Early Adventures

Early Adventures 10 Katherine Place, College Road, ABBOTS LANGLEY, Hertfordshire, WD5 0BT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/04/2013 28/10/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Staff have a secure knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This enables children to make good progress in their learning and development as staff create purposeful learning experiences for all children to engage in.  There are warm, caring relationships between staff and children which enable children to be confident in their play as they feel secure and happy.  Children benefit from a welcoming environment and experience regular opportunities for outdoor play that engages them and promotes their learning.  Leadership is effective in driving improvement and staff receive good support from management. This means staff are highly motivated and work well together as a team, creating a secure and safe learning environment for children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Ways of engaging all parents in their children's learning are not developed to the optimum to encourage them to consistently share information on their children's learning and achievements at home.  There is scope to improve the display and organisation of books to engage children's interests more effectively.

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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 children's activities in all rooms and the outside learning environment.  The inspector held discussions with the registered person, the manager and staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, the self-evaluation form and a range of other documentation including a selection of policies and children's records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents from information in the nursery's own parental survey and from parents spoken to on the day of inspection.

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Information about the setting

Early Adventures was registered in 2004 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is a privately owned nursery and operates from a converted, single storey building in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 14 members of childcare staff and of these, the majority hold early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, for 51 weeks of the year, from 7.30am to 6.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 83 children attending who are in the early years age group. An after school service is also provided for children aged from five years to eleven years and children are collected from local schools. This operates from 3pm to 6.30pm, term time only. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. It supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 extend ways of engaging all parents in their children's learning through providing further opportunities for them to share information about their children's achievements at home

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

 maximise opportunities for children to play and extend their learning through reviewing how fact and fiction books are displayed and organised.

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who attend

The educational programme provides many worthwhile and stimulating experiences to enable all children, whatever their starting points, to make good progress in their learning. Staff are knowledgeable about the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and have a secure knowledge of how children learn through play. The quality of teaching is good because staff understand that every child is an individual and they are effective in ensuring that all children are supported in their learning and development. Staff adapt their interactions well to ensure each child is included and able to participate at their own level. Each child has their own 'learning journal' which is a developmental record of their progress and achievements and is completed by the child's key person. The child's key person monitors children's progress through effective observation and assessment systems. They then use this information, along with children's

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who attend

individual interests, to purposefully plan activities to extend children's learning. Parents are kept informed about their children's achievements as they have regular discussions with their key person and a communication book is used to share information. More formal opportunities, such as parents' evenings, also provide parents with good opportunities to discuss their child's development and to look at their child's learning journal. Opportunities are available so parents can actively contribute to these, but these are not fully embedded in practice to encourage all parents to share what their child has been doing at home.

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who attend

Staff have a secure understanding of the seven areas of learning and provide a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities and play experiences for children. Both the indoor and outdoor environments are planned to reflect each area of learning, as well as children's interests and capabilities, and staff are clear what children should learn from these experiences. Consequently, children are motivated in their play and are keen and active learners. Staff have high expectations for the children in their care and encourage children to concentrate and persevere in their learning. This helps children to develop the skills required to prepare them for their future learning, such as when they move on to school.

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who attend

Flexible play space and resources enable children to explore, build, move and role play. For example, babies are eager to explore and delight in filling and emptying containers or pushing buttons on interactive toys and are intrigued by the sounds and noises they make. Toddlers are confident in their play, enthusiastically kicking and rolling balls in the outdoor environment. In the pre-school room, children use their imaginations as they eagerly dress up as 'dentists' and listen to stories about going to the dentist.

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who attend

Regular story times promote children's language development, and children listen and respond with great excitement when looking at books and listening to stories. The organisation of the environment allows children to have easy access to books. However, there is scope to enhance how books are displayed to ensure they capture and engage children's interests more. Children's communication and language development is supported well. For example, communication tools, such as visual timetables, are used to help younger children understand daily routines and to enable them to express in which activities they would like to participate. Also, staff are skilled at extending children's language as they listen and talk, such as at circle time, when they provide opportunities for children to talk about what they see, hear and feel. Children who speak English as an additional language make good progress because staff find out key words in their home

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who attend

language and relevant pictures and words are displayed around the nursery.

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who attend

Children express themselves creatively and participate in a varied range of art and craft activities. For example, babies enjoy the sensory experience of playing with flour, while toddlers make pictures using a variety of different textures including feathers and cotton wool. Pre-school children develop a strong sense of achievement when they paint detailed pictures of themselves, ensuring features, including hair and skin tone, are accurate.

