Homestead Day Nursery

Homestead Day Nursery 9 Mews Lane, Calverton, NOTTINGHAM, Nottinghamshire, NG14 6JW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/06/2013 29/11/2011

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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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children form secure attachments with their key person. This helps them to settle quickly and enjoy their time at the setting.  Practitioners build positive relationships with parents and keep them informed and involved in their children's care and learning.  The nursery works well with other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. As a result, all children are making steady progress in their learning and development.

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It is not yet good because

 Children experience variable teaching because the manager does not consistently monitor the effectiveness of teaching to identify where training or support is needed.  Children's progress in literacy is not always as effective as possible because they are not provided with an attractive area to stimulate their interest in books in the pre- school room.  Children's make believe play is not consistently encouraged or appropriately resourced to fully stimulate their imagination.  Strengths and weaknesses in current practice are not clearly identified and planning for improvement is not accurately targeted to improve the provision for children.

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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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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children during activities indoors and outdoors.  The inspector carried out joint observations with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the owner, manager and practitioners at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Homestead Day Nursery was registered in 1998 on the Early Years Register. It is situated in a converted farmhouse in Calverton, Nottinghamshire. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 16 members of childcare staff. Of these, one has Early Years Professional Status; one holds an appropriate early years qualifications at level 6, eight at level 3 and three at level 2. The nursery opens 7.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 83 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 monitor staff performance by observing them in practice to assess the effectiveness of their teaching, and provide the necessary support to strengthen the quality of this where a weakness is identified. This is with specific regard to staff in the pre-school room.

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

 create an attractive book area in the pre-school room, which invites children to choose books while playing independently, to enable them to enjoy books and begin to understand the pleasure books provide

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

 extend the resources and opportunities for children to experience role play to fully promote their development of imagination

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

 use self-evaluation more effectively to clearly target areas for improvement that will enhance the provision and outcomes for children, and develop methods for ensuring any changes are successfully implemented.

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who attend

Practitioners generally have an adequate understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and make observations of children's learning, which they record in their individual learning records. They plan for individual children's next steps in learning on a regular basis. Practitioners join in children's play and offer adequate support and encouragement in most cases. However, there is some inconsistency in the quality of teaching as some practitioners in the pre-school room are not always sufficiently focused on what children need to learn. In addition, they are not always aware of the best ways of supporting children with their learning. For example, they do not always fully challenge children with questions that encourage them to think creatively and critically or enable them to practise and refine their skills. However, because other practitioners in the room are much more able this inconsistent practice has little impact on children's learning and development.

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who attend

This means that children are making satisfactory progress towards the early learning goals and are learning a satisfactory range of skills in readiness for school. Parents are informed about what their children are learning because they are invited to parents' evenings and practitioners give them feedback every day. Parents are also supported to extend their children's learning at home. For instance, practitioners in the baby room share ideas about resources to help babies practise their walking skills.

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who attend

Children develop their imagination as they play together, dressing dolls and taking them shopping. They enjoy dressing up in shoes and jewellery and carrying shopping bags. However, there are fewer resources to fully extend children's imagination and enable them to express their own ideas, particularly in the pre-school room. Children enjoy a variety of art and design experiences, for example, exploring the texture of shaving foam and painting leaves to make prints on the paper. They learn how to handle scissors effectively as they cut photographs out of magazines. Children in the pre-school room have access to a computer where they learn to operate simple programs. They learn about similarities and differences because they celebrate a variety of religious festivals and practitioners invite parents in to talk to the children about their family celebrations.

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who attend

Children learn about the natural world as they talk about a spider they have found. A practitioner extends their interest further by talking about a spider they found in their bath at home. She encourages children to develop their own ideas by asking open-ended questions, for example, 'what do you think happened next?' Babies enjoy using their senses to explore the natural items in treasure baskets and to investigate the 'sensory socks' practitioners have made for them. Children develop mathematical skills because practitioners count with them during everyday situations. For example, they encourage them to count the number of children in the group and then to count the number of girls and the boys.

