Highnam Day Nursery

Highnam Day Nursery Lassington Lane, Highnam, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL2 8DH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/10/2012 27/10/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 There is a lack of provision of the seven areas of learning as the quality of resources is poor and the learning environment is not stimulating. As a result, children do not learn effectively.  Assessment procedures do not work well in practice. Planning does not identify children's next steps and learning intentions are not clear. As a result, staff do not have a clear understanding of children's progress or how to help them develop further.  Self-evaluation is weak and has too little impact. There is no monitoring or accountability system for the provider and manager. As a result, practice is poor in some areas. The registered provider does not have a clear understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The safeguarding policy does not meet legal requirements and therefore staff are not up to date with current procedures.

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It has the following strengths

 A new manager is in post with fresh ideas and has the capacity to bring about some improvement.  Staff are friendly and have good relationships with parents and children.

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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 children in baby room, toddler and pre-school rooms and outside  The inspector held discussions with the manager and provider  The inspector talked to a selection of parents  The inspector scrutinised a selection of policies and documents  The inspector talked to staff and children

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Information about the setting

Highnam Day Nursery, owned by Highnam Day Nursery Ltd, registered in 2004. It operates from a purpose-built, two-storey building in the village of Highnam, situated between Gloucester and Hereford. The nursery serves the village and surrounding area, and has links with the local primary school. The nursery is accessible to all children and there is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round, except for a week at Christmas. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6.30pm. Children are able to attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 59 children attending in the early years age range. The nursery also offers care to children aged over five years to eight years. It is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education for three and four-year-olds. It supports children with special

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Information about the setting

educational needs and/or disabilities, and children learning English as an additional language. The nursery employs nine members of permanent childcare staff and a number of bank staff. Of the permanent staff, the manager holds a degree in Early Childhood Studies, one has a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) at level 4, four have an NVQ at level 3, two have an NVQ at level 2 and one is unqualified.

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must:

 ensure that the provider is fully aware of their responsibilities to promote the learning and development of all children in their care.  ensure there is effective supervision of staff by introducing clear management and accountability arrangements that are understood by both the provider and manager to enable effective monitoring of the childcare practice to take place  ensure the safeguarding policy is up to date by revising it in line with recent changes, such as the use of mobile phones and cameras  ensure effective assessment systems are in place to ensure that there is accurate identification of learning priorities for individual children  improve planning to ensure that activities are effective in meeting children's needs and build upon the identified learning priorities so that children make consistent progress in their learning and development  improve the educational programmes by ensuring there is continuous provision of

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must:

the seven areas of learning through a wide range of stimulating activities and resources both indoors and outside

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

 develop the rigorous use of self-evaluation to identify priority areas to improve and to set challenging targets for the implementation of these improvements.

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who attend

Children across the whole age range are not readily able to make their own choices to enable them to be active learners, because of the limited provision of activities and resources in most areas of learning. For example, there is a lack of water and sand play, limited early writing materials, no mathematical resources and limited creative materials. At the start of the day, few activities are set out on the tables to engage children and motivate children in their learning. Many resources to support learning are of poor quality, such as in the home corner, where there is a lack of good quality kitchen equipment to encourage imaginative play. Role-play clothing is extremely limited and not displayed attractively enough to encourage children to use it imaginatively. Book corners do not inspire an interest in reading due to their poor quality and a limited number of books. Some of the resources and furniture are not clean, which makes them uninviting. Wet and

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who attend

messy areas are available but staff do not encourage children to make suitable use of them, particularly in the baby room. There is little use of labelling of resources to encourage children to understand that print carries meaning.

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who attend

The outdoor play area provides equipment for children's physical development. However, staff do not encourage children to make good use of it and they do not provide for all areas of learning outside. For example, the outdoor environment does not promote reinforcement of numbers and letters nor does it provide exploratory or creative activities, or problem solving. This restricts learning experiences for children who enjoy being outdoors. Despite these weaknesses, children do enjoy being outside in the safe environment engaging in some learning activities, such as listening to a story with an adult. They follow the story carefully, look at the pictures and discuss the questions asked. They tend the seeds they have grown and give them water when needed. They enjoy talking with staff about the pet rabbit. Children are developing some counting skills through practical activities, for example when children are moving along the 'stepping

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who attend

stones' in the outdoor play area, and also through the regular use of counting songs. However, the learning environment overall does not adequately cover all areas of learning or provide activities in enough depth or breadth to help children throughout the nursery make expected progress.

