Sure Steps Derby Lane

Sure Steps Derby Lane Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY430618 Inspection date 10/04/2012 Inspector Jean Thomas

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Setting address 41 Derby Lane, LIVERPOOL, L13 6QA

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Telephone number 0151 220 3593 Email surestepsderbylane@yahoo.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. 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

Sure Steps Derby Lane Nursery was registered in 2011. Minders Day Nursery Limited is the registered provider and this is one of two nurseries own by the company. The nursery operates from three floors within a converted house situated in the Stoneycroft area of Liverpool. There are secure areas for outdoor play. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 5.30pm, all year round, with the exception of bank holidays and Christmas week. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. A maximum of 42 children in the Early Years Foundation Stage may attend the nursery at any one time. There are currently 69 children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-olds. 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 nursery employs 15 child care staff. Of these 12 staff have qualifications at level 3 and above and three staff at level 2. The owner, manager and deputy manager are supernumerary. A cook and cleaner are employed.

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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 safeguarding of children is given a high priority in this welcoming and stimulating nursery. Children make good progress in their learning and development although, resources and systems for supporting their progression are not consistently used to best effect. The staff team are committed to meeting children's individual needs through partnership with parents and other agencies. The owner, management and staff team demonstrate a strong commitment to continually improving the provision and enhancing 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?

 make effective use of the tracking systems and consistently obtain information from parents when children start to inform and prioritise children's individual planning to support their progress towards the early learning goals  develop further the range of activities and resources in the outdoor area to enhance children's learning and development opportunities. 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 through staffs' good knowledge of child protection issues and of the procedures to follow to protect children from harm. Staff undertake safeguarding training to ensure their knowledge reflects the current legalisation and guidance. The robust recruitment and vetting procedures ensure that staff and students are suitable to work with children. Risk assessments are completed for the premises and outings to minimise hazards to children. Staff maintain a high level of supervision to ensure children's safety in both the indoor and outdoor environments. Legally required records for children's welfare are accurately maintained.

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the early years provision

This is the nursery's first inspection under the new ownership. Major structural alterations have been carried out to create a spacious, welcoming and enabling environment for children. The play rooms are thoughtfully planned to encourage children's skills of independence in play and their personal care. The owner is proactive in accessing funding, from a variety of sources, which positively impacts on the sustainability of the provision and makes it accessible to more children. Targets and action plans are in place for future development. The staff team, children and parents are involved in the evaluation process to identify and prioritise these plans. The owner and management team are supernumerary, which significantly contributes to the good organisation of the provision. A large number of the staff have worked in the nursery for a number of years, and this helps to provide continuity for children and their parents. They work as an effective team

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the early years provision

with a clear aim to improve outcomes for children. Staff are motivated and supported by management to further raise their skills and qualifications.

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the early years provision

The nursery is inclusive and children are valued and cared for as individuals. The trained Special Education Needs Coordinator works with parents and support agencies, such as speech therapists or paediatricians, to ensure children's special educational needs are recognised and supported at an early stage by everyone involved. Staff are creative in providing resources and implementing planning to support children's additional care and learning requirements. For example, personalised books have been made to give children guidance on the exercises to follow to support their language development. Key persons seek guidance from parents to support children where English is an additional language or they are bilingual, such as learning key words.

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the early years provision

Strong partnerships with parents are established to ensure individual children's needs are met. A key person is allocated to each child. This system enhances communication with parents and significantly contributes to close bonds forming between children and staff. Information is gathered from parents, when their children starts at the setting, about what children already know and can do. This is then used by key persons to complete the initial planning. However, there are inconsistencies in obtaining this information from parents, and his hinders the nursery's ability to create an accurate shared baseline for children's learning. Parents' comment highly about the provision and state that they are pleased with the progress their children are making. They appreciate that they can talk to staff This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 at any time. Parents are encouraged to be involved in their child's learning.

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the early years provision

Displays inform parents about the Early Years Foundation Stage and the planning of activities. Parents have ongoing access to their child's learning records and journals which contain assessments and planning. Home bags have been introduced. These contain play materials and information for parents to enjoy activities at home with their child. The links with other settings delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage to the children are continuing to develop to promote continuity and progression. Key persons support children's transition to their next stage of education through talking about the forthcoming event and visiting the school together.

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and outcomes for children

The staff team is caring and supportive, which contributes to children feeling safe and secure and forming trusting relationships. Children are equipped with firm foundations to develop skills as effective learners as staff value their opinions and choices. Children enthusiastically participate in a wide range of activities and play opportunities. The continuous provision of resources in each play room successfully covers the six areas of learning. The daily plans reflect children's interests and individual learning needs. Outdoor learning is valued by staff. Suitable all weather clothes are provided by the nursery to enable children to play outside on a daily basis. However, the range of activities available in the outdoor environment does not reflect the same high standard of those provided indoors. Staff regularly observe children as they play and identify the next steps in learning for each child.

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and outcomes for children

Tracking processes are in place to monitor children's progress. However, this system is not consistently used to prioritise and identify suitably challenging next steps planning.

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and outcomes for children

The promotion of language development is intrinsic in all aspects of the nursery life. Children develop an early appreciation of books and stories. Book corners in each room are welcoming and well resourced. Planned mark making activities and access to suitable resources support children's early writing skills. Staff respond to the vocalisation of babies and toddlers. Children enjoy singing nursery rhymes. The babies use pictorial cards to indicate to staff which songs they want to sing. Older children are confident talkers and use good descriptive language. Children develop their problem solving and numeracy skills through planned activities, stories and rhymes and staff use everyday activities and the nursery's daily routine to encourage children to count and calculate. The older children use mathematical language and demonstrate their ability to recognise numerals as they play a number card game. Children are creative and express their own ideas using a

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and outcomes for children

range of resources including role play, art, craft and musical instruments. Children's natural desire to explore and investigate is supported and encouraged as a valuable aspect of learning. The babies explore the texture of rice and foam and toddlers dig in the soil. Children learn about technology, for example, as they operate the telephone and cash tills in role play. From an early age, children confidently operate the computer mouse to follow simple programmes. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Communication, literacy, numeracy and skills linked to information and communication technology are promoted well, which has a positive impact on children's future economic well-being.

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and outcomes for children

Daily routines help children develop positive attitudes towards a healthy lifestyle as they follow good hygiene routines and benefit from a nutritionally balanced diet. The foods are freshly prepared and cooked on site. The cook has attended a course on nutritional diet and uses this information, as well as input from parents and children, to plan the menu. Meal times are sociable occasions, with children and staff sitting together. The older children help to serve the themselves to food, choosing the amount they want to eat. Fruit is freely accessible to children aged over two-years at all times. They learn that they need to sit whilst they eat the fruit for their safety. Planned activities and borrowed resources, such as dentistry equipment, helps children to learn about the importance of personal health care. Outside, children enjoy the space to be energetic and to move their bodies in different ways to test their physical skills. For example, as they climb onto and

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and outcomes for children

move around the pirate ship, peddle bikes and run and jump in puddles. Children's behaviour is good. They are effectively supported by staff who are positive role models. From an early age they show consideration towards others and obviously enjoy each others company. Toddlers find toys to give to those children who are new to the room to enable them to be included in their play activity. Positive attitudes towards diversity and difference within all children are strongly promoted to help children to learn to value different aspects of their own and other people's lives. 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 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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