Combe Down Nursery

Combe Down Nursery Combe Road, BATH, BA2 5HY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/09/2012 09/06/2009

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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 very successful key person system provides children with a warm and nurturing environment in which they are progressing well. This also ensures they have a smooth transition through the nursery and between settings.  Children benefit from a well-organised and well-resourced environment. This ensures they have maximum use of the range of experiences and activities in small groups, both on and off the nursery site to promote their development.  Good systems for monitoring and evaluating the quality of the provision are implemented continuously and involve parents and all staff. As a result, improvements are made continuously in all areas of the provision which have a direct and positive impact on children.  Children's healthy lifestyles are supported well through lots of outdoor play, fresh air and exercise and a good range of physical play experiences.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Not all children have the opportunity to use their home language within the setting. In addition, some children are not provided with sufficient time to listen and respond to questions asked to further develop their communication and language skills.

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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 and quality of teaching in the 3 play rooms and outdoor play area  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the registered person and deputy manager to assess suitability and qualifications of staff and management's knowledge and understanding of the EYFS requirements.  The inspector took account of the views of parents.

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Information about the setting

Combe Down Nursery opened in 2008. The nursery is a purpose designed building situated in the village of Combe Down, in Bath. The nursery is arranged into three areas according to children's ages. The playrooms are on the ground floor with toilet and kitchen facilities available. On the first floor there are two sleep rooms, a room which is used for small group work/dance studio and a sensory room. All children share access to a secure, enclosed, outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm for 50 weeks of the year. Children attending the nursery are mainly from the local area and surrounding villages. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 130 children on roll in the early years age group. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four. The nursery supports children who learn English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 Improve all children's communication and language development further by providing children who are learning English as an additional language the opportunity to use their home language within the setting and allowing all children more time to listen and respond to questions.

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who attend

Children benefit from a good range of well-planned activities and experiences which meet their individual interests and developmental needs. They explore freely according to their own choices and also participate enthusiastically in the adult-led activities. Staff create a stimulating environment for children with plenty of small group time and lots of close support. As a result, children initiate their own play, explore with curiosity and complete activities unrushed at their own pace. Staff ask children lots of open-ended questions to encourage them to think and share their thoughts and knowledge. They change their line of questioning to offer challenge whilst also helping children to succeed. However, some children in the pre-school room do not always have sufficient time to think and respond to further promote their language development.

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who attend

Children's learning is monitored and assessed individually by their key person and in partnership with parents. Entry records completed by parents provide staff with valuable information relating to children's needs and in some cases developmental stage. From this, key persons plan activities to support children in settling in and gaining confidence. They complete observations to assess their developmental stage and achievements and to identify their next steps of learning. Key persons caring for two-year-old children write accurate progress reports which reflect their development in all areas of learning. Parents are actively encouraged to get involved in their child's learning. For example, taking home cookery and story sacks, and making 'all about me' books with their children. Management is pro-active in promoting these partnerships. For example, organising workshops for parents to get involved in aspects of play to develop an understanding of how this

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who attend

Children are making good progress in their learning. Younger children explore and investigate freely within their nurturing environment and enjoy lots of comfort and re- assurance from their key carers. Children are learning to be kind and considerate young people. For example, a two-year old helps another to tidy up toys so they can get ready for snack and a three-year-old comforts a child crying outside by putting his arm around her. They are forming friendships with one another and seek out friends for play. Children's communication and language are developing well. Most children are learning to listen well to others talking, and they respond to staff instruction and familiar sounds. For example, two-year-olds hear the bells jingle and shriek out 'time to tidy up'. Children confidently voice their needs and thoughts in group discussion times and contributing to story times. Staff are very sensitive to the communications of non-verbal children,

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who attend

responding enthusiastically to their shrieks, babbles, smiles and laughter. Children who are learning English as an additional language, however, have limited opportunities to use their home language within the setting to further develop their language skills.

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who attend

Children's physical development is progressing well. They join in an excellent range of activities and play outside in the garden and local play park at regular internals throughout the day. Children climb, balance, pedal, rock, run freely and create obstacle course to move in different ways. They join in yoga and sports coach sessions which are adapted to include every child, such as ball rolling for non-mobile infants, catching and running games for older children. Children also get out and about within the local community in which they explore the natural environment. For example, on forest skills sessions younger children are taken in the push along 'bus' to observe natural life and collect resources to bring back, whilst two to four-year-olds build dens in the wood. Children also use the garden to help care for the pet rabbits, find creatures in the 'bug store' and help care for and harvest plants. Children are learning about their own lives and backgrounds as well as

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who attend

those of others from around the world. They play with resources which reflect world-wide diversity, not always reflecting the diversity of those attending.