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

Children's well-being is promoted as staff are welcoming and friendly. The key person system is highly effective in supporting children's personal, social and emotional needs and developing trusting relationships with parents. For example, time is taken to ensure settling-in sessions with new children are purposeful with information exchanged between parents and the child's key person to ensure children's individual needs are met. Children display a happy demeanour and show through their behaviour that they feel secure. The established nursery team and well-embedded key person system ensure that all children form appropriate bonds and secure, emotional attachments. Staff prepare children well for their transitions. For example, when children are moving rooms staff work closely together and short visits are organised for children so they become familiar with their new surroundings and new key person. Parents are also involved in this process to ensure

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

Children are gaining a good awareness of keeping themselves safe as staff explain simple safety procedures. For example, staff talk about the potential hazards of children running indoors and when on outings children learn about how to cross the road safely. Their awareness of developing a healthy lifestyle is promoted through the provision of healthy meals and snacks and through regular indoor and outdoor physical play opportunities. For example, children spend plenty of time in the fresh air and have lots of opportunities to experience outdoor play as it is incorporated into the daily routine because staff fully understand the importance of outdoor learning. The routines in each room help promote healthy habits and from a young age children are aware of the need to wash their hands before they eat. Older children are able to confidently talk about the reasons why hand washing is important. They understand why drinking lots of water keeps their bodies

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

healthy and they know they must not share cups as it could spread germs.

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

Children develop a good understanding of how to behave kindly towards others because staff teach them to be thoughtful and considerate. They learn to share and play well together and are regularly praised by staff for doing so. Children take an active role in the setting, such as spontaneously using a dust pan and brush to sweep up spilt sand from the sand tray. Their independence is encouraged with rooms organised to achieve maximum child independence. Older children are confident making choices, such as deciding when they want to have their snack while younger children's self-help skills are fully promoted with staff encouraging them to try things for themselves and supporting them while they try to succeed.

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provision

The management team has worked hard to establish a good quality nursery. They provide staff with high levels of support and this raises the commitment and dedication of the staff team and creates a happy, secure environment for all. They provide clear leadership and ensure all staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities to meet the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This is reflected in their practice as the established staff team work together well and are fully focused on the needs of the children. Children are safeguarded and their welfare is protected. For example, staff have a good knowledge and understanding of child protection issues as they undertake regular safeguarding training. This means they are able to implement appropriate procedures to protect children from harm. Children's safety is of high priority and staff closely supervise

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provision

children. The premises are safe and secure and the maintenance of the facilities and the management of safety systems are good.

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provision

Thorough procedures for recruiting and vetting staff ensure they are suitable and safe to work with children. Therefore, children's welfare is protected. Effective induction systems ensure staff are clear on their roles and responsibilities. Close supervision of children and effective staff deployment positively contributes to the safety and welfare of the children. Staff performance is then monitored through annual appraisals and regular supervisions. Ongoing professional development is encouraged and all staff undertake regular training.

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provision

There are successful processes in place to evaluate the quality of the provision and identify improvement. For example, the nursery's key strengths and areas for further development are effectively identified through the use of a self-evaluation process where the views of staff, parents and children are taken into account. Since the last inspection, the management and staff team have worked together and have made significant changes which have had a positive impact on children. This has been done with the support and advice of their local authority early years advisor. In addition, the educational programme is also closely monitored. For example, a new tracking system has been introduced to assist staff in identifying any gaps in children's learning and in ensuring they have an accurate understanding of the progress children are making.

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provision

Positive partnerships between staff and parents ensure children's needs are very well met. Staff are forthcoming in exchanging information with parents and feedback from parents is positive. Parents spoken to on the day of inspection say they feel well informed and that staff are friendly and approachable. Partnership working with other professionals is well- established and used to support children. For example, effective systems for working with parents and other agencies ensure children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are closely monitored and given valuable support. Systems to help children and families who speak English as an additional language are also effective. Close links with the local children's centre have been established and teachers from local schools are invited to visit the nursery prior to children leaving to move on to school. This has been found to be very beneficial in ensuring those children make secure transitions.

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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 EY279320 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 819958

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 57 Number of children on roll 83 Name of provider Claire Margaret Traxon Date of previous inspection 28/10/2009 Telephone number 01923 681826

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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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