Ashgrove Park Day Nursery

Ashgrove Park Day Nursery 60 Ashgrove Road, Ashley Down, Bristol, Avon, BS7 9LQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/06/2013 14/03/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children enjoy a varied range of indoor and outdoor play opportunities.  An effective key person system and the kind and enthusiastic nature of the staff support children to settle and develop strong relationships with the staff.  Children of all ages have plenty of opportunities for active outdoor play and demonstrate confident skills of agility.  Engagement with parents is strong. Two-way communication is fostered well and staff work closely with parents to meet children's individual needs.

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It is not yet good because

 Planned activities do not always build on what children already know and can do. As a result, not all children are suitably challenged in their learning and development.  Insufficient attention is given to promoting children's mathematical awareness within the educational programmes.  The book area does not present as a cosy place for children choose and read books independently.  Children are not encouraged to tidy away and look after resources during the course of their play; as a result items sometimes become damaged.

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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 held discussions with the manager, general manager and most staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children and staff interaction with the children during indoor and outdoor play activities, including focused pre-school sessions.

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Inspection activities

 A joint observation of the afternoon pre-school session was completed with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 A sample of documentation was examined; this included, the risk assessment, complaints procedure and record, safeguarding policy, children's learning journals, attendance records, planning and information shared with parents.

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Inspection activities

 The views of parents were gained through discussion with one parent and feedback available in the 'comments' book and from use of the 'feedback box'.

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Information about the setting

Ashgrove Park Day Nursery registered in 1991 and operates from a two-storey house in Ashley Down, Bristol. The nursery is privately owned alongside its sister nursery in Bishopston, Bristol. The nursery is open each weekday from 8.15am until 5.45pm all year round. All children share access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery currently has 55 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four years. The setting supports children learning English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery employs 11 staff who work directly with children, including the cook. Most staff hold appropriate early years qualifications. Of these, one member of staff holds a foundation

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must:

 ensure that planned activities build on what children already know and can do, so that children receive sufficient challenge in their learning and development

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must:

 improve the educational programme for mathematics; provide more numerals within the environment, introduce greater opportunities for problem-solving and model and encourage greater use of mathematical language.

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

 encourage children's literacy development further, for example by considering ways to attract children to use the book area independently

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

 help children to learn to look after toys they use and the areas in which they play.

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who attend

Overall, children are making sound progress in their most areas of their learning and development. They achieve particularly well in their physical development and in many aspects of their personal, social and emotional development. Babies, toddlers and older children all enjoy the activities and experiences they have. Communication and language development is encouraged satisfactorily throughout the nursery. Staff are quick to respond to babies' babbles and non-verbal communication. They talk through activities and introduce new words to the babies who gain confidence in repeating simple words such as different colours. All staff show an interest in what children have to say, encouraging them to talk about their interests and experiences. They introduce some new vocabulary and ask some open-ended questions to encourage children's language and thinking. Pre-school children are also learning words in Spanish and say 'hola'

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who attend

enthusiastically to greet their Spanish teacher. Sign language is also used to aid children's communication and staff work in partnership with speech and language therapists to support children who find verbal communication more difficult.

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who attend

Children's mathematical development is weaker than their development in other areas of their learning. This is because staff do not actively promote mathematical ideas spontaneously to challenge children during their play and the play environment does not have many numerals for children to see. Staff teach the concept of counting to babies and toddlers and older children count quite confidently. Some activities are planned to help children recognise and name basic shapes and to match different types of objects. However, these activities are not always challenging enough for all those participating. Children learn to select the correct shaped pieces to complete jigsaw puzzles and name the pre-cut shapes that they stick in their workbooks.

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who attend

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of children's individual needs and talk about their interests and abilities confidently but do not always use this knowledge successfully to promote children's ongoing learning and development. A new system of observation, assessment and planning is being followed and staff are gaining confidence in using it. Staff carry out and record some observations that they use to assess children's individual progress and set targets every four months for the next steps of children's individual learning. Planning focuses on these identified next steps but by the time these feature in the plans some children have already moved on in their learning. As a result, not all activities offer sufficient challenge to more able children, because they do not build on what children already know and can do. For example, a learning intention for the week is to introduce the mathematical concepts of 'big' and 'little' but the pre-school children

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who attend

already understand this and ways to extend children's learning during activities is not always given sufficient consideration. The required two-year-old progress checks are completed and provide a basic summary of children's progress in the prime areas of learning. These are shared with parents to inform them of their child's strengths and any areas for development. All parents are invited to attend regular meetings with their child's key person to discuss their child's progress and some positive action is taken to involve parents in their children's learning. For example, parents can add comments to their children's learning journals and contribute details of children's achievements at home to display on the 'Wow Board'. Children also take turns to take 'Kylie Koala' home or on holiday and parents happily record the family's activities with the bear.

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who attend

The child-friendly playrooms are set out so that children can make choices in their play. They can all reach toys safely because they are stored suitably for the children of different ages. Babies are keen to explore their room. They take turns to ride on the rocking horse and move in time a member of staff sings the 'horsey, horsey' rhyme. They climb the low level climbing structure and use the slide without fear. They look inquisitively into containers and fit objects inside. They thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to take part in art activities, evident through their looks of concentration and delighted smiles as they explore paint squeezing it through their hands before dabbing paint on paper. Others enjoy the sensory experience of handling glitter and sequins and watch as it sticks to glue they have on their hands and paper.

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who attend

Older children like to engage in role play; the boys take on superhero roles as they race around outdoors and children indoors put on an apron and use the play cooker to 'make dinner'. The home corner area is not well resourced to actively support children's imaginative role-play. The book area has plenty of books but they are not presented well and it is not a cosy area that encourages children to look at books independently. As a result, this area is not used well by children.

