Leigh Village Day Nursery

Leigh Village Day Nursery The Old Chapel, Elm Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, SS9 1SG

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/10/2012 07/03/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The nursery effectively promotes individualised purposeful learning and children make good progress in relation to their starting points. Staff have a firm knowledge of children's developmental bands and successfully plan activities to widen and extend knowledge and skills.  There are warm and caring relationships between children and all staff, particularly key persons. Children's behaviour is good and they are settled and secure.  Resources are easily accessible in all rooms so that children can direct their own learning and there are excellent opportunities for children to develop their physical skills in the extremely well-equipped gymnasium.  The nursery has effective arrangements to help children settle when they first attend, when they move from one age group to another and to achieve a successful transition into school.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Although staff have annual appraisals and a system for regular supervision has been devised, monitoring and evaluation is not yet precise and sharply focussed on assessing the impact of the staff's practice on children's learning and well-being.  Opportunities for children to explore and use technology within everyday play have not yet been fully embraced.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are scheduled:  at least once in every inspection cycle. The current cycle ends on 31 July 2016  more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged as inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage; or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised for inspection where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playrooms and the outside learning environment. This included a joint observation with the nursery manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager, registered provider and staff team, including key persons.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of the children's assessment and observation records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed evidence of suitability of the staff, risk assessment, accident records and other documentation in relation to health and safety checks.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and from information included within the nursery's self-evaluation and comment books.

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Information about the setting

Leigh Village Day Nursery is one of three settings in the Southend area owned by Village Day Nurseries Limited. It originally opened in 1994 and changed ownership in 2008. The nursery operates from five playrooms within a converted Chapel and Sunday School Hall in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Children share access to enclosed outdoor play areas. The nursery opens five days a week all-year-round. Operating times are from 7.30am until 6.30pm.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 101 children aged from seven months to five years on roll. Children attend for a variety of sessions or full day care. Children come from the local area and surrounding areas. The nursery is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 27 staff. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. The manager is currently working towards a higher professional qualification. The nursery also employs five bank staff to cover staff absences and a cook, cleaning staff and a gymnastics coach. The setting receives support from the local authority.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 extend the monitoring and evaluation system to ensure that it is more consistent and sharply focussed on assessing the impact of staff's practice on children's learning and their well-being

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 enhance opportunities and extend resources to support children's interest in exploring and investigating technology.

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who attend

Staff have a secure knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and activities are well planned to cover all seven areas of learning. Children make good progress because staff support them well. Staff frequently observe what children can do and maintain clear records of the progress they are making. They use this information, as well as children's interests, to guide individualised planning and ensure children have plenty of choice and can offer their ideas each day. Focussed activity sheets are also effectively used to plan adult-led learning experiences and indicate how children will be grouped, how the activity will be organised and how the different learning needs of the children will be met.

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who attend

Children have good opportunities to develop their language skills. Staff talk to the babies and toddlers constantly and successfully demonstrate that they understand their responses. The older children are confident communicators, ask lots of questions and are particularly interested in what visitors are doing. Careful questioning by the staff elicits interesting, imaginative and thoughtful answers from the children. Displays and the learning journey books are also used well to encourage conversations. For example, children can look at photographs of themselves and family members and remember and recall the activities they have taken part in. Children discover the meaning of new words when staff introduce them to a wider vocabulary in everyday situations. All children enjoy singing rhymes and listening to stories which further promotes their language development. The nursery is involved in the 'Every child a talker' programme and this has

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who attend

had a very positive impact on developing children's speech and communication skills.

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who attend

Babies and young children are alert and interested in their surroundings. Plenty of hands- on, purposeful activities are provided each day. For example, heuristic play engages the children's natural curiosity to develop awareness of shape, colour, weight and texture long before these concepts can be put into words. Treasure baskets with household objects and natural sensory materials keep children totally absorbed and intrigued in purposeful play. Spaces within the baby room have also been imaginatively created where the youngest children can take part in sensory exploration using their whole bodies.

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who attend

Children's mathematical thinking is fostered well. The older children can recognise and name the shapes they see around them. The babies and toddlers play with small world equipment and are beginning to sort and match items and classify them by their use. Children develop a 'can do' approach to problem solving and confidently explain how magnets work to join construction toys together. They do have some opportunities to learn about technology with interactive toys. However, there is scope to improve the use of technology within everyday play, for example, by extending the access to working items that children recognise, such as a camera or computer.

