Aspire Nursery School

Aspire Nursery School Hornbeam School, Mongeham Road, Great Mongeham, DEAL, Kent, CT14 9PQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 01/11/2012 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children's care, welfare and learning is significantly enhanced by the highly effective way the nursery is led and managed. Excellent use of reflective practice forms the basis of their driving improvement to enhance outcomes further.  Staff show a very clear ambition to provide exceptional care and education for all children and work in great partnership to achieve this.  There is a warm, friendly atmosphere, characterised by busy, well occupied and happy children who enjoy the time they spend at this welcoming nursery.  Very good relationships exist with parents and there are effective ways of seeking their views about their children's care and the sharing of ideas and activities to promote children's learning.

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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 children's play and staff interaction, indoors and outside.  The inspector held a meeting with the manager of the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspectors sampled records and documentation relating to: children's progress and development; safeguarding; the settings records relating to quality assurance and self-evaluation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day, viewed notes in the complaints log and information provided by parents in there responses to several questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

Aspire Nursery School at Hornbeam School registered and opened in these premises in 2012. It is situated in a residential area of Deal, Kent. The nursery operates from three modular buildings in the grounds of Hornbeam School. Children have access to a veranda and outdoor play area. In addition, children may use the school playground at set times. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm all year round. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 73 children on roll. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two, three and four year olds. Children come from a wide catchment area. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and also supports children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 10 members of staff. Of theses, one holds Early Years Professional Status, two hold degree qualifications, five hold NVQ levels 3 and two

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Information about the setting

hold NVQ level 2 qualifications. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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

 Strengthen opportunities for children to care for their environment, such as, the recycling of packaging within lunchboxes.

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who attend

Children are extremely happy and confident in this welcoming and friendly nursery environment. The staff team are experienced, enthusiastic and child-focused. They have an excellent understanding of the seven areas of learning and plan a very good range of activities that inspire and challenge children's interests and abilities. A highly effective system of observation and assessment enables staff to plan specifically for the individual needs and interests of each child. An effective balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities ensure that children are the prime instigators in their own learning. Learning journals include the planned next steps for children's learning, and parents are encouraged to share their thoughts about their child's progress. Summary reports of children's learning and development at the end of each year, which gives a very accurate account of the progress they have made, are made available to parents. As a result,

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who attend

children make excellent progress in their learning and development. The staff team has undertaken training to ensure that they have a very good knowledge and understanding of the requirement of the two-year check. Written documentation is in place to ensure that they include all of the required information for parents and others such as the health visitor. These elements enable them to accurately assess two-year-old children's development and provide relevant information to aid their progress.

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who attend

Children's social skills and ability to communicate with others are rapidly developing. Staff interaction with children is excellent. They listen carefully to what they say and give them plenty of time to respond to questions. Communication and language is further promoted through the use of signs, symbols and speech which enables younger children to share their thoughts, choices and emotions. Older children are confident talkers and are extremely happy to share their thoughts and ideas with others, initiating and engaging in many worthwhile conversations.

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who attend

Staff engage purposefully with children and make excellent use of open-ended questioning. Questions such as 'tell me about' and 'what do you think will happen next' extend children's critical thinking, problem solving and develop language skills. Whilst playing with water children experiment with resources such as pipes. They watch to see how water travels from one end of the pipe to the other, turn a bend or simply overflow when too much water is added. While other children delight in repeatedly clapping their floured hands to watch the clouds they create in the air. They predict the weight of flour and glitter, which is heavier and so, falls quicker. When experimenting with magnetic worm's children become fascinated when they feel the pull of the magnetic force.

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who attend

There are very good opportunities for children to develop a love of books. They independently select and look through books and enjoy story time and singing sessions. The use of story sacks enhances children's listening skills, curiosity and enjoyment of books. Older children talk about why they enjoyed a particular story line, illustration or rhyme and discuss the author of the book of the month.

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who attend

Staff model writing for a purpose by displaying menus and provide opportunities for children to write shopping lists in role-play. Children are helped to recognise and write their name and there are frequent discussions about letters and sounds. From an early age, children have extensive opportunities to make marks using chalks, corn flour, paint and shaving foam.

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who attend

Children show great pride in their own achievements. They confidently share their models of planets made when participating in a recent topic on the solar system. As children play staff talk to them about numbers and counting, shape, size and colour, asking questions that make them think, developing their mathematical skills. Children's understanding of the world is fostered extremely well. They learn about the features of the local environment such as Deal Pier, Dover Castle and the port of Dover. They explore nature by looking at why animals such as hedgehogs hibernate in winter and the changing seasons. Older children enjoy taking part in gardening activities, digging the soil and growing herbs, plants and vegetables. However, staff have not fully explored ways for children to consider re-using resources such as rainwater.