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

Children's well-being is successfully promoted. Staff work closely with children's parents to learn about children's routines, likes and dislikes to help them to meet their individual needs. Each child has an allocated key person who promotes ongoing communication with parents well. Parents report that the staff team 'are lovely' and 'caring' and this is very evident when observing their interaction with the children. Babies readily go to the staff for reassurance as needed and snuggle up close when they feel tired. The atmosphere in the baby room is very happy with smiles and laughter in abundance. The babies clearly show that they feel safe and secure in the care of the baby room staff. Children in the older age groups are equally settled and happy. Any tears when children leave their parents are only brief and children are soon smiling because of the support and reassurance they get from staff. Staff respond sensitively to children's emotional needs,

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

knowing instinctively how to meet them. When babies are due to move into the older age group they regularly make visits to spend time in the new groups, accompanied by familiar baby room staff. They also spend time with the older children most days so the move is not so daunting for them. Children quickly settle and become familiar with their new play environment. Staff also communicate effectively with a pre-school some children attend and liaise with the teachers at schools children are likely to move onto. In this way, they prepare children for change and provide continuity of care for them.

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

Children's behaviour is generally very good. Children follow staff instructions well, for example lining up quickly when told to do so. They readily take turns to share resources or participate in an activity. Children learn good manners from an early age. Older children show care and concern for younger children, giving affectionate cuddles of reassurance and involving them in their play. The children aged over two years do not learn to show such concern for the toys and resources they play with. Although they enthusiastically tidy away toys at 'tidy-up time' they take less care of items during their play. For example, they scatter toys across the floor and sometimes drop items from a table but fail to retrieve them. As a result the items are trodden on, become trapped under chair legs and several ripped books were seen discarded on the floor. When this happens staff often fail to say anything to the children so that they learn the importance of looking after the toys

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

and the areas in which they play to keep themselves safe.

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

Children's good health is promoted. They enjoy nourishing meals and snacks and are encouraged to drink plenty, especially on hot days. Staff model good hygiene practice and children are gaining independence in their personal hygiene. They like to take on small tasks, as helpers, collecting cups, for example, at snack time. Babies and young children sleep according to their individual needs and enjoy restful sleep without interruption from children playing.

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

The outdoor area has seen a lot of improvement over recent years, including the very recent addition of astro-turf to a previously overgrown area. Children like to explore the garden area, observing the variety of flowers and vegetables growing. They practise ball skills on the turf area; they climb competently over large tyres and on the climbing structure positioned on the raised safety surfaced area, confidently using the steps to these areas. Children are also provided with a hard surfaced area where they develop their physical skills as they pedal and propel wheeled toys, negotiating their way safely around the other activities set up here. Children of all ages play outdoors at least a couple of times during the day and because there is a covered area of the lower garden level the weather does not restrict children's access to fresh air and outdoor play. Babies and children are also regularly taken into the local community to enhance their understanding

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

Inclusion is fostered; all children are valued as individuals and staff help children to value diversity. Children who are learning English as an additional language and those who are bilingual or trilingual receive support from a bilingual member of staff and through close partnership working with parents become confident English language speakers. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive appropriate support to help them to make adequate progress.

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provision

Overall the leadership and management of the nursery are gaining in confidence and taking positive steps to improve the provision. They implement suitable procedures to promote the safety and well-being of the children. All staff have completed basic child protection training so they are aware of the steps to take should they have any concerns about a child's welfare. The manager and general manager have completed more in-depth safeguarding training to enable them to fulfil the role of designated person for child protection. Daily safety checks take place to help ensure that identified risks are minimised and staff are vigilant in their supervision of the children. Staff ratios are maintained throughout the day and staff are deployed well to meet children's individual needs. The staff team is well-established with no recent staff changes. Most staff have been employed for several years. Suitable recruitment and induction procedures are in place. Annual

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provision

appraisals take place to reflect on staff practice and the managers have begun to implement regular supervision to monitor staff practice and intend to initiate the use of peer reviews to help staff reflect on their practice further. Staff have good access to training. All staff are first aid trained to make sure they can go to children's aid in the event of any accidents. The managers recently attended training about nutrition guidelines and have worked with the cook to improve the menus using the knowledge gained.

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provision

The staff team work very well together and clearly enjoy their work. They are each clear of their roles and responsibilities and share information effectively to support children's care. The key person system works well and parents say they feel well supported by staff, receiving daily updates about their children's care and learning. They also report that they value the opportunity to socialise with staff and other parents at the 'mums' night' and 'dads' night'. The proactive approach of managers and staff to engage parents has lead to a strong partnership with parents and a consistent approach to children's care. Partnerships with other professionals and providers involved in children's care are sound.

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provision

Some positive steps are taken to monitor the programmes for children's learning and development. The managers and staff are working closely with the local advisory teacher and have implemented new assessment and planning systems, as suggested by them. Staff are using it with some success but monitoring of its effectiveness is not robust. Therefore, not all gaps in children's learning or the lack of challenge of some activities are identified.

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provision

Regular staff meetings take place and feedback is gathered from parents to evaluate the effectiveness of the provision. The staff team regularly reflect on practice as they contribute to the Bristol Standards Quality Assurance submission. There are some well- targeted plans for improvement, for example, re-decoration of the baby room and increasing resources in the role-play area. All recommendations made at the last inspection have been implemented, leading to improved outcomes for children. A strong drive for continuous improvement is evident from the managers.

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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 106898 Local authority Bristol City Inspection number 813302 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 31 Number of children on roll 55 Name of provider Appleby Mann Ltd Date of previous inspection 14/03/2012 Telephone number 0117 9513123

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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

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’.

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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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