Early years · Early years inspection (CIF)
Little Angels of Leamington Spa Nursery
Summary
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- Inspection datesingle source
5 Jun 2013
- Inspectors verified
Sally Smith
- Overall effectiveness verified
Good
- Postcode verified
CV32 6DE
- Name on report verified
Little Angels of Leamington Spa Nursery
- URN verified
EY458966
Deep dive
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Grade profile
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- OverallGood
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Reads more critically than most reports of this type graded Good.
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Strengths
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Concerns
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No strong criticism found.
Next steps
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- Staff have a firm understanding of how children learn, providing a varied range of activities that are securely based on children's interests. p.3
- They readily respond to children's ideas which means children are enthused and their attention is maintained, often for a considerable period of time. p.3
- For example, an interest in cakes develops from a play dough activity as children discuss how they are made. p.3
- They develop small muscle skills as they use their hands and various tools to roll, cut and shape the dough. p.3
- The theme transfers to the role play area as children play in their own bakery. p.3
- However, despite children using their imaginations, staff are astute in acknowledging that they do not get the best from this activity. p.3
- They recognise that children are not fully conversant with a bakers shop and what is inside. p.3
- Therefore, they arrange a visit to a local shop, where children are shown how various cakes and buns are made. p.3
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Anatomy of the report
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- Pages
- 12
- Words of findings
- 2,886
- longer than usual (typical 703)
- Reading level
- Hard
- Flesch 47, typical 50
- Average sentence
- 18 words
- Next steps
- 8
- typical 2
- Hedged sentences
- 3%
- “some”, “not always”, “most”…
Where the words go
Full report text
Little Angels of Leamington Spa Nursery 41a Rugby Road, LEAMINGTON SPA, Warwickshire, CV32 6DE
p.1
Inspection date
Previous inspection date 05/06/2013 Not Applicable
p.1
early years provision
This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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
p.1
This provision is good
Staff are sensitive to children's needs, feelings and interests. They foster warm, caring relationships, helping children to develop a sense of belonging. Strong relationships with parents and with staff from other agencies, ensure children's particular needs are met well. Children are encouraged to solve their own problems and find their own way of doing things to promote their thinking and learning. Children engage in activities that follow their own interests and ideas. This often means they are focused on activities and maintain their focus over a period of time. Children are relaxed and happy in the nursery. They are confident which means they readily express their feelings and needs.
p.1
It is not yet outstanding because
Children are not consistently shown how to manage all of their care and personal needs, such as wiping their noses when necessary. Staff in the toddler room do not consistently provide children with explanations to consolidate their learning and help them understand why certain actions are needed, for example, why it is important to sit on their chairs properly.
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
Inspection activities
The inspector spoke with the manager, staff and children. The inspector observed children having their lunch and afternoon snack. The inspector jointly observed an activity with the manager. The inspector observed activities inside and in the outdoor area. The inspector looked at policies and procedures and children's assessment records.
p.2
Information about the setting
Little Angels of Leamington Spa Nursery re-registered in 2013 on the Early Years Register as a public liability company. It operates from three rooms within a converted house, in Leamington Spa. The pre-school room is located on the first floor and therefore access may be difficult for some adults and children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery serves the local area. There is an area available for outdoor play.
p.3
Information about the setting
The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round apart from Bank Holidays from 8am to 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 52 children on roll. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery employs nine members of staff, eight of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least level 2. One member of staff has Quality Teacher Status. One member of staff is working towards a level 2.
p.3
To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:
help children to be more effective in managing their personal needs to support their growing independence
p.3
To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:
provide children with consistent and clear explanations to consolidate all areas of their learning and development, particularly why certain actions are necessary to promote their safety and well-being.
p.3
who attend
The quality of staff teaching is good. Staff have a firm understanding of how children learn, providing a varied range of activities that are securely based on children's interests. They readily respond to children's ideas which means children are enthused and their attention is maintained, often for a considerable period of time. For example, an interest in cakes develops from a play dough activity as children discuss how they are made. They develop small muscle skills as they use their hands and various tools to roll, cut and shape the dough. The theme transfers to the role play area as children play in their own bakery. However, despite children using their imaginations, staff are astute in acknowledging that they do not get the best from this activity. They recognise that children are not fully conversant with a bakers shop and what is inside. Therefore, they arrange a visit to a local shop, where children are shown how various cakes and buns are made. They thoroughly
p.3
who attend
enjoy selecting and paying for a cake of their choice, helping to develop their counting skills and concept of money. This also helps them in facing new experiences and engaging with others, therefore, developing their communication skills and confidence. Children return to nursery, recall what they have seen and make their own cakes to sell, and play with renewed understanding and enthusiasm. This helps to give real meaning and purpose to their play and learning.
p.4
who attend
Staff build on children's enthusiasm when developing the learning environments, ensuring that all resources are easily accessible. They encourage children to use these flexibly, so that they can move things around to extend their ideas and combine resources in different ways. For example, an empty cardboard box becomes a vehicle to transport children into a fantasy world as it becomes an object of their desire, such as a car or rocket. Through questions and prompts, staff follow their ideas so they are able to develop and adapt them to keep children motivated.
