Tops Day Nurseries - Parkstone

Tops Day Nursery and Out Of School Club 104-106 Herbert Avenue, Poole, Dorset, BH12 4HU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/05/2013 21/04/2011

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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

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This provision is good

 Staff foster good relationships with parents and there are effective systems to involve them in all aspects of the nursery's provision.  Children have excellent opportunities to explore and investigate in the outdoor area. Staff provide good quality learning opportunities.  Children are encouraged to take risks and learn to support their own safety well.  There are secure systems to monitor and evaluate the provision which involve staff, parents and children in the process.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always fully support children in learning to negotiate and manage their own behaviour.  At times, the routines in the baby room are not sufficiently flexible to allow individual children to choose not to join in group activities.

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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 all the playrooms and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation including a sample of children's records, planning and records to check staff suitability.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager of the nursery.  The inspector spoke to staff, the nursery manager and the operation director.  The inspector sought the views of the parents and carers.

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Information about the setting

Tops Day Nursery and Out of School Club is one of a group of settings that is privately owned. It opened in 1990 and operates from a converted former church building and an adjacent bungalow, which is organised into three units. It is situated within a busy residential area on the outskirts of Poole in Dorset. All children share access to a secure enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The out of school facility is incorporated within the main nursery, and offers a collection service from a local school. The nursery is open each weekday from 6am to 8pm for 52 weeks of the year, including bank holidays. There are currently 63 children on roll in the early years age group. The setting is in receipt of nursery education funding for two, three and four-year-old children. The nursery employs 11 members of staff; of these, eight hold a level two qualification or

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

 support children in learning acceptable behaviour through modelling and involving children in finding solutions to problems and conflicts

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

 review the routines in the baby room to make sure they are flexible enough to support children in making choices in their play and learning.

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who attend

Children clearly enjoy their time in the nursery. They are involved in a wide range of good quality play and learning opportunities in the playrooms and in the well resourced outdoor area. Staff engage well with the children, encouraging them to explore and investigate independently. Consequently, children are confident and independent learners. Children are enthusiastic to develop their own ideas. Several pre-school children decide to role-play being dinosaurs. They agree who is going to be which dinosaur as they become totally absorbed in their play. Children are confident to name the dinosaurs and what food they eat; for example, stegosaurus and spinosaurus. Toddlers thoroughly enjoy making dens using soft play shapes and large pieces of material. They spend considerable time putting the different shapes on top of each other before putting the material over the top. They excitedly crawl inside, giggling. A member of staff extends their learning by suggesting

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who attend

Staff gather information and about children's individual needs and starting points in their learning from parents. They complete observations and use the information along with the child's and parent's voice to contribute to the assessments. Each child has a unique child plan that their key person creates and this information forms part of the planning. Consequently, all children are making good progress given their starting points. Staff complete the two-year old progress check involving parents in the process to support them in getting an accurate assessment.

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who attend

Children's communication and language is supported well with all age groups. Babies and toddlers sing songs and listen to stories. Staff use puppet books to support children's interest. However, during some singing sessions some babies loose interest and want to explore other resources. Staff are keen for them to continue in the organised activity. This means children's interests are not always followed. In the two to three year play rooms, staff increase children's vocabulary through discussion. During water play staff continually encourage the children to talk about what they are doing. They introduce words such as 'splash' and 'squishy' as children experiment putting bricks and sawdust into the water. Staff role model vocabulary as they encourage children to identify the colours of the bricks. Children say 'green' and the member of staff says 'green is like the grass in the garden'. Pre-school children are encouraged to share their ideas and are confident to

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who attend

engage in conversation with staff and the other children. They enjoy talking about their family; they show good imagination as they role-play while following their interests. Children competently follow the simple instructions on the computer to enable them to complete simple programs showing competent use of the mouse. Children build good skills in readiness for the next stage of their learning.

