to 5.00pm and children may attend sessions from 9.00am to 1.00pm and 1.00pm to 5.00pm. It is open all year round, except for two weeks at Christmas and the August bank holiday.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 16 children in the early years age range may attend the nursery at any one time. There are currently 23 children aged from six weeks to under five years on roll, some in part-time places. The nursery currently supports a number of children learning English as an additional language. Priority is given to Somerville College staff and students. Whenever possible, siblings of children already attending the nursery are accepted.

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Description of the setting

There are six members of staff working with the children, who all hold appropriate early years qualifications. Of these, one member of staff is working towards a further qualification, and two are gaining Early Years Professional Status. The nursery provides funded early education for three and four-year-olds.

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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

The nursery offers a fully inclusive environment, where children quickly settle to be secure and are happy to make choices. Well developed knowledge of their individual needs, ensures that the caring and enthusiastic staff, successfully promote children's welfare and many aspects of their learning and development. As a result, children make very good progress, given their age, ability and starting points. The premises are secure and children feel safe at all times. Excellent links with parents and carers, encourage their participation in the organisation of their children's care and involvement in their learning. Although, liaison with other early years providers involved with the children is less robust. A clear commitment to ongoing improvement, means that priorities for future development are identified and acted on. This results in a service that is responsive to the needs of all families.

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further?

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?

 consider extending the monitoring systems to show clear links with evidence, so that younger children have maximum engagement in each area of learning support children's learning and development, by developing the regular flow of two-way information between all other providers offering the Early Years Foundation Stage to children.

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the early years provision

Children are effectively safeguarded, because of the staff's understanding about safety procedures. The designated person for child protection, is well trained to support other staff to recognise a child, who may be at risk and to respond to any concern. Regularly reviewed written statements and procedures are known by all staff, and are well shared with parents and carers. Employment procedures are robust, so that the on-going suitability of staff is checked. Adults are actively supported to improve their knowledge and skills, so they are well equipped for their roles working with the children. They are vigilant and implement a daily programme of risk assessment, to keep children safe from harm for example, the premises are kept safe and secure. All necessary records and documentation are in place or currently being developed to a high standard. A wealth of information, including the certificate of registration and staff details, is clearly displayed for

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the early years provision

Staff accurately promote equality of opportunity in imaginative and meaningful ways. Children make outstanding progress in their understanding that although everyone is different, all are important. A wide range of resources reflects positive images of gender, age, disability and culture. These include maps, books, small world figures and recently purchased home-corner items. The individual needs of children are, overall, given significant consideration when planning a suitable and extensive range of activities.

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the early years provision

Staff work substantially with agencies involved with the children. Effective systems are developed to link with some other early years providers, so continuity of care benefits most of the children concerned. Highly inclusive systems of communication, underpin consistent and productive partnerships with parents and carers. This results in strong levels of engagement with the nursery's work. Families report of their immense satisfaction with regard to information shared. They fully appreciate the efforts made, to relate to and engage each child in enjoyable and challenging experiences.

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the early years provision

Very good use is made of the nursery space available, to offer babies and children a wide range of accessible, good quality resources. The recently refurbished outdoor area is much enjoyed by all of the children, who choose their own activities, such as water play in a shallow 'pool'. Encouraging steps towards sustainability are evident, as staff provide many recycled materials and children wear 'eco' badges as they segregate materials for recycling. They tend a nearby This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 allotment to grow a wide variety of vegetables to include in their meals, including corn on the cob.

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the early years provision

The parent committee is highly supportive of the nursery. The dedicated staff work as a committed team, being self-motivated and eager to maintain continuous improvement. Recommendations from the previous inspection are well implemented, to improve children's creativity and involvement of parents and carers. The input of management, staff, parents and children is thoughtfully managed, so they participate in the self-evaluation process. This helps to identify the nursery's strengths and valued suggestions, so that plans for the future are accurately targeted. For example, the well qualified staff are revising documentation and plan to continue their professional development, through further training. This will enable them to increase their considerable level of knowledge, and to further improve outcomes for children.

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and outcomes for children

The children enjoy their time at the nursery and eagerly look forward to coming into the family atmosphere. All make very good progress in their learning and development, including those learning English as an additional language. This is because staff take care to identify their individual interests, and use these effectively to foster experiences that stimulate and equip children with skills for the future. Staff complete thorough assessments of the children's progress, and identify individual targets to show what can usefully be learnt next. However, monitoring of progress is not always clearly linked to the gathered evidence or specific enough to focus on those very small steps in learning, that the youngest children make on a day-to-day basis.

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and outcomes for children

The well organised learning environment and effectively supported activities, mean that children are keen to explore and learn. Children make very good use of the readily available books. They show a keen interest in the illustrations and link aspects of their lives to the story characters. They eagerly contribute to nursery books on many topics, such as 'Teeth' and 'A visit to the museum'. They develop their mark-making skills in chalking, drawing and painting with colours they have mixed, and learn to recognise and write words to help label the equipment.

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and outcomes for children

Children recognise figures in the environment, including house numbers and speed limits. They persevere to solve practical problems for example, to create block patterns showing buildings and vehicles. They confidently use technology equipment to consolidate their learning, including computer programs and a digital camera. The children enjoy exploring their environment on visits to the library and parks. They are very interested in a nearby building site and ask searching questions, such as 'How does this village get made?'. From a young age, children regularly investigate a wide range of sensory materials for example, wrapping themselves in material. They enthusiastically sing and move to music, and settle to meaningful exploration of sounds of different percussion instruments. These include self-made shakers and instruments from other countries. Role play is a This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

popular activity and imaginative areas are well used. Here, young children take care of their 'home' and 'babies', while older ones develop their own stories, including being an 'animal doctor'.

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and outcomes for children

Babies feel safe and secure, as they are cuddled to settle, while older ones snuggle up to staff for conversation and stories. The children effectively learn to keep themselves safe, as they handle tools correctly for example, using cutlery carefully to prepare meals. They frequently practise how to leave in an emergency situation, and learn road safety as they safely walk in the city on outings.

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and outcomes for children

Children adopt healthy lifestyles, choosing to spend time outdoors in energetic and quieter play. They learn why they wash their hands before making healthy food choices for their snacks, and freshly-prepared lunches. Children's behaviour is exemplary. They eagerly and confidently take on responsibility. For example, they volunteer to care for younger children who need support, consolidate their self- help skills and carefully tidy their toys away to make space. They are very polite and have an in-depth understanding and respect for others and for different lifestyles, because of the high value placed on these by adults in the nursery. 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 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 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 1 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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