Footsteps Day Nursery & Preschool

Footsteps Day Nursery & Preschool Chalfont St. Peter Football Club, Mill Meadow, Gravel Hill, Chalfont St. Peter, GERRARDS CROSS, Buckinghamshire, SL9 9QX

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/05/2013 18/03/2013

p.1

early years provision

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

p.1

This provision is good

 Children enjoy their time at the nursery. They benefit from interesting activities and experiences that stimulate their learning and promote their progress effectively.  Staff develop excellent communication with parents, which enables them to work consistently together to meet children's needs.  The nursery forms positive partnerships with other settings and professionals. This enables them to strongly support children with special educational needs and to compliment children's learning at other settings well.  The manager and staff have a strong understanding of their roles and responsibilities, which enables them to meet children's needs effectively.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always provide regular opportunities for the older children to recognise their names or for younger children to select books independently, to further enhance their literacy skills.  Staff do not consistently use daily routines and activities to promote the younger children's understanding of counting.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

Information about this inspection

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

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed the indoors and the enclosed outdoor area of the nursery premises.  The inspector observed children's play, activities and interactions with staff.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector asked the owner/manager and staff about their roles, responsibilities and their work.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to a small number of parents to gain their views about the nursery.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled the nursery's paperwork including written policies and children's progress records.

p.2

Information about the setting

Footsteps Day Nursery and Pre-School registered in 2011. It is a privately owned nursery. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. The nursery operates from two rooms in Chalfont St Peter Football Club in the village of Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area, and visits are undertaken to an allotment and weekly forest school sessions take place. The intake of children is mainly from the local residential area.

p.3

Information about the setting

The nursery opens on weekdays from 7.45am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. The nursery offers a variety of sessions including mornings, afternoons, all day and term-time only. The nursery provides out of school care for children under eight including before and after school and care during school holidays. The nursery cares for children from three months to eight years of age. There are currently 69 children on roll in the early years age group. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four years of age. Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Support is also provided to children who are learning English as an additional language. Additional activities are offered at the nursery, including French and Spanish lessons and football coaching.

p.3

Information about the setting

The nursery employs 13 members of staff, of these nine hold recognised childcare qualifications. The manager is working towards gaining Early Years Professional Status and one other member of staff is working towards gaining a childcare qualification.

p.3

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

 enhance children's literacy development further by enabling younger children to more easily select the books on offer and by providing more opportunities for the older children to recognise their names

p.3

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

 enhance young children's mathematical development further by supporting their counting skills through using daily opportunities and routines.

p.3

who attend

Children make good progress in their learning and development. Staff gain effective information from parents about their children's starting points and make good records of children's individual needs. This enables staff to identify children's learning needs well on entry. Staff develop a good understanding of children's interests and current stage of development. As a result, they successfully plan for children's ongoing progress. Staff carry out ongoing observations and use these well to identify children's needs for further support or challenge. Staff carry out effective two-year-old progress checks. These clearly identify children's progress and areas to support children's future learning and progress. Parents receive regular formal information about their children's progress at the nursery, such as written summaries and through attending parents' evenings. This promotes a consistent approach to supporting children at home and at the nursery. Staff actively

p.4

who attend

involve parents in their children's learning. For example, children choose books to take home to share and read with their parents. Children can take a special teddy on holidays with them from nursery. This encourages children to share experiences from home by bringing back a diary and photographs of their time with the teddy bear.

p.4

who attend

Staff demonstrate they have a strong understanding of the learning and development requirements. They have an effective understanding of the seven areas of learning. Staff have a good understanding of how the activities they provide relate to these, and support children's learning and development. Staff work with other settings children attend to support children's learning and individual needs consistently. Where children have identified special needs they work closely with other professionals and specialist settings to ensure they are able to meet children's needs successfully. This includes visits to other professionals and visits from them to the nursery. This enables staff and other professionals to work effectively together to promote children's good progress. The nursery supports children well who speak English as an additional language, and children who speak other languages alongside English. Staff speak to parents to raise their

p.4

who attend

understanding of the importance of using home languages alongside English. They gain key words in other languages children speak and use these alongside English to support children's understanding. This includes using greetings in other languages children speak, which values the children's different backgrounds.

p.4

who attend

Children engage in activities and play effectively. This reflects that children are fully motivated to learn. Staff interact with children well to support their learning and progress. For example, when reading to older children staff ask open questions and encourage children to share their knowledge. The younger children in the baby room enjoy exploratory and sensory play experiences, such as finding toys hidden in shredded paper. This encourages children to investigate different materials. Daily routines support the older children well in using their mathematical understanding in practical ways. For example, children estimate how many cups they will need for a table and count out the cups. Children sing number songs and rhymes and staff use these to support children's good understanding of adding and subtracting. Staff in the baby room do not always use daily routines to promote the younger children's understanding of counting in meaningful

p.4

who attend

contexts. For example, staff do not count buttons on children's clothing as they do these up. The older children enjoy looking at books and reading these with staff. A daily registration takes place with the older children, with name cards to support children in recognising their names. Staff have not fully considered how they can support children's recognition of their names at other times during the day to enable children to practise these early literacy skills further. The nursery provides activities to encourage children to develop their early writing skills. They provide activities that support children's small physical skills to develop pencil control, such as using small tools and construction bricks. The nursery encourages children to write for a purpose, for example, by using clipboards during role-play and during outdoor visits to the nursery allotment. The older children take part in activities to encourage their listening and concentration skills, such as circle times.

