Serendipity Day Nursery Ltd

Serendipity Day Nursery Oakymead Park, Newton Road, Kingsteignton, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 3AN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/10/2012 26/01/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 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 provides a bright, welcoming environment where children settle well and enjoy close relationships with the staff caring for them.  Staff work together well and share an ambition to continually strive to improve outcomes for children.  There is a good balance between activities that children initiate themselves and those that are led by adults.  Children are confident, independent and engage enthusiastically in the many activities on offer, developing good speaking skills as they participate in lively conversations.  Good use is made of the outdoor environment adjacent to the play area and in the local community to extend children's learning opportunities.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Procedures for monitoring the planning of activities do not fully ensure that all staff can easily access information regarding each child's next steps in learning to make certain that children's progress and development is fully supported at all times.  Information gathered from parents is not always used effectively to assess children's progress and support the planning of activities that build precisely on what they already know and can do.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playroom and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector completed a joint observation with the owner/manager of the provision in the main playroom.  The inspector held meetings with the owner/manager of the provision.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Serendipity Day Nursery is situated in Kingsteignton, near Newton Abbot, Devon and registered in 2003. It is privately owned. The day nursery is purpose-built and children have the use of three play areas. Kitchen and toilet facilities are situated off the main playroom, and there is a room for children to sleep in. There is a large, enclosed outdoor play area at the front of the building and a covered area at the rear of the premises. The nursery office is situated in the owner's home, adjacent to the nursery. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 50 weeks of the year. There are currently 26 children aged between birth and four years on roll. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for three- and four-year-olds. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The owner, who holds a relevant qualification at Level 4, manages the nursery and

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Information about the setting

employs six members of staff, five of whom are appropriately qualified at Level 3.

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

 strengthen systems for monitoring planning and assessment to improve consistency in fully supporting each individual child's progress and development at all times

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

 make more use of information from parents when assessing children's progress to ensure that activities successfully and consistently build on what children already know and can do.

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who attend

Children make good progress overall because staff support them well in settling in to the welcoming nursery environment. They provide them with a wide range of activities that interest them and support their learning and development. Good use is made of both the indoor and outdoor environments to offer varied and challenging play opportunities. Staff know the children well and have a good understanding of how children learn and develop. Key persons know the children well and plan for their individual learning needs. However, this information is not always freely available to other staff in their absence. As a result, not all staff are fully aware of children's next steps in their learning. Staff ensure a good balance between enabling children to initiate their own play and providing activities that they lead themselves. They interact well with the children, engaging them in lively conversation and encouraging their learning. For example, when children develop an

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who attend

imaginative game outdoors, transforming their playhouse into an ice cream parlour. Staff engage in the role play and encourage discussion about the different flavours of ice cream for sale and how much they cost.

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who attend

Staff respond positively to children's ideas and interests, offering additional resources and suggestions to extend their learning experiences. For example, when children notice fallen leaves in the outdoor area staff suggest using them to make colourful prints. This results in children exploring different colours and textures as they experiment with colourful paints and various printing techniques. Staff know the children well therefore they engage in lively conversations, which often revolve around children's family life and experiences, such as holidays and the arrival of new siblings. Staff are good role models and use effective open-ended questioning to support children's progress and development. For example, when children discover a snail outdoors staff ask questions about its habitat and what it needs to live and grow.

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who attend

Staff are deployed effectively to support children's learning. For example, they offer individual support to help children learning English as an additional language make progress in their communication skills. Staff have high expectations of all the children and encourage them to become independent and curious learners. Children, therefore, develop the necessary skills they will need for their future learning.

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who attend

Parents feel well informed about the progress their children are making. However, staff do not make full use of the information they receive about children's learning at home when reflecting on children's achievements and planning their next steps for learning.

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

Staff give good priority to making sure children settle well and they liaise closely with parents and carers to meet the individual care needs of all children attending. Particularly good attention is paid to liaising closely with parents of the youngest children so that staff are able to closely reflect the familiar feeding and sleeping patterns of home. Staff know that some children use familiar comforters to help them get to sleep. They develop close relationships with the children, who seek out familiar adults for reassuring cuddles, for example, when they wake up from their daily nap. Consequently children develop self- confidence and enjoy becoming independent, making their own choices and decisions. They help themselves to snacks of fruit and milk whenever they are hungry or thirsty, and are supported in managing this themselves, pouring their own drinks and carefully cutting up soft fruit such as bananas.

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

Children are self-motivated and interested in the play opportunities on offer. They move freely between the indoor and outdoor play environments and use resources creatively to support their play. For example, they use play dough to make ice creams and later extend this play by turning the outdoor playhouse into an ice cream parlour.

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

Children enjoy talking about their home life and familiar activities. Staff listen carefully to the children, value what they say and sustain conversations with them. Consequently children use language confidently and are able to express their feelings and thoughts clearly. For example, they explain that they do not like using the air dryer after washing their hands and alert staff when they are uncomfortable, such as when they put an apron on over a thick sweatshirt. Staff respect children's views and respond positively when children make their feelings clear. For example, they offer an alternative to the air dryer and help children remove outdoor clothing when they come indoors.

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

Children of different ages each have their own, appropriately resourced, play area. However, when numbers are low they often play in mixed age groups. This works well because they are supported effectively by key members of staff with whom they have developed close, trusting relationships. The well-established staff team work well together and know the children well. Consequently when children of mixed ages and abilities participate in joint activities, they are each supported to engage at their own level. For example, when older children participate in a leaf printing activity, younger ones join in and explore the different colours and textures of the paint, sometimes using their hands to print, rather than the leaves.

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provision

Staff give good priority to keeping children safe and secure. They access regular training to keep their knowledge up to date and the provider has attended training to support her in implementing safe recruitment procedures. She is pro-active in working in partnership with other professionals and agencies to support children in the event of any concerns. Staff help children learn to manage tools safely, for example when cutting up fruit for their snack. Children often go out on walks around the local neighbourhood, learning how to keep safe when crossing roads.

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provision

Staff provide a wide range of interesting and challenging activities that support children in making good progress overall in their learning and development. Each child has a key person, who carefully plans activities that reflect their interests and build on prior learning. These plans are monitored by the manager to make sure they support individual children's learning. However, the monitoring process is not sufficiently robust. Whilst each key person is clear about how to support specific children, this information is not readily available to other staff working with the children and this is particularly relevant when their key person is not present.

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provision

The manager works closely with the staff team and provides them with valuable feedback to help them improve their practice. Regular appraisals and informal discussions create a supportive environment within which staff are encouraged to access training. This has a positive impact on improving outcomes for children as well as supporting their continuing professional development. Staff also work closely together to review and evaluate their work. They implement effective actions to bring about improvements. For example, they continuously review their planning and assessment procedures to find ways to support children's learning and development. They have made changes to the way they use the building. This is to make certain children can easily access the outdoor play areas whilst others can enjoy a quiet, undisturbed sleep.

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provision

The staff team develop good working relationships with other providers and professionals to help ensure they work together in the best interests of the children. For example, they exchange information about children's progress and development with other settings and sometimes visit them to observe children in different play environments.

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provision

Staff develop good relationships with parents and carers through regular, informal discussions at the beginning and end of sessions. Parents and carers highly value the service provided and are confident that their children are safe, happy and enjoy their time at the nursery. Staff know the children well because of their regular discussions with their parents and carers. This is particularly effective in enabling staff to meet children's individual care needs.

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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 EY266819 Local authority Devon Inspection number 814594 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 26 Name of provider Serendipity Day Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 26/01/2009 Telephone number 01626 369697

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Setting details

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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. 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. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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