Safe 'n' Sound Nursery

Safe 'n' Sound Nursery & Kindergarten Featherstone Lane, Featherstone, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, WF7 6LS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/04/2013 17/06/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The nursery has effective systems to promote good partnership working with parents. As a result, parents are fully involved in their children's progress and achievements.  The key person system works very well to encourage children to feel welcomed and valued. Key persons work closely with parents and children benefit from good continuity of care.  The nursery has strong partnerships with schools and other agencies. As a consequence all children, particularly vulnerable two-year-olds in receipt of early education funding and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities flourish in the nursery environment.  Staff support children to do age-appropriate tasks for themselves; this helps to promote children's self-confidence and independence.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Observations of children's learning and progress are not used as well as they could be to inform planning so that activities consistently challenge and stimulate all children's needs, interests and capabilities.  The outdoor play area for babies does not fully offer rich and extensive learning opportunities.

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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 children's play and staff interactions, indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector and deputy manager undertook a joint observation of a teaching activity.  The inspector talked with some staff and children within the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with some parents, and held discussions with the Registered Person/manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined documentation including a representative sample of children's records, development plans and staff suitability records.

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Inspection activities

 Safeguarding and child protection issues were discussed with the staff and Registered Person/manager, and the policy reviewed.

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Information about the setting

Safe 'n' Sound Nursery and Kindergarten is privately owned. It opened in January 2004 and operates from a single-storey building standing in its own grounds. It is situated in Featherstone, near Pontefract. The nursery is open all year round, excluding bank holidays and one week at Christmas. Opening hours are Monday to Friday between the hours of 7.30am to 6pm. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 96 children on roll. Children who attend are primarily from the local community and surrounding areas. The out of school provision covers five local schools. The staff team is highly qualified with all 16 members of staff holding relevant or higher levels of childcare qualifications. Of these, the manager holds a level 5 and the deputy has Early Years Professional Status. The nursery receives regular support from the local authority and is affiliated to the National Day Nursery Association. The setting has completed the National Day Nurseries 'e-Quality Counts' quality assurance scheme.

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

 use what is found out about the children to better effect in the planning of activities, so that all children receive appropriate challenge and stimulation across all areas of learning and development

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

 develop the outdoor play area for babies to provide a sensorial place with lots of sensations for the body, things to notice, watch and reach for, objects and materials to touch, feel and handle.

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who attend

Children's learning and development records demonstrate that practitioners are supporting all children to make good progress in their learning and development. Any gaps in the progress between individual and groups of children, for example, vulnerable two-year-olds in receipt of early education funding, and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are narrowing due to the timely interventions and additional support provided.

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who attend

Staff place great emphasis on supporting children as they learn and play, particularly to promote children's independence. For example, babies are helped to use their fingers, spoon and cup to feed themselves. Older children are encouraged to help one another during meal times and children enjoy taking responsibility for serving food. In addition, children persevere when putting on their coats and wellington boots before they play outside, staff only assist when a child requests help. These activities contribute well towards children's skills for the future and help to prepare them for their move into full- time school.

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who attend

Children's creativity is encouraged by confident staff who provide plenty of opportunities for children to explore colour, texture and shape. Babies enjoy using cornflower and water to make marks. They watch in amazement as the shapes they make disappear. Dance sessions are extremely popular, where children freely express themselves to music. In these activities staff seize every opportunity to talk to the children about their movements and help them to explore new ways of moving, such as stretching as they swirl streamers to music. The outdoor environment for the older children provides a special stage for action and effectively stimulates and supports physical activity. Space is designed in a way that allows children to take safe risks while testing their emerging abilities. For example, two children studied how to re-build a ramp made from milk crates and planks of wood, they negotiated space well and tested out their construction to see if was sturdy enough

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who attend

for them to stand on. While the outdoor area for older children contains a wide array of interesting and exciting opportunities, the outdoor area for babies is less stimulating.

