Snap! 4 Kids

Snap! 4 Kids 6A Chapel Street, CAMBRIDGE, Cambridgeshire, CB4 1DY

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/04/2013 22/02/2011

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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 adeptly support children who have English as an additional language. They enable them to extend their vocabulary in English, while valuing their own home languages. As a result, the children make good progress in their communication and language.  An effective key person system contributes to good partnerships with parents and carers, which helps to ensure children feel safe and secure and make good progress in their learning and development.  Sensory play is given a high priority so that children have many good opportunities to engage in active learning, develop their sense of touch and be creative, for example, as they use sand, water, hay, compost and dough.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The outdoor play areas do not provide such an inviting and stimulating learning environment as indoors and free-flow access has not been fully explored.  There is scope to enhance children's literacy skills by extending their opportunities to make marks spontaneously during creative and role play 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 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 spoke with staff and children during the inspection and observed their activities both indoors and out.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with parents and looked at questionnaires and testimonials to find out their views on the quality of children's care and learning.

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Inspection activities

 A range of documentation was looked at, including policies and procedures, recruitment records and the children's learning journals.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector interviewed the manager to talk about management processes, such as appraisals and supervision meetings.

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Information about the setting

Snap! 4 Kids is one of two settings run by Snap! 4 Kids Limited. It opened in 2000 and is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. The nursery operates over two floors of a converted chapel in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. Access to some ground floor rooms is via steps and there are staircases to first floor rooms. There is an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 76 children on roll who are within the early years age range. Children attend for a variety of sessions and come from a wide geographical area. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-olds. Opening times are from 8am to 6pm all year round with the exception of public holidays. The nursery supports a number of children for who English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 16 staff to work directly with the children, and of these, seven hold childcare qualifications at level 3 and six hold childcare qualifications at level 2. Two members of staff are working towards an early years foundation degree. The nursery also employs a cook and relief staff.

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

 extend further the already good outdoor provision to enable children to move more flexibly indoors and out to enhance their opportunities to explore the natural environment, build, move and role play

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

 enhance children's opportunities to develop their early writing skills and write for a purpose, for example, by including writing materials in role play areas.

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who attend

Staff plan and provide a broad range of play and learning opportunities tailored to children's individual interests and abilities, and the quality of teaching is good. They use their comprehensive knowledge of the children to assess and monitor the progress each child makes towards the early learning goals. Parents are positively encouraged to share what they know about their children's interests at home, enabling staff to follow through with activities that reflect individual preferences, such as, animal themed events. Children develop an enthusiasm for learning and show their eagerness to take part in activities. For example, they gather excitedly round an adult to look at their sunflowers and compare their growth rates.

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who attend

Babies are encouraged to be active learners from the outset as they explore new textures, such as, oats, rice and baked beans. They hide in colourful tents, and play peek-a-boo with staff. Staff extend babies' mobility by placing enticing objects within reach, so they are encouraged to reach out and explore new toys. Babies and younger children are introduced to a broad variety of books and soon learn to sit in a comfortable lap to turn pages and delight in following the pictures. Throughout their day babies and younger children receive close attention from their consistent, key adults. They enjoy ongoing conversations that stimulate them to begin vocal interactions and therefore, develop their early communication and language skills well.

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who attend

Children in the Rainbow and preschool rooms develop their critical thinking as they consider what happens when flour, salt and water are combined and cooked to make play dough. Children find their own cutters and knives to make shapes with the dough, and know their dough spider needs eight legs. Younger children enjoy exercising their small muscles as they make complicated buildings with interlocking bricks. Staff support their imaginations and design skills by talking about what the building might be used for, and where the best place is for windows and doors. Materials that help children make marks, such as, pens, pencils, markers and chalks are plentiful. However, they tend to be in designated areas, rather than flexibly accessible so that children can develop their early writing spontaneously, for example, during role play and creative activities. All the children enjoy a broad range of sensory experiences due to enthusiastic staff, who think widely

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who attend

about what is possible, and introduce children to compost, hay and home-made 'moon dust'. As a result, children are highly confident in their approach to new learning, which supports them well as they tackle future learning experiences.

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who attend

Staff plan enticing activities that effectively support children's communication and language. Story time is an established part of the nursery day, with spontaneous opportunities for children of all ages to choose their favourite books to read with adults. Children handle musical instruments with confidence and enjoy singing sessions. Children who have English as an additional language have their progress measured both in English and their home languages to ensure they are making good progress. Staff reinforce the use of home languages by having a wide range of other languages on show, and by working closely with parents to support bilingualism. The 'Every Child a Talker' programme is used effectively to help children learn initial sounds and progress quickly to recognising their names and names of favourite objects and special people. Consequently, they are ready for the challenges of school.