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

Children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure in the warm and caring atmosphere of the nursery. Children arrive very happily this is because they enjoy secure, trusting relationship with staff who treat them with great care and affection. Staff have high expectations of children and are aware of their capabilities. Key persons have an excellent knowledge of children's starting points in learning, their individual care needs and parents preferences. Photographs of children's family members support children to develop a sense of their own identity. As a result, children make very good progress in their personal, social and emotional development. All children are valued and respected. Sensitive and responsive interaction with staff fosters a strong sense of belonging and security. This results in a harmonious caring environment. Staff are very good role models and encourage children to resolve potential conflict and develop effective strategies. For

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

example, children are encouraged to negotiate setting time limits for the use of popular equipment such as computers. They use sand timers as a visual aid to ensure fairness in turn taking. Children's very good behaviour demonstrates that they feel safe in the nursery environment.

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

Younger children become very familiar with all parts of the nursery as the sharing of the veranda allows them to move between group rooms. This very good arrangement eases their move to the pre-school room, which further aids their confidence and self-assurance. Highly effective systems are in place to support the liaison with other childcare and school provision. Staff liaise with local schools when children are preparing to leave the nursery. Visits from local teachers are encouraged, and children have excellent opportunities to attend special events and use outdoor play equipment in the adjoining primary school. This greatly supports a smooth transition from nursery to school. Children develop an understanding of the need to adopt a healthy lifestyle. They have excellent opportunities for planting and harvesting produce. They grow radishes, carrots, beetroot, potatoes and beans along with a range of herbs and enjoy eating what they

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

have grown. In addition, topics include sampling a wide variety of foods from around the world. Children are actively encouraged to complete risk assessments themselves. They understand how to use tools safely, such as when they are gardening in the outdoor planting area. The environment is stimulating, welcoming and well resourced. Staff set out these resources so children can choose freely from them. All are labelled with words and pictures, which stimulates and facilitates their play extremely well. The role play areas are imaginatively arranged to give children opportunities to explore a variety of different play scenarios. For example, children play being both the chef and customers in the caf, cooking and choosing items from the menu. To extend children's interests further staff have arranged for real fruit and vegetables to be made available.

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

Excellent attention is given to promoting children's physical development. They participate in organised sporting events to develop confidence and awareness. They enjoy free-flow access to the veranda and garden where they develop coordination and balance, and explore and investigate using an extremely wide variety of resources.

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provision

Leadership and management is inspirational and they have high aspirations for maintaining excellent quality. This underpins all aspects of care and education in the nursery. They have high expectations and inspire staff in developing their knowledge and skills. They reflect on best practice to promote the best possible outcomes for each child in their care. The views of children, parents and staff actively contribute to the excellent self- evaluation process which systematically improves the quality of provision. The drive to improve standards is supported by a high quality programme of staff supervision and an astute and targeted plan of professional development. Staff continually reflect on their practice and use their excellent knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements to ensure the educational programme has exceptional breadth, depth and challenge. To further promote professional development, management spends

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provision

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.

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provision

The nursery has robust recruitment, vetting and induction procedures in place to check staff are suitable to work with children. Children's safety is paramount and they are well protected as all staff are knowledgeable about safeguarding procedures. They have all attended training and know precisely what steps to take should they have any concerns about children in their care. Comprehensive risk assessments cover all aspects of the premises and any outings from the nursery. Access to the nursery is closely monitored. Management and staff are vigilant about arrival and collection procedures and very good security precautions contribute towards children's safety.

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provision

Parents are kept exceptionally well informed and many opportunities are provided for parents to know how their child is developing and to become involved in the nursery. Parents are provided with a wealth of photographic evidence of their children at play. In addition, parents are asked to bring in photographs of family members or special occasions for children to view and share with others. Parents are provided with a comprehensive range of information about the nursery and are asked to contribute their views to support continuous development. Parents express very positive comments about the nursery, particularly about the children's development in language skills and confidence, and the warm and caring nature of the staff team. All children's needs are quickly identified and exceedingly well met because the nursery has highly effective partnerships with external agencies and other providers.

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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 EY444592 Local authority Kent Inspection number 790945 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 38 Number of children on roll 73 Name of provider Aspire Nurseries Limited Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01304 363 360

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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

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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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