Poulton St Chads Nursery

Poulton St Chads Nursery Poulton C of E School, Hardhorn Road, POULTON-LE-FYLDE, Lancashire, FY6 7SR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/03/2013 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

 Children are provided with many opportunities to develop their independence and self- care skills.  Staff work effectively as a team to promote continuous improvement within the nursery.  Effective partnerships with parents and other professionals ensure that children's individual needs are known and catered for.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The outdoor area is not organised to make full use of the space and natural resources available in order to extend further children's learning and development.  Dates are not always clearly indicated within the children's development records which means that information regarding children's progress is not always current and up to date.

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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

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged 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 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  scheduled 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 undertook a tour of the premises.  The inspector observed children's play and learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed documentation and discussed children's learning with the staff and management team.

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Information about the setting

Poulton St Chad's Nursery registered in 2012. It is a purpose built, self-contained nursery with a playroom and outdoor area in the grounds of Poulton St Chad's school in Poulton- le-Fylde, Lancashire. Children also have use of the school hall, information and communication technology suite, school playground, field, multi-use games area and garden. The nursery is managed by an independent provider and is registered on the Early Years Register. It is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm for 51 weeks a year. Children are able to attend full time or for a variety of sessions. Six staff are employed, the manager is qualified to level six with Early Years Practitioner Status, and four other staff members hold qualifications at level two and above. The nursery receives support from the local authority. Funded sessions are available for two, three and four year olds. Children can attend from age two to five years.

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

 develop further the outdoor area to provide an extensive range of experiences and further promote children's progress.

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

 ensure that information provided to parents and carers is clear and accurate, for example, by keeping the children's learning journeys and development records up to date.

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who attend

Children are provided with a good range of activities and experiences which support their development across all the areas of learning. Staff demonstrate a clear knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage, and ensure that children's individual needs and interests are known and catered for. The nursery is based in one main room, divided in to various areas which the children move freely between. All children who attend are able to independently access the various areas and can choose when to rest, actively engage in activities or go outside. A carpet area provides children with a comfortable place where they come together for group sessions such as circle time, singing and sharing stories. These group sessions are differentiated to meet the needs of children of different ages and interests, and children are free to move on to a different activity if they choose. Children access a creative play area where sand and water trays are continuously

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who attend

available, as well as painting and other messy play activities. Children enjoy time in the role play area where they re-enact everyday situations as they play in the house and kitchen and push dolls in their prams. This provides them with opportunities to develop their language and communication skills and enables them to extend their creativity. Staff also provide guided activities such as making their own modelling dough. Children eagerly join in and take turns to stir and add the ingredients to the bowl as it is passed around the table. Once they have made the dough children enjoy modelling and explain how they are making "cakes for a birthday" and making "pumpkin pie". Staff extend children's learning and imagination and encourage them to take their "cakes" to the play kitchen where they can cook them in the oven.

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who attend

Children have opportunities to develop their early reading and writing skills throughout their time at the nursery. In addition to shared stories children can readily access books by themselves during the day. Materials, such as pencils, chalks and paint, are always made available by staff to enable children to explore their emerging writing skills and to make marks. Staff support children's language skills as they ask questions and respond to children's imaginative play, encouraging them to develop their vocabulary and use language as a means of expressing their thoughts and feelings. Children's understanding of shape, space and number is developed through everyday activities, such as drawing and recognising shapes in the environment, counting objects and displaying numbers around the nursery.

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who attend

The outdoor area is used on a regular basis and children have free access to it for most of the day. The nursery have started to develop this area, although currently the outdoor resources are limited and staff do not use the area to full potential to extend children's creativity, imagination and learning. For example the children do not have many opportunities for exploring sand, water and creative resources. Children use the playhouse as an outdoor shelter. It has been left empty with no creative play resources or books and there is nowhere outside for children to rest. There are plans to develop a vegetable patch, although this is currently empty. However, the children enjoy digging in the soil and splashing in muddy puddles. Staff ensure that children bring wellington boots from home to enable them to explore freely in the outdoor area. Children ride on wheeled toys along the painted road and park the vehicles in the parking bays. Some planting of seeds and

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who attend

bulbs has taken place recently and children explain that they are waiting for their tomatoes to grow in the indoor greenhouse.