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

The effective key person system helps to ensure all children are settled and happy at the nursery. Settling in sessions are used to develop good links with parents, which help to ensure children's individual needs are well known and effectively met. Consistent staffing means children get to know the staff well to further support their sense of security and encourage warm and supportive relationships. Consequently, children feel safe, which enables them to approach future transitions with confidence. Children learn good behaviour because staff are good role models. For example, they are polite to the children and listen respectfully to their conversations. Older children devise their own rules, so they clearly understand the expectations. They receive positive rewards for being kind and helpful, such as, individual stars, that praise their individual accomplishments.

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

The setting is mostly well-organised so children in all areas of the nursery freely access resources and develop their independence. Children play outdoors at regular intervals during the day and therefore benefit from fresh air and exercise. Staff plan varied activities, such as, planting and growing, chalking or riding bikes to develop children's physical skills and their understanding of the world. However, children tend to be outdoors at set times, rather than according to their preferences and the learning opportunities are not as rich or broad as those inside. Staff take babies and younger children for walks so they can explore their local environment. Older children visit local parks and play areas for active exercise that effectively promotes their physical development as they play on large equipment. Staff talk to children about appropriate clothing outdoors, and encourage them to put on their own coats, shoes and boots, which gives them good skills that promote

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

their future learning. Children involve themselves in safety procedures, for example, as they pick up their building blocks to avoid tripping and take part in the fire drill.

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

Children show they understand how to keep themselves healthy as they enjoy varied and nutritious snacks and freshly cooked meals. They sit together sociably at mealtimes, which enables them to enjoy their meals in relaxed surroundings. Younger babies have their meals appropriately mashed or chopped and are thoroughly supervised to ensure they eat safely. Frequent cookery sessions contribute to children's good understanding of healthy lifestyles. Interesting activities, such as, cooking and tasting food from their varied home countries, develops their understanding of each other's similarities and differences. Good hygiene is well maintained so that children learn healthy habits.

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provision

The manager has robust recruitment procedures to ensure adults are safe and suitable to work with children. All staff have a six-month probation period to ensure they have a full understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The manager has recently instigated regular one-to-one meetings with staff to help ensure the provision is effectively monitored. New peer-on-peer observations enable the staff to increase their own knowledge and skills. Regular appraisals and team meetings further support their professional development. This contributes to effective monitoring of the provision overall, ensuring a consistent and stimulating learning environment for all children.

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provision

All safeguarding procedures are thoroughly implemented to ensure children's safety and security in the setting. Staff show a good understanding of child protection issues and most attend regular training to update their knowledge. Staff do daily checks of the premises and implement consistent procedures to keep children safe, such as monitoring children's arrival and departure effectively. All essential documentation is collected and reviewed for accuracy, such as medical information and parents' contact details. As a result, children's safety is promoted well. The manager speaks to parents and collects their views to enhance the accuracy of self-evaluation. Actions plans have been developed by management and staff to improve the quality of the provision over time. For example, new equipment has been bought, and there is a clear timescale for increasing staff qualifications. Staff are responsive to the opinions of the children, enabling them to have a

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provision

voice in what happens, which has led to enjoyable events, such as, a 'superhero' day. All this shows there is ambition to improve the provision and the learning outcomes for all children.

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provision

Staff have good relationships with parents that effectively support children's care and learning. Parents speak positively about the setting, and say that their key person is knowledgeable and supportive. Parents with younger children have daily activity sheets that help them share in their children's day and promote good two-way communication. All parents receive newsletters and are encouraged to meet with their children's key person. Comprehensive policies and procedures are shared with parents so they are well- informed about the provision. Relationships with feeder schools are problematic due to the wide geographic area where the children on roll live. However, there are supportive partnerships with local schools and a programme of activities that help all the children prepare for their move into school. For example, they talk about what to expect and which of their friends will go with them. Children's summaries of learning go with them to their

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provision

new schools to help them settle and begin the new stage of their learning. The nursery has established procedures to share information with other early years providers to suitably promote consistent learning experiences. There are no children currently on roll who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, however, the setting has prior experience and secure links with other professionals to offer effective care support.

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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 221636 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 909868

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 106 Number of children on roll 76 Name of provider Snap! 4 Kids Limited Date of previous inspection 22/02/2011 Telephone number 01223 477412

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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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