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

Children build strong bonds and attachments with their key carers, other staff and children. They show high levels of independence and clearly enjoy playing with their friends. Staff support younger children in developing confidence in the environment. Children enjoy playing in the garden with older children, creating a family atmosphere. As a result, children are well prepared for the next stage in their learning or the move on to school.

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

Children learn how to support their own health. They independently wash their hands at appropriate times and are taught to cover their coughs and blow their own noses. This encourages them to minimise cross infection. Children have excellent opportunities to play and learn in the outdoor areas. They dig in the mud, bounce on the trampoline and sit and read stories. Children are keen to demonstrate how they can balance on beams, planks of wood and stepping stones. Children learn how to keep themselves safe through staff being positive role models and giving clear explanations. For example, as babies and toddlers use the stairs, staff encourage them to hold the child height banister and take one step at a time. Pre-school children confidently use knives to cut up vegetables in the role-play area. Children's behaviour throughout the nursery is generally good. Younger children are learning about sharing and taking turns. This is supported through visual prompts such as

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

a sand timer. Older children generally show consideration to their friends. However, on occasions staff do not always notice when children are struggling to negotiate with other children and need support. As a result, at these times children's behaviour deteriorates. On other occasions, staff manage minor conflicts well and teach children to learn to respect and value others. There are good systems in place to support children who are learning English as an additional language. These include obtaining keywords in the children's home language and using visual prompts.

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

Staff create a welcoming environment where children can explore safely. There are separate areas promoting all areas of children's learning. A wide range of resources are available in each room to promote children's choices in their play. These are stored at the low-level enabling children to choose for themselves.

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provision

The manager is enthusiastic and provides strong leadership. There are good systems in place to provide staff with supervision and the skills to fulfil their role successfully. There are good training opportunities through the company's training team and staff can access external training through the local authority's website. There are secure systems to monitor and evaluate the whole of the provision. Staff, parents and children are involved in evaluating the success of the activities and play opportunities. Parents are encouraged to share their views and staff ideas are sought through regular meetings and reviewing the self-evaluation forms. Staff learn to identify the room's strengths and areas they would like to improve through the management's monitoring processes. For example, management and staff have identified that the outside area is well resourced and provides different playing and learning opportunities for children. However, it does not enable

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provision

children aged two to three to access it independently from their unit. This is an area they are currently developing.

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provision

Management and staff demonstrate secure knowledge of how to safeguard children and promote their safety throughout the nursery. Staff attend training to update their skills and knowledge. There are clear policies and procedures to enable staff to act appropriately when they identify a concern with regard to a child's welfare. Staff are always alert to make sure that the play areas are safe and they have good supervision of the children. Consequently, children play and learn in a safe and secure environment. The setting has a wide range of policies and procedures that support staff in meeting children's individual needs and involving parents in all aspects of their children's care and education. In addition there is a company website that provides parents with quality information. There are clear recruitment and vetting procedures to enable management to appoint suitably qualified staff. New staff are unable to take up their position until all the

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provision

necessary checks are completed to make sure that all those having contact with children are suitable to do so. There are good systems in place to monitor the educational programmes to make sure all children are progressing well. For example, the manager completes regular observations in the rooms and reviews children's learning journeys and the planning to make sure all children are included. Staff benefit from regular supervision and an effective appraisal system supports their ongoing professional development. The previous recommendations have been successfully addressed, improving outcomes for the children.

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provision

There are effective partnerships with parents and carers. They are given comprehensive and detailed information about the nursery and the wider company policy and procedures. Parents are encouraged to share information about their children's progress and any concerns they may have with staff. There is an open door policy and parents report that they are confident to talk to the manager and the staff about any issues. Parents state that their children are happy and involved in a wide range of activities. They particularly feel the outside area is an asset and provides excellent opportunities for their children to develop their physical skills. There are systems in place to share information with other early years providers and professionals. This includes information about the children's progress in their setting and requests to work together to enhance children's learning in all early years settings.

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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 149980 Local authority Poole Inspection number 917913 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 56 Number of children on roll 63 Name of provider Tops Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 21/04/2011 Telephone number 01202 716130

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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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