Quackers Day Nursery

Quackers Day Nursery Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY443361 Inspection date 07/08/2012 Inspector Melissa Cox

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Setting address Quackers Day Nursery, High Street, Chieveley, NEWBURY, Berkshire, RG20 8TE Telephone number 01635 247555 Email quackersdaynursery@hotmail.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.

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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

Quackers Day Nursery was first established in 1994 and re-registered in 2012. It is privately owned. It is situated in a semi-rural area within the village of Chieveley close to the A34 and junction 13 of the M4. The nursery operates from a converted house, with the ground floor and first floor accommodating children. There is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The nursery is open five days a week, from 8.00am to 6.00pm, 51 weeks of the year. The nursery is closed on bank holidays and during the Christmas period.

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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. The nursery may provide care for 60 children under eight years at any one time, all may be in the early years age group and of these, 25 may be aged under two years.

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Description of the setting

There are currently 91 children on roll in the early years age group, who attend for a variety of sessions. The nursery offers before school, after school and holiday care and there are currently six children attending in this age range. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and who speak English as an additional language. There are 23 members of staff who work a variety of part-time and full-time hours, the manager is supernumerary. Currently 18 members of staff have recognised early years childcare qualifications. The nursery supports a number of apprentices. There are two members of staff currently working towards a recognised early years qualification.

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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 nursery provides supportive and nurturing care where children make good progress in all aspects of learning and development. Policies and procedures are effectively implemented and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to the welfare of all children. Excellent support is given to promote healthy lifestyles. Resources are generally made accessible to children and these mostly support and stimulate children's interests and curiosity in their play. Exemplary partnerships with parents and other professionals support staff to fully meet children's individual needs. Staff in the setting drive and secure high standards which provide a strong basis for continual improvements in outcomes for children. Evaluation of continuous provision is developing. There is a clear vision for the future and the nursery demonstrates a strong capacity for improvement.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  review the environment in every room to ensure that it is interesting and accessible to every child, so they can learn independently  monitor and evaluate the observations of children's progress to promote consistent practice across the nursery.

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the early years provision

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of how to keep children safe. They have a strong understanding of their legal duties and responsibilities with regard to child protection issues, which ensures appropriate action is taken to safeguard children. Induction procedures are fully embedded and clear arrangements are in place to ensure that all staff working with children are suitable to do so. Comprehensive risk assessments and a series of daily checks are effective in ensuring all hazards to children are identified and minimised. A broad range of policies and procedures promoting children's care and well-being are in place, which the setting reviews and updates on a regular basis.

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the early years provision

Children have access to an exciting range of activities both inside and outdoors. Good quality resources are mostly available to support all children to make choices and take an active part in their daily routines. However, on some occasions in the day, children do not always have free access to some areas of the environment, which limits their free choice and direction of play. A nurturing key-person system means that staff know all children's individual needs and are able to guarantee that they feel safe and secure. Children benefit further as the nursery works effectively to aid transitions into other rooms and onto school.

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the early years provision

Equality and diversity is successfully promoted in the setting. Positive images of diversity are displayed around the setting, providing a clear message that all people are valued and welcome. The staff have an accurate understanding of each child's background and needs and works effectively in partnership with parents and other professionals. Support for those children for whom English is an additional language is good. Staff recognise the importance of valuing the child's knowledge of their own language as children are able to take part in weekly French lessons.

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the early years provision

Children benefit greatly from the excellent relationships in place between the nursery and their parents. All parents spoken to at the setting praised the setting and feel they receive regular feedback about their child. They comment positively on the specific support they are given as a family and how much their children enjoy their time at the nursery. The key person undertakes regular reviews and encourages parents to contribute to learning journeys, aiding successful cohesive partnerships. The nursery regularly seeks the views of staff, parents and children through discussion, questionnaires and meetings, which the setting effectively uses in their evaluation process. Inspiring projects such as a Father, Grandfather and Uncles day and other similar initiatives, support the engagement and inclusion of all families. There are many opportunities for parents to receive and share information about their child's progress. For example, a newly established

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the early years provision

communication book which takes into account family and home life experiences in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 order to share these with others.