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who attend

Children hear and use mathematical language throughout their play. They count aloud in number songs and construction, describe objects which are 'bigger' and 'smaller', tell staff they are climbing 'high' and name shapes they around them. Two-year-olds look at the shapes and sizes of puzzle pieces to complete them successfully, and all children problem solve in working activity and electronic toys. Children of all ages independently access a good range of books, relevant to their developmental stage. Staff use stories and songs to introduce repetitive rhyming, which many children join in with. Children take story sacks home to enjoy with their families as a way to extend their learning and appreciation of books at home. Children of all ages mark-make purposefully indoor and outside. They draw, paint and run their fingers through trays of sand and gloop to make patterns and shapes. As they develop, they start to name their work themselves to identify what is

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who attend

theirs. Children use their senses to explore many different media and materials. Infants scrunch leaves, feel textures fabrics, and explore treasure baskets of different objects. Two-year-olds dig in sand and gloop, paint with hands and brushes and older children make models with clay. All children experience the light, sounds, smells and textures in the sensory room and play with resources with which they construct and make-believe.

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

Children are cared for by a dedicated key person within a consistent team of staff. This system very successfully supports children in settling in, developing secure attachments and a secure base from which to learn and develop. Their key person works closely with parents to support them effectively in their emotional transition through the nursery. Good links are established with other settings that some children also attend and with external professionals which helps provide consistent care and learning for those with additional needs.

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

Children's needs and routines are met well within a safe and secure environment. Staff make good use of their time and the space available to provide a variety of experiences, a peaceful place to sleep and time to develop unrushed at their own pace. Staff act as good role models in promote positive attitudes. They provide children with clear and consistent messages, and provide lots of encouragement and praise to feedback children's achievements. Children learn about the consequences of their actions. For example, how snatching make others feel. They also learn about protecting themselves to keep safe in practical day to day activities; a child tells an adult he must not run in front of the bikes 'so we don't get hurt'. Children also learn about specific safety aspects, such as practising the fire evacuation procedure, in forest skills sessions and meeting the police.

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

Children are developing a good understanding of the importance of healthy lifestyles. They join in the many physical and activities with energy and enthusiasm, enjoy healthy, well- balanced meals and snacks and learn about good personal hygiene. They learn about food through cookery activities, and take home cookery bags to continue this with their families. Key persons meet each child's individual routines with consistency and care to ensure they settle well for their sleeps and are fed at times agreed with parents. As a result, children are happy, well-nourished and enthusiastic in their exploration.

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provision

The registered provider, management and staff all have a good secure knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. A robust recruitment and vetting procedure ensures all staff are suitable to work with children. Performance management systems are implemented successfully, including a month of induction, appraisals and staff supervision. To further promote professional development, management spends time observing staff interaction and communication with children. This is fed back in a meeting with the staff and records kept of strengths, any barriers to improvement and agreed areas of development. This resulted in staff in one playroom providing children with more feedback on their achievements and activity. All staff are expected to attend key training events. This includes safeguarding children, which is regularly re-visited and discussed to ensure all

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provision

staff are aware of their roles, responsibilities and the procedures to follow.

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provision

The registered provider, management and staff all have a good secure knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. All adults are involved in implementing new systems for planning and assessing children's learning. As a result, accurate records are being developed and experiences planned daily to meet each child's needs and to address any developmental issues. All staff contribute to the successful self-evaluation systems through supervision, staff and room meetings and action plans. Staff in each playroom evaluates the success of planning each day and staff complete action plans identifying areas for improvement for those in their care. For example, sending out parent questionnaires to seek parents' views and obtaining wind chimes for those who especially enjoy the sensory activities. These are updated regularly to show the improvements have been successfully implemented. In

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provision

addition, the local authority, Bath and North East Somerset, regularly visit to support the setting in completing their quality improvement scheme in each play room. The views of parents are sought and acted upon to actively encourage them to get involved, such as offering workshops for specific aspects of play. Parents state, when asked that 'staff have a positive attitude and welcome children warmly', and children are making 'great progress'. They like that their key person 'is always available' and 'has formed a close bond with (child)'. Parents state their children especially like 'the sports coaching session and den building on the forest school trips'.Staff have formed successful links with other practitioners who are also involved in children's care and learning, through meetings and the use of a link book. This ensures consistency of care, and a smooth transition between the settings.

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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 EY383228 Local authority Bath & NE Somerset Inspection number 882606

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 72 Number of children on roll 130 Name of provider Combe Down Nursery Date of previous inspection 09/06/2009 Telephone number 01225 840575 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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