Midget Gems

Midget Gems Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY264910 Inspection date 07/11/2011 Inspector ISP Inspection

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Setting address Units 6-7, Grandale, HULL, North Humberside, HU7 4BL

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Telephone number 01482 828 189 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 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

Midget Gems Nursery is a privately owned provision. It opened in November 2003 and is situated in the Sutton Park area of Hull. Care is provided in two separate rooms, with immediate access to toilet, hand washing and nappy changing facilities. There is an enclosed area at the rear of the premises for outdoor play. The nursery is open all year round, from Monday to Friday from 7am to 6pm, with the exception of bank holidays. A maximum of 24 children may attend the nursery at any one time and there are currently 35 children on roll, of whom two are in receipt of nursery education funding. The nursery welcomes and supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

There are six members of staff who work directly with the children. Of these, three have a level 3 qualification in childcare and three have a level 4 qualification. The Proprietor and manager are both working towards the Foundation Degree in Early Years. The nursery receives support from the local authority development workers.

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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 are made very welcome by the staff at the nursery and their individual needs are valued and supported well. They make successful progress in the majority of aspects of learning. Safety is of high priority with a thorough range of policies and procedures in place. Partnerships established within the community are positive and those with parents are very good. The nursery evaluates and reflects on its practice, which includes the staff, children and parents in this process. This is effective in providing a shared approach to the areas to develop and improve upon in the future. Consequently, the nursery is maintaining continuous improvement and promoting the outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 engage children with problem solving, working together and investigating, using such things as natural materials outside, considering critical thinking and decision making  develop the outdoor environment and resources to maximise children's learning experiences. 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 safeguarded well as there are effective recruitment and vetting procedures in place to ensure children are cared for by suitable people. In addition, staff have attended training in safeguarding to develop their knowledge of this area. Great care is taken to ensure the children and premises remain safe and secure at all times. The friendly and dedicated team work well together and continue their professional development. Policies are thorough. Risk assessments and fire drills are completed regularly. Good quality records and consent sheets are in place. The required documents and fire evacuation procedures are on display.

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the early years provision

The welcoming entrance hall exhibits many examples of children's activities through photographic displays and a vast amount of parent information is available to support partnerships. Colourful displays and well presented resources ensure the environment is bright and stimulating, which inspires and motivates the children to learn. Well-presented and effective systems for planning, observation and assessment are in place and clearly show how the next steps in children's individual learning will be promoted. Key persons work well from children's individual starting points which demonstrates how staff value the uniqueness of each child.

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the early years provision

Staff are knowledgeable about the Early Years Foundation Stage and use this well to support children in their learning. The environment is well organised and resources are easily accessible to the children, this means that they are able to thrive and make good progress in their development.

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the early years provision

The nursery is aware of their strengths and weaknesses. The self-evaluation form is completed well, taking into account staff, parents and children's views, which clearly identify the areas for development to ensure continuous improvement. For example, children draw what they like within the nursery and transcripts of their views are recorded and displayed. Parents have written how their child 'has made lots of progress in all areas of the curriculum' and 'has developed hugely at the nursery'.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents are good and the management team work well to continue to develop these relationships and extend links with other professionals from other settings. For example the manager seeks to develop working relationships with other professionals and provisions involved in a child's individual needs being met. The setting is part of the local pilot two-year-old funded places programme and families accessing this have a home visit before their child starts at the setting.

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the early years provision

Good attention is paid to promoting equality of opportunity and to ensuring the setting is open to all children and their families. As much information as possible is obtained prior to all children starting at the nursery from parents, which helps staff to build upon these starting points in children's learning and how their care routines can be met. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Staff form close and trusting relationships with the children and consequently, the children feel very safe and secure in their care. Staff regularly observe children and support each child through the next stages in their development. The children are able to independently choose resources that interest them from low-level shelving and enjoy group activities, such as listening to stories. Children behave well and seek out their friends.

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and outcomes for children

Children's good health and well-being is encouraged by syaff, they praise children's skills of getting their own tissue and placing in the bin. Children eat a good range of varied meals provided by outside caterers. Snack time foods consists of fruit and breadsticks, children's water beakers are in full view and easily accessible. Children are encouraged and praised for using knife and fork handling skills at the dinner table. There is free access to toilets for the older and more able children. The children know they need to wash their hands before mealtimes, confidently explaining that this helps to get rid of germs. One child said 'I washed my hands to get the paint off'. There is an enclosed outdoor area and children can access this freely from both rooms.

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and outcomes for children

Good attention is paid to stimulating children's communication, language and literacy skills. Children point to their names and their friends names within the 'plan-do-review' session. They listen intently whilst staff read a story, younger children copy actions and older children ask what the story is called. Letters are buried within the sand play and children find their initials. Books are available within a comfortable area and children freely pick these up to turn pages. Mark- making opportunities are available in both rooms and in the outdoor area. However, the outdoor environment and resources limit children's thinking and does not extend their understanding so that they maximise their experiences.

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and outcomes for children

The nursery is aware of children's personal, social and emotional needs because they are familiar with their parent's, siblings and grandparents. Children's creativity is encouraged as children enjoy painting freely at easels. The vast amount of wall displays show children's work, for example, sticky picture, Remembrance Day poppies, splatter painting and children's representations of a bonfire.

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and outcomes for children

Children are encouraged to make a very positive contribution to the nursery, for example, children sit and confidently tell staff what they would like to play with today and this is reviewed at the end of the session. Children tell staff what they played with and who with, and some younger children extended this with pointing and actions. This 'plan-do-review' was written down by staff and displayed on the wall. They then evaluate this within their planning for children's individual interest.

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and outcomes for children

Children's knowledge and understanding of the world is supported with children investigating and tasting different fruits. Children happily tap away on a keyboard and photographs demonstrate how they enjoy the settings' laptop and their work is printed off to confirm this learning. However, children have little opportunity This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 outdoors to work together and investigate using such things as natural materials.

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and outcomes for children

Equality and diversity is promoted well. For example, children with additional complex needs are supported in the nursery and parents speak highly of the nursery and staff team. Wall displays in the entrance hall show children learning about Rosh Hashanah and simple Polish words are displayed in the room for older children to aid staff's understanding of children's language needs. Welcome posters are displayed on doors and the Early Years Foundation Stage resources are available in additional languages. 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 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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