Alphabets@Hollymoor

Alphabets@Hollymoor Hollymoor Centre,, 8 Manor Park Grove, Birmingham, West Midlands, B31 5ER

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/01/2013 24/01/2011

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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

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This provision is good

 The nursery is extremely welcoming and staff have a warm and loving relationship with the children, which means that they are happy and feel safe. Staff encourage them to be healthy, well behaved and independent learners.  Children are happy, feel safe, are active learners and show strong skills and levels of confidence. Robust and rigorous safeguarding procedures ensure that children are very safe and secure.  Children spend time engaged in purposeful and stimulating activities, including regular use of community facilities to enhance their broad range of learning experiences.  The well-established key person system helps children form strong attachments, enabling them to benefit from an enjoyable early years experience that secures their future learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to improve the outdoor area, so that children can access a rich and challenging learning environment to maximise their learning opportunities.  Celebrating the home languages of those children who speak English as an additional language and opportunities for them to view and use that language in the nursery are not fully realised.

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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 activities throughout the nursery in both indoor and outdoor spaces.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the nursery's senior managers and staff at appropriate times throughout the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation, including children's records, learning and development information, staff records and a selection of policies and procedures.  The inspector took into account the views of parents through discussion.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to staff, undertook a joint observation with the manager and interacted with children throughout the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Alphabets@Hollymoor is one of six provisions run by Longbridge Childcare Strategy Group. It opened in 1995 and operates from six rooms at the Hollymoor Centre in Northfield, Birmingham. The nursery is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It serves the local area. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens five days a week for 50 weeks of the year and is closed on public holidays. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. There are currently 28 children on roll who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. Children come from a wide catchment area. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs nine full-time members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications to level 2 or level 3. The manager is currently working towards a degree and the assistant manager is currently doing an early years foundation degree. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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

 improve the outdoor area so that children can access a rich and challenging learning environment to maximise their learning opportunities

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

 enhance the current practice in relation to supporting children who speak English as an additional language by celebrating their home language and increasing opportunities for them to view and use that language in the nursery.

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who attend

All children in this welcoming and stimulating nursery receive tailored support and intervention to enable them to achieve to their full potential. Staff deliver rich and varied experiences for the children as they know each child's interests and plan accordingly. The educational programme is individual to each child, given their starting points and their ability. Staff have a very good understanding of all areas of learning and development. They plan interesting and stimulating activities to cover the length and breadth of the Early Years Foundations Stage. They skilfully and quickly identify children who may require extra help in their learning and development and ensure support is in place for them. Children's progress is systematically tracked across all areas of learning by their key person. Each child has a learning journey containing their key persons observations, samples of their work and photographs as they engage in activities. These records show

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who attend

that most children are comfortably working within the typical range of development expected for their age, given their starting points.

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who attend

Children use their imagination to create all kinds of scenarios as they play in the large 'spaceship'. A child's recent interest in space sparked off ideas, resulting in the nursery's space theme evolving. Great laughter is heard as the children go hunting around the play rooms with torches in search of planets and aliens hanging from a string across the room. They count down as they pretend to launch the ship into space. More able children confidently stick numbers in the correct order on the side of their model spaceship, created from large cardboard boxes.

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who attend

The wide range of toys and resources are made available so that children can decide what they would like to use. They can choose to play indoors or outside and enjoy collecting snow in buckets, making marks and following footprints in the snow, guessing which animal made the prints. Along with staff, children created a nature area in a corner of the garden from pieces of wood, sticks and logs collected from home and on nature walks. They access sand and water, and use wheeled toys and small climbing equipment. However, there is scope to develop the outdoor environment to complement and match those provided inside, to maximise children's learning opportunities. Children select resources and initiate their own play so they are independent and confident. Staff encourage children to be involved in their own learning and pursue their own interests and lines of enquiry. Children move around busily and approach all that they do with great

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who attend

enthusiasm. They spend prolonged periods of time engrossed in an activity, such as playing with water and mixing shredded paper in the water tray or exploring the texture of cornflour and play dough. Children enjoy using the sensory room where they explore natural materials, lights and sounds.

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who attend

The nursery is involved in the 'Every Child a Talker' programme and this has had a very positive impact on developing children's speech and communication skills. The words and letters displayed around the nursery help children to understand that print carries meaning. Children spend time acquiring good literacy skills, as they develop a love of books and enjoy listening to a story. Props, such as soft toys, are used to ignite children's interests and to bring stories alive. Children use a computer where they learn to click on different icons to operate a simple programme. They have access to other familiar technology equipment, such as cameras, torches and compact disc players in the learning centre, as they put on headsets to listen to a range of music and stories.