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who attend

Planning arrangements are relatively new, but do not identify next steps in children's learning. Learning intentions are not clear and long-term planning is not in place. Arrangements for assessing children's progress are not effective. As a result, although staff plan activities to reflect children's interests, they are not able to effectively match activities to children's individual capabilities or to prepare them well for the next stage of learning and for school.

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who attend

Parents speak positively of the way staff settle children when they first start attending. They say children enjoy their experiences, and the key person link keeps them well informed. Staff encourage parents to share information about their children's interests, experiences, likes, and dislikes when they start. These are used to establish some starting points to help staff to settle the children and begin to form a baseline for beginning assessment. However these focus mainly of aspects of the children's care. The lack of effective planning and assessment limits the quality of the information given to the parents by the staff to enable parents to continue their children's learning at home. Staff communicate with parents on a day-to day basis and through newsletters, notice boards and annual open evenings. Parents find the staff both welcoming and friendly.

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

The environment lacks stimulation for children of all ages. There are few displays of children's work, which does not promote a welcoming environment or enable children to take pride in their achievements. There are no resources or activities to promote an understanding of the children's own cultures and traditions, or those of others. Consequently, there is insufficient challenge for all children and the environment does not promote their all-round development. Staff do not prepare children well for their next steps in learning or for school.

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

Despite these weaknesses, children enjoy attending the nursery, which is safe and secure. They receive a warm welcome from the staff on arrival and settle quickly when their parents leave them. Parents say that staff look after their children well. Relationships are good and staff clearly care for the children in their charge. For example, when distressed or upset, babies receive a reassuring word or a cuddle. Children behave well and learn to co-operate with others by sharing equipment and participating with others in activities. The key persons establish strong and trusting bonds with children and their families. Children show that they feel safe through their confident behaviour. They follow instructions and join in with others readily, such as in singing or in an adult-led activity.

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

Staff give children's safety high priority, and there are secure procedures to supervise them at all times. The nursery maintains required ratios of adults to children through flexible use of staff throughout the day. Staff promote the importance of a healthy lifestyle through balanced healthy snacks and lunch menus. They provide children with regular opportunities for exercise and children are familiar with health routines, such as hand washing and oral cleanliness. Staff encourage children to be independent at times, such as pouring their own drinks at snack time. Hygiene practices are suitable although staff do not effectively encourage children to take some responsibility in serving or helping at snack time. Older children are able to manage their own toileting needs.

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provision

Procedures to monitor the effectiveness of the educational programmes and the observation, assessment and planning process are inadequate. While the nursery has introduced the new Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), the management has not ensured that there is sufficient provision of different areas of learning throughout the day for all groups of children. The new manager has already identified that resources to support learning are often of poor quality, and that this is an area for improvement. She has made a positive start by changing the focus of planning so that it more closely matches children's interests. However, this is at an early stage of development and lacks depth and breadth, and it is not clear how staff identify children's next steps in learning. In adult-led activities, the learning intentions are not clear, and systems to assess children's progress are not effective.

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provision

There is no effective self-evaluation process in place to ensure ongoing improvements are identified. Although the manager is aware of some weaknesses, she is not currently addressing all these effectively. She has proposals for evaluating the provision, which will include the views of staff and the local authority. She demonstrates that she has the capacity to make the necessary improvements. The provider does not have a clear knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The effectiveness of planning and delivery of the educational programmes is not closely monitored to ensure that all children make sufficient progress in relation to their starting points.

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provision

Opportunities for staff professional development are in place through attendance at courses, but systems for mentoring and support are not fully effective. This limits the ability of the staff team to improve outcomes for children. There are links with external agencies to support children with particular needs and the nursery has a special educational needs co-ordinator in post. However, the nursery does not identify children's needs promptly, which risks delaying the support they require. The nursery has effective connections with the local primary school where many of the nursery children transfer at five years of age.

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provision

Providing a safe and secure environment for children is a key priority at this nursery. The secure premises are equipped with coded locks and closed circuit television. All rooms have security gates and staff carry out regular safety checks to ensure a safe environment for all. All staff receive child protection training and understand their responsibilities in reporting concerns. However, the safeguarding policy is not up to date and does not include information about the use of mobile phones and cameras, which is a breach of legal requirements. Recruitment systems are sound and the nursery conducts criminal record checks as soon as an appointment is made, as this was an issue at the last inspection. The nursery has also addressed other issues raised at that time.

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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 EY276741 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 814655 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 59 Name of provider Highnam Day Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 27/10/2009 Telephone number 01452 416 000

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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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