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who attend

Children benefit from the involvement of parents in projects which contribute to their enjoyment and learning. For example, through the nursery's role as an ambassador for the Olympics, toy mascots were taken home. Photographs and written accounts were then shared about family involvement in sporting or fitness events. Individualised planning and weekly observations are visible in the playrooms so parents are kept updated on their children's progress. Parents also get to contribute some observations of the children's achievements at home to the learning journey books.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children and babies develop a very secure sense of belonging as they develop strong bonds with their key persons. Effective staffing ratios ensure that children are strongly supported as there are always additional staff above the minimum requirements. Regular communication with parents helps develop strong partnerships between all those involved in keeping children safe. The nursery requests information from parents prior to children being cared for in the nursery about care routines, interests and capabilities to ensure that individual needs are known and respected from the outset. Consequently, the babies are successfully cared for according to their own routines rather than a set nursery timetable.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children are happy as they play in both small and large groups and they demonstrate high levels of concentration and perseverance in their tasks. Each playroom is safe, bright and full of visually stimulating experiences. Care and consideration has been given to the layout of each room to support both mobile and non-mobile children effectively. There are opportunities for children to play outdoors in the fresh air at allotted times during the day. These flexible outdoor spaces offer children resources where they can explore, build, move and role play. Regular outings are also organised within the vicinity to develop children's understanding of the local environment.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children's physical development is given an extremely high priority. The gymnasium is used exceptionally well as an addition to the normal play spaces. Children have great fun climbing, sliding and clambering on the wide range of safe, soft play apparatus. Planning for physical development also includes opportunities for children to practise action songs, rhymes and circle games, copying and repeating a wider range of movements. Children particularly enjoy their time in the 'Tatty Bumpkins' yoga sessions. Staff know the importance of letting children learn some finer physical skills for themselves, such as attempting to put on their own coats and shoes, pour drinks or use cutlery to help them become more independent.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children's good health is promoted well through effective nursery routines and procedures. Children are protected from cross-infection because staff follow good hygiene practices. The baby and toddler rooms implement a 'no shoe' policy to ensure the floors where children crawl and play remain clean and germ-free from outside debris. Children are well nourished because they are provided with a good range of healthy foods at mealtimes. They have hearty appetites and mealtimes are very social periods of the day, as older children serve food for themselves. This summer the vegetable garden has been used well by children as they sow, tend and pick vegetables, learning first-hand about the benefits of fresh, naturally grown foods.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children are encouraged to develop a good understanding of keeping themselves safe. For example, babies and toddlers hear staff telling them that they are being strapped into their chairs at mealtimes to stop them falling out. All toys and play materials within reach of babies are safe for them to explore using their mouth or hands. Good quality, robust baby equipment and furnishings are provided. Staff frequently check that all equipment is clean and in good repair. The older children learn the rules to keep themselves safe when playing on the equipment in the garden and all children practise fire evacuation procedures regularly so that they can all get out of the building safely. Praise is given freely to children and babies, ensuring that they develop confidence and self-esteem and understand that they have done well. Children understand the need to behave responsibly, use good manners and learn to follow important social skills, such as sharing

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

The nursery has established good links with other early years professionals and teaching staff at local schools by attending the 'Bright Sparks' hub meetings. Consequently, children starting full-time education are supported well. A smooth transition also occurs when children move into other rooms in the nursery. The staff pass on a good level of written information and children get to know their new carers through visiting their new playrooms.

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provision

The registered providers fully understand their responsibilities in meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nursery management has updated the policies and procedures to keep abreast of the recent changes. Systems have been implemented to monitor observations of children's progress and development within each room and this also successfully highlights when there are possible gaps in learning. The setting is thoroughly organised in relation to the regulatory record keeping and information is easily accessible and systematically ordered for reference. Self-evaluation takes account of the views of children and their parents and the nursery management work closely with the staff team to move the nursery forward and improve the quality of care and education. Regular staff meetings ensure that new ideas are developed and children can experience many interesting activities each day.

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provision

There is a well-qualified staff team. Annual appraisals are suitably used to identify training needs and staff are keen to attend courses or work towards higher qualifications. The nursery management acknowledge that more precise and sharply focussed monitoring and evaluation of staff performance is still in the early stages of development. Consequently, there is further scope to improve any inconsistencies in practice and make sure that all staff constantly improve their understanding and skills to allow children to thrive and achieve as much as they can. The nursery has successfully addressed the recommendations raised at the last inspection. A much higher regard is given to the views and ideas of children when evaluating activities and staff are more effective in the use of open questioning to support and extend children's thinking and learning.

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provision

Children are effectively safeguarded as staff are fully aware of their child protection responsibilities. Comprehensive child protection procedures recorded on flowcharts ensure that staff are fully aware of the steps to take if they have concerns about a child's welfare. Each member of staff has their own handbook with the nursery policy and safeguarding training is routinely organised for all staff. Recruitment procedures are robust and staff complete the necessary background checks through the Criminal Record Bureau. Risk assessment of the nursery premises is thorough to keep children safe. All necessary safety precautions are implemented and reviewed regularly. The staff are vigilant about security and the nursery is protected by CCTV and coded entry systems. There are comprehensive reviews in relation to safety measures when children are taken on outings, particularly following changes to venues, any accidents or use of physical play equipment.

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provision

Children play and learn in an environment where the management and staff actively promote equality of opportunity and anti-discriminatory practice for all children. The nursery has appropriate systems in readiness to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those with English as an additional language. The nursery links with relevant professionals to ensure that any additional needs that children may have are identified and early support is obtained in a timely way. A new special educational needs coordinator has recently been appointed and she is currently undergoing the relevant training.

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provision

Children benefit from the friendly partnerships the staff develop with parents and carers. Informative noticeboards, newsletters and the website keep parents informed of events within each playroom. Each day the parents of babies and toddlers are given a written account of the care arrangements and activities their children take part in. Open days are held where parents can meet formally with their children's key person. Special fun days and events such as the leavers' prom take place when parents can take part in activities with their children. Parents' views are sought through discussion and they are invited to attend forum meetings when they can contribute ideas to improve the nursery. Several parents were spoken to during this inspection, they spoke very positively about their children's progress and commend the ways in which staff engage children in a wide variety of activities.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY368849 Local authority Southend on Sea Inspection number 882469

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 100 Number of children on roll 101 Name of provider Village Day Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 07/03/2012 Telephone number 01702 480077

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises that are usually their own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. 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,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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