Once upon a time Nursery School

Once Upon A Time Nursery School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY355999 Inspection date 15/02/2012 Inspector Andrea Snowden

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Setting address 170 Wroxham Road, Norwich, NR7 8DE

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Telephone number 01603 787 353 Email info@onceuponatime.org.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. 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

Once upon A Time Nursery School is one of two nurseries owned by the proprietor. This nursery opened in 2007 and operates from the ground floor of an extended house in Sprowston on the outskirts of Norwich. There are three main rooms for children to use and access to two enclosed garden areas for outdoor play. The nursery is accessible to all children.

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Description of the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday between the hours of 8am and 6pm for 51 weeks a year, excluding bank holidays. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. A maximum of 34 children may attend the setting at any one time and there are currently 81 children on roll. Of these, 35 children receive funding for early education. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It 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

The proprietor is well qualified and experienced in working with children and she employs a staff team of 14 childcare staff and a chef. All staff hold appropriate childcare qualifications, five hold level 2, six hold level 3 and three hold level 4. 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

Children are making very good progress in their learning and development and are very well provided for within the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are exceptionally safe and secure and settle quickly in this warm and homely nursery. Strong partnerships with parents and other professionals and agencies ensure children's needs are met effectively. The nursery proprietor has used self- evaluation effectively to bring about improvements in the setting, which have greatly benefited the children.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further methods to fully engage parents, so that they contribute to their child's learning and development record  develop further methods to engage other early years settings attended by the children to ensure there is continuity and coherence in children's learning provide opportunities for parents and children to become involved in the process of evaluation in the nursery. 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 very well supported by an established staff team, who are well qualified and dedicated to their roles. They have an exceptionally clear understanding of how to safeguard children and use procedures to protect them from abuse. There are robust recruitment procedures and processes for induction and regular appraisal means that staff are well equipped with the necessary skills and abilities to work with children. Staff work to clear procedures, in order to keep children safe from harm, promote their health and welfare and ensure their needs are met. Rigorous risk assessments for the nursery and any outings, along with good safety equipment and vigilant staff mean that children play and explore in safety. Play resources are exceptional. An excellent range of high quality and interesting toys, including lots of natural materials are readily accessible to all children. These are organised with plenty of thought and consideration to meeting

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the early years provision

children's needs and promoting their learning. Nursery staff work highly effectively as a team to ensure children's learning is fostered and that they develop an understanding of environmental sustainability through use of recycling, composting and growing their own vegetables in the garden.

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the early years provision

The nursery provides support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their families. Staff demonstrate how they support children with the use of visual time tables, sign language and carefully considered activities. Through working closely with parents, professionals and other agencies, children's progress is carefully monitored. The nursery takes considerable steps to ensure all families are welcomed into the setting and seeks clear information to ensure that they feel welcome, valued and fully involved in nursery life. There are many resources and activities to help children understand the wider world and promote positive images. For example, the chef makes a Chinese meal for children at Chinese New Year, there are books and toys promoting equality and children notice similarities and differences in one another, for example, when painting a portrait of their friends.

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the early years provision

Parents' comment that they receive good information when joining the setting and feel that staff are supportive, approachable and reassuring. Parents are well informed about how their child has been in nursery through daily catch-up sheets and communication diaries. Parents have daily access to children's assessment records. Although, they clearly enjoy looking at these, they do not always contribute their ideas and observations. As a result, staff are not always able to plan activities based on what children have enjoyed at home which would give them more continuity in their learning. Additionally, although, the nursery has taken many steps to establish relationships with other providers attended by the children, there is no information from other settings to help staff provide a coherent approach to children's learning.

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the early years provision

The proprietor continually uses reflective practice to make improvements in the setting and although, staff are involved in some aspects of this, parents and children's views have not been sought. There has been very good progress made since the last inspection. As a result, children's safety, health and welfare have This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 been improved. Additionally, children now take the initiative in much of their play, promoting confidence and independence. Assessment records are used to plan the next steps for children's learning to ensure that they make good progress towards the early learning goals.

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and outcomes for children

Staff are skilled at settling children and are knowledgeable about how they learn best. They work closely with children, offering reassurance and encouragement to those who need it and extending and challenging more able children effectively. Children are very well settled, happy and confident. Staff ask children questions to promote children's thinking and communication, such as 'how does that feel?' They make insightful observations of children while they are playing and use this information to plan new activities, which ensures progress. Children take part in a wide range of activities during the day, which promotes their learning and enables them to be creative and develop skills for the future.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn to express themselves well. The babies respond to staff's voices and body language well. Older children have looked at kind and unkind words to help understand how friendships work and toddlers are becoming quite self-sufficient with self-help tasks, such as washing hands. Children use many resources, which promote their problem solving skills. Babies explore puzzle trays while toddlers enjoy learning numbers in rhymes. Older children use numbered floor tiles to set up a game of hopscotch. All children in the nursery are greatly interested in books. Older children's language skills are developing well and they speak eloquently as they discuss their games and plan what to do next. Children understand simple instructions and follow requests from staff. They write their names and link sounds and letters as they work out how to spell the names of their peers. Song sacks are used imaginatively to encourage children to join in songs and rhymes.

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and outcomes for children

Children greatly enjoy exploring different textures, such as shaving foam and gloop. They use the magnifying glasses and binoculars to explore in the garden. As it is windy outside, the children ask to make kites, they explain that they need to 'fold the paper like this and like this and get the string', demonstrating their design and making skills. Children build castles with blocks and younger children enjoy stacking bricks and knocking them down again. Children use electronic equipment, such as the computer with confidence and they can see photographs on the television screen of their visit to the museum that morning. Babies enjoy the black and white heuristic play and are able to explore as they crawl around and work out objects with their fingers and mouths. Babies experience painting with brushes and different materials. Older children engage in complex role play, extending their stories and talking through plans about what to do next. Musical instruments are

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and outcomes for children

enjoyed by all children. Babies crawl and lift themselves up on furniture. Older children scoot along at speed on scooters and ride on toys, demonstrating awareness of space and balance on stepping stones made from objects found around the play area. Control over their large muscles is well developed and they understand how their bodies work, commenting 'I'm tired' as they curl up in the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 snug basket after a busy morning.

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and outcomes for children

Children's understanding of their personal safety and their healthy and hygiene is outstanding. All children are taught about keeping themselves safe, for example, babies are reminded to 'be careful' while older children receive explanations of the consequences of their actions. Children are encouraged to risk assess alongside staff, so that they begin to learn what is a safe risk and visits from the fire service and police help children understand about people who can help them. Children eat exceptionally well at the nursery. They consume a wide variety of fresh fruit at snack time and wholesome, home-made dinners. They ask for second helpings and enjoy the social occasion that meal times present. Children learn about caring for their bodies with visits from health professionals and to the local pharmacy and high levels of hygiene are practised in the setting.

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and outcomes for children

Children's rare unacceptable behaviour is managed very skilfully by staff, who are persistent and ensure children understand why their behaviour is unacceptable. As a result, children learn right from wrong and their behaviour is very good. Generally, they share very well and play co-operatively. Children are encouraged to be respectful of themselves, one another and the environment, they are highly praised for their achievements and their self-esteem is high. 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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