Culham Science Centre Nursery and Preschool

Culham Science Centre Nursery & Preschool Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY439308 Inspection date 28/05/2012 Inspector Jan Leo

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Setting address Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 3GY

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Telephone number 01865408128 Email info@culhamnursery.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

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

Culham Science Centre Nursery & Preschool re-registered in 2011 under a different provider on the same site. It is one of three settings operated by the private provider and is located next door to the Culham Science Centre near Abingdon. The nursery operates from four rooms in a single-storey, purpose-built building. There is an enclosed garden for outdoor play and the nursery has its own car park. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am until 6pm all year round.

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Description of the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. It can accept a maximum of 52 children in the early years age group at any one time. There are currently 75 children on roll, who attend on a full- and part-time basis. Of these, three have special educational needs and/or disabilities and 25 speak English as an additional language. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early years education to children aged three and four years. The nursery employs 15 members of staff. Of these, nine hold a recognised qualification at level 3 or above. The manager has gained Early Years Professional Status.

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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 are very well served by this nursery because of the exceptionally strong management and staff team which results in confident and secure children throughout. Staff consider equality and diversity to be paramount so links with parents and health professionals are extremely well established to cater for children's individual needs. All aspects of health and safety are robust and staff are diligent in supervising children to keep them safe. Behaviour is exemplary and children remain happy and, overall, well occupied all day, helping them to thrive. Staff constantly evaluate the effectiveness of their service, adapting to suit families' needs and continuing their training to drive and extensively maintain continuous improvement. Documentation and monitoring systems are extremely effective in supporting the service and keeping standards high.

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further?

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

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further?

 including more counting with young children in child-initiated play to develop their understanding of numbers in different contexts. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Staff have a meticulous understanding of their responsibility to safeguard children from harm. They regularly update their child protection training to review current procedures and build confidence in dealing with such issues. All staff take responsibility for keeping children safe on a daily basis and teaching them how to protect themselves from harm. ready for future independence. Children bond very well with their key workers and excellent deployment of staff helps to reinforce a strong sense of security in all children. Children demonstrate their understanding of safety by playing sensibly. They follow very well organised routines to ensure they know what to expect and feel extremely safe.

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the early years provision

Staff have the highest expectations of children, making sure the environment is highly stimulating to be conducive to learning. Staff store resources at a low level to encourage children's independent access. They offer equipment in a range of sizes to enable children to increase their own challenges when they feel ready. Staff deploy themselves extremely well to support children as they play. They instinctively know when to stand back and when to intervene to build children's confidence. Staff skilfully help children learn to share and take turns fairly, join in organised activities and successfully create their own games. Staff obtain full information about children's backgrounds and starting points. They formulate individual, development programmes for each child and work very closely with support agencies in recognition of equality and diversity. This helps all children to make significant gains in their learning and become very confident and inquisitive

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the early years provision

Parents value the service highly and appreciate the changes brought about by the new management to improve two-way communication. Parents now benefit from information being available on the nursery website, as well as in paper form on site. They receive verbal feedback from children's key workers at drop off and collection times. They have access to planning and development records to be fully involved in their children's day. Visits with health professionals and parents cement joint care and development plans to support children with specific requirements. Very effective strategies support those learning English as an additional language. Links with children's other carers, when care is shared, are firmly established. For example, staff routinely share information with other carers to consolidate children's early years experience and maximise its value. They are pro-active in developing links with local schools to ease the transition. They invite school staff to

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the early years provision

visit the nursery to get to know children in a familiar environment before they move on.

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the early years provision

Staff and management are a very well qualified workforce who continue their training, despite already exceeding qualification requirements. They routinely monitor the effectiveness of the nursery and welcome ideas for improvement from all who use the service. They follow formal improvement plans, consisting of development aims for each room and feedback questionnaires from parents, to very successfully drive and maintain continuous improvement. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children play exceptionally well together because of their strong sense of security. Even babies explore their surroundings and develop their own games without the need for constant, adult intervention. Staff sit on the floor in the baby room to develop a feeling of closeness. They consistently talk about what they do to include children and familiarise them with language. They always refer to children by name to make sure all feel special. In return, babies remain focused for lengthy periods, pulling themselves up on low-level resources and banging toys together to create sounds. They crawl on adults, watch their friends play and show great interest in their surroundings.

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and outcomes for children

All children benefit from outdoor activities as part of a healthy lifestyle. They play together sociably, mixing with different age groups to develop consideration for others. Children choose what to do and where to play, challenging themselves on small, medium or large equipment, according to their level of confidence. All move extremely well as they push wheelbarrows around the garden, climb steps to use the slide or pedal small tricycles along narrow paths. Staff apply sun cream and remind children about the need for sunhats before they play out in hot weather. All children follow very good practice regarding hygiene. Children eat nutritious meals and snacks, prepared on site, to sustain them throughout the day. Babies and very young children are extremely contented because all their needs are met to an exceptional standard.

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and outcomes for children

Children are very sociable and relish the opportunity to play with their peers. They work collaboratively to move a tent or sweep up dust to transport in a wheelbarrow. They chat together fluently as they play, following the staffs' lead and understanding the value of talking through their thoughts and ideas. Even very young children with limited language show off their skills. For example, they communicate by showing a visitor a necklace and repeating 'necklace' several times before saying, 'Beads' to show their understanding. Counting with young children in child-initiated play to develop their understanding of numbers in different contexts is less extensive promoted. Children are growing in confidence throughout the setting and extensively learn the skills they need for the future as a matter of routine. Older children have access to a computer and all play with push button and dial operated toys to become completely familiar with technical

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and outcomes for children

equipment. Older children very confidently serve themselves at mealtimes to increase their independence. They engage in group activities to highly develop their understanding of letters and numbers. Staff make learning fun by providing a wide and stimulating range of equipment for free play and making group activities interactive. For example, staff turn a jigsaw puzzle into a letter recognition game. They give each child a piece of the puzzle and ask them as a group to identify different letters in turn, before fitting the pieces together. Children join in very enthusiastically at every level, eager to show off their thinking and reasoning skills. Overall, staff promote learning extremely well in all rooms and, consequently, This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children thrive. Observations are valuable in supporting planning and staff set clear aims for children to work towards. As a result, children make very good progress in

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and outcomes for children

relation to their starting points. All benefit significantly from their time at the nursery and thoroughly enjoy their day. 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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