Hillbury House Nursery

Hillbury House Nursery 81 Denmark Villas, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 3TH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 31/01/2013 19/07/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children establish very close bonds with their key person and they settle happily with the support of the kind and caring staff.  Staff implement the Early Years Foundation Stage framework extremely well through individualised observation, assessment and planning systems. Consequently, children make significant progress in their learning and development.  Children's confidence and self-esteem grows because they receive plenty of praise and encouragement. Staff value what they say and do.  Staff provide excellent support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.  Strong leadership and thorough evaluative processes mean key strengths are promptly identified and areas for improvement receive high priority, which results in improved outcomes for children.

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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 all play rooms and the large hall.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a joint observation of practice with a member of the senior management team.  The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed leadership and management of the nursery with the manager and examined a sample of policies used to promote the safe and efficient management of the setting.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector chatted to children and viewed a sample of children's assessment records.

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Information about the setting

Hillbury House Nursery registered in 1985. It operates from the rear of Ralli Hall, in Hove, Sussex. It is a self-contained unit, consisting of three separate play areas plus a baby unit, a large indoor physical play area, and small, enclosed outdoor play space. It is registered on the Early Years Register and is open each weekday between 8am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. There are currently 45 children aged from three months to five years on roll. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children learning English as an additional language. There are nine members of staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery is in receipt of funding for three and four year olds.

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

 enhance children's transitions to school, for example by involving children in making books about their new school, including photographs of teachers, classrooms and play areas to enable them to talk about the next stage of their learning.

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who attend

Staff motivate and inspire children's curiosity and learning through exceptional support and interaction. They are very knowledgeable about how children learn through play and they offer children highly stimulating learning experiences. As a result, all children flourish and make exceptional progress.

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who attend

When children start at the nursery, parents are invited to share information on what their child knows and can do. Very effective on-entry assessments are used to target planning in order to meet each child's needs and to support their learning and development. Regular and thorough observations of children's progress successfully inform a rich and varied educational programme. Highly successful strategies engage parents in their child's learning and development. For example, staff share with parents their child's learning journey, home book and observation sheets on a regular basis, and parents enjoy contributing to these.

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who attend

Children are developing excellent communication and language skills. Staff continually engage with babies at their level, ensuring they maintain eye contact and use lively voices. Staff use information from parents to support babies' new vocabulary. For example, a parent tells a member of staff that her child's new word was 'butterfly' and staff use the word several times to reinforce their learning. Older children are very confident to express their wishes and to initiate discussions with peers and staff. Staff provide children with innovative opportunities to develop their language skills. For example, a staff member helps children to create a group story where children can contribute their ideas. The listening table in the quiet room provides a unique opportunity to engage in speaking and listening games using technology that children love. Tiny hand held recorders encourage children to record and hear their voices; they have lots of fun recording "sausages!" and

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who attend

playing the recording back, giggling happily.

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who attend

Children enjoy using the digital camera to take photographs of things in the nursery that interest them or things they have made. These are uploaded to the digital photo frame each day and staff, children and parents discuss them at collection times. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the daily achievements of each child.

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who attend

Staff escort children to the large hall where they love riding bikes, pushing buggies, playing with balls, bouncing on space hoppers and climbing on the frame. Staff use the space very effectively so that children of all ages play together safely. Children show an excellent awareness of other children's needs and negotiate the space successfully. Children learn to count and recognise numbers and letters through purposeful play activities, and they enjoy sharing books in the cosy book area, telling favourite stories to each other with great accuracy. There are limitless opportunities to engage in early writing skills, in and outdoors, using gloop, road map layouts which children can add to, playdough, sand, and paint.

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who attend

Staff interactions with children are exceptional. All staff show a real interest in the children, listening attentively, sharing humour and showing them that they value what they have to say. Staff often ask children what they think, what they would like, and where they would like to play. This is an exceptionally child-led environment where the children are confident to move resources around from one room to another as their play develops.

