Henry's Kindergarten

Henry's Kindergarten Henry Beaufort School, Harestock, Winchester, Hampshire, SO22 6JJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/06/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Managers and staff have developed highly successful strategies to work in close and effective partnership with parents, to enhance children's learning.  The quality of teaching is exceptional, and key staff provide individual learning experiences for each child based on a secure knowledge of their changing interests.  Staff plan meaningful and relevant experiences, enabling children to make significant progress in all areas of learning.  Children are highly motivated and enthusiastic learners. They are keen to share their experiences with each other and with staff.  Observation and assessment records are precise and provide a clear picture of each child's achievements, and to accurately inform and focus planning.

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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 spoke with parents, staff, children and management about their experiences.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed staff and children in all areas of the nursery and in the various outdoor areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector met with the nominated person and manager to discuss safeguarding and recruitment procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled key documents, including children's development records and key policies.

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Information about the setting

Henry's Kindergarten registered in 2004, and is managed through the governing body of the Henry Beaufort School in Winchester. It operates from a purpose-built building in the school grounds. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm for 51 weeks of the year. All children share access to the secure enclosed outdoor play areas. There are currently 92 children aged from three months to under five years on roll. The nursery is in receipt of funding for children aged three and four years. The nursery prioritises places for children from the employees of Hampshire County Council, Peter Symonds College and Henry Beaufort School. Children can also attend from the surrounding area of Winchester.

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Information about the setting

The nursery welcomes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 18 members of staff who work directly with the children. All permanent staff hold childcare qualifications to level 2, 3, 4 and above. There are also nine regular supply staff.

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

 extend the opportunities for children to hear familiar languages they speak at home, so they feel able to use that language confidently in their play, and so all children hear a range of languages and recognise the skill needed to speak more than one.

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who attend

Children make significant progress in all areas of learning. Staff are enthusiastic and highly committed to providing children with a broad and varied range of experiences. This enables children to enjoy their learning, and to become motivated and independent from a very early age. Babies and toddlers enjoy listening to popular songs and rhymes, sung by staff. Staff encourage their participation and hold their interest by using props, such as duck puppets as they encourage children to sing 'Five little ducks'. Staff carefully repeat words and phrases back to the children when they are learning to talk. They use lots of repetitive songs and rhymes to encourage speech. Staff working with younger children tell them what they are doing, to enable children to understand 'We're mixing the paint up, and now we need to find an apron'.

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who attend

Key persons help babies and toddlers to feel safe and secure, so they are happy to explore and learn. Staff encourage mobile babies and toddlers to climb and crawl over the soft play equipment, and move inviting objects just out of reach to encourage crawling. The youngest children in the nursery have excellent opportunities to use their senses as they paint with their fingers, hands, brushes and rollers. They experience the soft texture of foam, as they squeeze it in their hands. Staff show them how to use their fingers to draw lines and marks, enabling them to experience the first stage of early writing.

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who attend

As a result of the excellent start they are given, when children move to the pre-school room, they are extremely confident and are keen to try new challenges. They begin their morning, eager to learn. Staff effectively teach them to recognise that print carries meaning as they find their name card to show staff they have arrived, and quickly settle to a chosen activity. Staff are skilled in engaging children's interests through practical activities to help them think for themselves and make sense of the world. For example, they have helped children to incubate and hatch hens eggs, and then to care for the chicks in the playroom. Children are keen to share their knowledge about how they cared for the eggs and how long they took to hatch. Staff use their expert practice and knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage to cover all aspects of learning in this one activity. They extend children's language and vocabulary, using words such as 'incubation'.

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who attend

Children are taught to be gentle and caring as they handle the chicks, and give them food and water. Children are encouraged to use reference books to find out more about lifecycles.

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who attend

There is a very good range of books, resources and posters that provide positive images of cultural diversity. Some children come from dual language families. Staff use some words in children's second language, and some labels are written in both languages. However, staff have not extended opportunities for children to hear or use their second language in play. For example, there are no recorded rhymes or songs in children's second language to help them celebrate and share their unique skills with other children.

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who attend

Pre-school children express themselves exceptionally well. A group are mixing plaster of Paris. Children explain 'Well, actually if you mix the powder with water, it goes all sticky and gooey, but then it goes hard and stiff. I am hiding numbers in my plaster!' Staff enable children to be exceptionally well prepared for their move to school. Children have a very secure foundation in literacy and numeracy, recognising familiar words and letters in the inspiring learning environment. Staff enable children to write and count during everyday play activities from a very early age. Consequently, when children are approaching school age, they use these skills competently. A child uses plastic numbers in his play and says 'This is number seven'. He holds up the fingers on two hands and says 'Look, seven is five and two'.

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who attend

Staff use their observations to make precise assessments of children's progress, and to plan effectively for the next stage of their learning. Parents are encouraged to be fully involved in this process, by providing information about their child's achievements at home. Parents also keep staff informed of any family events so they can build on children's experiences when they come to nursery. This cohesive approach to children's learning ensures they make excellent progress by enjoying activities that are personally relevant and meaningful to them.

