Hummingbirds Educational Nursery

Hummingbirds Educational Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY340518 Inspection date 11/10/2011 Inspector Anita Pyrkotsch-Jones

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Setting address Castle Lane Community Centre, Castle Lane, Garstang, Preston, PR3 1RB Telephone number 01995 602012 Email Type of setting Childcare - Non-Domestic 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

Hummingbirds Educational Nursery was registered in the new setting the Autumn of 2006. It previously operated in another building on the same site. The facility, which operates from the Community Centre has the use of two rooms for the children.There is a secure outdoor area.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is open term time only. Opening hours are from 9am to 12pm with an additional lunch time session for those who wish to stay until 1pm. The nursery is also open on Monday and Tuesday afternoons from 1pm until 3pm. The nursery is registered to provide full day care for no more than 30 children from two years to under five years. There are currently 25 children on roll, of whom, 16 receive education funding. There is a qualified manager in post who holds a level 3 early year's qualification. There are also five team members, three, of whom, hold a level 3 early year's qualification and two who are qualified early year's teachers.

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Description of the setting

The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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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 provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for children in which they are making very good progress. Staff have a very good knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and are able to successfully meet the individual needs of all of the children that attend. A wide range of exciting activities are planned for the children, with parents being involved in many of these. Parents and carers have an excellent relationship with the nursery and they are supportive and complimentary of the service provided. The management committee and all staff have a clear vision and key priorities for improvement, the capacity to maintain continuous improvement is good

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further?

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

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further?

 Support children further to recognise their names and those of key resources through the use of pictorial representation and name tags in addition to words  Encourage all children to dispose of tissues after use rather than putting them in their pockets

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the early years provision

The management committee and staff team ensure that all adults working with the children are suitable. There are rigorous recruitment and selection procedures in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 place, including, vetting and high levels of support for new staff. Safeguarding arrangements in the nursery are robust, the safeguarding officer has in-depth knowledge and understanding of safeguarding protocols and procedures and all staff have undertaken safeguarding training. Risk assessments are effective, they are carried out on a daily basis with a major risk assessment of the whole provision being carried out at least annually, risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated. Clear policies and procedures that cover all regulatory requirements are in place and are reviewed annually.

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the early years provision

The nursery has a detailed and well-organised self-evaluation in place. The staff assess the quality of provision through weekly staff meetings and regular committee meetings. Completing the Lancashire 'Step into Quality' award has also supported them in identifying strengths, areas for development and the prioritisation of actions to improve provision. All recommendations from the previous inspection have been thoroughly addressed and a new development plan is now in place with actions taken from the self-evaluation. Continuing professional development is a high priority within the nursery. All staff have early years qualifications to at least level 3 and two staff members are qualified early years teachers. They attend a wide range of training courses ranging from safeguarding and implementing the Early Years Foundation Stage to using empathy dolls to support learning.

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the early years provision

Children enjoy attending nursery and some become upset when it is time to leave. They displays high levels of independence and self-esteem. Equality and diversity is promoted well. All staff are named key people for children, they know their key children well and are able to support their individual needs. They work closely with colleagues and other professionals to ensure that all children receive any support that they may need.

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the early years provision

Parents and carers have an excellent relationship with the nursery and are supportive and complimentary of the service provided. On entry to the nursery, staff work with parents to establish the children's starting points and build next steps from these. Communication is excellent, regular newsletters and letters are sent to parents and they regularly contribute to self-evaluation through the completion of questionnaires. Parents are fully involved in fundraising for the nursery and give up their time to support topics, such as, 'People who help us' by talking about their jobs. A number of parents also sit on the management committee of the nursery.

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and outcomes for children

Staff plan interesting and stimulating activities for the children based on their individual learning needs and their next steps of learning. Consequently, children are making good and in some cases very good progress through the early learning goals. Staff have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage, they attend training and liaise with the early years teacher team to continually develop the provision. Planning of the curriculum is clearly linked to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 observation and assessment of children's development and progress. It is broken down into weekly plans that cover all six areas of learning and include, enhancement activities. Plans also include, next steps for learning. The observation and assessment of children's progress and development actively contributes to planning. Children's learning journals include, detailed and

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and outcomes for children

comprehensive observations of the children and they include, next steps for learning. They also include, photographs and examples of the children's work from the nursery and those contributed by the parents. Children's progress and development is regularly tracked against development charts that are linked to the early learning goals in all six areas of learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing good concentration skills as they work independently to complete jigsaws or free paint using autumn colours. They enjoy mark-making using a range of tools, including, chalks and chalkboards or pens and paper. They use marks and symbols to represent their names and other words and ask staff to annotate on their work for them. They are beginning to recognise their names and try to self-register at the beginning at the session and select their names at snack- time. However, a number of children do not recognise their names and would benefit from having their name linked to a symbol or picture to aid with recognition. Children self-select resources and activities, however, whilst resource boxes have written labels on them, they do not all have pictures on them to aid children with the selection of resources. Staff support language development as they are involved in activities with children, they ask relevant questions and

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and outcomes for children

support children very well in developing numeracy skills. For example, working with children who are using balancing scales to balance coffee beans using a range of measuring utensils.

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and outcomes for children

All areas of the nursery are used effectively, including, the outdoor area. The vibrant and stimulating outdoor area encourages children to develop physical skills using the wide range of equipment available. Children put on their wellingtons and coats during wet weather and explore the grounds of the setting. They also enjoy planting and growing a range of plants in the outdoor area. The computer and mouse which are child-friendly, supports children in their developing knowledge of ICT. Story and singing time is greeted with great excitement and children join in enthusiastically with number songs. They take turns and share resources and actively participate in tidy up time.

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and outcomes for children

Children feel and are kept safe within the setting. Rigorous safeguarding protocols are in place to ensure children's safety and well-being. Documentation is comprehensive and well-organised. Children's health is effectively promoted. Children wash their hands after independent toileting and before snack. They use tissues to blow their noses but do not always dispose of the tissue, placing it in their pockets instead. They help to clean tables and put tablecloths on for the healthy and nutritious snack that is supplied. 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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