Roundabout Nursery

Roundabout Nursery Whitehawk Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 5FL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/12/2012 20/10/2010

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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

 Staff are dedicated and enthusiastic, and they embrace training opportunities to further their skills and knowledge. They look to develop new initiatives by fully engaging in thoughtful reflective practice and self-evaluation systems.  Practitioners are fully aware of and extremely attentive to children's needs. Exceptionally close, warm relationships are evident between staff and children.  Children's development is exceptionally well supported by highly enthusiastic staff who have thorough knowledge and understanding of how to promote the learning and development of the children.  Partnerships with parents are outstanding because the nursery places high determination towards working with families.  Senior staff are inspirational in their leadership. Together with staff, they have developed excellent relationships with external agencies and partners.

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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 activities in the three main rooms including the baby room, both indoors and in the outdoor learning environment, including a trip to the local primary school.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the registered person, the managers, early years practitioners, and agency and administration staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled some documentation in relation to children's progress, evidence of suitability of practitioners working within the nursery, the provider's self- evaluation record and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had meetings with the qualified teacher, the inclusion coordinator, and two managers, which included carrying out a joint observation of a staff member in the baby room.

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Information about the setting

Roundabout Nursery registered in 2006 and is owned and funded by the local council. They operate as part of a Children's Centre in the Whitehawk area of Brighton, East Sussex. The nursery is in a separate building next to the Children's Centre, and children have sole use of three dedicated play rooms. There is also a family room and one to one room for use as required. There are a number of secure outdoor areas available next to each play space. A maximum of 86 children may attend the nursery at any one time. The nursery is open from 8am to 6pm five days a week, for 51 weeks of the year. There are currently 189 children aged from three months to under five years on roll. This includes children of two, three-and four-year-olds who are in receipt of funding. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children with English as an additional language. The nursery employs 36 members of staff, 31 of whom

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Information about the setting

hold appropriate early years qualifications. Additional services available at the Children's Centre include midwives, health visitors, a doctor's surgery, parent and child groups and a speech and language therapist.

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

 when praising children, be specific about what they have done well, helping them to become aware of their own goals.

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who attend

Children are very happy, settled, and keen to explore their surroundings. Staff are motivated, highly qualified and experienced and have a wonderful knowledge of each child's individual needs and interests. The system for observation and assessment is clear and highly organised. Planning responds exceptionally well to children's individuality. Children enjoy choosing activities indoors and out in an environment extremely conducive to learning. Additional learning needs are quickly identified and well met. Staff make referrals to external agencies as appropriate. Children are progressing well in all areas of learning and development relative to their starting points due to the wide range of stimulating activities. There is an extremely strong emphasis on children and families' individuality. This approach ensures that staff are clearly aware of progress and so supports them in planning ahead for each child's next steps in their development.

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who attend

Adults interact extremely well with the babies during their play and constantly chatter to them. They , model language effectively to encourage the development of babies' communication skills as well as using smiles and facial expressions. The nursery uses the 'Every Child a Talker' programme. This helps to identify children at risk of delay in their communication, language, cognitive skills, and/or social skills. Data shows that many of the children initially identified by the nursery as significantly delayed in these skills are now at or above their developmental age giving them a secure start to their education.

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who attend

Staff are skilled at fully challenging the children to extend their learning in their chosen activities through effective questioning. Staff are well deployed and move around the play room, engaging with the children in their play choices. Staff praise the children although they do not always offer reasons why the child has done well.

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who attend

Resources are freely available to children, which supports them in making choices about their play. Children of different ages have opportunities to play together, thereby encouraging further learning from others. An interesting range of activities is provided to promote children's mathematical development, including puzzles, jigsaws, and games. Staff regularly take advantage of opportunities to develop children's counting skills in daily routines such as mealtimes or during messy play activities. Adults sing number rhymes and tell stories with a mathematical theme, such as '1,2,3,4,5, Once I caught a fish alive'

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who attend

Children delight in hearing stories read by adults. They listen carefully and look at illustrations together, joining in with the story and offering suggestions. Children's creative skills are regularly promoted with the use of their imagination. The children enjoy a broad range of small world resources. For example dolls houses, train tracks and small cars and trucks. This develops children's knowledge and understanding of the wider world.

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who attend

The children have enormous fun as they freely experiment with capacity and volume in water play. Children express themselves with an excellent range of different materials in their messy play activities, for example paint, flour, playdough, sticking materials, spaghetti, shaving foam, and dried lentils and beans.

