The Laurels Child Care

The Laurels Child Care Laurel Avenue, The Woodlands, DURHAM, DH1 2EY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21/01/2013 06/04/2011

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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

 A well-deployed and highly motivated staff team, coupled with a wide variety of high quality resources enable children to be challenged and well supported to reach their individual potential.  Key persons are highly skilled and sensitive. They help children to form secure emotional attachments and feel very secure within the setting. They have very good knowledge and understanding of the children that they care for and skilfully support children in their next steps in learning.  Children are encouraged to be independent in their learning and confidently take part in activities of their choosing. They take the lead in their play and staff actively and effectively engage with children to extend their thinking and communication skills.  Children are very well safeguarded in the setting. Staff have a thorough knowledge and understanding of how to make the premises safe. High importance is placed on

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This provision is good

employing staff who are safe to work with children and they all know who to contact if they have any concerns regarding a child's welfare.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Partnerships with other settings and schools are in place. However, these are not formalised. This limits the effectiveness of continuity and cohesion to fully support children's learning.

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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 baby room, toddler rooms and outside.  The inspector talked with staff, children and parents.  The inspector held discussions with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a range of policies, procedures, records and developmental files.

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Information about the setting

The Laurels Child Care was registered in 2006 on the Early Years Register. It is situated in two designated rooms and associated facilities in Laurel Avenue Primary School in the Sherburn area of Durham, and is privately owned and managed. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 12 members of child care staff. Of these, 11 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and above and one member of staff has Early Years Professional Status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 33 children attending who are within this age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special needs and/or disabilities.

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

 enhance current partnerships with relevant professionals, including other early years settings to complement children's learning and ensure continuity and cohesion.

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who attend

Staff practice has a strong impact on children's learning and development so that children make good progress in relation to their starting points. They are well aware of children's backgrounds and capabilities, taking good account of the length of time children have been at the group and how often they attend. The educational programmes for all seven areas of learning are well organised and effectively help children to reach expected levels of development.

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who attend

Children achieve good personal, social and emotional development, particularly through strong relationships with their key persons. They enjoy the challenges to develop physically, as they move enthusiastically from inside to outside with staff maximising the opportunity to develop their understanding of snow and ice, as they build snowmen and watch the snow falling. They receive plenty of stimulation from attentive staff to extend their communication and language skills. Children gain good confidence to engage in conversation with the caring staff. They foster children's love and appreciation of books and reading, deploying highly skilled story telling techniques, such as using puppets and other props. Children gain good levels of understanding in literacy and mathematics, for example, in the use of the initial sounds of their names and extended counting of toys to high numbers.

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who attend

Children have ample opportunities to explore their surroundings to gain understanding of their environment. For example, children excitedly talk about the snow and how they use the rich outdoor play environments. Children receive good opportunities and experiences through a wealth of resources that enable them to express their ideas through art and design. They create and paint models using huge cardboard boxes; they focus for a long time on individual projects, including painting a red car. Staff praise and encourage children developing their self-esteem. They enjoy particularly well resourced, imaginative, play areas to explore different roles, including dressing up as Dalmatians and horses.

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who attend

Staff have a good knowledge and understanding of how to promote children's learning. They demonstrate consistent expectations and, through their enthusiasm, effectively engage and motivate children to further extend their play. They plan the rooms so that children have ample space to play and access many resources for themselves, creating space for babies to practice their mobility. Staff give good support so that all children confidently choose what they want to do. They extend their use of words and confirm each child's play by talking about their chosen activity. They enhance children's thinking by making comments and questions that help children to consider different aspects.

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who attend

Staff plan activities throughout the room and all planning is based on individual children's needs interests and targets. This ensures that children are well engaged and motivated to learn. Children enjoy their activities, focusing and persevering at them. For example, they are fascinated as they explore games on the computer linked to animals in cold climates. This means that they receive good support to acquire the skills and positive attitudes to develop and learn effectively.

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who attend

During their time in the group children become ready for the next stages in their learning at school. Staff effectively understand the consistent, updated, planning and assessment systems used in the group. The manager and lead professional for two-year-olds is well aware of how to conduct the progress check for children aged two to three years. Staff work very closely with parents of new children to learn about them and their family backgrounds, as a result, children settle noticeably well.

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who attend

Staff are extremely effective at engaging parents in their children's development and learning in the group. They take good account of what parents tell them about their children's activities at home and provide a range of suggested activities to extend this learning. Staff successfully keep parents informed about their children's achievements and progress. They make good use of ongoing, observational assessment. Through this, they effectively evaluate children's play and incorporate their next steps and interests into the quality planning. Key persons revise these plans on a daily basis to keep themselves aware of how to support children's current learning needs.

