Greyfell Academy

Grey Fell Academy Holmfirth Road, Shepley, Huddersfield, HD8 8AZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/02/2013 12/08/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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

 Highly skilled staff have excellent knowledge of how children learn and couple this with a very secure knowledge of each child's individual needs. This enables very successful promotion of children's care and learning.  Children are highly motivated and consistently demonstrate the characteristics of effective learning. Staff have very high expectations of themselves and children. They use their expert knowledge and understanding of how children learn through exciting, fun and challenging opportunities, to provide an educational programme that stimulates and engages all children.  The rich, varied and exciting environment provides challenge and promotes learning, providing a strong base for children to manage risks and understand how to keep themselves safe and healthy.  The leadership and management of the setting is inspirational. Exemplary staff training, development and supervision processes are in place, ensuring staff are highly qualified

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This provision is outstanding

and skilled. All staff work exceptionally well as a team and are highly committed to constantly providing the best they can for the children in their care.  Excellent transition arrangements support children moving between playrooms and onto school.

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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 in the playrooms used for childcare and the outdoor environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the manager and staff at regular intervals throughout the inspection and made observations of the children present.  The inspector observed all relevant documentation provided.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of inspection.

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Information about the setting

Grey Fell Academy was registered in 2003 and is on the Early Years Register, the voluntary and compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It operates from five rooms on the ground floor of a detached house in the Shepley area of Huddersfield. The owner and her family live on the premises. The nursery has its own entrance, which is currently at the side of the owner's home. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play. The setting employs nine permanent members of childcare staff. All of these hold appropriate early years qualifications. The setting opens Monday to Friday, all year round, from 7.30am until 6pm. There are currently 53 children on roll, all of whom are within the early years age range. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. It supports children with special needs and/or disabilities.

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

 provide displays, signs and posters that celebrate and focus on the children's work, in order to even further enhance children's self-esteem.

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who attend

Children thrive in this outstanding nursery. All staff have excellent skills and knowledge of the learning and development requirements and an indepth understanding of the different ways in which children learn. Interaction is excellent and staff have high expectations of themselves and the children. Staff engage children in meaningful conversations and encourage them to talk about their experiences and to think about their activities. For example, as they go outside, children recall their experience of the fire alarm going off and that they had to go outside. Children have lots of opportunities to initiate their own learning through exploration and investigation as staff use their skills and knowledge to challenge their thinking further. For example, young children particularly enjoy investigating pieces of fruit in the home corner set up by staff to engage learning. Children enjoy opportunities to be active; the setting offers a wide range of activities, such as

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who attend

music and movement sessions and regular outdoor play. Further learning opportunities, such as snack time, encourage children to establish friendships and enhance their personal, social and emotional development. Children freely select play resources of their choice from the playroom and show particular interest in heuristic play and sensory play.

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who attend

Children's literacy skills are well-supported because books are freely accessible for them to choose from and enjoy. They share books with the staff and look at the pictures saying simple key words. They have many opportunities to make marks, resulting in their early hand writing skills being developed well. The settings layout draws children's attention to displays, signs, labels, marks and symbols. However, the amount of adult-led displays, labels and signs is overwhelming in the smaller areas and appear to be very topic based. This takes away the achievement of the children's work and opportunities to further enhance their self-esteem. Assessments of children who have special needs and/or disabilities are supported very well. Through the use of one-to-one support and Makaton sign language these children are making very good progress. Staff work closely with their families and outside agencies so that they receive consistent care and support and their needs are fully met. Careful

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who attend

planning and organisation means that each area of learning is covered in detail and is linked to the current theme so that children are given a huge range of valuable first-hand experiences. In this way they enjoy rich opportunities to learn about the world around them, are very well prepared for the next stage in their learning and have all the skills they need ready to start school.

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who attend

Assessments of children of all ages are clear, detailed and extremely focused and include contributions from all those involved in each child's learning. These are based on the staff's extensive knowledge of each child and their family. As a result, they allow staff to support children in making excellent progress in relation to their starting points. A robust system is in place for tracking and analysing children's learning and progress. This, together with links with a range of professional services, ensures all children are supported as needed to maximise their potential. Assessments clearly ensure that any gaps in children's learning are accurately targeted and that all children make excellent progress towards the early learning goals. Parents are fully involved in the children's learning. For example, children take home tasks, such as finding a triangle, square or circle and take photographs to bring back to the setting. Back in setting, the children

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who attend

make three dimensional models of their photographs.