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who attend

Parents are actively involved in their children's learning; they share information about what their children achieve at home. Staff include this information within children's developmental records, further emphasising the true partnership between them and the nursery that benefits each child. There are good systems in place to make sure that children are prepared well for their move to school. Children develop good social skills as they serve their own meals and the open snack area encourages them to become independent. The staff prepare reports prior to children's move to school, which are shared with parents to fully involve them in the process.

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

The nursery provides a stimulating environment that promotes learning and challenges for all children. Rooms are very well resourced with good quality toys and equipment, stored to encourage children to select what they play with. All children are happy and settled during their time at the nursery, through the close bonds developed with their key person. Staff spend time getting to know the children and their families, enabling them to meet their individual needs at all times. Staff work very closely with other agencies, such as, the speech and language team, health visitors and social workers. This ensures children get the support they meet. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, as well as those who speak English as an additional language, make equally good progress because their needs are taken into account in both planning and teaching.

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

Staff talk to the parents about languages spoken at home and ask for key words which help staff to meet the children's needs within the nursery. They use pictorial cards and simple Makaton signing. However, there is scope to enhance this by celebrating the languages of those children who speak English as an additional language and by increasing opportunities for them to view and use that language within the nursery. Staff demonstrate a commitment to promoting diversity through discussion, books and other resources. Children learn to be respectful of each other and accept differences of views and opinions as they celebrate festivals throughout the year to promote their awareness of different cultures and customs. Positive images of diversity are reflected on displays around the nursery, such as differences in race, gender and disability, to reinforce children's awareness and actively promote inclusion.

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

Children display good levels of confidence and self-esteem as they negotiate with others, for example, sharing and taking turns within activities. Their behaviour is good and they are polite to staff and each other. All children learn about the importance of healthy eating and lifestyles through discussion, activities and daily routines. For example, children create their own table mats and displays of healthy food and unhealthy food. During a visit to a local restaurant children learn how to make fruit drinks and healthy wraps. Children access the garden daily for outdoor play and exercise and go for walks along the nearby canal. Children learn from an early age how to keep themselves safe. For example, staff talk to them about road safety, the danger of fires and stranger danger when they are out in the community. This is reinforced when visitors, such as the police and fire department visit the nursery. Close relationships with the local schools ensure children's transition is

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

smooth. Staff share a transition form with them as well as, their learning journeys to ensure all information is known about the children.

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provision

Leadership of the nursery is strong, based on a strong and clear commitment to ensure the needs of children and parents are a priority. The managers have a very good understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They regularly monitor the levels of planning and assessment for all children and make sure that records are accurate and up to date. This means that the nursery offers a broad range of experiences to help all children to progress towards the early learning goals. Staff are fully aware of the safeguarding procedure because they have all attended up-to-date training. They are confident in their knowledge of the signs and symptoms of abuse and their responsibility to report any concerns to the relevant agencies, so that children are protected from harm. Safeguarding is given high priority and is an automatic agenda item at every staff

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provision

meeting, where various scenarios are discussed. Partnerships with other professionals and agencies are securely in place. Staff work with specialists providers, such as speech therapists and the area special educational needs team, to develop strategies for children who need additional support. This process effectively helps to support partnership working and continuity for children and their families.

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provision

Staff are supported well to ensure that their knowledge and understanding of how children learn is updated in line with changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage. They have regular appraisals and supervision to identify any areas for their professional development and are offered training as and when appropriate to improve outcomes for children. All staff take responsibility for individual roles within the nursery, such as health and safety, equality and diversity, safeguarding and protecting children, additional needs and behaviour management. This is developing the staff team's specialism, motivation and self-confidence and they are all actively striving towards improving the setting for all the children who attend. Recruitment procedures are robust and all staff complete the necessary background checks through the Criminal Records Bureau. Risk assessment of the nursery premises is thorough, to keep children safe. All necessary safety precautions

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provision

are implemented and reviewed regularly. The staff are vigilant about security and the nursery is protected by coded entry systems. Visitors are asked to sign in and out and the management ensure they are aware of the emergency evacuation procedures.

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provision

The management team are passionate about what they do and are committed to developing their service. Self-evaluation is good because of the ongoing refining and adjusting of the nursery's service to meet the changing needs of children and their families. This is demonstrated through the development of a 'stay and play' group. Parents' views are highly respected and valued; they take part in the nursery's evaluation process through discussions and comments in the 'Quality First' booklet. Parents spoken to are extremely complimentary about the nursery, expressing a high regard for the staff. They express complete satisfaction about the care and learning their child receives.

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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 257171 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 898938

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 17 Total number of places 52 Number of children on roll 28 Name of provider Longbridge Childcare Strategy Group Date of previous inspection 24/01/2011 Telephone number 0121 683 1838

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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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