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who attend

Each child is assigned a key person who works closely with them and helps them to settle into the nursery. Development folders are completed for all children, which include written observations of children's play, examples of their artwork and writing and photographs of children's achievements. Each child's key person carries out the observations and identifies next steps for children's learning. This enables them to adapt activities, resources and experiences to support children's individual learning. However, the development folders are not all up-to-date as the observations are not always transferred into the folders in a timely manner. This, in addition to the lack of dates on the progress sheets means that children's assessment folders are not always up to date to enable staff and parents to have a quick overview of progress. However, staff have a good working knowledge of their individual key children and use the information from their observations to plan

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who attend

activities which engage and stimulate children's learning.

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

Children's individual details are well known by all staff. Parents complete an 'all about me booklet' before children start to attend which gives an insight into children's individual needs and preferences. This information is used by staff, and in particular the child's key person, to support children when settling in. Medical and dietary needs are known and catered for.

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

Children develop a secure understanding of health and hygiene during daily routines. Children are encouraged to wash hands at key times, use tissues to wipe their nose and take part in regular physical activity. Younger children are supported to do this as required and this helps them to learn about the importance of following hygiene routines. A jug of fresh drinking water is accessible to children at all times and they can help themselves to cups from the shelf. Snack and meal times are used particularly well to promote children's independence and self-care skills. Children select their own plates and cutlery from the shelf and take it to their place at the table. Children are encouraged to help themselves to fruit and toast and pour their own drinks of water and milk from a lidded jug. Children as young as two years old spread the margarine on their toast, and clear away their own plates after use. They enjoy the opportunities to be independent and staff are always

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

available to support younger children if they need assistance. This supports children to develop confidence and self-esteem as they can complete everyday tasks independently.

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

Children's safety and well-being are maintained through effective routines and appropriate documentation. Accident and medication records are accurately maintained and detailed written risk assessments are in place for the premises and the outdoor area. Children are reminded of the need for appropriate behaviour such as being kind to others and helping to tidy away equipment after use. Regular fire evacuation drills are carried out and a record maintained which helps children to understand about keeping themselves safe in an emergency.

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provision

The management team and staff work well together in order to provide a safe, caring and enjoyable environment for the children who attend. The whole staff team have contributed towards an evaluation of the nursery and have identified strengths and areas for improvement. All staff demonstrate a commitment towards continuous improvement and this has a positive impact on the provision for children. Since registration, significant steps have been taken to improve the setting, for example, areas have been moved and reorganised to allow children free access to a wider range of resources. In addition, a general routine for the day has been implemented which supports children to settle in and understand the key parts of their day at nursery. Plans are in place with clear timescales for further improvements, such as extending the resources and developing the areas for the outdoors, which will have a positive impact on children's experiences.

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provision

The manager carries out performance monitoring of all staff and a full induction process is in place for any new staff. All staff are keen to develop their own knowledge and understanding and they attend training in specific areas in order to support the children who attend. This ensures that staff working within the nursery have a clear understanding of their responsibilities to meet the welfare and learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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provision

A clear understanding of their responsibility to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements ensures that children are protected from harm. Detailed written policies and procedures are in place and staff demonstrate a thorough understanding of these.

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provision

Effective partnerships with parents, carers and other professionals ensures that children's individual needs are met. Parents and children visit the nursery for stay and play sessions before the children attend full-time. This enables the children to become familiar with the environment and the staff and allows parents to see how the nursery operates. Children develop close relationships with their key person and other staff. Parents are made aware that they are welcome at the nursery at any time to chat to staff about their child's progress. Children's development folders are readily available for parents to look through and staff ask for parental comments which are recorded. The development folders however, are not always kept up to date. Newsletters are sent home and information displayed in the entrance area regarding the nursery routines and the Early Years Foundation Stage framework.

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provision

Staff work with other professionals such as speech and language therapists to ensure children's progress is supported and links are in place with the attached primary school which supports transitions into reception class for those children who will move there. They have visits to the school classroom in preparation for moving on and all children are able to access the outdoor play areas, school hall and computer suite at different times. This means that when they move from the nursery, the new environment is more familiar to them and they get to know some staff within the school beforehand. Visitors from the local community, such as librarians, clergy and drama teachers also come to the nursery regularly which supports children's knowledge and understanding of the world around them and provides a wider range of experiences for the children.

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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 action. 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 EY452962 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 886002

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 14 - 12 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 26 Name of provider Poulton St Chads Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 07725841974 01253892647

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: 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, which are usually the childminder’s 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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