Snapdragons Nursery Weston

Snapdragons Nursery & Out of School Club (Weston) Henley Lodge, Weston Road, Bath, Avon, BA1 2XT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/04/2013 19/01/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children benefit from exceptional outdoor play environments in which they enjoy a wealth of exciting experiences to promote all aspects of development.  Staff are extremely skilful and knowledgeable practitioners who respond exceptionally well to children interests. As a result, children are highly motivated learners.  Staff promote children's physical development extremely effectively with a wealth of activities to promote their health, fitness and safety to a very high standard.  Key persons work in very close partnership with other early years settings children also attend and external professionals to help ensure all children are making rapid progress.  Management and staff are all highly driven to maintaining continuous improvements, and actively involve parents, children and external agencies in the development of excellence within the nursery.

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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 and the quality of teaching in the play rooms and outdoor play areas.  The inspector sampled children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the area manager and manager to assess suitability and qualifications of staff and management's knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements EYFS.  The inspector took account of the views of parents.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Snapdragons Nursery and Out of School Club (Weston) registered in 2003 and is part of a small locally owned chain of nurseries based in Bath and Wiltshire. The nursery operates from three floors of a private house in the Weston area of Bath, Avon. Children are cared for in age related play rooms and have access to extensive outdoor play areas. Children attend from the local surrounding areas.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 270 children on roll in the early years age group. The nursery is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. The nursery supports children who learn English as an additional language, and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery is open weekdays from 8am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. Children attend full days or sessions in the nursery and out of school club.

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Information about the setting

There are 38 staff members employed to work directly with the children, most staff hold relevant early years qualifications. Three staff hold Qualified Teacher Status and three hold Early Years Professional Status.

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

 consider ways to encourage all parents to contribute information about what their child does at home.

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who attend

Staff have an excellent knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements. Key persons work in close partnership with parents from the start to help ensure they meet children's needs to a high standard. Staff also work with exceptional efficiency with the many other professionals involved in children's care and development. This helps to ensure every child is fulfilling their potential in all areas. Staff accurately monitor children's progress, adapting the frequency and depth of observations according to children's individual development rate. Staff use this information to plan a rich and varied range of experiences tailored to each child's needs every week. Consequently, children are thriving and making rapid progress in their learning in relation to their starting points. Parental involvement is valued and sought. Staff provide parents with summary reports every two months showing their child's progress and for parents to

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who attend

agree to the next identified area of learning. However, not all parents contribute information about what their child does at home to help staff support their child's learning and development further still.

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who attend

Staff know the children extremely well. They inspire children and skilfully respond to children's lead and interests. Staff have high expectations of children. They provide very close support as well as continuous challenge with new experiences, asking questions, encouraging children to share their knowledge, to problem solve and predict outcomes. As a result, children explore and investigate with great curiosity and persevere to complete activities in their own time. Staff continuously praise and encourage children, to build their self-esteem and independence, and promote their interactions and social skills through small group work. As a result, children are developing an excellent range of skills to promote their future learning and readiness for school.

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who attend

Children are developing extremely positive attitudes and very good self-confidence. Younger children take great comfort from their key person, and consequently are very happy and explore freely. Children are forming lovely friendships with others who they eagerly seek out and proudly introduce. Children are developing excellent communication and language skills. Staff sharply focus on promoting children's listening skills. For example, children enjoy listening walks in the garden, babies shriek out when they hear birds and aeroplanes, and older children then go on to draw a representation of what they have heard. Children listen intently and staff provide simple props for younger children to maintain their attention. Children express themselves very confidently. Babies babble and chuckle and staff respond with great sensitivity to encourage their communications. Staff support children learning English as an additional language exceptionally well. They work

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who attend

very closely with parents in assessing language development, and use communication books to exchange key words for staff and children to learn. Staff also use picture cards as a valuable tool to fully include children with less developed communication.

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who attend

Children are making excellent progress in their physical development. They benefit from inspirational outdoor play areas, which include a separate area for younger children. Children enjoy a wealth of physical play equipment. They climb on fallen trees, run freely and play exciting games. Staff use these activities to promote children's understanding of keeping safe extremely well. For example, younger children learn to manage steps and climbing equipment effectively and older children learn to use real tools in forest skills activities and road safety on walks. Staff also continually question children as to what might happen in different situations.

