Penny Bridge Nursery

Penny Bridge Nursery Penny Bridge Nursery, Penny Bridge, ULVERSTON, Cumbria, LA12 7RQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/04/2013 25/04/2012

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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 enjoy a wealth of stimulating and exciting activities delivered by highly skilled and enthusiastic staff. As a result, children are making excellent progress in their learning and development.  Children are extremely happy and enjoy secure and trusting relationships with the staff who provide them with constant praise and encouragement. As a result, this boosts their self-esteem and results in them being extremely confident and self-assured individuals.  Highly effective partnerships between the nursery, parents and the local schools ensure that children are exceptionally well-supported in their preparation and transition to school.  Managers and staff show clear ambition to maintain high quality care and education for children. They make excellent use of reflective practice, taking into account the views of parents and children. This results in extremely well-targeted plans for continuous

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This provision is outstanding

developments in this already first rate nursery.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the nursery room and the outdoor play area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager, undertook a joint observation and spoke to the members of staff and children during activities.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of children's progress records, daily communication diaries, planning documentation and operational files consisting of policies, attendance registers, staff qualifications and suitability documentation.

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Inspection activities

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

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Information about the setting

Penny Bridge Nursery was registered in 1993. Since September 2010, it has operated from a purpose-built building within the grounds of Penny Bridge Primary School and is managed by a limited company. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. They have access to one large playroom, an enclosed outdoor play area and the school playground. The setting provides out of school care, nursery sessions and a holiday club. It operates from Monday to Friday from 7.45am until 6pm, for 50 weeks of the year.

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Information about the setting

Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 43 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. The nursery employs nine members of staff, all but one hold appropriate early years qualifications to a minimum of level 3. The manager has Qualified Teacher Status and the deputy has an early years degree and holds Early Years Professional Status.

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

 consider further ways to enhance the well-equipped outdoor play area by providing more resources, such as, sound lines, chimes and plants, to further stimulate children's sensory experiences and encourage more investigation of the natural world.

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who attend

The staff have an excellent knowledge of how children learn and develop. They help children to settle at the nursery by gathering a wealth of information about their interests and individual needs from the parents when they first join. From this information, they ensure that activities are shaped to meet the children's individual interests and learning needs. This supports the children to make very rapid progress in their learning towards the early learning goals. The staff use 'Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage' guidance to assess and identify the children's starting points and ongoing developmental stages. Regular and well-focussed observations of the children and precise assessments are used to plan for their individual next steps in their learning. Parents are actively encouraged to be involved in their children's learning in many ways. They are invited in to the nursery to see their children's progress records and share

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who attend

information with the children's key persons. Parents are also given suggestions of activities to complete with the children at home to support their learning. For example, they are currently helping their children to develop their vocabulary by learning animal names and sounds. Some parents bring in items, such as farming magazines, to support children's learning about animals. Others bring in plants and bulbs for the children to plant and grow. All of these methods are highly effective in helping parents to be fully involved in their children's learning and development.

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who attend

Evidence gathered from observing children, talking to their parents and key persons, as well as reading their progress records, confirms that all children are making excellent progress towards the early learning goals, given their starting points. Staff have an exceptionally good understanding about the characteristics of effective learning and they use expert teaching methods to highly motivate and extend the children's learning. All children are extremely well supported in acquiring very good communication and language skills as they engage in conversations with the staff and their peers while they play together.

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who attend

As the children sit in small groups, they carefully listen to stories and answer questions about the stories. Staff effectively encourage the children's listening and attention skills by making the activities fun. They enjoy going for listening walks to hear the different sounds in the countryside. They enthusiastically sing number rhymes and action songs and are highly motivated to learn the words and corresponding actions. During the activity, they develop their skills in rhythm and rhyme as well as counting and identifying different parts of their bodies. Staff skilfully engage the children by using effective eye contact with all the children and acknowledge their efforts by providing enthusiastic praise and encouragement, which the children clearly relish. Children demonstrate excellent ability to maintain focus for significant periods of time, which prepares them extremely well for when they are ready to move on to school. They also enjoy listening to stories being read

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who attend

to them by children from the primary school. Children recognise their names as they self- register on arrival and when they sit down for meals. There is an excellent use of print in the environment, such as signs and labels on storage boxes and baskets. This helps children to develop their understanding that words have real meaning and supports their very good early literacy skills. Children have many opportunities to make marks with a variety of materials which are freely available, such as chalks, pens, pencils and paints.

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who attend

Children confidently choose from a super range of toys and books that interest them and they are highly motivated to play independently and with other children. The staff enthusiastically show an interest in what the children are doing and in what they have to say, which helps them to feel valued and respected. They skilfully enhance their learning through play by playing alongside them and engaging in shared thinking and by asking challenging questions to help children think. For example, as the children help to tidy up they are encouraged to count how many farm animals they can fit into a box and they enjoy the challenge of counting up to 45 small beads before they put them into the boxes. The environment is rich in numerals and shapes displayed on the walls and in various number games. During a baking activity, the children learn about positional language as the member of staff asks them to turn their cakes upside down in order to dip them into

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who attend

the bowl of icing. They create 'sheep' cakes by decorating them with coconut which is 'fluffy' like a sheep and they count out two raisins to use as eyes. These activities support children to make very good progress in their mathematical skills. Children's creativity and imaginations are also promoted well as they help themselves to craft resources to create art work, which is proudly displayed on the walls. They thoroughly enjoy making models out of recycled household items, such as cardboard boxes and tubes. Some children create shakers using plastic bottles. They learn to solve problems and have a 'can do' attitude. For example, they decide which items will fit into the bottles and also which will make the most noise. They explore the natural items in the treasure baskets, such as shells, cones and pebbles and comment on the different textures. There is scope to enhance children's sensory experiences and investigate the natural world further by

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who attend

providing more resources outside, such as, sound lines, chimes and plants.

