The Valley Nursery and Kids Club

The Valley Nursery & Kids Club New Road, Team Valley Trading Estate, GATESHEAD, Tyne and Wear, NE11 0JU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/03/2013 08/06/2009

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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

 Children are highly motivated and consistently demonstrate the characteristics of effective learning. The educational programmes have depth and breadth. They are delivered by staff who have very high expectations of themselves and children, with expert knowledge and a clear understanding of how children learn.  The strong partnership with parents is a particular strength of the nursery. They learn about their child's learning as well as how best to help their children to learn at home. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the nursery's effectiveness.  Staff demonstrate an excellent understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The thorough implementation of robust policies and detailed procedures successfully promotes children's well-being.  Children are encouraged to be active learners and confidently take part in activities of their choosing. They take the lead in their play and staff actively and effectively engage

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This provision is good

with children to extend their thinking and communication skills.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Opportunities, such as enabling children to serve themselves at mealtimes are missed, in order to further extend older children's independence.  There is scope to further enhance staff supervision in order to ensure that all training opportunities are considered, in order to bring about further improvement to the provision for children.

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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 viewed all areas of the premises and equipment and observed activities in all of the playrooms and the outside play areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working within the setting, the provider's self- evaluation form and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager, and spoke with staff and children throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager and took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

The Valley Nursery & Kids Club was registered in 2006 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in refurbished premises in the Team Valley area of Gateshead. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from four main rooms with an additional sensory room, parents room and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs 32 members of childcare staff. All hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, including two with Early Years Professional Status or Qualified Teacher Status.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.45am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 108 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special needs and/or disabilities.

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

 enhance opportunities further for older children to develop independence at lunch time, for example, by serving themselves

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

 develop even further, the effectiveness of staff supervision to ensure that all opportunities to identify relevant training, are considered.

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who attend

Children are enthusiastic, curious and keen to learn. This is supported by the skilled interaction of staff who challenge children through open-ended questioning and value their comments and contributions, whilst also understanding when to allow children freedom to play and explore. Activities link closely to children's interests and preferences due to the secure assessment procedures used by staff. This means children become engrossed and fully involved in their play.

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who attend

Evaluation of activities and the areas used by children help staff to continually improve the environment to support children's learning. For example, the home corner is regularly changed, which results in children engaging in various forms of imaginative play. Children have easy access to an excellent range of toys, equipment and resources that support their learning. Excellent use is made of both indoor and outdoor areas to promote and extend learning, enabling children to play and learn in a way which is right for them. For example, children paint eggs outside for Easter as an extension of watching the chickens hatch from the eggs in the nursery. This well-considered approach and good support helps to ensure that all children make good progress in their learning and development throughout all areas of learning.

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who attend

Children are confident communicators; they make their needs known and enter into detailed conversations about how and why certain things should be done. For example, boys move tractors in the sand and look at the tractor prints. Staff who are aware of the importance of pre-writing skills in preparation for school, extend this activity to making marks in the sand and introduce a range of pencils to allow them to write in the sand. Children consider and try out several resources before finding a solution that works, highlighting the staff's ability to maximise spontaneous play and children's ability to think critically and solve problems.

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who attend

Focused activities and games support children in making rapid progress in their language skills, narrowing the gap in this area for some children with identified needs. Children who speak English as an additional language use tools, such as photographic time lines, pictures and simple signs to help them communicate. Staff use books, which are in the child's home language and liaise closely with parents to establish simple words. Children with special educational needs are extremely well supported. Staff ensure they are given any additional support to complete activities and implement any appropriate strategies into the whole setting.

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who attend

Children have plenty of opportunities to develop physical skills. Babies have varied opportunities to practise their mobility supported by staff who provide lots of one to one attention. They investigate, moving in and out of the ball pool on their stomachs and crawling. Children are settled and secure within the familiar routines and consistent boundaries and expectations. They understand how they can help each other and are gaining the ability to work together and care for others. For example children talk with delight and excitement about the recently hatched chickens and know they need to care for them, stroking them carefully when given the opportunity to hold one. Staff gather accurate information through observations and discussions with parents to help them establish children's starting points and stage of development. This enables them to plan activities that will support children in building on what they already know, in order to gain

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who attend

new skills. They have developed systems to complete the progress check at age two, which they share with parents at organised meetings. Parents are extremely well informed of children's learning; they have regular open nights and frequently share children's 'learning journeys' with key persons. This helps them to feel fully involved in their child's learning and promotes consistency. Parents state that the nursery provides an excellent environment for children to grow and develop, supported by a committed and dedicated staff team.