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who attend

All children are allocated a key person who takes the lead in observing and assessing each child. This information is recorded in each child's development file, which provides examples of children's individual achievements. Observations are detailed and precise and gathered by staff on a daily basis. However, these are not sufficiently linked to the planning of activities. As a consequence, some activities are either too challenging or do not adequately test the more able children. This is particularly evident during group time activities, as some younger children become restless and quickly lose interest in the activity that is taking place.

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who attend

Partnerships with parents are a strong feature of the setting. Parents are actively encouraged to share children's achievements from home, particularly to support the active phonics programme which fosters and encourages children's curiosity in letters and words. The 'rhyme rocket' activity provides children with exciting and imaginative experiences of hearing words that begin with the same sound, and some quickly recognise words that rhyme, such as 'bat' and 'hat'.

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

Each child's key person is very aware of their key children's abilities and which activities they prefer. Children form close attachments with staff, which promotes their well-being and healthy emotional development. Staff are sensitive to the needs of each child as they settle into the setting. They work closely with parents offering them plenty of opportunity to stay with their child so that they can be helped to become more confident in their new surroundings. Parents of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities exchange a communication book. This extremely useful tool ensures clear lines of communication are shared on a daily basis. As a consequence children settle well into the setting and make good progress in their learning. All children are well supported in their transitions as they move from one area of the nursery to another. They spend increasing amounts of time in their new room when they are ready to move on and enjoy further

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

Children enter the setting confident and ready to engage in the learning environment. They readily include others in their play, particularly during imaginative play experiences and chat to their friends during meal times and group activities. They enjoy nutritious meals and snacks and regular use of the outdoor area throughout the day enables children to enjoy the natural environment and learn to seek out exercise, fresh air and activity. Children understand why they need to wash their hands, as one child simply comments, 'you need to wash your hands after playing outside because you get muck on your hands and germs are in the muck'.

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

Children behave well and treat each other with kindness and respect. Their behaviour demonstrates that they feel safe and secure and they are confident and at ease in the setting. Staff are good role models. They explain rules and boundaries clearly to children and speak calmly to them. Children are well supported to manage their own behaviour and become tolerant of others, for example, sharing and waiting their turn when using the computer and bicycles.

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provision

The management team has a firm commitment to offering good quality care and learning experiences for young children. Efficient staff recruitment and good ongoing support for staff ensures that they are suitable to work with children. Staff are supported to obtain additional professional qualifications. Senior staff hold regular team meetings, during which staff are invited to cascade any learning they have gained from attending training courses. Regular appraisals ensure that staff suitability is maintained and they are clear about their roles and responsibilities within the nursery. Managers oversee the early years curriculum and monitor staffs' interaction with children on a daily basis. They ensure that staff assess children's needs and progress appropriately. Management are aware there is scope to further develop planning within the nursery to fully reflect and support the learning that takes place.

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provision

Staff reflect on their practice and make use of the Ofsted self-evaluation form to help focus and prioritise areas for improvement. For example, developing the babies' outdoor play area and seeking appropriate courses to further develop staffs' knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children are well safeguarded. All staff understand their roles and responsibilities to protect children. They are vigilant regarding child safety and are proactive to minimise potential hazards, enabling children to explore safely and freely. All staff have attended child protection training. Good adult to child ratios are maintained and staff are well deployed, ensuring that children are well supported in their play and learning. Very positive and trusting partnerships are established with parents. Written parental consents are obtained to ensure children are cared for according to their parents' wishes. Parents' comments, received during the inspection, are very positive. Parents appreciate

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provision

the friendly setting and approachable staff and enthusiastically comment on how much progress their children have made since they started at the setting.

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provision

Staff work very closely with outside agencies to support the care of individual children. They undertake specific training to support children's medical and social needs and are thorough in their role of supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff make effective links with the local children's centre and schools. In some cases nursery staff transport vulnerable two-year-olds in receipt of early education funding to ensure they receive the continuous support they need. As a consequence, families and practitioners work well together to benefit children, especially at times of change in their lives.

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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 EY272107 Local authority Wakefield Inspection number 911382

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 57 Number of children on roll 96 Name of provider Automatic Process Ltd Date of previous inspection 17/06/2009 Telephone number 01977 600 945

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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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