p.4
who attend
Group times provide opportunities for children to extend their speaking as they are able to take the lead and initiate discussions. Older children sit on a chair in front of their friends and talk about a range of topics. For example, children are currently talking about holidays and beginning to recognise the clothes they wear in summer. One by one each child shares their holiday experiences with each other. One child informs the group that, 'I weared a Mickey Mouse tee-shirt cos it was sunny and very hot'. Staff show genuine interest in their tales, sensitively asking questions to engage children further. For example, children share who they went with, where they went and how they got there. Staff encourage children to think, remember and recall, for example, as one member of staff says, 'It's very cold in Turkey isn't it'? and the child giggles and responds, 'No it is hot and I went swimming'. This helps to develop their confidence as they learn to speak in front of
p.4
who attend
others and begin to hold a conversation. This also develops good social skills and prepares them well for their future learning.
p.4
who attend
Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are fully included and participate in all nursery activities. Staff work most productively with a range of other professionals to ensure good support for those children to make the same good progress as everyone else. Observations of children's achievements by staff are effective and help to move on children's learning well. Accurate assessment ensures that planning and support for learning takes good account of each child's particular ability, needs and interests. All planning is regularly reviewed and activities are evaluated to ensure they continue to challenge, motivate and extend all areas of children's learning and development. Parents regularly have access to, and contribute to their children's learning journey records. Staff regularly provide suggestions so that parents can support their child's learning at home, helping them to consolidate and build on their knowledge and
p.4
who attend
The indoor and outdoor environments are attractive, interesting and inviting. Careful planning ensures that each space has a clear purpose and provides children with choice to try new experiences. Babies senses are promoted as they have a wealth of textures to feel. Fibre-optic lights and bubble-tubes provide a feast of visual experiences and children rustle and scrunch foil blankets as they listen to the sounds they make. Children enjoy physical exercise both indoors and outdoors. They enjoy action songs, dance and use a range of equipment to test their ability in balance, climbing and jumping. This helps them to use different muscle skills and develop coordination. Children are happy, engaged and well-prepared for their move to school.
p.4
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
The nursery provides a calm, homely and relaxed environment in which children play and learn. Children each have a key person within the nursery and this is someone who children choose for themselves and therefore, comfortable and relaxed with. As a result, they enjoy warm, trusting relationships with their key person who are friendly and sensitive to their individual needs. This helps children to feel emotionally secure. Their key person takes responsibility for keeping in touch with parents, and obtaining information about all aspects of children's care before they start. Staff use this well so that children's familiar routines are maintained, adding to their sense of safety and security. Settling-in arrangements for all of the children are planned with care and sensitivity, in close consultation with parents, so that every child can make a smooth transition from home and enjoy their first experience of nursery. Parents speak positively about their
p.5
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
introduction to the nursery saying that they feel valued and included from the start.
p.5
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
A self-service snack-bar operates for older children so that they can choose when they wish to take refreshment. This helps to promote their independence as they pour their own drinks and make choices about what they eat from the healthy options available. This is often a nice social occasion where children sit and chat and make decisions about what they are going to do next. Main meals provide children with a range of tastes and textures to arouse their taste buds and develop a positive attitude to healthy eating. Regular outdoor play where children can run around and use various equipment, helps to promote their physical development. Children go out in all weathers to get regular fresh air, helping to promote their health and well-being. Furniture in the baby room is organised so that they can pull themselves to standing and use to support them as they develop early walking skills. Generally, children learn about appropriate hygiene routines and how they
p.5
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
can promote this themselves. Visual aids in the bathroom prompt and remind children to wash their hands. Older children know that this is to eradicate germs and help them to stay healthy. Younger children are provided with warm flannels and encouraged to wash their hands and faces independently. However, at times they are left with runny noses and staff are not always quick in their responses to ensure children are provided with tissues or clean their noses for them. As a result, children are not consistently supported by staff to fully promote their understanding of effective personal hygiene and develop their independence skills further.
p.5
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
Children have positive attitudes to learning because it reflects their interests and is enjoyable. Therefore, their behaviour is good. Children in pre-school help to devise their 'golden rules; helping them to take responsibility for their own actions. They cooperate well with each other, share and take turns. Older children happily help younger children with personal tasks such as, putting their coats and shoes on, showing a caring nature to each other. Children talk about people's differences and learn that everyone can achieve to their full potential, regardless of gender, culture, age and disability. Various cultural festivals and events are celebrated and staff ensure that these are representative of the children attending nursery. As a result, children learn about Polish, Hungarian, Portugese and Thai celebrations. Children sample different foods, such as, 'Dobos Torta', a traditional Hungarian cake and so enjoyed Hungarian hopscotch that they played this for weeks on
p.5
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
end. Books with dual-languages, different cultures and stories depicting disability further promote children's awareness of people's differences. Staff regularly use various forms of non-verbal communication, such as a visual time-line and sign-language to assist children who are less confident or who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This helps them to communicate their feelings and alleviate some of their anxieties or fears. Children are confident and readily express their opinions and make their feelings known.