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

The group's care practices support children to feel emotionally secure and effectively help them to be physically, mentally and emotionally healthy. Staff consistently implement well established procedures so that children receive focused support from their caring key persons. They supervise their key groups' personal care and are well aware of their play preferences and learning requirements. As a result, support and conversations are personalised and all children form close bonds and secure emotional attachments to their carers. Children confidently seek staff out for reassurance and extra resources when needed. They have a positive approach to new experiences. Well-known routines that are displayed as rhythms of the day successfully help them feel secure and confident. For example, children are aware of when snack time is, however, they are able to continue with activities and access these when they wish. This means that the atmosphere remains

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

quiet and calm, and children enjoy the responsibility. Staff prepare children well for their transitions both to school and other rooms within the setting. They effectively prepare children for the move from one setting to the other with planned visits both to the school and by the teacher to the nursery. This means that children soon settle in their new environment.

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

Staff successfully prepare children for their next stage in learning as their skilful practice has good impact on children's confidence and self-motivation. For example, children gain good independence in managing their independence at meal at snack times. The group's effectively thought-out systems for caring for the children result in their being happy and content. Children make good relationships with both adults and peers. They relate well to each other, offering help and amicably sharing resources, such as books, dough and tools. Throughout their time at the group, many form increasingly strong friendships. Children respond well to the clear boundaries that they help to set, for example, as they hear gentle reminders to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Staff set a positive example by being considerate and thoughtful for others, which results in excellent behaviour throughout the group. Children willingly take on responsibility, for example, tidying away before meals

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

and through putting coats away after outdoor play. As staff constantly expect children to do things for themselves, children gain particularly good independence. From the time they start at the group, children organise considerable periods of play for themselves. They collect and return items from the accessible storage.

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

Staff support children particularly well to feel safe and to learn about potential hazards. Well considered care practices enable children to be aware of safety and to take appropriate risks. Children help to devise positive rules, for example, about moving around the rooms as they talk about walking and not running inside. Children effectively learn about healthy lifestyles. Staff encourage children to develop a good understanding of the importance of physical exercise. They choose to go out into the fresh air and are keen to play outdoors. They benefit from a breadth of healthy meals and snacks and talk about which foods are good for their bodies. Children learn to manage their own hygiene and personal needs and are encouraged to clean their teeth after meals.

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provision

Strong leadership and effective team working means that all those involved within the setting strive to offer the very best care for children. All have a clear understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements for both learning and development and welfare. This is due to thorough induction procedures and ongoing supervision. Staff are well qualified and have a positive attitude towards continuous professional development. This helps practitioners to improve their knowledge, understanding and practice to benefit the care and support they offer to children. Regular staff meetings help to ensure a consistent approach, which means children feel secure and settled.

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provision

Thorough self-evaluation and careful monitoring of the provision through the detailed improvement plan offers management opportunities to identify strengths and weaknesses. Once identified, weaknesses are prioritised and acted upon so that positive improvements are made for the children. For example, children benefit greatly from playing outside, in the enriched play area which is now available all year round. All aspects of the curriculum are reviewed regularly. This helps staff to identify children's needs and learning preferences and provide them with a broad curriculum that supports their development. Staff have a consistent knowledge of all policies and procedures and they are updated when any are reviewed. For example, all staff are fully aware of new policies implemented to enhance the settings safeguarding arrangements. Rigorous procedures are followed with regards to staff recruitment and vetting, which embraces the principles of the safer

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provision

recruitment guidance, checking the suitability of staff, students and volunteers. This helps to protect children from harm.

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provision

Strong partnerships with parents, carers and others involved help staff to meet children's needs. Detailed information is provided for parents about the setting. This includes providing them with a thorough understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements and how staff implement these to support each child in the setting. Links between key persons and parents are strong, ensuring ongoing information sharing to promote consistency. Parent's views and ideas are welcomed and actively encouraged. They make suggestions for activities on the board in the hallway and respond to questionnaires which enable staff to make changes which will have a positive impact for children attending. The setting has developed links with both a range of other professionals in the adjacent Children's Centre and Primary school. However, these are currently on an informal basis and although information is shared, this does not fully

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provision

promote continuity and cohesion for children and their families.

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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 EY337804 Local authority Durham Inspection number 878186

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 33 Name of provider The Laurels Child Care Company Ltd Date of previous inspection 06/04/2011 Telephone number 01913849795

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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

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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