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who attend

Children benefit from rich learning experiences. Resources are of a high quality and are effectively organised to promote children's independence. Staff create an outstanding, nurturing environment which fully supports children's personal, social and emotional development. Children's behaviour is very good and practitioners praise and acknowledge children's achievements. Staff are very positive role models and speak respectfully to the children at all times. This focus helps children develop the underpinning skills needed for their future learning success.

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

Staff are exceptionally warm and caring, which promotes children's confidence and sense of belonging. The key person system is highly effective in supporting individual needs because staff take time to get to know the children and their families exceedingly well. Staff are highly skilled and sensitive in helping children to form secure emotional attachments, and in providing a strong base for their developing independence. As a result, children display high levels of self-control during activities and they are confident in social situations. Babies snuggle into their key person for cuddles and reassurance, and older children separate from their parents with ease. Parents state that their children are excited to come to nursery because they feel it is 'a home from home' and they always have fun. The playrooms are highly stimulating with resources stored so that children can reach them easily, making independent choices in their play. Babies satisfy their need to

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

investigate and explore as they handle a range of toys that make various sounds. Older children enjoy sharing their learning journals with staff to celebrate their achievements, which builds their self-esteem. Children demonstrate a high level of awareness regarding good hygiene routines and they enjoy many opportunities to engage in active physical play, inside and out. Staff talk to the children about safety and encourage them to be aware of potential risks. For example, they walk slowly and carefully to the large hall, taking care to stay together. Staff keep thorough accident and medical records, which ensures that children's health is exceptionally well protected. Staff follow babies' and children's care routines meticulously, such as nappy changing. They share detailed information with parents on a daily basis.

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

Excellent settling in procedures, where staff work very closely with parents, ensure that children feel happy and secure. Staff make sure the transition from the baby room to the older group is managed gently and sensitively so that the babies get to know their new key persons very well prior to the move. They spend increasing amounts of time in their new rooms accompanied by their current and new key persons.

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

Learning through challenging and exciting play experiences ensures that children develop key skills for their future learning. They are happy, engaged, and motivated. Staff help them to feel a sense of achievement, promoting a positive attitude towards new activities. Systems to enhance children's familiarity with their new school have not been fully explored. However, reception teachers visit the setting to meet the children prior to starting school, which helps to ensure smooth transitions.

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provision

The leadership of the nursery is strong. The committed owner-manager works very closely with senior managers and the whole staff team to ensure children's needs are well met. Thorough and focussed systems for self-evaluation are in place and the staff are keen to continually improve the provision. Staff engage actively with a quality assurance programme where strengths are identified and celebrated, and where the manager and staff plan for further improvements.

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provision

The staff monitor the educational programmes regularly and consistently to ensure that all children learn effectively across the seven areas of learning. Staff analyse children's learning journeys and assessments and any identified gaps in attainment are swiftly addressed. Tracking of children's progress is linked to expected development according to age. Where children need additional support or input, staff create individualised plans to ensure that appropriate extra or external support is arranged.

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provision

The management and staff team have a sound understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They create and adhere to robust policies and procedures, which help to ensure children's safety and well-being. Staff receive suitable training regarding safeguarding so that they can act on any concerns they may have about a child's welfare.

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provision

The manager supports her staff extremely well, and staff morale is very high. She carries out annual staff appraisals, where staff can discuss future training requirements and professional achievements. Rigorous recruitment and induction programmes ensure that all new staff are effectively monitored and supervised.

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provision

Staff have a high level of awareness of the need for effective partnership working with parents and with other professionals, in order to meet a child's needs. They implement successful interventions, recommended by other agencies involved with children ,and liaise with parents and professionals to report on progress. Parents are extremely happy with Hillbury House Nursery. They say how much their children are learning, and how children who speak English as an additional language make exceptional progress in their communication skills. Parents say they know all the staff very well, and that they are exceptionally caring and nurturing. One parent said, 'If I have another baby, he or she will definitely come here'.

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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 130690 Local authority Brighton & Hove Inspection number 901502

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 45 Name of provider Elizabeth Cottrell Date of previous inspection 19/07/2010 Telephone number 01273 730 004

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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. 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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