p.4

who attend

This helps children to develop skills they need to be ready to start school.

p.5

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

Children settle well at the nursery and are happy and content. The nursery offers effective settling-in arrangements for parents and children. This enables the staff to develop a strong understanding of children's individual needs and parents' wishes. Parents and children attend settling-in visits and parents are asked to contribute comprehensive information about their children's needs, such as home routines. This enables staff to develop an effective understanding of children's individual needs. Staff and children develop positive relationships with each other and the nursery implements the keyperson approach effectively. For example, the keyperson changes their key children's nappies. This promotes a warm, settled relationship for children enabling them to feel secure and safe. Children form good friendships with each other. Children's behaviour is good and children cooperate well and help each other. For example, children help each other at

p.5

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

lunchtime by serving food to each other.

p.5

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

All children spend time outdoors daily, and benefit from fresh air and physical activity. There is an enclosed free-flow area and a large grassed area for children's outdoor play activities. The baby room has indoor physical play equipment to promote the younger children's physical development, such as a push along toys, a crawl through tunnel and soft play steps and a slide. This enables the younger children to develop good physical skills and confidence in their abilities to manage new challenges. The older children benefit from weekly forest school sessions. These enable children to learn to take appropriate risks and provide different challenges to their physical development. This promotes children's effective understanding of how to keep safe, such as what to do if a dog approaches them. Staff provide consistent rules and boundaries for children, such as wearing safety helmets while riding bikes. This promotes children's good understanding of

p.5

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

staying safe while using equipment. Children visit the nursery allotment and grow fruit and vegetables to eat at the nursery. At meal times, staff encourage children to chat about healthy options. This supports children's good understanding of healthy lifestyles.

p.5

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

The nursery provides a welcoming and inviting environment. Friendly staff greet parents and children warmly. Children's artwork and photographs are on display, which reflects that the children are valued well. The nursery mainly promotes children's independent skills effectively. The older children visit the toilet independently and wash their hands. Staff also chat to children about appropriate behaviours in the toilet, such as respecting each others privacy. Children are able to make choices from the toys and activities on offer. Low level storage overall enables children to see what toys and resources are available. Books in the baby room are stacked on top of each other in storage containers. This reduces the younger children's free choices of books and does not fully encourage the younger children to select books to look at independently. The older children serve their own drinks and food and enjoy washing up their cups afterwards. This supports

p.5

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

children in developing effective and independent skills, along with developing a good sense of responsibility.

p.6

provision

The manager/owner and staff have an effective understanding of their roles and responsibilities. As a result, the nursery meets the regulatory requirements. The manager/owner and staff demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding issues. Staff demonstrate they are fully aware of potential signs and symptoms that would alert them to concerns about children's welfare. The manager/owner and safeguarding officer have an effective understanding of the procedures to implement in the event of safeguarding concerns. Staff carry out safety checks daily before children arrive and supervise children closely at all times. Staff monitor the older children's independent visits to the toilet, making regular checks on children while they are in the toilets. This promotes the safety of children at the premises effectively.

p.6

provision

Staff are encouraged to undertake further training and regular supervision meetings and annual appraisals help identify their ongoing training needs. The manager/owner works 'hands on' in the nursery. This enables her to guide staff practice and to monitor the learning and development experiences children have. Self-evaluation is good. There is a strong commitment to improvement at the nursery. The manager and staff review the nursery environment regularly to ensure it meets the learning needs of the children. As a result, they have put in place further resources to support two-year-olds. For example, age appropriate sized furniture and additional toys and resources to capture this age groups interest. Parents' feedback is welcomed and the staff take account of children's ideas and interests. Regular formal and informal meetings gain staff's ideas and views. This supports effective self-evaluation processes.

p.6

provision

Excellent communication and partnerships are in place with parents. Staff provide ongoing exchanges of information with parents about their children's time at home, at the nursery and about their progress. This enables staff and parents to work effectively together to consistently support and meet children's individual needs. Parents spoken to at the inspection were highly complimentary about the nursery's facilities, the staff and manager. The nursery forms effective partnerships with other settings children attend and other professionals involved in children's learning and care needs. They exchange good information with other practitioners, which promotes a consistent approach to meeting children's care and learning needs.

p.6

The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met

p.6

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.

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number EY430730 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 917773 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 52 Number of children on roll 69 Name of provider Chalfont St Peter Football Club Partnership Date of previous inspection 18/03/2013 Telephone number 07939881846

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

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’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10