The Old Station Nursery - Wellesbourne

Seedlings Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY432237 Inspection date 07/12/2011 Inspector Jan Burnet

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Setting address Warwick H R I, Wellesbourne, WARWICK, CV35 9EF

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Telephone number 01789 841589 Email admin@polkadotworld.com 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

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

Seedlings Day Nursery is owned by Polkadot Nurseries Ltd and was registered in 2011. It operates from a purpose-built building within the grounds of Warwick University, Wellesbourne Campus in south Warwickshire. The nursery serves the university and the local area. Surrounding the nursery building there are fully enclosed areas used for outdoor play. Operational hours are Monday to Friday from 7.30am until 6pm throughout the year.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Registration is for a maximum of 43 children aged under eight years at any one time and all may be in the early years age group. There are currently 46 children on roll and all are in the early years age group.

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Description of the setting

A team of nine staff care for the children and of these, five hold early years qualifications to level 3. Unqualified staff are working towards level 3 qualifications

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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 promote children's welfare effectively and meet children's individual developmental needs well. Systems for using information from observation and assessment to ensure that children achieve as much as they can in relation to their starting points and capabilities are generally good, but are not currently fully effective for all children. Health and safety is given a very high priority and is addressed exceptionally well. The provider and manager are very aware of strengths and areas for improvement and are working together with staff to make sure that the needs of children, parents and carers are met. Information obtained from parents helps staff to identify and address children's differences effectively. Staff have experience of liaising with external services and other early years providers to ensure coherence of care and learning and ensure that a child gets the support he or she needs.

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further?

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

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further?

 extend the current practice for using observation, assessment and details from parents to inform planning for next steps in each child's learning. 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 cared for in a stimulating, warm and welcoming environment. Staff assess and successfully minimise risks on a daily basis and risk assessment records are comprehensive. The provider ensures that procedures for recruitment, selection and induction are robust and staff member's suitability is checked thoroughly before they have unsupervised access to children. The provider ensures that staff are aware of their responsibilities with regard to protecting children from abuse in accordance with the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements and the Warwickshire Safeguarding Children Board (WSCB) procedures. All staff members have completed safeguarding training since the nursery began operating in September 2011. The safeguarding policy and information on the WSCB procedures are clearly displayed in the reception area. Superior procedures and practice ensure that good health and nutrition is

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the early years provision

promoted well and necessary steps are taken to prevent the spread of infection. The nursery received a gold award following a recent inspection by the local environmental health officer.

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the early years provision

Systems for monitoring and self-assessment are very good. Clear plans for improvement were identified at the point of registration and many have been addressed during the three months in which the nursery has been operating. For example, the development of a Forest Schools outdoor area and the introduction of an Outdoor Classroom and exciting outdoor physical play equipment. A clear Continuous Improvement Plan has been drawn up with the support of local authority development workers and a key area for further improvement is identified as concentrating on all aspects of Progress Matters to ensure that outcomes for children are comprehensively addressed. The provider is supporting staff in improving their qualification level, in particular those with no qualifications, and a staff training plan has been drawn up. The Ofsted self-evaluation form is currently being prepared for submission. Required documentation and records are

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the early years provision

kept up-to-date and in good order. Resources are plentiful and are chosen for their quality and durability as well as to meet children's developmental needs effectively.

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the early years provision

Staff ensure that they provide effective inclusive care for children and they demonstrate a good awareness of each child as an individual. Children are encouraged to recognise their own unique qualities and characteristics they share with others. They learn about similarities and differences through play, for example, they gain an awareness of different foods, clothing and language. Toys and play equipment reflect positive images and meet the developmental needs of the children well. Information provided for parents is good. In the reception area they are able to watch DVDs of their children at play and they have access to policies and procedures, notices, and booklets on, for example, 'the role of the key person' and 'planning to meet children's needs'. A daily information sheet is provided for each child and meetings to discuss learning journals are currently being organised. Information obtained from parents is very good with regard to

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the early years provision

each child's backgrounds and needs. Parents are asked to share their views on the provision, verbally and by completing a comprehensive questionnaire. The provider and staff have experience of liaising with external agencies or services to ensure This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 that a child gets the support they need. The provider and manager are fully aware of the benefit to children of developing strong links with other providers in order to provide consistency of care and education.

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and outcomes for children

Children are making good progress and staff are generally aware of their responsibilities with regard to ensuring that all children are challenged effectively. The range of resources and activities meet their needs well. Each child has a book containing 'all about me' detail obtained from parents, photographs, and observations. However, the use of this information is not currently fully effective with regard to informing planning for next learning steps and so potentially children's progress may not be maximised.

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and outcomes for children

Children are settled, secure, confident and happy. A settling-in period is arranged with parents in accordance with their child's emotional needs and a transition period is organised for a child moving from the baby room to the toddler/pre- school room. Young children play cooperatively alongside each other and enjoy the involvement of staff in their play. Older children involve others in their play situations and are learning to share and take turns. All children develop good manipulative skills as they play with a variety of toys and tools that are appropriate for their different stages of development. Older children develop good pencil control as they write for a range of purposes in the role play area and choose from a range of writing materials at the graphics table. Young children learn to match colours and shapes as they play with posting toys, gain an awareness of size as they play with stacking toys and explore natural resources in their 'treasure

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and outcomes for children

baskets'. All children enjoy easy access to a good range of books. Children aged two years and over enjoy story times and 'what's in the box' discussion sessions in groups that are organised well to meet their needs at their different stages of development. Older children learn to recognise their name in print on place mats used at meal times and on drinking cups. Staff encourage older children to recognise the sounds that letters make. For example, a group of pre-school children play together completing a floor jigsaw puzzle. Each piece shows the carriage of a train with an animal inside and shows the first letter of the word for the animal, such as 'M for monkey'. Children are asked to think of other words that begin with the same sound and they do so enthusiastically with suggestions that include 'milk' and 'mummy'.

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and outcomes for children

Mathematical language and problem solving is part of the daily routine. Children recite numbers as they play and staff promote counting with one-to-one correspondence as they support children's play. For example, a group of children sing '5 green speckled frogs' with a staff member and she encourages the children to count and show five fingers. As the number of frogs in the song reduces by one on each verse, the children take one finger away and then count the fingers remaining. Children's creativity is promoted well. They enjoy singing and moving to music, drawing and painting and playing with role play resources. Visitors to the nursery include a teacher of music, singing and dancing, and a ball skills and agility This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 coach. Children are divided into groups for these sessions in accordance with their different ages and abilities and all take part enthusiastically.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn about healthy life styles and gain an awareness and respect for the outdoor environment through Forest Schools activities. They develop confidence and skills with use of challenging outdoor physical play equipment and enjoy a full range of activities equally inside and in the Outdoor Classroom. Healthy eating is given a very high priority and a menu agreed with caterers on the University campus includes an excellent variety of different nutritous meals. Children learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, they learn how to use tools such as scissors safely, know why they must not run inside the nursery, and they practise the fire drill regularly. Children's good health is very well protected because they are aware of good personal hygiene procedures such as thorough hand washing. 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 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 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 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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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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