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

Children are very happy and settled in the warm and welcoming environment. All children show a strong sense of security and belonging within the setting. Children benefit from a highly effective key person system. Transition procedures, such as 'trials' between rooms are very well designed. Children are supported into the next room well, which aids familiarity and well-being. Consequently, the children feel confident as they change rooms. Staff are highly skilled in recognising the individuality of each child and providing for their different needs and interests. The relationship between the key person, the children and their parents are highly effective in ensuring outstanding outcomes for all children. Babies and toddlers are confident to explore their surroundings safe in the knowledge they have the support of nurturing staff and feel secure. They form close attachments to the staff and as they get older they begin to enjoy cuddling close to the staff to read books.

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

Children's behaviour is very good as staff have explained their expectations well. Boundaries and rules are implemented effectively, resulting in children playing cooperatively together. Any minor disagreements are dealt with sensitively to help children understand and manage their feelings appropriately.

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

Children understand how to keep themselves safe and healthy in the inspiring and safe environment. Staff teach children about germs and children explain why they need to wash their hands. Children learn to manage their own risks because staff encourage and support them to be independent, confident learners. Key persons are highly skilled and sensitive. They fully support children to form strong, secure, emotional attachments, which provide a solid foundation for their personal, social and emotional development. For example, children are encouraged to be independent as they select their own resources from the vast range of activities and resources on offer.

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

Staff know children well so they know which children have food allergies and specific medical needs. Accident and medical records are well kept and staff have food hygiene certificates so that food safety is observed at all times. Children are provided with healthy snacks, such as fresh fruit or breadsticks, and they also have a nutritious home-cooked meal. Children have access to water at all times and develop their independence by pouring their own drinks and preparing their own tea. Children are encouraged to put on their own coats and decide whether they want to play indoors or outside for part of the session. They develop their physical skills very well through their use of the wheeled toys, balls, climbing equipment and many games in the outdoor areas of the nursery, which are accessed in all weathers.

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provision

The inspirational leadership of the nursery team encourages an extremely inclusive environment, where adults and children feel valued and respected. Children's care, welfare and learning are significantly enriched by the highly effective way in which the setting is led and managed. The management have worked determinedly to provide outstanding care and education for all children. The manager and the deputy manager work tremendously well together as a team to frequently evaluate the provision and identify areas for improvement. The input of all staff, parents and children is acted upon to ensure the provision is of a high quality so that all children's needs are met. Staff appraisals and regular discussions with the management ensure that staff's training and professional development is personalised to their needs and to those of the nursery. Staff share this knowledge and that which they gain on training courses, and cascade this at staff

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provision

Children's welfare is expertly safeguarded as all staff have comprehensive knowledge of the safeguarding policies and procedures. Completion of training with regard to child protection means staff are up-to-date with current practices and are skilled to effectively recognise any child who may be at risk of harm and to take the appropriate action. Robust risk assessments of the premises, completion of regular fire drills and staff qualified in first aid means children's well-being is extremely well promoted.

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provision

All staff have an extraordinary knowledge of the educational programmes. Consistent monitoring ensures that children experience a broad and balanced range of experiences that help them progress quickly and successfully towards the early learning goals. Children's needs are outstandingly well met through highly effective partnerships between the nursery, parents and outside agencies. Parents are complimentary about the nursery and the service it provides. They comment how 'approachable' and 'flexible' the staff are and how their child 'loves to come'. School teachers are invited into the setting to talk at length with the children's key persons. This sharing of information about their learning and development, prior to the children leaving the setting, supports the transition process into school and helps to ensure a consistent learning experience for children.

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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 EY248187 Local authority Kirklees Inspection number 895091

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 34 Number of children on roll 53 Name of provider Lisa Marie Gill Date of previous inspection 12/08/2009 Telephone number 01484 685383

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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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