Partou Natures Day Nursery & Pre-SchoolOfsted inspection, 20 Dec 2012

Natures Nursery (Ascot) The Meridian House, London Road, Sunninghill, ASCOT, Berkshire, SL5 0PL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/12/2012 02/07/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 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

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This provision is good

 The nursery staff provide a stimulating learning environment that ensures children enjoy learning and make good progress.  The outdoor area and forest school facilities provide an exciting range of experiences that contribute well to all children's overall development.  Staff establish positive relationships with parents who are kept well informed about their children's well-being and progress.  The new manager has made a good start in her role and has a clear vision for the future of the nursery.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Planning is not yet providing all children with equal opportunity to try activities that are provided by outside specialists.

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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 compulsory part 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 held discussions with the manager and deputy manager.  The inspector took account of parents' views following discussions with them.  The inspector spoke to children and staff.  The inspector reviewed a sample of the nursery's documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector made a number of observations of activities, including undertaking a joint observation of an activity with the nursery manager.

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Information about the setting

Nature's Nursery (Ascot) was registered in 2010. It is one of four private nurseries and is owned by Nature's Nursery (Ascot) Limited. It operates from a converted two storey building in Sunninghill, near Ascot, Berkshire. The children have access to play rooms on the ground and first floor levels of the property. All children share access to an outdoor play area. The nursery is open from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday all year round, except for bank holidays and Christmas. Children attend for a variety of sessions. With prior arrangement the nursery offers care from 7.30am until 6.30pm. The nursery is also registered on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. A maximum of 82 children may be cared for at any one time, all of whom may be in the early years age group. There are currently 112 children from under one to five years on roll. The nursery provides support to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. There are 24

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Information about the setting

members of staff, of whom 16 hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-olds.

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

 explore ways of providing all children with opportunities to experience all the activities available, so everyone has an equal chance to enjoy these.

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who attend

Children enjoy attending the nursery because staff provide them with an inviting and stimulating range of activities overall. The staff provide well for their individual needs and this support helps children to make good progress towards expected levels of development for their stages of development. Interesting activities are organised across all areas of learning to enable children to make choices, and are often planned to meet children's specific interests. There is an appropriate balance between those activities children select for themselves, and those led by an adult, to provide a balanced range of planned experiences across all required areas of learning. The nursery also offers an exceptional variety of outdoor activities in the large grounds. Varied equipment here promotes children's physical development very effectively as well as helping them learn to play together and use their imagination. This range includes a large sand pit, a hay loft, a

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who attend

den making area and a sensory garden, so children eagerly explore the natural environment. Children enjoy planting and growing, and, in the summer, harvest the vegetables they have grown which are then cooked and eaten. They enjoy collecting eggs from the hens, and caring for the rabbits and guinea pigs. The 'forest school' strongly promotes care and understanding of the environment through the provision of well planned activities. Children enjoy collecting seeds and making bird feeders to provide for birds in winter. Using materials they gather from the grounds children make bird mobiles from twigs and feathers, and display them in the forest school room. They learn to use tools safely as they do so, and with adult support cut wood to fashion necklaces and medallions. Children look at good quality books about the environment and find the illustrations especially interesting. The nursery staff provide a number of additional activities that enrich children's

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who attend

experiences including regular swimming tuition, and specially adapted versions of tennis and football for under fives are provided by local sports coaches, although these are not available for every child to enjoy. Strong emphasis is placed on children's personal development and through the wide range of activities provided and the good progress they make it is clear that children are becoming confident learners.

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who attend

Staff monitor and assess the progress children are making through regular observations in all areas of learning using the new Early Years Foundation Stage framework. Although the new manager is reviewing the planning there is a need to consider how she can provide all children with greater opportunities to explore new and exciting activities, such as those provided by outside specialists. However, staff do know their children well and talk confidently about how well they are doing in all areas of learning and development. Records show children are making good progress overall. The requirement to provide a progress report for two-year-olds has recently been completed and shared with parents. The nursery provides good support for children who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Two members of staff have received training in this area and keep parents well informed about developments. Careful monitoring of children where there are

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who attend

concerns leads to advice and guidance being arranged with outside agencies, to ensure the appropriate support is provided to enable them to make good progress in learning and development.

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who attend

The nursery has strong links with parents and keeps them well informed about their children's progress and development on a regular basis through the well established key person system. Parents say the nursery is very positive in helping their children and seeks their views on what children find interesting. Parents particularly like the information boards outside the rooms explaining the events and activities of the day. Daily reports provided through oral feedback from staff, and children's 'Learning Journeys' are always available for parents to view. The nursery staff seek information from parents when children first start and the manager has rightly identified this as an area for development in her initial self-evaluation of the provision. Nevertheless, because of the overall good provision made for their learning and development, children are prepared well for their next stage in learning.

