Claremont House Nursery School

Claremont House Nursery School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY245917 Inspection date 05/01/2012 Inspector Lynn Dent

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Setting address 112 North Road, RETFORD, Nottinghamshire, DN22 7XN

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Telephone number 01777 705742 Email claremonteyc@aol.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

Claremont House Nursery School is one of two privately owned provisions. It was registered in 2003 and serves the local and surrounding areas. The nursery school has developed strong links with local schools and is part of Hallcroft Children's Centre. The provision is set in a converted bungalow and so accessible to all children and there are fully enclosed gardens available for outdoor play.

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Description of the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm all year round with the exception of public holidays. Children are able to attend full time or part time. A maximum of 54 children under eight year may attend the nursery at any one time, all of these may be in the early years age range. There are currently 69 children on roll, of these, 60 are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nursery also offers care to children aged over five to nine years. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the setting

The provision provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. It supports a number of children with special educational needs and also supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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Description of the setting

The nursery employs 15 members of childcare staff. Of theses, 14 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and level 3 or above. The owner holds Qualified Teacher Status. The provision 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

Children are happy and settled because the staff know them as individuals and plan an interesting range of activities, ensuring they make good progress in all areas of learning overall. Children benefit from a well-planned outdoor play area. Very positive relationships with parents and others involved in the children's care means staff can respond well to their individual needs. All required policies and procedures are in place and are generally implemented well to underpin the management of the nursery. Systems to monitor and evaluate performance include effective use of self-evaluation to identify areas for development, enabling the nursery to continue to provide a quality service to children.

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further?

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

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further?

 improve opportunities for children to engage in meaningful mark-making activities  improve the systems for defining who has parental responsibility for the child ensure that all medication records are signed by a witness in accordance with This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the setting's policy and procedure.

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the early years provision

Staff have a good understanding of how to keep children safe and recognise possible abuse as they attend training in this area. They are clear about the reporting procedures and a policy is in place which supports this. Robust recruitment procedures ensure that children are cared for by suitable staff. Detailed risk assessments are in place and the premises are checked regularly to ensure the environment and resources are safe for children to use. The nursery also helps children to learn about keeping themselves safe by engaging in activities such as road safety week. Within the setting children are gently encouraged to develop safe practices, such as sitting on chairs correctly and handling tools in a safe manner.

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the early years provision

The deployment of staff ensure the number of staff caring for the children is often exceeded. Consequently, children benefit because staff can provide smaller group and individual support. All children's needs are met and routines for younger children are managed well, meaning they feel secure. The nursery is well resourced and rooms are used effectively to provide children with opportunities to engage in a variety of experiences, such as craft activities, imaginative play, physical play and quiet areas for relaxing and looking at books. The nursery is welcoming with displays of children's work on the walls, which helps them to feel valued and raises their self-esteem.

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the early years provision

Overall clear policies and procedures are implemented well throughout the nursery as staff are trained in and can clearly explain these. However, the witness signature on a few medication records is not always recorded in accordance with the setting's policy. The procedure for who has parental responsibility for the children is not as robust as it could be. Therefore, this is not as clear as it could be for all children. The management use the self-evaluation and action plans as working documents to effectively identify areas for improvement. Consequently, the nursery is constantly improving their planning and assessment procedures. Recommendations from the last inspection have been implemented which demonstrates the setting's commitment to improving the service to children.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with parents are highly effective. They have easy access to a useful range of operational policies and procedures, ensuring they fully understand how their children are cared for. Parents are fully encouraged to be involved in their children's learning both within the setting and at home as the staff provide ideas about how to do this. The nursery provides meeting for parents and fully encourage parents to share their skills with the children by inviting them and extended family members into the setting. The management and staff value and have established extremely close working relationships with the local children's centre, other early years providers and schools that children attend. As a result all children benefit from consistency in their learning and development due to excellent systems for exchanging information. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Staff have a clear understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage which means good planning and evaluation of this ensures children make progress in all areas of learning. Detailed information at induction and observations of children are effectively used to inform the next steps in their individual learning. All learning is well supported as resources are at children's height for easy access enabling them to make independent choices. Warm relationships exist between the staff and the children who happily involve staff in their play because they feel safe and confident in their care. Consequently, they are happy for their parents to leave and quickly settle to play with the toys available.

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and outcomes for children

Younger children's environment provides them with lots of resources which they can touch and listen to, giving them good opportunities to use their senses. For example, toys that move along and blow bubbles. They also develop a keen sense of self as they babble to their reflection in a mirror. Children develop their physical skills as they use push-along and sit-and-ride toys, climbing equipment and hoops. Planned activities help develop children's sensory awareness, for example as they play with shredded paper, rice and paint. Toddlers are competent when completing inset jigsaw puzzles, and staff use this time well to talk about what they see in the pictures. While sorting out toy bears staff effectively help children to learn about colours and to count. This enables them to become competent counters in pre- school and to accurately identify a range of colours.

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and outcomes for children

All children enjoy books and older children share these with their friends, telling them the story from the pictures. More able children are able to independently write their names and draw recognisable pictures such as flowers and houses. However, across the nursery generally mark making is not always used in meaningful ways during activities. Consequently, this is not promoted as well as it might be. Although children do have the opportunity to make marks during the day. Older children are confident communicators, explaining what they are making and how they have made items during craft and play dough sessions. Young children know they are valued because staff respond to their 'babbling' and encourage them to repeat sounds and words which promotes their language skills effectively.

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and outcomes for children

Children have a secure understanding of good hygiene procedures and know why these are important. They very clearly explain that 'dirt on their hands' can make them poorly. Children enjoy a healthy diet and learn to develop good table manner as meals and snack times are used well to promote this. Consequently, children are learning important skills for the future. Children are learning to work together, such as sharing, because staff gently remind them of this from an early age. This shows that children are developing good skills for the future.

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and outcomes for children

Staff work hard to help children learn about the needs of others. They have developed links with children in other countries and raise money for good causes, such as for a national televised charity event. Consequently, all children develop a secure understanding of the wider world in which they live. The outdoor play area This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 is used to develop children's physical skills and they also have areas where they grow plants. Other activities, such as sand, water and building blocks, are also promoted outdoors enabling children to experience learning in a different environment. 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 1 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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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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