Cornhill Kindergarten Limited

Cornhill Kindergarten 18 Cornhill Road, Urmston, MANCHESTER, Lancashire, M41 5TJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/04/2013 06/08/2009

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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

 Staff have an excellent knowledge of how children learn, and provide a rich varied and imaginative educational programme, with precise assessment and planning for individual children which ensures they make excellent progress in their learning.  An extremely sharp focus on communication and language skills, in addition to the other areas of learning, helps children to make excellent progress in their learning. They are becoming confident communicators who interact exceptionally well with both children and adults.  Partnerships with other professionals are highly effective in providing for children's needs. Transitions in and out of the setting are exceptionally well organised to promote continuity of care and learning.  All staff consistently give the highest priority to the safety of children and effectively support children's growing understanding of how to keep themselves safe and healthy.  Children are highly confident and show an excellent level of independence for their age,

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This provision is outstanding

as a result of staff practice and a carefully organised learning environment. They demonstrate superb cooperative skills when playing together.  Self-evaluation systems are extremely thorough and take into account the views of staff, children and parents. This ensures that strengths and weaknesses are effectively identified and addressed and plans for improvement are well targeted and achievable.

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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 the four playrooms and outdoor environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager and registered provider, talked to staff and key persons and carried out a joint observation of an adult-led activity.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at various documents, including policies and procedures, children's records, evidence of the suitability of staff and recruitment procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Cornhill Kindergarten was registered in 2004. It is privately owned and the three directors own and run another setting in the Bolton area. It operates from a detached property, formerly two large houses, close to Trafford General Hospital in Davyhulme, South Manchester. The setting serves families from a wide catchment area, as well as local families and is within walking distance of shops and parks. It opens from Monday to Friday from 7am until 7pm for 51 weeks of the year. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Information about the setting

Children's rooms are all at ground floor level, with the pre-school room situated in an annex to the rear of the premises. They are cared for in four rooms, to meet their age and stage related needs. There are steps to gain admission, however, a portable ramp is available and access for large wheelchairs is gained via the side entrance.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 54 children on roll, all of whom are within the early years age range, who attend for a variety of sessions. The setting supports children with special needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. There are 12 staff employed to work with the children, of these five hold an early years qualification at level 3 and four are unqualified. The manager and one other member of staff hold an early years qualification at level 4 and one member of staff holds Qualified Teacher Status. The setting provides funded education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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

 provide additional opportunities for children to learn and play outside by linking the extremely imaginative and rich indoor and outdoor environments so that children can move freely between them.

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who attend

Staff have expert knowledge of how children learn and demonstrate high expectations of themselves and the children. The exceptional organisation of the educational programme engages children in rich, varied and imaginative experiences that are tailored to meet their individual needs. As a result, children are well motivated, eager to participate in activities and consistently demonstrate the characteristics of effective learning. Babies and children have a strong exploratory impulse which is further enhanced because staff provide a wealth of interesting resources and materials for them to investigate. For example, babies explore the sensory den which is filled with objects to promote learning through their senses, such as, rain sticks, brushes, mirrors, logs and shakers.

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who attend

Teaching techniques are consistently strong across the setting and successfully reflect children's interests. Staff skilfully build on children's prior knowledge and experiences and provide further challenging opportunities, which helps them make excellent progress in their learning. For example, the provision of assorted materials and resources, such as, feathers, glitter, sequins and straws, encourage children to express their thoughts and ideas and develop their creative skills. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are exceptionally well supported in their learning because staff work very closely with parents and outside professionals to ensure they make the best possible progress. Assessments clearly demonstrate that they have now reached the expected levels of development and that the achievement gap is closing rapidly. Interaction between practitioners and every child is exceptionally strong which is highlighted in

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who attend

children's reactions, the excellent progress they make and the sheer delight they display.

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who attend

There is an extremely sharp focus on helping children to acquire communication and language skills and supporting their physical, personal, social and emotional development. As a result, children are exceptionally well prepared for school and their next stage of learning. Children develop their social skills as staff teach them to play cooperatively with each other, take turns, share resources, negotiate and problem solve when carrying out activities. For example, toddlers take turns and share the glue as they take part in a gluing and sticking activity and pre-school children invite other children to join them as they make models with construction materials. Staff encourage children to be independent whenever possible. For instance, they select and replace resources independently and very young children confidently carry their own mattresses and blankets to the quiet area in preparation for their afternoon sleep.

