Kensington Nursery School

Kensington Nursery School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY358676 Inspection date 28/11/2011 Inspector Jennifer Kennaugh

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Setting address Kensington Nursery School, 44-46 Kensington Avenue, Penwortham, PRESTON, PR1 0EE Telephone number 01772 749888 Email dwoole5030@blueyonder.co.uk 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.

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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

Kensington Nursery School is one of three nurseries owned by the provider and opened in 2007. It operates from a purpose-built building in a residential area of Penwortham, near Preston, close to shops and transport links. Children have access to three rooms and several enclosed outdoor play areas.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and may care for a maximum of 20 children at any one time. There are currently 37 children on roll attending for a variety of sessions, some of whom receive funding for early education.

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Description of the setting

The nursery manager is a qualified teacher with Early Years Professional Status and the deputy manager has an Early Years Foundation Degree. Two staff are qualified to level 3 in childcare and one is qualified to level 2. The nursery receives support and training 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

The nursery promotes children's welfare and learning well and staff ensure that all individual needs are met. Key workers have a good knowledge of most areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage so that children experience positive outcomes in learning and development. The environment is welcoming and comfortable so children are happy and secure. There are strong partnerships with parents, who have opportunities to engage with their children's learning and contribute to evaluating the provision. Effective links have been made with other professionals and some settings to promote continuity of education and care. There are comprehensive systems in place for self-evaluation so the nursery demonstrates a good capacity for continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 extend systems for personalised learning to ensure children's individual next steps in learning are consistently supported  ensure that staff knowledge of different cultural groups is up to date  develop systems to maintain a regular two-way flow of information between the nursery and other settings attended by children.

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the early years provision

Children are safe and secure due to thorough risk assessments for the premises and outings. Staff are suitably checked and vetted, and there are flexible systems in place for induction and appraisal so they have a clear understanding of This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 responsibilities and roles. This means that staff are well motivated when working with the children. All staff receive safeguarding training and there are comprehensive systems in place to manage any concerns they may have about children in their care. All documentation is in place to meet statutory requirements and ensure the safe and effective running of the nursery.

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the early years provision

Staff and managers make good use of the resources and space to support children's independence skills. They review use of space regularly in order to provide new challenges in play for children, as exemplified by recent changes in the pre-school room to improve use of space in the cosy reading corner. Meetings are used to cascade information when staff have had training so that new practice can be introduced faster to improve outcomes for children.

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the early years provision

The nursery is working towards a local authority quality scheme in order to develop its provision further. Managers and staff are aware of the provision's strengths and those areas where it can be enhanced. As a result, the setting is implementing changes in practice in a number of areas, including planning, in order to further improve outcomes for children. The capacity to make continuous improvement is good due to the level of effective self-evaluation required to participate in the quality scheme.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents are strong because the nursery provides many routes by which information can be exchanged with them to provide continuity of care and enable them to engage with their children's learning. The views of parents and children are sought in order to inform the self-evaluation process so that they can contribute to extending provision in the nursery. Good partnerships are made with other professionals who are involved with children attending the nursery. Although effective links are made to support children's transitions to reception classes in schools, there are none with other settings that children attend and this means that continuity of care and learning is reduced in these situations.

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the early years provision

Key workers have a comprehensive knowledge of the children in their care because they are aware of their individual needs and next steps in learning. They have a good understanding of how to adapt practice to meet individual needs, including additional ones, to provide inclusive practice so that all children can learn and develop. Positive images of diversity are displayed in the nursery, although staff lack up-to-date information about diversity with regard to culture and religion, reducing children's learning in this area.

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and outcomes for children

Children are confident and cheerful with staff and visitors, showing that they feel safe and secure in the presence of familiar adults. Babies explore their environment fully and vocalise to staff, showing good security and attachment. Children handle a variety of simple implements safely, such as cutlery, cutters and brushes, showing good development of fine physical skills and an awareness of safe usage. Practical safety measures, such as door bells and high locks, are used to help keep children safe on the premises. Visitors sign in and out and this means This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 that there is a record of all people on the premises in order to safeguard children.

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and outcomes for children

Children are able to talk about why they should keep their hands clean to prevent infection from germs. They have water available at all times and older children can serve themselves when they need to. Children are encouraged to enjoy fruit and vegetables, and meals are healthy so children have the opportunity to learn about foods that contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Routines include outdoor play at least twice a day so children learn to enjoy exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. They also have the opportunity to take dance lessons each week to promote exercise and physical development.

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and outcomes for children

Babies delight in messy play with jelly and thoroughly enjoy its texture. They repeat words staff use to describe it, developing their communication skills. They put it in the water table to explore what will happen and enjoy the change from sticky to slippery, shrieking with excitement when it is difficult to grasp. Staff observe their enjoyment of messy play and extend it by providing shaving foam with moulds, and sand to extend mark making. The baby room has a well- equipped carpet corner that contains plenty of cushions and materials in different colours, weaves and textures to encourage babies to explore their environment.

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and outcomes for children

The pre-school room is organised into two open-plan rooms. The continuous provision is well organised, with children able to freely access activities, such as, painting, play dough, construction sets and collage making. Role play areas are well equipped, including a builder's corner, and mark making is promoted by providing a clipboard and pen. The home corner is well decorated and contains a bedroom area and kitchen set. Several children engage in sustained play here, making 'pasta' for one of the key workers, who is in a pop-up tent with some children who want to play camping, extending their creativity. She initiates discussion of how and why they should keep warm to extend children's knowledge and understanding of the world. Outside, they enjoy digging to find mini-beasts, as a result of adult-led activities in the summer, to extend knowledge of the natural world.

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and outcomes for children

Children make good progress towards the early learning goals because staff make planned observations of play and use these with children's interests to plan on an individual and inclusive basis. Staff are also skilled at using spontaneous observations in the continuous provision to extend learning, although these have not been consistently recorded until very recently when the issue was raised as a result of self-evaluation.

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and outcomes for children

Behaviour is good and children can be heard to negotiate in their play, demonstrating how they have learned effective social skills. They take on small responsibilities, such as helping to set the tables for lunch and tidying up, to make a positive contribution to the routine. Their artwork and craft are displayed around the rooms to give a sense of belonging. 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 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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