p.6
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
Children generally learn to keep themselves safe in a range of situations. They learn how to handle various equipment and tools safely, for example, scissors and electrical equipment, such as, compact disc players, food mixers and microwaves, helping to develop skills for their future learning. They move around in a safe manner, carefully negotiating obstacles with care. Various planned activities, such as, visits from the 'lollipop' lady and the 'Green Bear Road Safety Club, help children to learn how to stay safe as a pedestrian or when out and about. Staff consolidate what they have learnt when they go for walks in their community. However, at times, toddler room staff do not consistently provide children with explanations to help them understand why certain actions are needed, for example, why it is important to sit on their chairs properly.
p.6
provision
Staff demonstrate a secure knowledge and understanding of safeguarding procedures. They are fully aware of any signs that may alert them to child protection concerns. Staff know these must be reported to the designated person within the nursery and also the relevant statutory agencies without delay. They are fully conversant with the whistle- blowing procedure, should they have concerns about the conduct of their colleagues around children. The nursery's arrangements for safeguarding children are shared with parents, which helps to reassure them that their children are kept safe. Accurate attendance registers record children's attendance and effective staff deployment, ensures that children are supervised well. The manager is supernumerary and can cover for staff absences at short notice. In addition, one member of staff is used as a 'floater' and moves around the nursery as required. As a last resort, staff are used from one of two agencies
p.6
provision
with whom the nursery have established good relationships. Wherever possible, the same member of staff is hired so that children are already familiar with them and provides continuity of care. This ensures that correct ratios are adhered to at all times. Generic risk assessments covering all areas of the nursery are maintained and revised at least annually. Daily checklists ensure that the areas and equipment used by children on a regular basis are safe. This shows that staff are fully committed to the safety of children at all times.
p.6
provision
Rigorous recruitment practices are followed; interview questions and various scenarios test candidate's knowledge and skills particularly around safeguarding, child protection and learning and development. Their suitability is also ascertained through Disclosure Barring Service Checks. Once appointed, the successful candidate receives a thorough induction so that they are clear of their roles and responsibilities. The manager and deputy manager have updated training in monitoring, supervising and appraising staff performance. As a result of this, they regularly undertake observations of the educational programmes, activities, staff interactions with children, the learning environment and children's learning journey records. Feedback is provided to staff during supervision sessions, whereby, they can analyse their practice and identify targets for improvement. Staff's ongoing suitability is discussed regularly to ensure that they continue to be safe and suitable to work with
p.6
provision
children. A programme of regular staff training is in place to include 'in-house' training, with staff sharing their skills across the team. This ensures that everyone has up-to-date knowledge of best practice and implement this consistently throughout the nursery.
p.7
provision
The nursery is successful in the way it works with parents and carers and sees this as crucial in being able to fully support young children's needs. The manager has attended a course on promoting positive partnership working and as a result, staff are continually looking at ways to enhance communication, information sharing and parental involvement. The introduction of communication diaries has proved a huge success with parents, enabling staff to share regular observations of children's learning. Parents also take a 'leaf' home to record any observations from home which are then placed on the 'observation tree' for all to see. 'Proud clouds' is another method for parents to record something significant their child has done. Staff discuss these with children, recognising their achievements, thereby raising their self-esteem. 'Time to Talk' training has been completed by the manager and several staff, to emphasise the importance of
p.7
provision
communication with children. Various activities such as 'Chatter Matters' week and information via an attractive visual display board, imparts information to parents detailing how they can support their child's language acquisition at home.
p.7
provision
Evaluation is effective in looking at what the nursery does well, but equally in identifying priorities for improvement. Staff, children and parents are all included in this process in order to shape the provision so that it meets the needs of its users. Staff are very receptive to the advice and support received from the local authority and readily make any necessary changes to improve their practice. Any changes are reviewed and the impact assessed to ensure that these changes are successful in enhancing the quality of the provision. Staff regularly evaluate activities and the educational programmes to ensure that they continue to be effective in supporting children's learning and development. Staff are motivated and committed to providing the best for children in their care.
p.7
provision
The nursery tries hard to establish relationships with other early years settings that children attend, but currently, they are finding this is a one-way process. They send information regarding children's learning and progress to other settings, but to date, have received nothing in return. To overcome these barriers, discussions with parents provide an insight into children's experiences elsewhere. In order to help children's transition to school, teachers have been invited to the nursery to meet children and see how they play. Again, this is more successful with some schools than others. Therefore, nursery staff incorporate various activities, discussions, role play scenarios and school uniforms for children to dress-up in, doing their utmost to reassure and allay children's fears and prepare them for change. Effective engagement with outside professionals means that all children are fully supported. Regular contact, meetings and visits mean that children
p.7
provision
receive any specialist equipment required. Staff also implement strategies and individual play plans so that children can make the best possible progress in all aspects of their learning and development.
p.8
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.
p.9
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.10
Setting details
Unique reference number EY458966 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 918105 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 33 Number of children on roll 52 Name of provider Little Angels of Leamington Spa LLP Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01926 882556
p.10
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.10
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.
p.10
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.10
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.11
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.11
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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