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who attend

Excellent opportunities are provided for children to learn about the similarities and differences in the world around them. The staff are committed to providing an inclusive environment where everyone is welcome, valued and respected. Children understand about different festivals and cultures and play with multicultural toys. In this way, they learn about similarities and differences between people and their diverse backgrounds. They have numerous opportunities to use technology, as they competently and independently use the computer, printer and various programmable toys. Due to the excellent range of activities and learning opportunities available to the children, they are prepared extremely well for their readiness for school.

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

Children thrive in this welcoming, dynamic and vibrant nursery. They enjoy extremely secure and warm relationships with their key persons and the staff team as a whole. Children's individual needs are very well known because the staff work extremely closely with parents. This approach ensures the transition from home to nursery is smooth, resulting in children settling easily and happily. The children are extremely well behaved and thrive on the individual attention received from the staff, who consistently boost their confidence and self-esteem. The staff have high expectations of the children and encourage their independence by giving them appropriate responsibility to undertake tasks, such as helping to tidy up and helping to prepare their snacks. Staff provide consistently high levels of praise and encouragement for children to try new activities and develop their independence. Children develop excellent self-care skills and are becoming

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

competent in managing their personal needs relative to their ages. For example, they are learning to put on their shoes and coats before going outside to play. Children have an excellent understanding of the importance of healthy lifestyles. They help themselves to drinking water when they are thirsty and are offered a range of healthy snacks and meals each day. Staff closely monitor what the children eat each day and encourage them to eat healthily. Children are aware of the importance of following good hygiene practices, such as, washing their hands before eating and baking. They do this spontaneously, often without having to be reminded by the staff. Very good hygiene practices are adhered to when staff change children's nappies. They record routine information about nappy changes and details of food eaten by the children in the daily communication books, which are given to parents at the end of each day. These, in addition to the verbal feedback,

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

ensure that parents are kept fully informed about their children's routines throughout the day.

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

Children independently make choices from an exceptional range of stimulating and exciting play equipment. The easy accessibility of the resources and the ability to move freely between the indoor and outside environment significantly supports the children's all- round learning and development. Children enjoy playing in the outdoor area with numerous outdoor toys. They move with confidence as they carefully manoeuvre the sit- and-ride cars and skilfully avoid obstacles. They are developing very good awareness of how to keep themselves safe, for example, they reminded each other to be careful as they climb the steps into the tree house which they love to use to extend their role play and imaginations. The extremely varied and stimulating resources and the expert support provided by the staff equip children with excellent skills for their next stages in their learning and their transitions to school.

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provision

The staff have an excellent knowledge of the learning and development requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. They continually evaluate and plan an inspiring range of activities and experiences that highly motivate and interest children. Their planning is based on their excellent knowledge of the areas of learning and of how children learn.

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provision

The staff also have an excellent understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. The robust recruitment and vetting procedures undertaken by the management team ensure that staff are suitable and safe to work with children. They are extremely well safeguarded as the staff make sure their welfare and safety is of the utmost priority at all times and in all situations. They demonstrate an excellent understanding of their roles and responsibilities to protect the children in their care and this is further supported by a meticulously maintained set of policies and procedures. A detailed complaints policy and procedure is correctly implemented when required. The staff ensure children's safety throughout the nursery and on outings as they complete extremely comprehensive risk assessments that are regularly reviewed and adapted, as and when required. They also

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provision

ensure that the correct staff ratios are maintained to make sure children are supervised, safe and secure at all times.

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provision

The partnership with parents and others involved in the children's care is outstanding. Parents and carers receive extensive information through policies, procedures, daily diaries, verbal discussion and children's progress records. Information displayed on the noticeboard as well as regular newsletters and the recently created website, provide an abundance of useful information to keep parents fully informed about the nursery. Parents are consulted regularly through discussion and questionnaires about the service to help the staff consistently meet children's individual needs. Parents are highly complementary about the care and education their children receive. They comment upon the excellent care and range of activities provided, as well as the extremely good two-way flow of information.

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provision

Managers and staff are highly motivated, enthusiastic, and committed to the continuous development of their early years practice. They attend a significant number of training courses provided by the local authority and external agencies and plan ahead to update their knowledge. Regular team meetings, training and meetings with the local authority advisors also effectively support staff well in their daily work with the children. There are excellent systems in place for monitoring and evaluating practice through appraisals and supervision. The manager also monitors children's progress by sampling learning journals to oversee the quality of assessment and planning for their individual learning needs. Regular reflection and self-evaluation assist the staff in continuing to make improvements to an already outstanding service provided for the children and their families.

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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 EY437173 Local authority Cumbria Inspection number 909851

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 60 Name of provider Penny Bridge Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 25/04/2012 Telephone number 01229861777

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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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