Highmeadows Day Nursery Limited

Highmeadows Day Nursery Limited The Royal Bolton Hospital, Minerva Road, Farnworth, BOLTON, BL4 0JR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/10/2012 17/02/2011

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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

 Children are provided with a broad range of learning experiences across all areas of learning. The learning environment is well resourced and planned for with good quality equipment which offer children interest and challenge.  Children's individual needs and next steps are well planned for. They show good progress particularly in their communication and language skills, physical and personal, social and emotional development.  Times of transition, as children move from room to room, are handled sensitively to ensure children continue to feel safe and secure.  There is a strong commitment to the professional development of staff and self- evaluation of the service provided to drive further improvement.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Systems to monitor the progress that different groups of children make have not yet been introduced.  Opportunities for parents to be fully involved in their child's learning and ongoing assessment are not fully embedded in practice.

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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 compulsory part 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 all the playrooms.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager and deputy manager. She also spoke to room leaders at appropriate times throughout the inspection and conducted a joint observation of an activity.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation, the nursery's self-evaluation form and a selection of policies, including risk assessments.

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Information about the setting

High Meadows Day Nursery Limited is situated within the grounds of the Royal Bolton Hospital and transferred to new purpose-built premises in 2005 with five playrooms, all on the ground floor. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery provides a service mainly for the children of staff working in the hospital. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. There are currently 84 children aged from three months to five years on roll. The nursery supports children with English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. It receives funding for the provision of free early education to three- and four-year-old children.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open from Monday to Friday from 7am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year, excluding bank holidays. There are 18 members of staff, 16 of whom hold early years qualifications at level 3. The owner/manager has a BA (Hons) degree in Childhood Education and is working towards Early Years Professional Status. One of the two deputy managers has a Foundation Degree in Early Years and Childhood Studies and the other has an early years qualification at level 4. The setting is affiliated to a local children's centre and is a member of the National Day Nurseries Association.

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

 monitor and evaluate the delivery of the new observation, assessment and planning systems, for example, by introducing systems for monitoring progress in relation to different groups of children in order to be able to track any group falling behind their peers or below their expected development bands

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

 develop opportunities for parents to be involved in their child's learning, for example, by including their comments and contributions to children's learning journals.

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who attend

The staff have high expectations of what children can achieve. As a result, they know their key children extremely well and, using the information from the children's observations, plan activities and experiences to meet each child's individual development needs. These include activities to extend their learning by following their interests or focused activities if there is an identified gap. New observation, assessment and planning systems have recently been introduced to meet the learning and development requirements of the revised Early Years Foundation Stage and ensure they are robust. Within these, there is a strong focus on involving parents more in sharing their observations of children and planning children's next steps with their key person. However, parents are not fully supported in contributing their observations into their children's assessments. Deployment of staff and resources is effective as good use is made of time and space, enabling

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who attend

children to be purposefully engaged in a broad range of activities that support their learning. A high ratio of staff ensures children are continuously supported and their spontaneous play is encouraged.

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who attend

Children are within the development age bands for their age group across all areas of learning and are supported extremely well through individual development plans. This is particularly beneficial for children who have identified learning and development needs; planned one-to-one time with their key person is used effectively to support them develop good behaviour and communication skills. As a result, staff show a very good level of commitment to narrowing the gap for such children and ensure they progress well given their starting points and capabilities. Several members of the staff team have received training in how to promote the development of children's speech and language. They have put this effectively into practice and children are becoming confident communicators. For example, as they explain how and why the water pump works.

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who attend

The introduction of 'My special box', whereby children bring items from home, is used to promote discussion at circle time and enables children to talk about what they have done at home or their favourite toy or story. Children show great interest in technology and how things work. For example, pre-school children competently use the computer and follow simple educational games while younger children show great interest in exploring how a clip board works or turn the compact disc player on. Activities, such as playing a shape matching card game, enable children to learn concepts of sharing and taking turns while developing their language and knowledge of more complex shapes, such as a spiral or semi-circle.

