The Avenue Day Nursery Limited

The Avenue Day Nursery Ltd The Avenue Day Nursery, 7 The Avenue, MIDDLESBROUGH, Cleveland, TS5 6PA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/01/2013 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 are constantly talking with children to develop their skills in speaking and listening. They question children about what they are finding out and help them to explore new words. As a result, children's communication and language is promoted well.  The management team have clear systems in place for self-evaluation, which include the views of staff, parents and children to ensure targets for future development are identified and continuous improvements made.  Children's self-esteem and confidence is continually promoted through the praise and encouragement they receive. As a result, behaviour is good.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff could analyse further the information gained through observation and assessment to clearly demonstrate how children's next steps are incorporated into the planning.  There is scope to improve the current arrival arrangements for children to nursery to ensure that information is consistently passed to children's key person in a timely manner.

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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 observed activities in the baby room, toddler room and pre-school room, and children having their lunch time meal.  The inspector took part in a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of practitioners working within the setting, the provider's action plan and a range of other documentation.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

The Avenue Day Nursery Ltd first registered in 1993 and was re-registered in 2012 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It operates from six playrooms and associated facilities within a self-contained building located in the Linthorpe area of Middlesbrough. There are fully enclosed areas available for outdoor play. The nursery operates weekdays from 7.15am to 6pm all year round except for public holidays. There are currently 49 children on roll, of whom all are in the early years age range. The nursery employs 14 members of staff. Of these, all hold early years qualification to at least level 3.

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

 embed the planning for babies and toddlers further to ensure it is based on the children's individual skills and interests in order for them to benefit fully from the learning opportunities provided

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

 enhance communication between parents and pre-school children's key person to ensure all messages are shared in a timely manner and by inviting all parents to visit their children's group room on a more regular basis.

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who attend

Staff demonstrate a clear understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and therefore children are offered effective support and teaching. This enables them to make good progress in their learning and development. The children are cared for in specific age groups, which mean that staff can provide an environment and learning opportunities that are appropriate to their age and stage of development. Staff have realistic expectations of children, based on information gathered from parents and their own initial observations of them. Staff continue to carry out careful observations of older children and use the information to plan for the following week. The planning for the babies and toddlers has recently been reviewed. This has enabled staff to be more responsive to children's next steps and to their immediate interests. However, there is scope for further improvement to help fully demonstrate how children's next steps are incorporated into the planning.

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who attend

Each playroom is well resourced and set out with age-appropriate furniture and toys which promote free play for children of all ages. Children within the pre-school room make good choices in their play. This is because they are supported by staff who understand the concept of child-initiated play and provide them with opportunities to develop their own learning styles. Early writing skills are promoted through mark-making activities, playing in wet sand and using pencils and the interactive 'Smart Board'. Pre-school children participate in imaginative play in the pretend cafe and staff enthusiastically join in with them. Staff use this to develop children's literacy skills as they pretend to look through the menu to order their food and extending their learning of maths by introducing pretend money. Children are gaining confidence in using numbers. For example, they count using their fingers to demonstrate how old they are and are beginning to understand that only

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who attend

four children are able to go in the cafe at one time. Children use mathematical language in other areas of play, such as when describing which tower of blocks is bigger. Pre-school children choose favourite books to read and listen intently as the story is being read to them.

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who attend

The toddler room caters well for the younger children. Staff know the children well and support their developing language and social skills with activities that are introduced to promote all areas of their development. This is shown in the records kept in relation to the progress check at aged two years, which reflect the children's achievements and focuses on aspects of their development that need further support. Children are keen to participate in all activities. For example, a group of children have fun as the spread paint over large sheets of paper placed on the floor. Their ideas are valued and acted upon. A good example of this was observed when one child decided he wanted to use his feet as well, this was readily encouraged and other children invited to take their socks off to also try.

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who attend

Babies and younger children are supported to investigate and explore new textures and objects. For example, they relish the experience of getting messy using thick finger paint and enthusiastically smear and squash it between their fingers. Staff enable them to explore, encouraging a child who is more reluctant to become involved by providing her with a brush. During the activity the staff provide children with language to support their developing understanding, such as 'sticky' and 'squashy'. The babies clearly enjoy sitting with a member of staff to explore the 'treasure baskets' that contain different textured items. These give children opportunities to reach, touch, grasp and handle objects, which promote their smaller muscle skills. Staff take part in baby babbling with babies and encourage them to explore language through repetitive sounds. The babies benefit from space to practise and develop their crawling and walking skills. Children enjoy regular

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who attend

walks in the surrounding neighbourhood and learn about other cultures as they celebrate festivals. As a result, children develop a sense of community and an awareness of the world around them. Play provision in the garden is organised and suitably resourced. The hard standing and grassed area provide children of all ages with a good range of interesting activities which promotes all aspects of their physical development. Staff effectively promote children's readiness for the next stage in their learning, such as school. This is achieved as they constantly build children's self-esteem and encourage their independence.

