YMCA Fairthorne Manor Day Nursery

Fairthorne Manor Day Nursery & Holiday Playscheme Curdridge, Southampton, Hampshire, SO30 2GH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/11/2012 14/01/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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 relish their time at the nursery and join in purposefully and enthusiastically. They are eager to take part in the wide range of interesting and stimulating experiences offered to them each day.  Staff are passionate and enthusiastic about the environment and experiences that they provide for children. They are well qualified and experienced and use exceptionally good teaching techniques.  Children's physical development has particular emphasis. Every day children are able to learn through play in the varied and exciting outdoor environment.  Management, staff and the directors work extremely efficiently to ensure the setting is organised well and that the nursery operates smoothly. They have an excellent understanding of their responsibilities in meeting both the safeguarding and welfare requirements and the learning and development requirements and in ensuring staff's suitability.

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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 baby, toddler and pre-school rooms, in the garden areas and in the woods.  The inspector observed children's play and staff interaction, indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the staff, manager and nominated person at appropriate times throughout the observations.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journeys, planning documentation, the self-evaluation form and a selection of policies and children's records, development plans and staff suitability records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of two parents, a reception teacher who was also a prospective parent and the area inclusion officer, all of whom were visiting on the day.

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Information about the setting

Fairthorne Manor provides several childcare facilities. The nursery operates from Fairthorne Manor house and the holiday club operates from the grounds on the Fairthorne estate and the sports hall. Children have access to several rooms throughout the nursery, with an enclosed garden available. There are currently 142 children on roll in the early years age group, aged from four months to five years. The setting is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four years. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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Information about the setting

The setting opens each week day, all year round, except for Christmas. Sessions run from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Children are able to attend half day sessions, as well as full days. The nursery employs 25 members of staff; of whom 21 hold appropriate early years qualifications and four are currently training. The Day-camp is registered to provide care to children from four years to eight years old, although children also attend up to 16 years old. Children over seven years are able to access the residential facilities. Sessions run from 9am until 4pm and care is available from 7.45am at the breakfast club and also from 4pm until 6pm. There are appropriate procedures in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and the group are able to support children who speak English as an additional language.

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

 strengthen the effectiveness of the self-evaluation system by including contributions from staff, parents and children and an evaluation of the holiday playscheme.

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who attend

The atmosphere of the day nursery is busy, stimulating and exciting. Staff are passionate and enthusiastic about the environment and experiences that they provide for children. They are well qualified and experienced and use exceptionally good teaching techniques. This has an extremely positive impact on children's learning and development and ensures that they all make very good progress. Children relish their time at the nursery and join in purposefully and enthusiastically. They are eager to take part in the wide range of interesting and stimulating experiences offered to them each day. Staff are extremely attentive to each child's needs. They deploy themselves effectively and work together to enhance children's learning, both indoors and outside in the spectacular and varied setting. Staff interact very well with the children, getting down to their level and gaining their attention. They talk clearly and give children plenty of time to think and form their

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who attend

answers. For example, when out in the woods, they ask children what actions they need to take to get down from the play house where they have climbed. They allow children time to think and work this out for themselves, while being ready to provide support if it should be needed. All children respond extremely well to this technique. They show great fortitude and independence and take a 'have a go' approach.

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who attend

Children develop very good communication skills as they are encouraged to speak clearly and politely to their friends and to adults. They sing a huge range of songs and rhymes and older children learn the phonetic sounds of the letters in their names. Babies and toddlers enjoy listening to stories and some confidently shout out the names of the vehicles in the book or point to the familiar pictures. Older children develop their mathematical language as they discuss the size and length of the logs they need to make their fire in the woods. They learn about measuring as they carry water from the puddles to fill up their buckets or talk about how long the worms are.

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who attend

Children's physical development is given particular emphasis. They are taken out every day and learn through play in the interesting and exciting outdoor environment. They learn valuable life skills, such as keeping themselves safe or becoming independent in their self-care routines. As a result, babies and young children develop in confidence and self-esteem as they progress through the nursery. School-age children in the early years age range who attend the holiday scheme also have access to the exceptionally well planned environment. They learn resourcefulness and independence as they work together to build camp fires or dens. They learn to take risks in the extraordinarily well managed and supportive surroundings.

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who attend

Staff plan children's experiences to cover the seven required areas of learning, both indoors and out. Planning documents detail a huge programme of varied and interesting activities for all children. Staff plan activities to enable babies to learn about texture and feeling as they play in the gloop or sit in the paint tray, making shapes and marks with their fingers and toes. They take toddlers for walks in the woods where they collect leaves or fir cones and learn the names of insects they see. All children particularly enjoy the times when the different age groups come together and children learn about caring for others and how to be kind. Planning for individual children is based on observations and assessments made by key staff, who discuss children's learning with relevant parents every day. Assessments are also prepared for the 2-year-old check to ensure that all children are making progress at the expected rate. Staff work extremely closely with

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who attend

parents to keep them informed about their children's learning and development. Parents are invited in to look at the different environments, such as the woods and the ponds, or to look at their children's learning journeys. They are encouraged to inform staff about the children's positive achievements at home so that staff can talk about these and add them to the child's family tree at the nursery. Staff provide a continuous curriculum of activities and also plan clear next steps for every child's learning. These next steps are clearly linked to each child's age and stage of development and help to ensure that all children make the best possible progress. Any children who are assessed as needing extra support or guidance, such as children with any particular needs or English as an additional language, are very well provided for. If it is felt that children and their families would benefit, other professionals are invited in to work with staff and provide further expertise.

