Ladybirds Nursery School

Ladybirds Nursery School Fourth Littlehampton Scouts, Linden Park, LITTLEHAMPTON, West Sussex, BN17 7BH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/01/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

 Staff provide, and use, a very good range of challenging resources to help promote children's learning.  Staff get to know children well and accurately assess their progress. This enables them to effectively plan further activities that help individual children continue to make good progress.  Children develop good physical skills as they have fun playing with the indoor soft play equipment and on the outdoor climbing area.  Children show a strong sense of belonging and confidence as they move freely between the indoor and outdoor play areas.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff work closely with parents to meet children's care needs. However, staff have not made full use of the opportunities to encourage parents to share in children's learning and assessment.  The corridor and toilet facilities lack suitable heating and, as a result, these areas are very cold. This means that it is difficult for children to keep warm and stay comfortable when using these areas.

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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 playrooms and outdoor play area.  The inspector held a meeting with the owner/manager of the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled children's assessment records, planning documentation and other records.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the owner/manager.

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Information about the setting

Ladybirds Nursery School re-registered under new management in 2012. It operates from a scout hall in Littlehampton, West Sussex. The nursery has access to a large hall, two smaller rooms and a kitchen. The nursery opens five days a week during school term times. Opening times are from 9am to 4pm. All children share access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 39 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years. Children come from a wide catchment area. The nursery currently supports a number of children who learn English as an additional language. The nursery employs six staff. All of the staff, including the owner/manager, hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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

 extend ways in which parents can be involved in their children's development and learning in the setting and at home, and be kept informed about their children's achievements and progress.

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

 explore ways in which children's health and comfort can be further promoted with regard to the temperature of the corridor, toilets and nappy changing area.

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who attend

Children happily arrive at the nursery and confidently leave their parents. They quickly find their favourite activities and become absorbed in purposeful play. They enjoy a wide variety of fun and stimulating activities that cover all the areas of learning. Staff use good ongoing observation and assessment systems that help key persons plan suitable activities for their children. As a result, individual children make good progress in relation to their starting points. They develop well in the skills they need to move on to school.

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who attend

Parents receive some helpful verbal and written feedback about their child's progress and learning priorities. Staff are currently beginning to implement a suitable progress check for two-year-old children. However, staff have not extended some of the assessment processes to fully include the views of parents. Staff do not always give them a clear summary of children's progress in the areas of learning so that they can continue to support children's learning at home.

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who attend

Staff support the children well and promote their learning through play. Children thoroughly enjoy playing with the soft blocks with their friends. They develop good physical coordination and control as they climb and slide on the blocks. They manoeuvre them around so they can sit on them and rock. Children join in enthusiastically with music and movement activities. They learn to use their bodies in different ways. They are keen to join in with group activities such as parachute games. Children show high levels of independence as they help themselves to resources from the easily accessible storage. They use their imagination well as they dress up and pretend to be cats. Staff sit with children and talk to them about what they are doing. They effectively extend children's communication and language skills. Children learn about rhyming words as they play games together. They count to high numbers with staff

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who attend

support. They enjoy drawing activities where they develop their early writing skills. Children benefit from visits from the mobile library. They develop good literacy skills as they enjoy listening to stories and help to choose books for the nursery.

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

Children form strong emotional attachments to their key person. This results in children settling quickly and feeling safe and secure. They confidently approach adults to talk to them and see what they are doing. They show an interest in others and form good relationships in the nursery. Children find their friends to play at an activity together. They behave well and readily share resources and take turns.

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

Children develop a good understanding of the need for healthy lifestyles through discussion, planned activities and daily routines. They eat healthily at the nursery and help themselves to drinking water from the dispenser. Children adopt good personal hygiene routines such as hand washing and brushing their teeth after lunch.

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

Staff make good use of the space and equipment to support children's all-round development. For example, they create welcoming and attractive play areas with plenty of free choice. There is an excellent range of well-maintained and good quality child-sized furniture, storage units and resources. Staff supervise children well and help to keep them safe. They keep the playrooms at a suitable temperature. However, other areas of the building are not always as well heated so stay very cold in winter. This has a slightly negative impact on children's health and well-being when they have to use these areas.

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

Children thoroughly enjoy the plentiful opportunities they have to play outside and exercise. They rush to put on their outdoor clothing when adults ask them if they want to go outside to play. Children love exploring the outdoor area and the different interesting areas within it. They grow vegetables to eat, flowers and herbs. They use their senses to explore and investigate the natural world. Children learn to manage risks well as they tackle the big outdoor play equipment. They confidently and safely climb, walk across the bridge and slide down the big outdoor equipment. Children develop a good understanding of how to stay safe as they engage in role play where they learn about road safety. They also take part in regular fire drills and learn what to do in an emergency.

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provision

The owner has a good knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. There are good safeguarding procedures in place that are shared with staff and parents. Staff are very clear about their role and responsibilities with regard to child protection concerns. The owner follows rigorous recruitment procedures that enable her to make sure staff are suitable to work with children. Staff maintain a secure environment for children with risk assessments and daily safety checks. The owner deploys her staff effectively to help keep children safe. She maintains all the required documentation in a professional and organised manner. She makes good use of her documentation with parents to help promote children's safety and welfare.

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provision

The owner is very clear about her responsibility to implement and meet the learning and development requirements. The staff team consistently monitors and evaluates the educational programme to make sure it is effective at meeting children's learning needs. They competently identify and narrow any gaps in children's learning and experiences. The owner has good systems for supporting and promoting her staff's professional development in order to improve the quality of the childcare. She regularly assesses the quality of their assessment records and carries out observations on the staff. The owner carries out regular staff supervision and identifies any training needs. She positively encourages staff to attend further training to improve their skills and practices. The owner actively seeks advice and help from a local support worker. They work effectively together and set well focused targets for the ongoing improvement of the nursery. For example,

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provision

the owner has recently met a target that has resulted in children enjoying more free access to the outdoor area. This has had a positive effect on children who learn better outdoors and has helped improve behaviour.

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provision

Staff work closely with parents to promote consistency of care and meet children's individual needs. Parents receive a variety of helpful information about the nursery that includes, for example, the policies and a regular newsletter. They are encouraged to come into the nursery and share their traditions and home languages with all the children. This helps children learn to value and respect diversity. The staff form good partnerships with other settings who share the care and education of children. They regularly exchange useful information about children's achievements and next steps in their learning. This effectively helps promote continuity for individual children's learning and development. The owner has good systems in place for accessing support from agencies for children who need additional help to enable them to achieve.

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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 EY448621 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 806516 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 5 Total number of places 32 Number of children on roll 39 Name of provider Ladybirds Littlehampton Limited Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 07557 375 054 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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