Meadows Nursery School

Meadows Nursery School Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY436921 Inspection date 24/04/2012 Inspector Jill Steer

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Setting address 1 Rotherfield Avenue, EASTBOURNE, East Sussex, BN23 8JZ Telephone number 01323741811 Email nurseriesforchildren@yahoo.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.

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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

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

Meadows Nursery School is privately run by joint owner/managers. It first opened in 2004 and re-registered in 2011 due to a change of ownership. The nursery is situated in a residential area on the Shinewater Estate, close to Langney shopping centre, Eastbourne. It operates from four main rooms in a single storey building. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm, for 51 weeks of 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. They may care for a maximum of 60 children under 8 years, who may all be in the early years age group, and of these, not more than 12 may be under 2 years at any one time. There are currently 146 children aged from birth to under five years on roll, some in part-time places. The nursery currently supports a number of 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

There are 13 members of staff; nine of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least National Vocational Qualification Level 2. Two members of staff have achieved Early Years Professional Status. Children aged two, three and four years are funded for free early education.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children's care and learning needs are promoted to a consistently high standard in most aspects and their welfare is assured at all times. As a result, children are making excellent progress throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage from their individual starting points. The nursery has an extremely positive attitude to providing an inclusive environment. They liaise closely with parents and other providers to meet children's individual needs exceptionally well. Highly effective self-evaluation takes account of the views of staff, parents and children to ensure priorities for development are accurately targeted. This clearly demonstrates the nursery's total commitment to sustaining continuous improvement.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 strengthening the involvement of parents in their child's learning, for example, by increasing opportunities for daily discussions between each parent and their child's key person to share children's development and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 progress  giving as much opportunity as possible for children to move freely between indoors and outdoors.

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the early years provision

All members of staff working with the children have been carefully vetted, and are well qualified and experienced in childcare. There are very clear policies and procedures in place to guide them in how to proceed if they have concerns about a child being harmed. Staff are very confident in their knowledge and understanding as they attend regular training about identifying when a child may be at risk and how to safeguard all children in their care. Staff conduct risk assessments every day, week and year to make sure the nursery and all resources continue to be safe for the children. A very thorough induction process for new staff ensures they are all familiar with the nursery's policies and procedures. Staff professional development is highly prioritised, with many staff having additional responsibilities based on their individual strengths. Ongoing management support and appraisals help identify priorities for individual training needs. This results in a highly skilled

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the early years provision

staff team who work very supportively together.

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the early years provision

The management team are inspirational and have a clear sense of vision for continuous improvement. They have high expectations and inspire staff in developing their knowledge and skills, reflecting on their practice to promote the best possible outcomes for each child in their care. Thorough self-evaluation processes are in place to reflect on their practice and identify key areas for improving the already high standard of care for children. The nursery has developed professional relationships with the parents, sharing regular information in many forms. A parent area is available with useful information and where parents can sit together, although parents do not always enter the nursery each day to meet with their child's key person in order to discuss the children's care and become fully involved in their learning. Very good quality resources are displayed attractively and clearly labelled so all children can access them. They have genuine

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the early years provision

opportunities to make choices and decisions about what they do, supported and guided only when required, as the staff are extremely skilful at identifying when this is necessary. Staff are very well deployed and move around with the children so they are always well supervised.

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the early years provision

Staff make sure they know each child and their family very well so they understand their particular needs and adjust the environment to provide for them. All children are highly valued as individuals and adaptations are made to the resources, activities and environment so every child can participate fully. For example, children are grouped by stage of development rather than age so the activities and environment are appropriate for them. A wide selection of resources celebrating festivals and planned topics help children discover how people live in other parts of the world. For example, they talk about the different type of houses other people live in and how different their clothes are. They learn to accept everyone as individuals and demonstrate an early understanding of acceptance and tolerance. The nursery is highly committed to working in partnership with others and has This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

developed very strong links with local schools and children's centres. Other professionals involved in children's lives are actively welcomed into the nursery to ensure all children receive the care and support they need to make excellent progress in their development, given their individual starting points.

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and outcomes for children

All children make excellent progress in their learning through the comprehensive planning systems in place. Staff continuously observe the children and record even the smallest achievements. Many of these observations are acknowledged during group sessions so children can be proud of themselves, such as when they comment that a bug looks big under the microscope. Their high self-esteem is evident as they take great pride in both their work and compliments from staff. Sessions are very well planned and include a good balance of adult-led and child initiated activities. Staff ask children at the beginning of sessions to choose what they want to play with after the planned activities, so they make real decisions about what they do. For example some children choose to play with the train tracks, others choose outside play or dressing up. Children's progress and development is monitored and recorded extremely effectively. Their next steps are

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and outcomes for children

clearly identified and included in the planning so children continue to be very effectively challenged. Additional processes determine the level of children's proficiency in each area of learning, so particular strengths and weaknesses are easily highlighted. This effectively draws attention to not only the children who may need extra support, but those who may need extra challenges.

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and outcomes for children

The staff support children extremely well and are skilled at engaging them in the activities. They consistently discuss what the children are doing with them, asking open questions to encourage their critical thinking and problem solving. For example, staff ask children, 'what else will I need?' or 'how many more do I need?' Staff treat each child as unique individuals, know them extremely well and inspire them with their calm approach, patience and great enthusiasm. As a result, children show an exceptional sense of security. Children demonstrate that they feel very safe, developing an unquestionable sense of belonging and a high motivation to learn. Staff know when children do not need adult intervention and allow them to learn safely about risk taking. Children greatly enjoy language and literature. They play an active role in story telling sessions, first discussing the title and author of the book. Many opportunities exist for children to make marks and

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and outcomes for children

communicate effectively. Picture labels for communication greatly complement their verbal skills, together with the sign language used throughout the nursery. This enables all children, including those with little verbal language or those who speak other languages at home, to all communicate in some form.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy many creative and craft activities. Even the babies greatly enjoy rolling balls in the paint to make patterns on the paper. Older children concentrate quite seriously as they paint their own pictures of the toy bugs on the table. Many children choose to play outside in the large garden, running around looking for bugs to examine, climbing, or riding a bike. Children spend time outside every day This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 as part of the planned sessions or freely chosen session, although they are not currently able to move freely between the indoors and outside whenever they choose. Children learn that being outside and active is healthy and good for them. Staff help them discover the changes that being active have on their bodies, such as getting warm and their hearts beating faster. Children enjoy eating either their own packed lunch or a healthy cooked meal provided by the nursery. They serve

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and outcomes for children

themselves the food so they know how much they want and all enjoy eating together. Staff take the opportunity to discuss the different foods and where it comes from.

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and outcomes for children

All children behave extremely well, showing care and consideration for each other and happily respond to the staff, who speak to them respectfully. Although each child has a key person with whom they build very strong relationships, the staff know all the children well. This ensures they receive high levels of support and guidance and feel extremely settled and secure. Children are encouraged to take safe risks, such as balancing on a beam, and learn that listening is important in finding out how to keep themselves safe. They take on responsibility, such as being monitors for drinks and play games to learn about sharing and turn taking. This enables children to develop good relationships and treat others with care and consideration. 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 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 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 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 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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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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