Flora House Day Nursery

Flora House Day Nursery LTD 180 Coniscliffe Road, DARLINGTON, County Durham, DL3 8PA

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/12/2012 23/03/2011

p.1

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

p.1

This provision is good

 The setting has a strong family ethos and as a result means parents, children and staff are happy and children thrive in the setting.  Very good relationships with parents means the children are fully supported at home and in the setting to make the best possible progress.  The manager evaluates the provision well and as a result she is able to make improvements quickly.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 The setting does not always include the views of parents and staff in their evaluations of the setting. As a result the plans for improvements do not take into account the views of the setting as a whole.  Older children are not able to access the touchscreen computer easily due to the layout of the room. This impacts on their learning and safety.

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector toured the setting with the manager.  The inspector interviewed the manager.  The inspector carried out observations with the manager.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of documents including planning, assessments and policies.

p.2

Information about the setting

Flora House Day Nursery was registered in 2003 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is owned and managed as a family run business. It operates from six activity rooms in a large converted property in the west end of Darlington. There is access to an outdoor play area. The nursery is open each week day from 8am to 5.30pm all year except bank holidays and in between Christmas and New Year. The nursery employs 18 members of child care staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 79 children attending who are within the early years age group. The nursery receives funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special needs and/or disabilities.

p.2

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

 consider the layout of the room to make sure all equipment, including the touchscreen computer is easily accessible to all children.

p.3

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

 develop systems to ensure the views of parents, staff and children are regularly included in the self-evaluation process and staff are involved in developing action plans for their rooms.

p.3

who attend

This is a family run business and staff promote that family experience throughout the session. For example, if a parent rings to say that somebody else is collecting a child, where possible older children are able to talk to parents and hear the information themselves. As a result of this the whole ethos of the nursery supports engagement with parents. Parents are clearly part of the larger family of this nursery and they are free to come in and see what is happening or see the children. They contribute to initial assessments of children's starting points and care needs and they are kept well informed about their children's progress. As a result parents know where their child is at and how they can support them. Parents are encouraged to support and share information about their children's learning and development at home. 'All about me' files are accessible for parents to take home and fill in as required. These files have relevant comments from

p.3

who attend

home linked to observations in the setting, such as: 'my child doesn't like sharing at home either and says no.' The key person system ensures all practitioners use effective, targeted strategies and interventions to support learning that match the children's individual needs.

p.3

who attend

The children enjoy a range of interesting and challenging experiences across the seven areas of learning which is thoughtfully extended to support children's interests and next steps. For example babies enjoy using an icing pen and this activity is developed by planning further experiences, such as icing cakes and biscuits to promote this.

p.3

who attend

Staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of how to promote the learning and development of young children. Activities are planned with this in mind and children enjoy a range of activities outdoors and indoors to support this. Older children enjoy gardening and are fully engaged in this process from planting through to digging up and preparing vegetables to eat. Children enjoy learning about the weather and listen to the rain as it falls on the tin foil.

p.4

who attend

All children make good progress from their starting points. Children are working within the developmental range for their age. Children with English as a second language make good and at times very good progress. Practitioners know where children are in relation to Early Years Foundation Stage. Careful observations highlight achievement and next steps which is followed through into individualised planning. This information is used to plan further activities, such as dressing up activities to support a child's growing independence. Staff support children well through their observations and careful questioning. For example practitioners encouraged a child's interest in a magnifying glass effectively by showing her how the cow got bigger when looked at through the magnifying glass. She modelled appropriate vocabulary and supported her to explore this further until the child later said 'It's bigger'.

p.4

who attend

Children are given opportunities to count from an early age because the staff are good role models and use opportunities to do this such as counting out beakers and plates for meals and solving problems from an early age. In the baby room adults model counting as children post balls into an activity and slightly older children initiate counting and count with numbers in order. As a result of this children are making good progress in mathematics. A high priority is placed on books and communication and language and as a result children enjoy looking at and talking about pictures and listening to a range of stories selected independently from babies. Children are interested and enjoy learning about a range of festivals and celebrations. Children have recently enjoyed jubilee celebrations and were involved in planning the event including the picnic. And although disappointed when rain prevented an outdoor picnic the children obviously enjoyed

p.4

who attend

themselves enormously. Children access a range of equipment to support information communication technology and older children are able to load programmes on the computer.

