Westhill Nursery

Westhill Nursery Pre-School West Hill House, Braunton, Devon, EX33 1AR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 29/04/2013 25/01/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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 have an extremely enabling environment in which to play with an excellent range of toys and resources.  The staff are positive role models and have an excellent rapport with the children.  Children form strong attachments and become confidently independent as their welfare is given the highest priority.  Children are making excellent progress in their learning and development.  The setting has an excellent partnership with parents, keeping them well informed on the progress their child is making.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playrooms and outside play areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed a sample of children's assessment records, planning, documentation and policies.  The inspector talked with the proprietor, staff and some parents.  The inspector and proprietor undertook a joint observation of the children.

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Information about the setting

West Hill Nursery Pre-School is situated in Braunton, North Devon. It was established in 1960, it is privately owned and has been run by the same family since opening. The purpose-built nursery is in the grounds of the proprietor's home. It is an open-plan building, consisting of three adjoining rooms and upstairs accommodation for the younger children. There is a large garden and patio areas suitable for children's use. The setting is registered on the Early Years Register, and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 57 children on roll in the early years age group attending at different times of the week. The setting provides funded early years education for two and three- and four-year olds. The setting is open Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm term-time only. There are seven members of staff working with the children, including the proprietor. All have recognised early years qualifications. The

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Information about the setting

pre-school supports children with special needs and/or disabilities and children with English as additional language.

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

 encourage children to use tools at snack time to develop their independence and physical skills.

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who attend

Children have an extremely welcoming and enabling environment in which to play. They are very happy, safe, and flourish in this nurturing setting. They are supported by a key person to monitor their development. Children are making very good progress in relation to their starting points in all areas of learning. Children enjoy choosing from an extensive range of excellent toys and resources. Staff plan an interesting and challenging range of activities to support children's individual interests. The staff have an excellent rapport with the children which supports children to settle quickly on arrival. The staff are skilful in asking open-ended questions to extend children's thinking, giving them time to respond. Children are encouraged to use their own ideas and imaginations. They are keen to learn and express themselves and they concentrate extremely well at their chosen tasks. Staff support children to interact very well with their friends, to share and to take turns.

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who attend

Children show interest in what each other is doing and learn good co-operation skills as they wait to take their turn, such as to use the computer to play educational games. Children have an excellent range of books to choose from and enjoy stories and acting them out. They listen well to instructions and respond appropriately. They are keen to express themselves and confidently share their home news at circle times and recall recent events that they have been doing at the setting, for example, celebrating St George's Day. Children enjoy action songs. They learn their numbers, colours and shapes naturally as they play and when listening to stories.

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who attend

Staff plan effectively to support children's individual interests. They complete observations and assessments on the children and use these to support children in their next steps of learning. Children receive consistent praise and encouragement. Children enjoy free-flow play to the outside play areas and in the garden with a very good range of resources to support their physical development. They enjoy using their own ideas building with crates and planks. They are eager to learn about nature and are excited that chickens are due to hatch, saying as they leave 'will they have hatched by tomorrow?' They have real life experiences to support them learn about the environment and nature such as seeing lambs born and learning about how tadpoles develop. Children are learning extremely good skills in readiness for school. They are very confident to ask questions, express themselves and confident with their own self-care.

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

Children have excellent levels of self-confidence due to the support and encouragement from staff. The staff have great empathy with the children, giving them reassurance and cuddles. Children are familiar with the routine for the day and eagerly go about the day with confidence, choosing what they would like to do. They quickly engage in play activities. They enjoy role-play with an excellent range of resources to support them. The role-play area is changed regularly to offer a variety for children such as a vet's surgery and fire station. Children learn about keeping themselves and each other safe as they play, for example when taking part in group activities and using the physical equipment outside. They have regular outings and learn the 'Green Cross Code' to keep themselves safe near roads.

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

Younger children are supported very well and have a nurturing room in which to play and develop. They have access to their own outside play area. This enables them to be able to crawl and play safely and have outdoor equipment suitable for their ages and stage of development. They enjoy exploring and investigating with sensory resources and are taken out on a regular basis. They are supported by caring staff who liaise with parents to ensure consistency of care.

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

Children are extremely eager to help at tidy up time. They are familiar with the routine of washing their hands before meals. They are keen to prepare the tables for snack, helping to clean and lay the table and counting how many cups they need. They take responsibility for themselves, confidently pouring their own drinks. Meal times are very social occasions and children learn very good social skills. They enjoy having their packed lunch on the table set up outside. They confidently find their packed lunch boxes and know to eat their sandwiches first. This helps them in preparation for school. However, children are not always encouraged to help to cut their own fruit at snack time. This limits their independence and also their physical skills as they learn to use tools.

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

Children behave extremely well. They are thoughtful and kind to each other as they play as they know what is expected of them. Children are supervised well at all times. Staff engage in their play on request and plan activities that children enjoy, such as sponge painting and a melting ice activity. Children learn about their local community and the wider world by celebrating festivals throughout the year which they enjoy. They have access to an excellent range of craft resources and crayons and pencils to support their early writing skills. They enjoy experimenting, making marks with feathers and the staff talking with them about how people used to write with quills. They learn problem solving with construction toys and making puzzles. These are all skills which prepare children exceptionally well for their future learning.

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provision

The proprietor has high expectations of herself and her staff. The staff are enthusiastic, experienced and work effectively as a team. Regular supervision and appraisal are undertaken to support the staff's development and to ensure they keep up-to-date with changes in legislation. Safeguarding children is given high priority. The staff have completed training and are clear of what to do in the event of a child protection concern. Rigorous procedures are followed when recruiting new staff. They have a comprehensive induction programme. These systems ensure they are suitable to work with children, and that they are familiar with the setting's policies and practice so they are clear of their roles and responsibilities. Regular staff meetings are held to share good practice and staff have internal training as well as attending external courses.

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provision

Rigorous risk assessments are completed of all areas used by the children and appropriate action taken to ensure children are safe. Daily checks are undertaken to minimise any potential risk to children and staff are deployed effectively to ensure that children are always supervised appropriately. There are clear procedures in the event of an emergency and the fire drill is practised with the children so they are clear of what to do. Systems are in place to record any accident a child has on the premises and parents are informed. Should a child attend with an existing injury these are also recorded. Parents see all the setting's policies, including the complaints policy, and there is an informative notice board for parents. There are very good systems in place to support children when they first join to help them to settle quickly. Information is exchanged with parents to ensure staff know children's likes and dislikes. Children have gradual introductions to the next room when

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provision

The setting has an excellent partnership with parents, keeping them extremely well informed on a daily basis how their child has been and what they have learned. Parents receive regular newsletters and excellent systems are in place to keep them well informed of the progress their child is making. This helps parents to support their child's learning at home. Parents speak highly of the setting. The setting has good links with outside agencies and the local schools. Systems are in place to access support for children with specific needs, such as speech therapy. Parents' views are sought through questionnaires and acted upon. The leadership and management continually reflects and monitors their practice through their own self-evaluation to drive improvement and to provide high quality childcare.

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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 106394 Local authority Devon Inspection number 916023 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 57 Name of provider Anne Garland and Ruth Garland Partnership Date of previous inspection 25/01/2011 Telephone number 01271 812938

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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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