Nanny Jenny's Preschool

Nanny Jenny's Great Clacton Community Centre, 16-26 Valley Road, CLACTON-ON-SEA, Essex, CO15 4AR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21/06/2013 12/10/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children are active, enthusiastic learners as they move confidently and freely between indoors and outside, making choices from the resources and activities set up for them.  Staff get to know the children well so are able to tailor care and learning to their individual needs.  The setting has shown considerable improvement since the last inspection because the manager has acted on advice and guidance from the local authority to implement new systems of planning, monitoring and evaluation. Overall this has improved outcomes for children.

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It is not yet good because

 While risk assessments are carried out, they are not fully effective in protecting children from hazards, for example, cigarette ends left by other users of the premises are accessible to children.  Resources to promote literacy development are scarce: for example, no writing materials to enable children to record their findings are routinely provided, and text and signage in the outside area to show the uses of print in different contexts, are lacking.  Staff supervision, and monitoring of the quality of teaching, is still under development, therefore, there are still some inconsistencies in assessment and recording of children's progress.

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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 interacted with, and observed, children at play and during routine care, indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the manager, deputy and other members of staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed a sample of documentation including evidence of staff suitability, certificates, a self-evaluation form and children's developmental records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Nanny Jenny's pre-school was registered in 2009. It operates from a community centre in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. The pre-school is privately owned and managed and serves the local area. The pre-school is accessible to all children and there is an enclosed area for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school opens Monday to Friday from 9am to 12.15pm and from 12.15pm to 2.45pm Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, term-time only. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The pre-school is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 37 children on roll, all of whom are within the early years age range. The pre-school provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

The pre-school employs seven members of childcare staff; five of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level two and three. The pre-school receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 ensure that risk assessments identify aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis and that children are not exposed to hazards, for example, remove cigarette ends left by other users of the premises.

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

 improve resources to promote literacy development, such as pictures, signage and text in the outside area, and provide more readily accessible equipment so that children can record their findings, for example, have writing and drawing materials located near to activities

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

 strengthen procedures for monitoring the quality of assessment to ensure rigour, and further improve consistency, in how staff record children's development and progress.

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who attend

Children make satisfactory progress in their learning and development. The prime areas are promoted well, so children gain independence and become ready for the next stage in their learning at formal school. They move freely between the indoor and outdoor environment and make choices from the activities set out for them. They are enthusiastic and fully engage with the range of resources and materials provided. While there is a suitable range of activities set out in areas, some activities are under resourced which results in missed opportunities to challenge and extend children's learning. For example, children excitedly gather minibeasts and bugs and view them in containers with magnifiers. However, there are no materials, such as clipboards and pencils, provided to enable them to record their findings, or reference books or posters to help them identify what they have found. The outdoor area, while providing some good physical and social

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who attend

play opportunities, lacks any text or signage to promote literacy and enable children to experience print in different contexts.

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who attend

Children spend much of the session actively moving about and structuring their own learning. For example, they clamber on the tyres and balance beam, and negotiate the climbing frame confidently, developing control over their movements. Indoors they use construction kits and small world play toys to create imaginative structures and fantasy scenarios. Staff are on hand to support the play and help children to gain an understanding of what they are doing. They talk to the children and use open questions to stimulate their creative thinking. Story time is well paced and interactive, so children are involved in responding and expressing their views.

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who attend

Staff make observations as children play and work, and link these to the areas of learning. This helps them track the progress, and plan the next steps in learning, for individual children. The quality and standard of assessing and reporting on children's progress still has some inconsistencies between staff members, so not all children are challenged fully. Children with identified special educational needs are supported by staff with individualised programmes. By taking advice and guidance for outside professionals, children's care and learning needs are tailored to help them make progress. For example, children with speech and language development issues are helped by a speech therapist, and programmes set in place which are shared with home and the pre-school.

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

All children are assigned a key person when they start to attend. This enables parents to build a trusting relationship and ensure that crucial information regarding children is shared. The settling-in period is very flexible and allows for differences between children and families. The key persons feed back to parents in regard to children's progress and offer some ideas for continuing the learning at home. Children aged two years are given a progress check and the results shared with parents. This highlights any gaps in development and enables additional support to be put in place.

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

The well-planned environment encourages children to be free to make choices and structure their own learning, consequently, behaviour is good and children respond to routines and simple requests, such as to help tidy up. The rolling snack bar provides children with a nourishing and healthy snack and a drink of milk or water. Children gain independence as they serve themselves and decide how much they would like to eat. Similarly at lunchtime children competently manage their own lunch boxes, with staff on hand to support then and help them make wise choices. Lively chat ensures a social ambiance at lunchtime, so children develop an understanding of good behaviour and table manners, as well as getting along with others in a social setting. In terms of personal care, staff support children through the stages of potty training and use a star chart to reward children's effort. Older or more capable children use the toilets with minimal support.

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

When children are due to move on to the next stage in their learning, usually a reception class, the pre-school makes contact and arranges for teachers to visit children in the setting, as well as for children to make visits to the schools. This helps with the transition as children know what to expect and can chat about any fears or ask any questions they may have.

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

The pre-school environment is secure and children cannot leave unseen. Children are reminded to move about safely, but still encouraged to use the equipment to physically challenge and extend their development. Staff carry out routine risk assessments to check areas and equipment for safety, however, these are not rigorous enough as some areas contain hazards such as cigarette ends which are left by other users and are accessible to children.

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provision

The manager and senior staff, with help from the local authority development team, has focused on making positive changes since the previous inspection to improve outcomes for children. These have been well received by staff and children alike and have resulted in a more challenging and stimulating environment and activities for children. For example, the children have greater freedom to choose where they will play, indoors or outside, and innovations, such as the mud kitchen have enhanced the open-ended play opportunities. An action plan is in place with realistic, identified developments which will bring about further improvements, for example, identifying and increasing mathematical learning in everyday contexts. This demonstrates the provider's ability to reflect and make changes.

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provision

Training is encouraged and seen as key to raising standards, so staff access both in-house and other training to keep them up to date with developments in childcare and education.

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provision

Children are safeguarded as staff are aware of how to respond to concerns and make referrals if necessary to the appropriate authority. The manager has attended training and is confident to take a lead role in safeguarding children and works with outside agencies where required.

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provision

One of the recent introductions has been the monitoring and supervision of staff and the quality of teaching. Staff strengths and weaknesses are addressed through appraisal and training put in place where necessary. However, the monitoring of teaching and assessment is not yet sufficiently rigorous. Currently, the assessment of children's progress is occasionally inconsistent across the staff as a whole, so further monitoring is required to ensure all children receive a suitably challenging programme of activities, or that gaps in learning are identified in a timely way.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 ensure that the premises and equipment used for the purposes of childcare are safe and suitable for that childcare (compulsory childcare register)  ensure that the premises and equipment used for the purposes of childcare are safe and suitable for that childcare (voluntary childcare register)

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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 EY399413 Local authority Essex Inspection number 891461

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 37 Name of provider Jennifer Ann Buchanan Date of previous inspection 12/10/2012

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Telephone number

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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