Cherrytree Nursery School - Newtown

Cherrytree Nursery School Ltd Wainwright Place, Ashford, Kent, TN24 0PF

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/05/2013 08/04/2013

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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

p.1

This provision is good

 The management team provide strong leadership, which is effective in monitoring quality of the provision and maintaining good standards.  Staff are skilled practitioners who have clear understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They plan a good range of learning opportunities to support children's development.  Staff and children form extremely strong attachments and trusting relationships. Consequently, children are very secure, confident and independent.  Staff provide outstanding support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, so that all children progress towards the early learning goals.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 There are not many signs, labels or displays to promote literacy and mathematics in the outdoor area. So children who learn best through active play are not always fully encouraged in all seven areas of learning.  Although children talk confidently to adults and share their ideas, there are occasions when staff do not take opportunities to encourage children to share their ideas with one another.

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 carried out a joint observation with a supervisor.  The inspector looked at a variety of records including medication and staff training.  The inspector held meetings with management.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to parents and children and looked at children's records of progress.  The inspector observed practice in all five rooms and the outside area.

p.2

Information about the setting

Cherrytree Nursery School Ltd is a privately owned nursery. It opened in 1989 and operates from an old school building in the Newtown area of Ashford, consisting of five classrooms, a playroom and a multi-sensory room which is available in the afternoon. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery school is open each weekday from 8.45am to 3pm for 50 weeks of the year. There are currently 177 children aged from two to under five years on roll, some in part-time places. The nursery School currently supports a large number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This provision is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. There are 29 members of staff, 25 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least NVQ level 3. The nursery makes use of Montessori resources and teaching methods and receives funding for the provision of free

p.3

Information about the setting

early education for two, three and four year old children.

p.3

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

 support children's language and communication skills further by taking all opportunities to encourage them to talk to and listen to each other

p.3

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

 enhance outdoor learning by making outside areas rich in print for children to learn about words and numbers during active play.

p.3

who attend

The nursery staff get to know children well when they first start attending the nursery. Staff find out about children's starting points by working closely with parents and inform them of their child's progress through discussions, meetings and written records. This good approach supports continuity in children's learning and their progression towards the early learning goals.

p.3

who attend

Staff record children's progress through photographs and observations, which they use effectively to track their progress and plan for the next stage in their learning. Children benefit from the wide range of opportunities to explore and investigate both indoors and out and the staff team offers a consistent balance of challenge and support. They motivate children to try things out for themselves, praise them when they succeed and offer a helping hand whenever needed. Their good approach makes children feel valued and keen to learn as they make good use of the exiting activities.

p.3

who attend

Staff motivate children by joining in with their play and offering lots of praise and encouragement. For example, when children build with blocks, staff ask them how they plan to construct their buildings and what would happen if they tried a variety of different approaches. This skillful questioning helps children to think their plans through and share their ideas and thoughts. Consequently, children feel valued and enthusiastic about their learning. Staff support children's language and communication skills by reading stories to them and talking to them about what they find interesting. They make the most of opportunities to talk to children about their home life and as a result children confidently share their experiences about family events and their weekend. However, at times, some staff miss opportunities to teach children to share their ideas with other children rather than just adults.

p.4

who attend

Staff encourage children's understanding of the world by teaching them about different traditions and providing a good range of costumes, puzzles, cooking utensils and books. Children enjoy learning the days of the week and talking about the weather at story time and some proudly talk about the month of the year and date. They enjoy a variety of ways in which to express themselves such as painting and through music using musical instruments and show their active imaginations as they pretend to make ice creams and cook for visitors.

p.4

who attend

Staff display a wide variety of letters, words and numbers to help children to learn that print has meaning and identify numerals. However, printed resources in the outside area are less inspiring to promote this for children who learn better outdoors. Staff ensure that reading and writing materials are within easy reach, so that children can help themselves and use them throughout their play. Younger children enjoy making marks on large writing boards outside and older children learn to clearly write their names. Staff make the most of everyday opportunities to support children's mathematical thinking. For example, children help staff to count and record at register time and compare, shapes, sizes and groups throughout their play. These stimulating experiences help children to develop skills that will help them prepare for starting school.

p.4

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

Each child has a member of staff who helps them to settle in and takes care of their needs and progress. Managers and staff are dedicated to meeting children's individual care needs. They attend training and meetings to ensure that they are fully informed about children's medical requirements. Their attentive approach enables them to offer excellent levels of care. They are diligent in carrying out individual care plans and put children's individual needs at the heart of their practice. They offer outstanding support for children with physical disabilities through the provision of excellent resources and superb support from specialised staff. As a result of this exemplary practice all children are fully included and valued. Staff and children have extremely positive relationships and these results in the children being secure and confident. Staff introduce children to visitors, so children confidently talk

p.4

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

to them and enthusiastically involve them in their play. Staff help children to feel secure when they experience periods of change through a strong settling in process and high levels of support when they progress to the next age group. Staff develop partnerships with local schools and plan discussions, stories and role play to help children to feel positive about the next stage in their learning.

p.5

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

Children benefit from a wide range of exciting resources in the outside play area, which provides lots of opportunities for them to take safe risks. They enjoy balancing along logs, jumping in hoops and climbing on and off equipment. Staff teach children about keeping clean and safe, so they develop an excellent understanding of how to promote their own healthy lifestyle.

p.5

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

Staff support children's social development extremely well by teaching children to be considerate and cooperate in their play. Consequently children are extremely well behaved, considerate and polite. Staff offer an excellent balance of support, but encourage children to try things out for themselves. This is highly effective in developing children's growing sense of confidence and independence.

p.5

provision

The registered provider and management team have a clear understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This is because they attend meetings and training to keep up to date with changes in requirements. Management are thorough in ensuring that they whole team follow the policies and procedures of the nursery. For example, all staff attend training to enable them to meet children's specific medical needs and attend regular meetings to ensure consistency in care. Staff know the procedure to follow should they have any concerns about the protection of a child in their care. Management work closely in partnership with outside agencies when required. Staff check the premises regularly to identify and remove potential hazards. They work hard to carry out efficient routines to keep the rooms clean and organised.

p.5

provision

The management team have a good understanding of the learning and development requirements. They oversee records to ensure that staff assess and plan for children's progress accurately. This good system ensures that planning meets children's needs and identifies any gaps in their learning.

p.5

provision

The staff team are very reflective and evaluate the provision well to identify anything that they could improve. They work hard to include the views of parents and children from discussions and written feedback. Management carry out regular staff supervision and observe staff practice to identify what they do well and what they could improve. They seek training for staff so that they are able to continuously develop their professional skills. Consequently, staff have a clear understanding about children's learning and how to plan for their progress effectively.

p.5

provision

The staff team have a good understanding of the importance of sharing information with other professionals to support continuity in children's care and learning. For example, they work closely with occupational therapists, speech therapists and physiotherapists and implement recommended strategies to support children.

p.6

provision

Staff have very positive partnership with parents and keep parents informed about their children's routines, care and learning. Parents are very complimentary about the nursery team and some describe it as "the best for miles".

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 EY286207 Local authority Kent Inspection number 919559 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 108 Number of children on roll 177 Name of provider Cherrytree Nursery School Ltd Date of previous inspection 08/04/2013 Telephone number 01233 639367

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