Little Otters Children's Centre

Little Otters Children's Centre Marshgate, Camelford, Cornwall, PL32 9YN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/04/2013 16/03/2009

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early years provision

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

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This provision is satisfactory

 Staff are friendly and establish warm relationships with parents, children and others, promoting consistent levels of care.  Children play in a safe and well-maintained environment, with a balance of inside and outside play to support their learning and development.  Children learn about healthy lifestyles as they play outside, eat healthy snacks and develop suitable hygiene routines.

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It is not yet good because

 staff are not involved in a regular supervision process to support their own development and review any issues  staff follow established routines which do not encourage children to develop their independence or provide time and opportunity to extend their involvement in their own play  children have fewer opportunities to learn about mathematics during everyday play and routines.

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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 activities in both playrooms and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the manager, staff, parents and children during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed a selection of documentation, including children's files, planning documents, policies and procedures and safeguarding and welfare documents.  The inspector took into account the self-evaluation document.

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Information about the setting

Little Otters Children's Centre has been in operation since 1991. It is located on the outskirts of Otterham, near to the village of Marshgate, in North Cornwall. It has its own purpose built premises that opened in September 1999. It is a registered charity and is managed by a committee made up of parents and interested others. The setting is open five days a week all year round and from 8am to 5.30pm. Children use two base rooms and associated facilities within the building. There are enclosed play areas to the front and rear of the property. There are currently 58 children on roll, of whom 52 are in the early years age range. Children who currently attend are aged from nine months to 10 years. The staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

The setting is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The setting employs 11 staff to work with the children; all have recognised early years qualifications. The manager holds Early Years Professional status. The setting is a member of the Pre-school Learning Alliance. The setting has particularly strong links with the Otterham County Primary school and provides before and after school care for children who attend this school. The setting also offers holiday care for older children from the surrounding area.

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must:

 develop the educational programme for mathematics by introducing more numbers into the environment and supporting children to use numbers, matching and estimating during their play.

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must:

 improve the arrangements for supervising staff to foster a culture of support and coaching to improve staff effectiveness in supporting each child.

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must:

 improve children's learning opportunities by: keeping significant activities out instead of routinely tidying them away; ensuring children have uninterrupted time to play and explore; and enabling them to have time and freedom to become deeply involved in activities and develop their independence.

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who attend

Children enjoy a suitable range of activities and experiences in the well-resourced nursery. These activities help to ensure that children are busy throughout the day and include opportunities for outside play. Staff know the children and understand their needs, and plan for their interests. Staff talk to parents and conduct regular observations on children to know what they are interested in. Staff plan according to children's learning needs and keep a record of photographs and observations, which parents see. Each term parents receive a written account of their child's development, which shows they are making satisfactory progress. Staff use this system to make their progress check report for children when they are two years old. Staff work closely with any other professionals who may be involved with a family so that children receive consistency in their care and development.

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who attend

Children are cared for in two rooms with age appropriate resources in each room. The younger children explore the feel of various sensory materials such as shaving foam, glittery dough, sand and water. They feel the paint as they use their fingers to mix the colours and make patterns. Older children have various role play opportunities set up. They pretend to be doctors or an artist and have some interesting resources to reflect a gallery and artist studio. However, at times, children are unable to finish activities to their satisfaction as they follow the routines of the nursery. Staff encourage children to help tidy away all the resources ready for the next activity, for example snack time or outside play. This prevents some children from having the opportunity to play and others do not always finish what they are doing before packing away. During the day children join in with whole group singing and rhyme games, and sit for a photograph game or story.

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who attend

However, some children are not yet ready for sitting in whole group activities and consequently become restless.

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who attend

Staff interact with children as they play, encouraging them to talk about what they are doing and developing their communication skills. Children are confident to ask for help if required and show their fondness for the staff and their friends. Staff have tried to implement more activities to promote children's understanding of mathematics. However, this is often through formal adult-directed sessions. This does not effectively help children to use mathematics in their play and routine activities such as snack time. Throughout their play, children are developing suitable skills for their next stage of learning.

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

The friendly and welcoming staff help new children to settle and enjoy their day. The staff gain useful information from parents on children's individual routines and preferences so they have sufficient understanding of the child's needs. As a result, children's emotional and physical well-being is appropriately supported. Children behave well and take account of each other's different needs, helping each other to enjoy playing together. Children are very polite and enjoy helping with tasks. Staff boost children's self-esteem and confidence as they receive lots of enthusiastic praise for their thoughtful behaviour. As a result, children have a positive attitude and cooperate well.

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

Children learn about healthy lifestyles. Staff provide children with good role models in following hygienic routines and keeping the environment clean and tidy. At snack time, children sit in social groups and the special helper passes the plate of fresh fruit and crackers to others. Staff talk to children about the fruit and use new words to describe it. Staff help to pour the drinks and sing songs to remind children about saying 'please' and 'thank you'. Children have opportunities to play in the outdoor play area or in the garden every day. They dress in suitable clothing, with staff handing the coats to each child individually. This does not promote the older children's independence in self-care skills, as some children wait for their coat to be found for them. Outside children look for interesting creatures in the garden, searching for the frog that lives there. They have a variety of toys and resources for them to dig, climb and balance on, developing their

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

muscles, coordination and control. Older children play games, such as traffic lights, where they follow instructions and control of their bodies. Staff are very vigilant and supervise children appropriately. Children are involved in fire evacuation drills so they learn about safety and are reminded to keep their shoes on so they do not hurt their feet. The staff work closely with the local school and frequently meet with the teaching staff. Children visit the school and become familiar and well prepared for their move on to their next stage in their learning.

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provision

The provider and manager are aware of their responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements. The manager and staff know what to do if they have any concerns over children's welfare. The manager has secure systems to monitor staff suitability. She has attended recent safeguarding training. The manager works directly with staff and casually monitors their effectiveness. However, there is no formal system in place for staff to receive regular coaching to improve their practice or discuss any issues, which is a requirement. For example, staff have not been encouraged to introduce mathematics through play.

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provision

Recommendations raised at the previous inspection have been addressed. Relationships with parents are improved because of their greater involvement in providing more information to staff and in monitoring children's progress. Links with other providers have developed and provides more consistency in children's care and helps ease the move onto their next stage of learning. Systems for self-evaluation are in place, but do not identify the breaches in the requirements or reflect the weaknesses in the setting. However, the manager has a very positive attitude and accepts responsibility to put things right quickly.

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provision

Staff understand the changes in the learning and development requirements and have implemented systems to monitor children's progress. Recent training and use of a communication assessment tool has helped to identify children who may need additional support in their language development. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities well following professionals' advice and individual plans for their learning. Staff are supported in continuing their professional development and attend training, which helps to improve practice.

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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 103037 Local authority Cornwall Inspection number 908637

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 29 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider Little Otters Children's Centre Committee Date of previous inspection 16/03/2009 Telephone number 01840 261593

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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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