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

The key person system is highly effective, in helping to ensure children are happy and settled from the outset. The exceptional partnership with parents means that key persons know their children extremely well. They know about the child's brothers and sisters, whether they are teething, or if a new baby in the house means they may be tired. Babies and toddlers are happy to smile and wave at visitors, but look to their key person for reassurance. Staff are very sensitive and extremely caring enabling children to feel special and loved.

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

Older children demonstrate secure relationship with adults and children alike. Children's behaviour throughout the nursery is exemplary. They are very polite and caring. Staff use praise and encouragement, and gentle reassurance with the very young children. Staff working with older children, help them cooperate and negotiate with each other to solve minor conflicts by themselves. This works well; a group of children engaged in role play talk to each other about their roles, one takes the hat from another. Another child says politely but firmly 'He had that first; you could get the other one!'

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

Children of all ages enjoy very regular opportunities to be physically active outside. The climb and balance in on of the enclosed play areas. They visit the 'magic garden', where they look for bugs, write and draw on the chalkboards and play the hanging percussion instruments. Children learn about their own safety as they go across the school playing fields on a 'Dinosaur Hunt'. They look at the plants in the hedgerow, and staff explain about the dangers of the brambles and stinging nettles. Older children are taught to take responsibility for their own, and others safety In the outdoor play area as they pretend to be at Wimbledon. They make space to use racquets and throw balls, and warn each other 'Be careful when you throw that!'

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

A broad and varied range of high quality resources is available throughout the nursery. The environment is rich in print, and toys are within easy reach for even the youngest child to make choices. All outdoor areas are well resourced, and they provide extensive learning opportunities for children of all ages. Staff are very well deployed to help children and participate in their play if required. Equally, staff know when to step back and allow children to play and learn independently or with friends.

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

Staff provide excellent opportunities to help children learn about their own health and well-being. Children show a great interest in the Wimbledon tennis tournament, so they watch part of a live match on television. Staff talk to them about why the players need a big drink of water after a volley, and why they are given a towel to wipe their faces. The children say 'When you run around like that, you get hot and sweaty'. Planned practical activities, such as food tasting helps children learn about good nutrition.

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provision

Exceptional leadership underpins the excellent practice and high quality teaching methods. Management has an excellent understanding of their responsibility to ensure that the provision meets the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The manager uses regular team and staff meetings, observation and scrutiny of development records to monitor the provision of early education. The staff team work extremely well together, and children's well-being and learning is their clear priority. Staff are enthusiastic about providing children with an excellent start in life.

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provision

Rigorous and robust systems are in place to recruit and vet staff. All permanent staff hold relevant qualifications, and the management team encourage them to progress in their professional development through ongoing training opportunities. All staff, including bank staff have a secure and confident understanding of safeguarding procedures. They are very clear about the procedures to follow if they have concerns about a child. Children's safety is paramount. Comprehensive risk assessments are implemented to ensure children's can play and explore in a safe and secure environment.

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provision

All staff, children and parents are fully involved in the self-evaluation process, and staff and management are highly reflective in their practice. Activities are very effectively evaluated to ensure they help children make the best possible progress. Staff engage with children, to find out what they enjoy and what toys they might like. Parent questionnaires are used to seek the views of parents. Action plans are focussed, realistic and ongoing, and staff and management work together to continually improve outcomes for children. For example, they are planning to reorganise areas of the nursery to enable older, more independent children to have free access to the outdoor area throughout the day.

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provision

Staff work closely with local schools that children will attend, to make sure they feel ready and confident to make the move. Information about children's learning is shared very effectively with others involved in their development, such as childminders, pre-schools and professional agencies. This ensures that there is a cohesive approach to children's learning and that children's needs are exceptionally well met.

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provision

Partnership with parents and carers is inspirational. Staff and management have developed some innovative and interesting ways to engage with parents. Face-to-face contact is regular and welcomed. Staff have developed 'experience bags', to help parents prepare for, and support their child for events such as a house move or the arrival of a new baby. The bags include books and stories, dolls, relevant activities and a list of useful websites for more information. They also provide 'activity bags' to help parents make and use media such as 'gloop' or play dough to extend their child's learning at home. Families of older children are provided with a 'Starting School Pack' to help prepare their child for the next stage of learning. The 'Weekend Book' and 'Exciting Experiences' display, is another way they engage with parents. Children are encouraged to borrow one of the nursery's soft toy (to take on holidays, weekends and family events). They come back with

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provision

a photographic diary of their adventures together. This provides extremely good links for the children between home and nursery. Parents evenings include demonstrations of different aspects of children's play and learning to strengthen the collaborative approach to children's development. Parents are extremely happy with the care and education their young children receive. They say 'The staff genuinely love the children' and 'They understand the individuality of each child and work to their strengths'. Children have a very happy time and make extremely good progress in their learning. They are cared for by skilled and sensitive staff who do their very best to provide children with an excellent start to their early years experience.

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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 EY283016 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 814705 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 47 Number of children on roll 92 Name of provider Henry Beaufort School Governing Body Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01962 888971

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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

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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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