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

Children are settled and secure and develop strong bonds with their key person and the friendly and caring staff team. Secure settling-in arrangements mean children are able to separate from parents or carers confidently and make a smooth transition. They become increasingly independent in their personal care needs. For example, when children use the toilet there is a sign to remind them to wash hands. They use the soap, water and paper towels to make sure their hands are clean before they have their snack, dinner and before cooking activities.

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

Staff are consistent in their expectations with regards to children's behaviour, sometimes drawing children's attention to what is expected of them. Children learn to share, take turns and consider the needs of others as they play, helping them in building relationships. They consider the feelings of others as they talk about how actions will make them and others feel. Children receive lots of praise and encouragement, making them feel proud of their achievements and encouraging them to 'have a go'. Children talk freely about their pictures, which are attractively displayed on the walls around the room, which develops their self-esteem. Through playing with resources that positively reflect differences, children learn to respect and value diversity and consider the needs of individuals.

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

Staff are vigilant about safety at all times. Risk assessments are completed and safety monitored throughout the rooms. Children are encouraged to participate in risk assessing areas within the nursery, raising their awareness of how to keep themselves safe. For example, they talk about how throwing sand gets into people's eyes and stings, and discuss safety issues during a baking activity when melting chocolate. Any accidents are recorded appropriately and information shared with parents.

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

The environment is very well maintained and positive practices are followed to support children's health. Children enjoy healthy snacks, meals and drinks during the day. Meals are served to children in a social setting and staff sit at the table with children and talk about a range of subjects, developing social and interpersonal skills. However, opportunities are missed to further promote older children's independence, for example, by allowing them to serve themselves. Indoor and outdoor play areas are used well to support children's learning and benefit children's health. Children explore all areas confidently, accessing toys of their choice from the very wide range available. There are quiet areas for rest and easily accessible toilet facilities, which enable children to become increasingly independent in managing their personal care needs.

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provision

Strong leadership and effective team working means that all those involved within the setting strive to offer the very best care for children. All have a clear understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements for both learning and development and welfare. This is due to thorough induction procedures and recently implemented supervision. Staff are well qualified and have a positive attitude towards continuous professional development. This helps practitioners to improve their knowledge, understanding and practice to benefit the care and support they offer to children. However, there is scope to further enhance staff supervisions to ensure that opportunities are not missed to identify training to further improve the provision for children. Regular staff meetings help to ensure a consistent approach, which means children feel secure and settled.

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provision

Comprehensive self-evaluation and careful monitoring of the provision offers the management opportunities to identify strengths and weaknesses. Once identified, weaknesses are prioritised and acted upon so that positive improvements are made for the children. All aspects of the curriculum are reviewed regularly. This helps staff to identify children's needs and learning preferences and provide them with a broad curriculum that supports their development.

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provision

Staff have a consistent knowledge of all policies and procedures and are updated when any are reviewed. For example, all staff are fully aware of new policies implemented to enhance the settings safeguarding arrangements. Rigorous procedures are followed with regards to staff recruitment and vetting, which includes checking the suitability of staff, students and volunteers. This helps to protect children from harm.

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provision

Extremely strong partnerships with parents, carers and others involved help staff to meet children's needs. Detailed information is provided for parents about the setting. This includes settling in sessions, providing them with the opportunity to see how the setting works and to develop their understanding of the importance of play and how staff support each child in the setting. Links between key persons and parents are strong, ensuring ongoing information sharing to promote consistency. Parents' views and ideas are welcomed and actively encouraged. An accurate record is maintained of any complaints made, how these were investigated and the information fed back to the complainant. This acknowledges that concerns are acted upon in order to ensure the best possible care for children. The setting has established very good links with the local schools and nursery. Staff have established systems with other nurseries to promote consistency and cohesion.

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provision

They have implemented a book which is completed by everyone involved with the child, and staff share development progress with staff formally on a half termly basis. This ensures a joint approach to the child's education.

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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 EY320833 Local authority Gateshead Inspection number 908610

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 152 Number of children on roll 159 Name of provider Team Valley Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 08/06/2009 Telephone number 0191 4915050

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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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