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

The learning environment in well-organised with cosy areas which are used to provide good quality learning opportunities and resources, enabling children to become independent, to play and explore. All resources are placed at low-level in the baby room, and activities are planned to take place on the floor, which enables babies to independently crawl and help themselves to equipment. They become aware of themselves as they look at their reflection in low-level mirrors, as staff support them by talking to them about what they can see. A variety of sensory experiences, such as treasure baskets, musical instruments, leaves, sand, water and paint help develop babies responses to what they can see, hear, smell, touch and feel. The introduction of tummy time sessions is particularly beneficial for the younger babies to help develop their physical skills and control of their bodies.

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

Babies and young children are very happy and settled in the very well-organised environment and are making good progress in their learning and development. Staff are enthusiastic and motivated as they interact with the children, providing suitable age- appropriate challenges. Younger children are supported as they play with musical instruments and bells, twirling around and delighting in the sound they make. A particular source of great fun and enjoyment is the weekly dance sessions children take part in. They learn about the importance of warming their bodies up before they take part in exercise. Staff are attentive, sensitive and caring towards the children, helping them to feel safe and secure. For example, during times of transition as children move from room to room, children embark on short taster sessions with their key worker, both within the room and in larger group activities.

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

Lunch and snack time routines are well-established where children sit with their key person or another adult. All children show good levels of knowledge and understanding of their own needs and develop good independence skills, such as carrying their trays at lunch time or pouring their own water into cups. Planned activities, such as 'All about me' are used well to promote children's growing understanding of the importance of their personal health and hygiene. Pre-school children clean their teeth twice a day and a recent success was an activity which clearly demonstrated how germs are passed on when they sneeze. Children learn to behave in safe ways extremely well. They use resources with care and help to tidy away toys after use. Any conflict situations which arise are handled sensitively and calmly by the staff which enables children to develop good negotiation and cooperation skills, such as taking turns.

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provision

Children are safeguarded by an effective staff team who have a very good understanding of safeguarding and keep up-to-date with training. There is a clear line of management for the reporting of concerns and a good understanding of appropriate support networks, such as the use of the Common Assessment Framework. Robust systems are in place to ensure the suitability of staff and students, this includes appropriate vetting checks, induction programmes and appraisals. Risk assessments are of good quality and reviewed and updated on a regular basis to ensure that children continue to be cared for in a high- quality, safe environment.

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provision

The management team demonstrate a high level of commitment to staff training to ensure they are confident, capable and are able to develop their professional skills. This is achieved through staff meetings, in-house and external training, and mentoring and role modelling by senior staff. The management team have a secure understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Through reflecting on their practice and self-evaluation, a series of new initiatives are being rolled out. These include the new observation and assessment systems and the monitoring and tracking systems for children of different age groups. However, these tracking systems are new and do not yet monitor different groups of children, in order to identify any group falling behind their peers or below their expected achievements. In addition, the whole staff team has taken part in in-house training on the

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provision

new Early Years Foundation Stage and child development which ensures their skills and knowledge are up-to-date with current changes to practice. The nursery has also joined up with other local nurseries to share good practice and the cost of external training. Plans for the future are well-targeted to drive further improvement.

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provision

Parents are well informed of the Early Years Foundation Stage and the nursery has produced a display in each room. This describes the seven areas of learning and the activities that children participate in. The owner demonstrates flexibility in meeting the needs of working parents particularly as many parents are hospital employees and work a shift system. Staff have implemented a 'Talking Wall' in each of the rooms to encourage parents to bring in photographs of activities they do at home with their children, and note down any developmental progress they have noticed or children's interests. Parents comment very positively about the staff team, their approachability and how they feel confident that their children are safe, well cared for and developing well.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY405574 Local authority Bolton Inspection number 884801

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 80 Number of children on roll 84 Name of provider Highmeadows Private Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 17/02/2011 Telephone number 01204 388181

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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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