Appletree Children's Nursery

Appletree Childrens Nursery Apple Tree Nursery, 51 The Park, YEOVIL, Somerset, BA20 1DF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/04/2013 22/06/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children are happy and settle well as there is a fully embedded key person system.  Children behave well as they are provided with clear boundaries and staff provide a positive role model.  Children enjoy physical play in the outside areas, which supports their health and well- being.  Staff support young children's communication and language skills well, using sign language with babies as a means of non-verbal communication for them to express their needs.

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It is not yet good because

 staff do not fully support the learning and development for children under two years by basing activities on the needs, interests or stage of development of each child.  management do not effectively use self-evaluation and performance management to identity training needs or gaps in the knowledge of staff working with children under two years.  older children do not always have opportunities to gain independence skills at lunchtime.

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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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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 play in all of the rooms.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled planning and assessment documentation and a range of policies.  The inspector observed the lunchtime routine.

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Information about the setting

Appletree Children's Nursery registered in 2006. An established nursery has been on this site since 1992. The nursery is privately owned and operates from a converted Victorian house with grounds, near the centre of Yeovil, in Somerset. The accommodation has been converted to provide seven play rooms and two sleep rooms, over two floors. In addition there is a separate entrance hall, kitchen, laundry room, an office, and toilet facilities for the children and staff. There is a fully enclosed area of the rear garden available for outside play. The nursery is open each weekday from 7am to 6pm all year round, with the exception of bank holidays and the Christmas period. Children attending the nursery come from Yeovil and the surrounding rural areas. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 81 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. The nursery is

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Information about the setting

in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four years. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who are learning English as an additional language. The nursery employs 18 members of staff. Of these, 16 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and 3, including one member of staff who holds Early Years Professional Status.

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must:

 develop the educational programmes for babies to provide them with a broad range of activities and experiences that build their capacity to learn, form relationships and thrive; in particular focus on the prime areas of learning.

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

 strengthen the systems for performance monitoring and self-evaluation to support professional development for less experienced staff to improve their knowledge, understanding and practice in the Early Years Foundation Stage

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

 Improve the educational programme for personal, social and emotional development for older children by providing them with opportunities to become more independent at lunchtime.

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who attend

Children make progress in their learning and development from their starting points because the quality of teaching overall is satisfactory. They enjoy a range of activities both inside and outdoors to support their development across all areas of learning. However, staff working with the babies are less confident on how best to promote the prime areas of learning and do not consistently plan a broad range of purposeful learning experiences that fully promote these areas of learning, such as physical development. For example, babies lack some opportunities to practise crawling indoors. The older children in the pre- school room enjoy a broad range of activities across the areas of learning. Consequently, older children are developing key skills to help to ensure they develop and learn effectively. These skills help prepare children for their move on to school.

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who attend

Staff support children's language and communication skills well across the nursery. For example, they share stories with the children who listen and repeat familiar text. Staff in the toddler room creatively help children develop language skills as they select pictures and associate them with a familiar song. Children sing the songs using actions and words. This helps children to understand that words carry meaning. Staff support children's problem-solving skills by encouraging them to roll balls through drainpipes and guess where the ball is going to land. This helps children to enjoy exploring and investigating as well as to develop a curiosity about objects. Children begin to learn early writing skills. For example, children in the toddler room independently access crayons and make marks on paper. Children learn how to use mathematical language through play in the pre-school room as they are encouraged to build homes for a toy animal. The children use words

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who attend

such as big, little, more and less. This helps to develop children's understanding of shape, space and measure.

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who attend

Staff prepare children well for the move from the nursery to school through regular meetings with local schools. This helps support children's needs because staff set appropriate priorities for learning. Parents are fully involved in their child's life at nursery. They communicate with the staff on a daily basis and share information about children's achievements. Children's developmental records are always accessible to parents and they have an opportunity to take the records home throughout the year. Parents are encouraged to complete a feedback form and add any comments about their child's development. This helps to ensure there is a two-way flow of information and children receive appropriate support with their next steps in learning.

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

Children are happy and confident due to an effective settling-in process. Time is taken to establish relationships and to obtain useful information from parents about children's general care needs, home practices and routines. Children confidently separate from their main carers as staff take time to get to know children. This enables the children to form secure emotional attachments. Staff sensitively carry out routine care practices such as nappy changing. For example, the key person sings familiar songs to children while they change their nappies. This provides a positive personal and social experience for young children and helps them feel secure. Staff support children well as they make the move from one room to another. For example, children have the opportunity to spend time in their new room with their key person. This helps children feel safe and secure during periods of change.

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

Children behave well and develop important social skills. Staff speak to the children in a calm and respectful manner. Children respond positively to appropriate boundaries with support and encouragement from staff. For example, staff remind children to help to tidy up their toys. The children respond positively to this and follow instructions well. The children gain support in the development of their personal, social and emotional skills. Consequently children gain self-confidence and higher levels of self-esteem. For example, children put on display photographs of their achievements on the 'proud tree'. The children also have an opportunity to share their achievements during circle time. This helps children to show pride in their achievements.

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

The staff help children to begin to develop an awareness of safe practices and how to keep safe. For example, children clearly point out the safety meeting point as they take part in regular fire evacuation drills. The children learn to wash their hands regularly to support their health and well-being. Children learn about healthy lifestyles as they eat healthy snacks and meals throughout the day and fresh drinking water is readily available. Children benefit from opportunities to make choices throughout the day. However, staff miss opportunities to help the pre-school children to gain more independence at lunchtime. This is because they do not routinely serve their own food or pour their own drinks. This has an impact on their personal, social and physical development and their self-help skills when they move onto school.

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

Staff appropriately support children's health and physical development and encourage them to get fresh air and exercise. Children are able to use a range of physical play equipment outside, which helps them learn to climb, jump and balance. Children are encouraged to take appropriate risks as they use a slope in the garden to ride their wheeled toys. For example, they learn how to steer their bicycles so they safely come to a stop.

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provision

Children are able to feel safe and stay secure at the nursery, as the provider understands her responsibility towards meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. All staff have a sound knowledge of how to safeguard children. They understand the signs and symptoms that may indicate concerns about a child's welfare and the procedures to follow to report such concerns. There are adequate procedures in place to recruit staff to make sure they are suitable to work with children. New staff follow an effective induction method to help them understand their key roles and responsibilities within the nursery regarding the children's care, learning and development. This helps to ensure that they fully understand how to implement policies and procedures to promote children's health and safety.

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provision

The nursery manager fully understands her responsibility towards meeting all requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Routine performance management, such as appraisals and supervision helps the nursery team evaluate and draw out many of the most needed areas for improvement, However, they have not fully identified all areas that require further development to improve the outcomes for children, This includes coaching and training for some less-experienced staff caring for the younger children to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

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provision

The manager understands the importance of working with external agencies. This enables the nursery to draw on expertise and provide tailored support for children, so they make suitable progress in their development. Staff develop good relationships with parents and work effectively with them to support the learning and development of their children. For example, staff hold consultation meetings to discuss children's achievements and progress with parents. This helps to support children's next steps in learning in the nursery and at home.

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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 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 EY336106 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 843984 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 80 Name of provider Appletree Children's Nursery (Yeovil) Ltd Date of previous inspection 22/06/2009 Telephone number 01935 433301

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Setting details

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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