p.4

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

Children are very happy and settled within the nursery and thrive in the family environment. The strong family ethos means that parents are happy with the nursery and rate it very highly. As a result children are happy in the setting, confident in new situations and deal well with them. For example children performed the Christmas Nativity and the 'Three Little Pigs' for parents confidently, singing with obvious enjoyment and confidently acting out various roles. Young children spoke confidently including the role of the wolf using well known refrains such as: 'Little pig, little pig, let me come in'. They separated from parents and carers well after the performance. A well-established key person role meant that children who did find this more difficult were able to link up and seek reassurance from their familiar adult. For example when a child became distressed before the performance a practitioner asked if the child wanted to see their key person and took

p.4

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

All staff are aware of the needs of the children and as a result they are able to support children's growing independence by recognising and responding to the needs, such as toilet training. Children's personal independence is promoted well and children as young as two are encouraged and supported to pull tights and clothing up and down. Children are encouraged to wash hands before snack and mealtimes.

p.5

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

The setting promotes independence and resources are clearly labelled and where possible accessible to the children. Where this is not always possible children confidently ask for the resources they require. This means children are able to operate independently within the setting. The environment is adapted to suit the needs of the children and recent changes, such as removing tables and creating more room for messy activities have been successful. Furniture is generally at child height but the positioning of a low level unit in front of a touch screen computer is making it difficult for children to access this without climbing on the unit. This is impacting on children's learning and safety as adults are spending a lot of time reminding children to climb down. Children have access to a well- equipped outdoor play area in all weather and waterproofs and wellies are available for wet days.

p.5

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

Transitions within the setting are managed effectively by careful planning of rooms and the use of additional staff who move through to the next room with children until they are settled. Children in the baby room access the next room for meals and nappy changing as well as some activities. As a result children are often familiar with the next room and very familiar with staff before the children move through. The nursery have worked hard to establish links with local schools and nurseries and children often attend events, such as nativities at the local school. Staff share assessments with each other and communicate regularly by telephone and where appropriate visit with the children to ensure smooth transitions into neighbouring schools.

p.5

provision

The provider is fully involved in the life of the nursery and is aware of his responsibility within the setting. He is very visible with both children and staff and has good relationships with the parents.

p.5

provision

The manager has a good overview of the curriculum. She uses a tracking tool effectively to monitor the provision for all children. As a result she has highlighted gaps and has taken steps to overcome them effectively. For example room layouts and resources outside have been developed to allow more space for boys to play and explore creatively which has effectively reduced the gap in achievement for boys. Regular monitoring of the setting including time in the rooms means that the manager is aware of the needs of all her staff and can target further training and support where necessary. Strong induction procedures mean that all staff, including students are aware of their role within the setting.

p.5

provision

Planning and assessment are monitored by the manager and deputy to make sure they are consistent, precise, and accurate. All assessments have observations to support them and as a result all staff including the manager have an accurate understanding of all children's skills, abilities and progress.

p.6

provision

Safeguarding is good because the manager and staff have a good awareness of their responsibilities. Clear policies and procedures are known and understood by all staff including students and are implemented consistently. Regular risk assessments mean that the setting is safe for children and regular monitoring of accidents means potential threats to safety are eliminated. Practitioners have a good understanding of and give a high priority to the safety of children. Children behave well in the setting and respond well when practitioners remind them of potential risks.

p.6

provision

Self-evaluation is good. The manager has a clear picture of where improvements need to be made based on careful monitoring of assessments and other records. For example changing resources outside to ensure more mark making resources are available means children are able to access a broad and balanced curriculum outside as well as inside. The setting has addressed all the recommendations from the previous inspection and is in the process of updating the Ofsted self-evaluation tool. However the views of staff and parents are not always included in this. As a result staff and parents are unable to fully support the improvement plan.

p.6

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

p.6

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.

p.6

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.

p.7

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.

p.7

Setting details

Unique reference number EY348184 Local authority Darlington Inspection number 820832

p.7

Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 11 Total number of places 44 Number of children on roll 91 Name of provider Flora House Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 23/03/2011 Telephone number 01325 462302

p.7

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.

p.7

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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,

p.8

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’.

p.9

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.9