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

Children have strong relationships with all staff in their rooms which help to build a solid foundation for fostering children's personal, social and emotional development. Babies are nurtured by the affectionate and gentle care given by staff which enables them to develop a sense of belonging and trust. Children's individual needs are well met as staff work closely with parents at the initial settling-in period and during transitions to new rooms within the nursery. The use of home link books is used to maintain effective links with other early year's settings and schools in the local area. These are also used well for the babies and toddlers to ensure good communication between parents and staff. However, communication is not always as effective for children in the pre-school. This is mainly due to the fact that messages are in the main passed on through the manager or deputy rather than face to face contact with their child's key person. As a result, very occasionally

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

the transfer of some messages is delayed.

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

Children are gaining a good awareness of keeping themselves safe and they develop a clear sense of what they can and cannot do, following sensible safety rules. For example, children know it is important to be careful when going up and down the stairs as they could fall and hurt themselves, and know that they must walk indoors. Staff are good role models and provide appropriate explanations of acceptable behaviour. For example, when trying to snatch a toy, staff intervene and check if the child understands about asking and waiting until the required item has been finished being played with. This promotes children's understanding and cooperation with each other. Children have regular opportunities to learn about road safety when on outings and walks in the local community. Regular emergency fire evacuation drills help children to learn how to stay safe in an emergency. A high number of staff hold suitable first aid qualifications and this

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

means children are effectively cared for in the event of an accident. Good recording of accidents and notifications given to parents about infectious diseases, helps to maintain a healthy environment for children.

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

Children develop healthy lifestyles as they benefit from plenty of fresh air and exercise. Staff support children's personal care skills reminding children to use tissues to wipe their noses and then washing their hands to 'get rid of the germs'. Healthy eating is encouraged and children are provided with freshly prepared, nutritious meals and snacks. Children develop self-confidence in their physical skills as they use a varied range of equipment to promote their physical development.

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provision

Robust safeguarding policies and procedures are in place and practised effectively to ensure that children are well protected. Staff are diligent in child protection matters and fully understand their role in protecting the children in their care. Procedures for vetting and assessing the suitability of staff are robust and ensure that children are effectively protected. The nursery management provides a thorough induction programme to all new staff so that they know what their duties and responsibilities are in terms of the staff team. Risk assessments are in-depth and cover all areas and resources used by the children. A procedure for monitoring the educational programme and staff's performance has been successfully introduced. This has helped to identify staff's ongoing training needs and has a positive impact on improving children's learning and overall well-being.

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provision

Parents receive regular newsletters and are invited to fund raising events, such as 'Toddler Waddle'. In addition, parents are also invited to attend formal parents' evenings, which are held twice a year. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss their child's progress, and if there are any difficulties and to plan for the future. Staff try hard to include parents in their child's learning and are currently trying to find new ideas to encourage parents to become more involved. They use home link book and have recently introduced pictorial family books for the younger children with a view to rolling this out to all age groups. Parents spoken to on the day are pleased with their child's progress and the way children are helped to settle into their new environment. Although some new parents comment that they would welcome more opportunities to visit their child's group room. From this the manager is eager to reaffirm with all parents the open door policy that exists within

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provision

the nursery. This pro-active approach demonstrates the value the nursery management place on partnership with parents. Staff work in partnership with other professionals involved in promoting specific children's needs. In addition, they communicate effectively with local schools and nurseries to complement children's learning and to ensure progression.

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provision

Staff have a clear vision for the future of the nursery and have identified areas for improvement. These include systems to improve communication with all parents and continual monitoring of their planning and assessment procedures to ensure positive outcomes for all children. The staff team is very committed to continuous improvement and regularly discuss areas for development to enhance the outcomes for children. A formal self-evaluation and action plans have been devised and are shaped by the views of both parents, children and staff.

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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 EY446213 Local authority Middlesbrough Inspection number 808345

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 62 Number of children on roll 49 Name of provider The Avenue Day Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection Not applicable Telephone number 01642814368

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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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