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who attend

Children are developing an excellent understanding of their community and the world. They explore one another's culture, language and beliefs as well as many cultural events from around the world. Children meet many members of the community on outings, fun family days and visitors to the nursery. Children also get actively involved in fundraising events for local and international causes. Children use the outdoor play environments to continually explore and investigate natural life. For example, they collect leaves, grass, sticks, stones and feathers to discuss; children notice the leaves are different colours and decide 'this one is old' as they hold up the brown leaf. Children use their creativity and imaginations exceptionally well. Younger children explore many objects in treasure boxes, dance excitedly to music and songs, dress up and pretend play. They also explore a wealth of different media and materials. For example, trays of

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who attend

water, sand, foam and very much enjoy the integrated indoor sand pit. Older children pretend play extensively to act out real-life experiences. For example, children stir sand and stones in woks with sticks in the outdoor sand pit to make 'chocolate cake'. They find sticks for candles, and stones as 'chocolates for your birthday'. Children act out many of the stories they have read, and get deeply involved in spontaneously making up stories with staff. Staff interact with enormous enthusiasm. They skilfully include aspects of mathematics, such as counting, calculation, problem solving and discussions about safety. As a result, children's imaginations are nurtured and they benefit from a wealth of other challenges in their chosen activities.

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

Children benefit greatly from skilful and dedicated key persons and small, consistent teams of staff. In addition, staff work very closely with parents to make sure they understand and meet children's needs to a high standard from the start. As a result, children are very happy and settled and develop extremely warm and trusting relationships with the staff, to who they show great affection.

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

Staff have established highly effective links with all the other settings children also attend, including schools, childminders and day care settings. Staff also work in very close partnership with external professionals to meet any additional needs. Consequently, the staff accurately meet each child's needs and every child is fulfilling their potential. As children progress through the nursery, key persons provide children with close support and time to get to know their new key person confidently. Children progressing on to school benefit from valuable 'Big Steps' time to promote their independence and confidence. These excellent partnerships and practices help to support children extremely well during the move from their home into the nursery and other settings. This contributes to their personal, social and emotional development exceptionally well.

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

Children benefit from an extremely warm and welcoming environment, recently refurbished throughout. Babies thrive in small nurturing playrooms in which they explore from a very secure base. Staff working with older children continually review and update the environment in response to children's interests and to provide endless new exciting experiences. In addition, children benefit from special play sessions, such as Yoga Bugs, Musial Tree House and rugby classes. As a result of this rich and vibrant environment, children explore and focus intently. Children's behaviour is exemplary. This is due to the staff's consistent messages and high expectations of children's behaviour. Consequently, children show a great kindness and respect for one another and are learning to address issues themselves.

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

Staff promote children's healthy lifestyles to a high standard. Children are exceptionally well-nourished throughout the nursery day. They enjoy very well-balanced and nutritious meals which are freshly prepared daily by a team of chef and kitchen staff, according to each child's needs and preferences. Children learn about healthy eating through innovative activities, such as growing fruit and vegetables to eat and choosing healthy favourites on 'Child's Choice Day'. Many parents comment on the food provision. They state they appreciate the 'amazing quality and variety of food', 'some of which I would never think to serve my children', and their child 'now eats very well, better than at home'. Staff work very closely with parents to meet bottle feed routines and provide close support and consistency for each child when weaning. Staff view children's safety as a high priority and continually assess all aspects of the provision to keep children as safe and secure as

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

possible. Staff also prepare children very well in learning to recognise danger and keep themselves safe.

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provision

Management and staff all have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. They have a very secure knowledge of the correct procedures to follow if they have a concern about the welfare of a child. In addition, management provides regular opportunities for staff to discuss practice issues with them confidentially to help ensure children are protected. Staff implement the highly effective policies and procedures, risk assessments and checklists. In addition, managers follow robust staff vetting procedures, an induction day and eight week mentored probationary periods for new staff. These all help to further protect children's welfare. Managers implement highly successful staff supervision to monitor the impact of staff's practice on children's care and development. For example, managers provide all staff with one-to-one meetings each month, a mini-

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provision

appraisal every six months and a full annual appraisal. In addition, they complete room spot checks, arrange peer-on-peer observations and provide support from staff with Early Years Professional Status.

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provision

Management and staff demonstrate an excellent drive for excellence. They are all involved in contributing to the exceptionally high standards of care and learning, and continue to pursue even greater standards. Staff contribute to meetings, development plans, evaluations and the Ofsted self-evaluation which is updated annually. Staff talk passionately about their roles and the achievements of the children they care for. Consequently, improvements which are meaningful and sustainable are continually being made which have a direct impact on the children in their care. In addition, children attending the out of school club contribute their views, ideas and interests for the next holiday period.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are excellent. Management and staff provide a wealth of continuously updated information for parents regarding all aspects of the provision. This includes a vibrant and extremely informative website, a monthly magazine, displays throughout the nursery and daily diaries. Staff also spend significant time everyday exchanging information with parents. This all helps to ensure staff continually meet children's needs to a high standard and according to parents' wishes. Parents are kept closely involved through parent evenings, social events and fundraising activities. Parents' actively share their views using annual questionnaires, e-mails, feedback forms and the suggestion box. They state, for example, their children have 'developed extremely well', and they are kept 'very well informed'.

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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 EY253622 Local authority Bath & NE Somerset Inspection number 909498 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 158 Number of children on roll 270 Name of provider Snapdragons Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 19/01/2010 Telephone number 01225 426255

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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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