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the early years provision

Overall, partnerships with others who provide care for children are exceptional. A two-way exchange of information with other practitioners and services enhances outcomes for children because there is continuity in their care. Exceptional systems are in place to ensure that children with Special education needs receive additional support from other professionals at the earliest opportunity, with ongoing support to promote the best possible outcome. Effective inclusive care is provided for every child.

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the early years provision

The new owner, manager and staff team are ambitious and proactive in seeking opportunities to further improve outcomes for children. The manager has high aspirations for the both the children and her provision and good self-evaluation procedures successfully underpin the continuous drive for further improvement. Action plans are challenging and based upon self-reflection of strengths and weaknesses. Staff mostly reflect on their work and evaluate their activities to enhance learning further, however there are some inconsistencies across the rooms. Regular staff meetings to share ideas and to plan and develop their practice enable them to work effectively as a team.

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and outcomes for children

Children are eager to attend the nursery and quickly become engrossed in activities. Children are happy, settled and display high self-esteem as they are busy, curious and creative in their learning. Displays of children's art and photographs promote a sense of pride and positive attitude to events. Planning is flexible, responding to children's individual interests and needs, while promoting suitable challenges. The setting is well organised and skilled staff effectively support children's individual needs. Children make good strides in their learning and development in this strong setting.

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and outcomes for children

Children demonstrate a thorough awareness of staying safe. Children demonstrate high levels of confidence and self-esteem, building strong relationships with their friends. They share exceptionally warm and affectionate relationships with the staff that care for them and staff are consistently kind and reassuring. When working together, children are respectful, considerate and take turns. Behaviour is very good and children show a good awareness of responsibility, where even the very youngest of children help tidy away toys, share toys and play well together. All children feel safe and secure with an effective key person system in place to support their care and well-being. Children are active independent learners who staff successfully support to develop good self-care skills.

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and outcomes for children

Meaningful opportunities for developing their interest in problem solving, reasoning and numeracy support children to count, measure and match numbers. Children are curious about the world around them and ask searching questions. They learn about nature as they watch how chicks hatch from eggs and learn to nurture and care for them. Children have a high level of independence and make extensive This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 choices about what they play and how they play.

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and outcomes for children

Children work together well, negotiate and use their imagination during play. They can freely use the computer and programmable toys to explore their natural curiosity of how things work. Older children in the pre-school room excitedly explore the cosy book area or dress up as their favourite characters from the large rack of dressing up items. Their game is extended into the garden area as they demonstrate increasing awareness of size, quantity, position, weight and shape in their play. For example, children pretending to be builders talk about the number of bricks they need to build their castle wall and work cooperatively to design their structure.

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and outcomes for children

Children participate eagerly in action songs demonstrating their abilities to recall words and actions, they listen attentively to stories and talk about what they can see in the pictures. All staff promote thinking and language well as they ask children open-ended questions. Initiatives such as 'Rhyme time' and the use of story sacks promotes speaking and listening further, giving children sound skills for the future.

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and outcomes for children

Older children benefit from opportunities to use writing implements independently and also in planned activities where they begin to develop pencil control and start to form patterns or write their names on their artwork. Children of all ages benefit from frequent opportunities to access fresh air and exercise in the well-resourced outdoor area and local village amenities. Children excitedly run along the village green, explore the local park or take part in a team game of football. All children enjoy being active and good use is made of the outdoor play spaces.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from healthy, nutritious meals and snacks prepared by the dedicated kitchen staff, meeting all dietary requirements and preferences. The nursery is dedicated to working very closely with families of children with additional dietary needs. Children are extremely well supported to manage their own dietary needs in an inclusive way. They freely access water to drink when they are thirsty and staff ensure that individual water bottles are offered to the children regularly throughout the day. The nursery demonstrates a good commitment to sustainability as children grow their own produce in the raised flower beds in the garden. 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 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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