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

All babies and young children are very happy, settled and thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery. Care practices are extremely good and children learn about good hygiene routines and are developing a very strong sense of independence. Babies' routine needs are met efficiently by staff who are flexible and adaptable. An effective and well established key person system ensures that meal and sleep times are individual to each child and agreed with parents. All staff know the children in the nursery well, but form particularly close bonds with the children and families for whom they take special responsibility. This helps children to feel safe and secure within the nursery and enables them to quickly develop their confidence and independence.

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

Children confidently help themselves to the child-accessible resources and equipment. Children who attend the holiday club have access to age and stage appropriate resources and also enjoy use of the extensive grounds and outdoor equipment. Children interact extremely well with staff, asking for help or support if required. Children know the routine very well and many help to tidy the toys away before lunch or story time. All children enjoy a hot, nutritious meal at midday and the nursery is able to cater for all dietary requirements. Babies are encouraged to try feeding themselves and older children to serve their own food. Children know to wash their hands before lunch and to sit quietly while eating. All children very much enjoy the interaction with their friends and staff who sit with them. They chat confidently about healthy eating, what they have done during the morning or their plans for the afternoon session. The nursery grows many of their own

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

fruit and vegetables and children are given the opportunity to tend to these and to watch them grow. Older children learn about different flavours and cooking methods as they make soup or try new vegetables. Children in the pre-school rooms are able to access tissues themselves and are encouraged to learn how to meet their own hygiene needs.

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

Children behave extremely well and many learn to play cooperatively with their friends and staff, talking about what they are doing or making rules for their imaginative games. They understand the rules of the nursery very well and are learning that they must be kind to each other and take turns with equipment. Children confidently remind each other, and sometimes adults, of the rules. Staff use very successful strategies, such as praising children, encouraging them to listen to each other and to respect others ideas. Children respond well to this and offer to help staff with chores or remind other children about being kind. Children's understanding of safety is threaded through every daily routine and activity. They talk about keeping safe on the slippery leaves while they walk to the woods and remind others about not going near the fire area.

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

Staff skilfully support children's transitions, both within the nursery and to other settings and schools. Children visit the next age group within the nursery before moving up permanently to ensure that they are familiar with both staff and the environment. Children often play together in sibling or mixed age groups, helping them to learn about caring and looking after each other. The nursery children feed into a wide range of different schools. They are well supported in this, as either reception teachers are invited into the setting to meet the children or staff from the nursery visit the schools. Excellent reports covering all areas of learning and development are passed to schools so that they already have a very good knowledge of each child's abilities.

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provision

Management, staff and the directors work extremely efficiently to ensure that the setting is organised well and that the nursery operates smoothly on a daily basis. They have an excellent understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare, and the learning and development requirements and ensuring staff suitability. Extremely robust systems are in place to ensure that all staff are suitably qualified and appropriately vetted. Staff are not allowed to work with children until all checks are cleared. The manager carries out regular appraisals for the staff to identify their future training needs. These are clearly targeted to improve their already excellent practice. The directors of the company also carry out an appraisal for the manager to ensure her continued professional development and to monitor her effectiveness. The whole team work exceptionally well together in the pursuit of excellence.

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provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children's well-being are well established and extremely effective. All staff receive training in how to protect the children in their care and as a result have an excellent understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The implementation of a comprehensive range of policies and procedures and accurate completion of records ensures children's needs are exceptionally well met and that they are fully safeguarded. The named member of staff for safeguarding has very effective systems to monitor the implementation of the safeguarding and welfare requirements.

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provision

Staff organise the environment in all areas of the nursery to ensure it is interesting and welcoming for children and meets their learning needs. Management also monitor the education provided for children, ensuring that children make very good progress in all areas of learning. Staff and management form highly effective partnerships with parents and other agencies to ensure that any interventions needed are secured and children receive the support they need. Parents express huge appreciation of the staff's work and dedication. They particularly appreciate the time that sibling children spend together and the excellent feedback that they receive from staff about their child's day at nursery. The manager of the nursery carries out accurate self-evaluation. She is able to successfully identify the setting's strengths and areas for on-going development. All staff read and contribute to the self-evaluation document and it contains comprehensive

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provision

information about how the setting works with parents. Currently, it does not fully reflect the views of staff, children and parents or include evaluation of the holiday scheme to ensure these all feed into the improvement plan. Despite this, the staff and management team continue to make many successful improvements to their already excellent practice to ensure improved learning outcomes for all children at both the nursery and holiday scheme.

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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 110056 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 887803 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 89 Number of children on roll 142 Name of provider YMCA Fairthorne Group Date of previous inspection 14/01/2009 Telephone number 01489 785228

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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. 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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