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who attend

Children enjoy excellent opportunities for daily physical exercise because they can access outdoor areas at all times throughout the day. Adults support the babies with their physical development by holding their hands as they move around the room, and by encouraging movement about the room either by crawling or walking. Children are encouraged to be environmentally aware by recycling paper, and using household packaging for junk modelling. They make decorations made from old ribbons and Christmas garlands that a parent has brought in. Staff encourage the children to look at the materials in a new way, deciding how its shape and form might suit another purpose

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

The nursery staff's ability to recognise the individuality of each child significantly contributes to the exemplary care that the children receive. A strong inclusive ethos threads through all aspects of the nursery. Children benefit from consistent routines between home and nursery, which helps to secure children's sense of belonging and emotional well-being.

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

The key person system supports the highly effective communication between staff and parents and this enables close bonds to form with children. Adults are extremely receptive to the messages that children are attempting to convey. Older children also enjoy positive interactions with adults. Young children receive plenty of eye contact and feel nurtured because they give children cuddles when they are feeling unsure. These exceptionally secure relationships contribute considerably towards the nursery's gentle and harmonious atmosphere.

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

Children thoroughly enjoy story and singing sessions with adults. They listen carefully with interest to stories and snuggle up to staff to share a well-known story. They happily join in with physical games and excitedly sing favourite songs like 'twinkle, twinkle little star'. Children emulate the behaviour of the adults, who are all fantastic role models. Children are always polite, thoughtful and well behaved. For instance, they automatically say sorry to one another and make room for each other as they jostle for position at popular activities.

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

Adults positively encourage children to think carefully about their safety as they play and consequently, children demonstrate an increasing awareness of safe behaviours. Meticulous arrangements are in place to support children's good health and minimise cross infection. For example, children in the baby room are well protected as overshoes are provided for visitors and staff wear slippers, so that the floor does not become contaminated.

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

Children develop a positive attitude towards healthy eating because they enjoy nutritious balanced meals and snacks. They enjoy a selection of fresh fruit during the morning, and shepherd's pie and vegetables at lunchtime. They access fresh drinking water independently throughout the day to ensure they remain hydrated.

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

Staff ensure that activities are not confined to indoors and children enjoy playing with water, climbing and sliding on equipment, and painting in the garden. The nursery's highly stimulating and challenging environment supports children in developing independent, active learning as they play. Children are confident during times of transition. This is because staff have developed highly effective systems to support children during these times and allow them time to explore and investigate their new surroundings

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provision

The strong management team are inspirational because they work extremely well together to achieve a shared vision. They are actively involved within the nursery and are eager to provide the highest service for the local community.

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provision

The management team in addition to the Qualified Teacher and the Inclusion Coordinator monitor educational programmes closely. They are committed to the provision of high quality care and education for all children and work alongside staff, encouraging them as they look to continually extend their knowledge and improve practice.

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provision

Staff members carefully consider what the children will gain from flexibly applied planned activities. Staff are delighted and positively encourage them when children lead the way in their own learning. This system of observing and evaluating children's progress is exceedingly effective in recognising their individual achievements and identifying the next steps in each child's learning and development plan.

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provision

Practitioners work exceptionally well as a team and benefit from great encouragement and support by management to extend their own learning, development, and interests. This helps promote a decidedly positive atmosphere where children and staff feel secure, respected and happy.

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provision

Meetings with staff from different positions within the workforce support self-evaluation. Peer observations ensure the exceptional level of commitment by staff to continually review and develop aspects of the provision. Consequently, the development of plans include targets that are achievable and appropriate, such as ways of actively encouraging parents to be part of their child's learning.

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provision

Staff implement some strong methods to improve the quality of the provision. For instance, they embrace opportunities to complete local authority and national quality assurance schemes.

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provision

All staff have an excellent understanding of their responsibility to safeguard children and do so effectively. Staff are trained in first aid, well stocked first aid boxes are located where needed, and accidents are diligently recorded. The records, policies and procedures are superbly organised and are highly effective in supporting the nursery. Robust recruitment procedures are carried out to ensure that all staff are suitable to work with children. Security and safety is given the highest priority in the setting and the necessary safety precautions are taken to minimise any hazards. Staff regularly complete thorough risk assessments for all areas of the nursery, and for any trips or outings away from the setting.

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provision

Wholly effective partnerships with parents, other professionals and schools enables adults to work together in a fully unified way to provide outstanding continuity of care and give children the best start in life

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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 EY334821 Local authority Brighton & Hove Inspection number 827383 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 86 Number of children on roll 189 Name of provider Brighton & Hove City Council Date of previous inspection 20/10/2010 Telephone number 01273 294 780

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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

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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