Little Treasures Nurseries Ltd

Little Treasures Nurseries Ltd The Lighthouse, 12 Haverfield Road, SPALDING, Lincolnshire, PE11 2XP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/04/2013 06/07/2010

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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 learn well in an enabling, well-resourced environment that fully promotes their independence and creativity.  Staff have a good knowledge of how young children learn through their own interests. They successfully plan around these, which ensures children have memorable experiences.  The key person system is effective and enables children to form strong bonds and develop a strong sense of belonging.  Partnerships are firmly established and ensure that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language are supported well and make good progress.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 On occasions, some staff in the baby room do not always make the best use of props to engage very young children during singing and story sessions to develop their very good listening and interactive skills.  There is scope to improve the exciting and stimulating outdoor area and to maximise free movement by ensuring that uneven surfaces do not pose a trip hazard to 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 compulsory part 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 had a tour of the premises and spoke with children and staff.  The inspector observed children in all of the playrooms and outdoors.  The inspector had a meeting with the manager and the owner.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled learning journeys, observations, assessments and planning, a range of documentation, completed a joint observation and spoke with several parents.

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Information about the setting

Little Treasures Nursery registered in 2010 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It is privately owned and operates from the former Lighthouse Centre in Spalding. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from two adjacent buildings and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 16 members of child care staff, including the manager. Of these, five hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, one has level 4 and one holds level 5. Eight members of staff are working towards a qualification upgrade. The nursery opens Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year. Sessions are from 7am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 115 children on roll in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three-, and four-year- olds. It supports 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:

 use puppets and other props to encourage babies to listen and respond more when singing a familiar song or reading from a story book

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

 enhance spaces outdoors to maximise free movement by ensuring that uneven surfaces do not cause trip hazards for children.

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who attend

Children are happy, confident and enjoy their time in this welcoming and friendly nursery. Staff are skilful practitioners who have a good knowledge of the seven areas of learning and how young children learn. The effectiveness of staff's teaching is consistently strong throughout the nursery. Transitions between rooms, as children progress, are smooth and greatly eased by the knowledge staff gather about individual children. Consequently, all children make good progress towards the early learning goals. The effective systems of observation and assessment help to ensure that children are accurately monitored in their development across the prime and specific areas of learning. Staff use information they gain from the observations and assessments to identify individual targets for each child to work towards. They make good use of a group planning book which groups children together for activities according to their need as opposed to their key group. This ensures

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who attend

that children make progress at their own rate and in a way that suits their needs best. Children's interests are also considered extremely well when planning activities. This helps ensure that all children are challenged and motivated to learn in ways that are memorable to them. The progress check at age two includes parents and informs them about their child's development in the three prime areas of learning. It is used well to identify any gaps in learning at an early stage so that swift action can be taken.

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who attend

This is a very well-resourced nursery that is organised effectively and enables children to access resources of their choice and use them in imaginative ways. Staff balance child- initiated and adult-led activities well to support children's ongoing progress and development. Activities are equally well planned for in the outdoor environment as those that are planned for in the indoor environment. All children, including babies, have daily outdoor play, which promotes all areas of learning well. Children climb, balance and develop their large muscles. Other children enjoy writing and drawing on the ground with large chalks or using mobile toys to ride on with friends. Babies enjoy playing with compost and using digging tools in the ground to make holes, transport soil, and fill and empty containers. A large majority of children choose to join in with a member of staff and make a fire engine out of crates. They dress up in fire fighter hats and work out how to

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who attend

make the fire engine and use the fire hoses to put out the fire.

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who attend

Children have a lot of fun in this nursery and learn many purposeful things that progress them well through games, chatting and role play. Children learn to have patience, take turns and share with each other. They enjoy cooking and take great pride in looking at the book of the things they have made and talking about these. All children enjoy sitting together for story time or singing activities. However, staff in the baby room do not always use props sufficiently well during singing and story activities to fully engage babies and enable them to interact to their maximum potential. In other rooms, story sessions take place in a variety of interesting ways, for example, by using puppets and a puppet theatre. This develops children's thinking and creative skills well, in addition to their language skills. Children's confidence develops rapidly as they use their imaginations to develop their own ideas. All children develop their understating of technology well. This starts in

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who attend

the baby room with, for example, push-button toys, torches, musical sounds and electronic books. As children grow, they use the computer well and develop their competency with mouse control, clicking and dragging. Children use many different computer programmes which cover the full range of learning, from mathematical programmes to creative programmes. Children use their mathematical knowledge well during daily play activities, such as painting, when they talk about colours, shapes and sizes. Children can count well by the time they reach the pre-school room and do so independently in their play. For example, when they pretend to have birthday parties and count how many candles are on the cake. They enjoy all forms of creative work, including learning how to write letters and their own names. This is a print-rich environment and children have good exposure to many forms of letters, numerals and words, including

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who attend

words in several other languages. Children who learn English as an additional language and children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are further supported by photographs, visual timetables and flash cards. As a result, all children learn to communicate well in English in a short space of time, and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress from their starting point.