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who attend

Staff capitalise on every opportunity to develop children's language skills throughout the setting. They are highly skilled in the way in which they use adult-led and child-initiated activities to question and challenge children's thinking. Staff extend children's vocabulary through role modelling language and introducing new words, such as 'sparkle, shiny, sprinkle, gold and silver'. They value babies' and children's attempts to communicate which gives them the confidence to experiment with sounds. Staff actively encourage the use of phonics to promote children's understanding of sounds and letters. Pre-school children demonstrate their ability to recognise their own name and link sounds to letters as they proudly show their key person that they have written their name on the writing board. Staff are sensitive to individual needs by using familiar phrases in home languages which are also displayed on the walls. Gestures and visual timetables are also used

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who attend

effectively to enhance early language skills and support children with additional learning needs.

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who attend

Staff provide children with a wealth of opportunities to develop their physical skills and the outdoor play area is exceptionally well resourced and organised to support this area of development. For example, children develop their large muscle control and coordination skills as they run, jump, use climbing equipment, ride wheeled toys, balance on tyres and walk across a wooden bridge. Providing babies and children with further excellent opportunities to access the outdoors, especially in the colder weather, would further enhance learning, especially for those children who prefer to learn outside. Children develop small muscle control as they use a wide range of writing implements, scissors, and paintbrushes and make marks with tools in dough. Babies have space within the rooms to move, cruise along furniture, roll, stretch and reach. They develop their small muscle control as they push buttons on toys, move the beads on an abacus and lift flaps

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who attend

Children are exceptionally well supported to develop their writing skills, taking part in a variety of activities to promote their small muscle control and promote their pencil grip. For example, babies make marks with their fingers in shaving foam and older children make marks with tools, such as, pegs, rolling pins, shapes and sticks in dough and draw pictures with chalks outside. The well-resourced book areas in all rooms enable children to access a variety of books, where they begin to learn that print has meaning. The indoor environment is rich with print and text. All resources are clearly labelled with words and pictures. This enables children to become familiar with the letters in their name from an early age. They excitedly enjoy story sessions with staff and share books together in small groups.

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who attend

Assessment is highly precise and meticulous. It tracks children's progress from entry to the setting through each term they attend. The system enables key persons to easily identify children's strengths and areas where more development is needed. Therefore, interventions are timely and any gaps in learning are quickly addressed. Consequently, children can receive optimal challenge due to individual planning, or interventions involving other professionals can be arranged after consultation with parents. Children are observed closely during the time after joining, and starting points are ascertained through this and the information from parents, in order to subsequently measure progress.

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who attend

Parents can access their children's learning records at any time. They are provided with sheets and weekend books to share significant experiences, interests and observations of their children's learning and achievements at home. Parents are kept fully informed of their children's progress, through daily conversations and regular parent's meetings. A wealth of information is displayed and distributed continually, keeping parents informed about the Early Years Foundation Stage and giving them advice on subjects, such as potty training and children's communication and language development. Staff provide a parent 'topic table' which is changed regularly to provide parents with activity ideas and information about how to help their children's learning at home.

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

Children's emotional well-being is extremely well supported. They share very positive relationships with the highly skilled staff, who are caring and sensitive to each child's individual needs. Staff spend time talking to parents in detail about their children and provide a settling-in process to make sure every child feels especially secure. Staff are always nearby to offer support and encouragement, which results in children being confident to try new things and fully participate in the exciting activities the setting has to offer. The dedicated staff team are passionate about promoting children's social and emotional development and work hard to help children form secure emotional attachments. Children arrive happily at the nursery, running excitedly to their key person to greet them before moving on to sample the activities. Staff are particularly sensitive and skilled in developing children's sense of belonging in the extremely warm, family

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

focused environment. For example, each child has their own coat peg, labelled with their name and photograph and their artwork is attractively displayed on the walls. As a result, their self-esteem is promoted and they feel valued and part of the nursery 'family'.

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

Staff use visual timetables to help children become familiar with routines to help them feel safe and secure within the setting. They teach children to manage risks, such as learning how to negotiate climbing equipment and using tools safely. Children move up to the next rooms with a great deal of confidence. The key person shares detailed information regarding the child's needs and interests with the staff in the next room to enable children to settle quickly. Children initially visit the next room for short periods of time which are gradually lengthened as they become more confident. Staff invite teachers from schools to come into the setting to discuss the children's learning and development needs and share their individual learning records. As a result, children experience a seamless transition as they move to the next stage in their learning, which successfully promotes continuity of care and education.

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

Behaviour is managed very well. Staff are calm and patient in their interactions, acting as good role models. They work in partnership with parents so that children receive consistent messages about appropriate behaviour at home. Staff make excellent use of puppets and dolls to help children understand about how their actions can affect others. They are very receptive to the children's expressions and help the children identify how they are feeling through their comments and actions.