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

The nursery provides a welcoming and secure environment that caters well for children's individual needs and where all groups of children receive a good level of care. Strong, trusting relationships with their 'key persons' help children to feel safe and secure and assists in their overall personal development. Opportunities through well-provided, enjoyable activities enable children to engage in talk and play with adults and other children, and to learn to share and take turns. These outcomes are evident in the Christmas party games where children play with obvious enjoyment and follow the rules without disagreement. Behaviour is good because of the positive ethos that exists where all children are valued and managed well by staff. Children receive encouragement to have a go at doing things for themselves and this promotes the development of their independence well, together with helping children gain good attitudes to learning for their

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

future lives. At lunch time, for example, they all have attempts at serving themselves when it is their turn.

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

All groups of children enjoy exploring their environment, including those in the baby room and the pre-school group, because of the well planned and stimulating activities that are provided for them there. The babies are well provided for and a good range of resources is made available for them to examine, push or pull, or explore areas such as the tent in the corner, with encouragement from the staff. In the 'forest school' older children go out in search of cones and seeds to use in their winter bird feeders, or make dens using a variety of different materials, which develops imaginative play.

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

There is a strong emphasis on promoting the physical development of children through the wide use of the extensive outdoor area. These resources are used well to encourage children to be active in a variety of ways and in developing skills, such as climbing. Children wear appropriate clothing when outdoors. Children know how to keep themselves safe because they are taught how to use tools and equipment safely. These activities are all risk assessed by staff. Evacuation procedures are practiced regularly. Regular, effective hygiene practices are promoted through enabling children to understand when they need to wash their hands, such as after a messy activity or when preparing for meal times. Healthy eating is encouraged effectively through well balanced menus that allow children to make healthy choices. Staff ensure good practices are followed and use anti-bacterial products to wash their hands as necessary to prevent cross contamination, as this was an

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

issue at the previous inspection. The good progress made by children in their development of skills and attitudes, including gaining confidence, is preparing them well for the next stage of their education.

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provision

The manager of the nursery is new having been in post some nine weeks at the time of inspection. She is an experienced manager and has brought with her a number of useful skills and abilities. Her initial evaluation of the provision has identified some areas for development accurately, including reviewing the planning process and involving parents more in providing further information at the time of their children's entry to the nursery. Room observations are providing the manager with information about the quality of staff support, and are followed up with one-to-one interviews. These are enabling her to get to know individual strengths and weaknesses of staff, to identify any training needs and forming the basis of her improvement plan well.

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provision

There is a clear understanding by all staff of how to safeguard children effectively through the nursery's current policies and procedure. All staff have recently received updated training in child protection procedures and an appropriate number of staff hold paediatric first aid certificates and have food handling qualifications. Strict vetting procedures are in place and references taken up before appointments are made, so children are cared for by suitable staff. Regular risk assessments are carried out to ensure safety of the premises and equipment, and to maintain adult to child ratios as required. Concerns raised about the safety of electrical sockets at the previous inspection have now been addressed. Rooms are kept warm and the premises are secure, being monitored by closed circuit television. The manager acts on concerns raised by parents. Safeguarding and welfare requirements form a firm basis for the strong emphasis placed on children's safety.

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provision

The manager ensures that all required educational programmes are covered well overall in planning, although these are currently under review. She also checks that useful assessments are carried out on children's progress. These are shared with parents regularly, and monitored for any concerns that may need following up. Good partnership working exists with the local authority staff who provide professional advice and guidance, and also facilitate connections with other services and agencies that are able to provide support for children and their parents.

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provision

Parents greatly value the many opportunities the nursery provides to keep them informed about their children's progress. These good links help to reinforce and support good habits and sleep routines. Parents say staff are ready to listen, happy to receive information, help parents to support learning at home and link activities to their children's interests. They express confidence in the new manager and appreciate her experience. Following a recent complaint, for example, she took decisive action to rectify a situation following an error of judgement by a junior member of staff. Disciplinary action followed and relevant internal action was taken to reinforce the following of correct procedures. There are effective systems for supporting newly trained staff through their induction period by room leaders and the manager. Their progress is monitored and they are required to complete a self- review on their own performance after the first three months of working. The manager

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provision

demonstrates that she has the capacity to carry out a programme of improvements when she has completed her current improvement plan.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY404137 Local authority Windsor & Maidenhead Inspection number 894575

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 82 Total number of places 82 Number of children on roll 114 Name of provider Nature's Nursery (Ascot) Limited Date of previous inspection 02/07/2010 Telephone number 01344 625070

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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.

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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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