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who attend

Parents are fully involved in their children's learning through sharing information about their progress and achievements during regular parents' evenings, which are highly successful in engaging them. They speak to staff when they collect their children, so that they are well informed about their activities and any concerns are shared. They have daily access to their child's learning journey and can take this home to add comments and observations of their child's experiences. The nursery has a high representation of families from a variety of countries. Some of the staff speak more than one community language and use these to good effect to support children who are learning English as an additional language and to communicate with parents in their own language. All staff also learn key words in other languages to help children settle. Strong, consistent support is provided for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including from staff who

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who attend

provide one-to-one learning and can relate to children in their home language. All children are gaining the skills and confidence which they need to be ready for the next steps in learning as they start school.

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

Children feel very secure in the care of all staff at the nursery as their well-being is at the heart of nursery practice. They form a strong bond with their key person and get to know all staff and children very well as all age groups often play together outdoors. Children settle quickly as staff work well with parents, through settling-in visits and by gathering comprehensive information about children's individual needs and routines. Staff use this information well, with the three prime areas of learning, to ensure a strong base is established for future learning. Babies are particularly well supported with their nappy changing, sleep and meal routines. Staff keep detailed records of all nappy changes, which take place regularly. They are especially vigilant when checking sleeping babies. They do this every 10 minutes by completing both a visual and a touch check to fully promote babies' safety. Staff ensure that all babies settle well when they first start by wearing a

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

scarf around their neck that has been worn by the baby's mother. In this way the baby relates to a familiar scent and attachments happen quickly. These routines fully support children's transition from home to nursery as they develop a strong base for independence, learning and exploration. Behaviour is very good and children enjoy happy, social times together at mealtimes and during their activities.

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

Children learn the importance of adopting a healthy lifestyle very well. Although the outside area is small, it has a good range of equipment for children to be physically active and creative. The ground, however, in places, is a potential trip hazard as the fabric underlay, which has been put down under the rubber surface to prevent weeds, rises through in folds where the rubber is dispersed. There is the possibility that a child may trip over this and an accident occur. Children are extremely well nourished through balanced snacks and hot meals that are provided by the nursery. A very small minority of children bring a packed lunch, and parents are provided with good information about how to ensure that food sent from home promotes healthy eating to children. Children eat together at tables with the staff and learn positive social skills. Children's self-care skills are promoted well; for example, babies progress well with learning how to feed

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

themselves. Staff monitor food intake carefully in the baby room and they complete accurate records of this immediately after lunch to ensure parents are well informed. As children grow they learn to use the toilet independently and how to dress themselves for outdoor play. They develop a good understanding of safety, such as not running indoors, lining up to go outside and the importance of being kind, helpful and listing well to what is being said. Staff focus well on ensuring that children are emotionally prepared for school by having good self-esteem and confidence so that they are independent, capable learners.

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provision

Leadership and management of the nursery is effective and fully promotes the strong organisation. The management and staff team have worked hard since the last inspection. They have enhanced many aspects of the nursery and have successfully acted on the recommendations that were raised. The provider and the manager share a commitment towards providing good quality childcare and fully include all staff in driving improvements to achieve this. All staff fully understand the importance of continuous development in order to enhance standards and evaluate practice, identifying areas of strength and those to develop. This is a motivated staff team who work together very well and also independently by taking personal responsibility for the effectiveness of their individual roles. One of the main plans for the future is focused on making significant developments to the outdoor area. This follows on from the many improvements that have taken place

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provision

to the indoor environment for all age groups of children. Self-evaluation includes the views of staff, children and parents. Views are also proactively sought through daily discussions and comment sheets.

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provision

Robust procedures are in place to safeguard children and to report concerns to the appropriate authorities. These are understood by all staff and implemented fully. They include thorough procedures for the recruitment of suitably qualified and experienced staff. New staff develop their understanding of the setting's policies and procedures during an in-depth induction. Effective systems are in place to monitor and support staff performance in order to enhance their skills and achieve improved results for children. The manager and provider also maintain an overview of how staff implement the educational programme to monitor the effectiveness of teaching and learning. Records of training needs are maintained so that staff remain up to date with safeguarding matters and paediatric first aid training to effectively promote children's safety, welfare and well-being. Regular staff appraisals and supervision identify further training needs or requests for

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provision

training that staff feel will enhance their practice. Staff training is proactive and many courses, both mandatory updates and specialised courses, have taken place since the last inspection. This ensures that staff have diverse skills within the nursery that provide good quality teaching and learning for children.

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provision

Effective partnerships between other professionals, staff, parents and carers mean that children's health, education and welfare are supported well. Parents are kept well informed about the provision, planning and all aspects of their children's achievements and progress. For example, noticeboards, regular newsletters and information about topics, activities and how parents can further support learning at home, contribute well to helping children make good progress. Parents have very positive views about the nursery and their comments on the provision are valued. Support for children who learn English as an additional language and for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities is excellent. Strong links with specialist professionals of additional support mean that children's additional needs are fully met. The nursery has strong links with local schools and other settings who provide shared care. They pass on information about children's

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provision

progress records to their schools, and welcome visits from reception class teachers, which aids transition.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY401199 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 911400

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 85 Number of children on roll 115 Name of provider Little Treasures Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 06/07/2010 Telephone number 07983950797

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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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