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

Staff consistently give the highest priority to the safety of children and effectively support them to develop their understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Children display high levels of confidence with day-to-day routines and understand the procedures in place to ensure they are kept safe. They move around freely and carefully negotiate the space around each other as they run outside. Children talk about using scissors carefully so as not to hurt themselves or other children. Staff plan activities to promote further children's understanding of keeping themselves safe. For example, children learn about the role of the fire, police and ambulance service through topic work. Children develop an extremely good understanding of their own self-care and the importance of good health as they learn that mealtimes are social occasions when they sit together to eat. Information is gathered from parents on entry to ensure staff are fully aware of children's individual

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

dietary needs and requirements. Babies sit together at a low table with staff at mealtimes which enables them to interact with each other. Children learn about positive eating habits and discuss healthy foods that help their bodies grow. For example, they talk about milk being good for their bones and teeth and making them strong. Children's understanding of eating healthily is further promoted as they plant, grow and harvest vegetables from the nursery garden area, which they then cook and eat at meal and snack times.

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

Outdoor play is available at times in each session and children benefit from specialist taught yoga sessions and weekly swimming lessons, to develop their understanding of exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. Children also learn about the importance of dental hygiene as they are encouraged to brush their teeth after meals; children explain that chocolate and sweets are not good for their teeth. The staff role model excellent hygiene practices as they clean areas ready for children to eat, feed babies and change nappies. Children confidently talk about washing their hands before eating to 'kill the germs', disposing of tissues in the waste bin and 'catching coughs' so that germs do not spread.

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provision

Clear safeguarding information is available to all staff and parents. Staff are confident and aware of the action they must take if they are concerned about a child in their care. Robust recruitment systems are in place to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. The manager recognises the importance of qualified and first aid trained staff. A high proportion of the staff hold qualifications in childcare and they are all trained in first aid. The detailed and precise daily risk assessments of the premises help to ensure that children can learn and play in a safe environment.

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provision

The registered provider, manager and deputy manager make up an inspirational management team, who have a shared vision of their aims for future development of the setting. A clear action plan of further improvements is in place, which includes providing opportunities for children to experience a natural story area outside, intertwined with a picnic area. Strong working relationships with the local authority enables the setting to make good use of the knowledge and training opportunities it offers. The setting appreciates the guidance and support from the local authority early years advisor and acknowledge how it has helped them to focus on targets for improvement. The environment, procedures, and staff's practice has improved dramatically since the last inspection and all recommendations have been thoroughly addressed and acted upon. For example, children are now provided with endless opportunities to develop their

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provision

understanding that print carries meaning. Signs are displayed around the setting and staff talk to children about words and what they say as they read stories. Excellent provision is in place to monitor both the development of the children and the development of staff skills. The manager ensures staff attend regular staff meetings, training meetings and carries out appraisals every six months. This enables her to monitor, motivate and develop the staff team to provide an excellent service. The opinions of staff, parents and children are all used to continuously evaluate and develop the provision.

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provision

There are highly effective systems to monitor how staff observe, plan and monitor each child's progress. For example, planning, observations and assessments are regularly checked by the manager to ensure staff are accurately tracking children's learning and progress. Information is gathered to show the progress of all children in the setting to ensure that any gaps in learning are quickly identified. The information is subsequently analysed and demonstrates that children who start the nursery below expected levels of development are progressing very well, and the gap is narrowing. Interventions are sought at the early stages to identify any group falling behind their peers or below their expected achievements, which results in children's needs being met effectively and relevant support services involved. Furthermore, the information from data highlights any gaps in children's achievements in particular areas of learning. This results in the manager

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provision

providing additional opportunities for staff training and enables staff to focus and target these areas of learning in their planning.

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provision

Highly effective partnerships with parents and other providers ensure that children's needs are quickly identified and exceptionally well met. Children who require the involvement of external professionals are supported by staff at the highest level because of their outstanding understanding of the importance of partnership working. For example, babies with specific medical and health requirements are cared for by staff who have a superb knowledge of their needs and receive specific training to ensure they consistently receive the very highest standard of care.

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provision

High quality communication systems ensure that parents are kept fully informed of their children's progress. Parents contribute extensively to the initial assessment of their children's starting points on entry. They are also provided with a variety of opportunities to support and share information about their children's learning and development at home. Extremely complimentary feedback from parents spoken to during the inspection demonstrates how delighted they are with the service they receive and they are incredibly happy with how well their children are progressing. They state that they 'feel part of a family', that their children are 'sociable and confident' and that staff 'listen and respond' to their views. Parents receive a wealth of information regarding the service and educational programmes. They are invited to attend settling-in events and twice yearly progress meetings. In addition, fundraising and social events provide opportunities for parents to

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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 EY295846 Local authority Trafford Inspection number 908838

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 46 Number of children on roll 54 Name of provider Cornhill Kindergarten Ltd Date of previous inspection 06/08/2009 Telephone number 0161 747 0509

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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