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who attend

Practitioners support the development of baby's language skills because they comment on their play and this helps the babies learn to link the words with their actions. Practitioners extend the vocabulary of toddlers as they repeat the words they say back to them and add more words. For example, when toddlers ask if they can sing 'bobbin' practitioners reply with the full title of the song 'Wind the bobbin up'. Babies and toddlers enjoy sharing books with practitioners and they can access them independently. Practitioners support older children's literacy skills by emphasising the beginning of words as they guess which object is missing from a tray during an adult-led group time. Overall, the nursery has an adequate selection of books. However, these are not set up invitingly enough in the pre- school room to attract the children's interest, while they play independently. As a result, the older children do not fully enjoy books or use them to support their play experiences.

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

Children have formed attachments with practitioners and are happy and settled because there is a suitable key person system in the nursery. They arrive happily at the nursery, say goodbye to their parents and go off to play with the other children. Practitioners find out about children's individual needs, interests and development because parents complete 'All about me' sheets before they start. This helps children to settle and means they are confident and self-assured from the start. Children are adequately prepared for their move to school because teachers from the schools they will be going to visit them at the nursery. This helps reassure children about their next stage in learning and helps their new teachers find out about their personalities and needs. Children get along together and have appropriate behaviour because practitioners generally apply boundaries to support them. For example, they calm over stimulated children and remind them they need to

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

Practitioners remind children not to walk around with scissors and explain 'we don't want you to hurt yourself'. Consequently, children's awareness of managing their own safety is appropriately promoted. They are also supported to take risks in their play because practitioners let them explore the climbing frame outside in different ways and offer support if needed. Babies and toddlers are independent because they can easily access the toys they want to play with. Practitioners encourage them to tidy away and their cooperation is acknowledged, this contributes to their self-esteem and confidence. For example, when toddlers reach under furniture to find the cars and put them in the correct box, practitioners tell them 'good tidying away.'

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

Children learn about the importance of a healthy diet because healthy meals and snacks are prepared in the nursery kitchen. For instance, at lunchtime they have shepherd's pie with vegetables. Practitioners also talk to toddlers about what they are eating to develop their understanding further, for example, they ask 'apple is yummy, is it juicy?' Toddlers are encouraged to clean their own hands with wipes before meals and older children independently access the toilet facilities and attend to their own personal needs. Practitioners supervise them and sometimes remind them to wash their hands afterwards. Children take part in a range of physical activities in the large outdoor area. These opportunities support their understanding of the importance of regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle.

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provision

There is a designated person for child protection who has up-to-date training, and clear systems are in place to safeguard children. However, following a recent child protection incident the correct procedure was not consistently followed with a sense of urgency. Since the incident the owner and manager have worked hard to address this issue and make some significant improvements. They have reviewed the policies and procedures and reinforced them with practitioners to ensure they are followed correctly. The nursery is safe and secure because practitioners assess risks throughout the day and take the appropriate steps. For example, they mop up water spillages so children do not slip over. In addition, the entry door has an intercom and only authorised people can enter the building.

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provision

Sufficient recruitment and vetting processes ensure that those working with the children are suitable to do so. New practitioners are given adequate induction into the nursery so that they understand their roles and responsibilities as soon as they start working with the children. The manager carries out regular appraisals with practitioners and they are provided with some training opportunities to improve their practice. For example, practitioners working with children aged under three years have made changes to the layout of resources and adapted activities to better suit the learning styles of their children after attending a workshop. However, the manager does not routinely observe the practice of all her staff team. Consequently, the monitoring of the effectiveness of the quality of teaching is not fully robust and learning opportunities sometimes lack challenge, particularly in the pre-school room. In addition, appropriate resources are not always

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provision

provided to support children's learning and development.

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provision

Practitioners use the guidance document Development matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage to help them assess if the children are progressing well for their age. They also track children's progress every term to make sure they are making steady progress in their learning and development over time. The nursery has established appropriate relationships with parents to make sure there is a two-way flow of information to support children's needs. They are made to feel welcome in the nursery and receive adequate feedback about their children on a daily basis. They speak highly of the nursery and say practitioners are 'so caring and friendly, children come first and everyone is approachable'. There are sound relationships with other agencies, such as speech and language therapists. This enables the setting to effectively support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Practitioners have made links with other settings

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provision

that children attend and share information about their care and learning, which means there is a joint approach to meeting their needs.

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provision

The manager works with the improvement officer from the local authority to reflect on current practice and make some positive changes to the nursery. However, self-evaluation is not well established. This means that strengths and weaknesses are not clearly targeted at driving improvement and supporting children's achievements over time. In addition, there is no effective method of ensuring any changes are successfully implemented, for example, through an improvement plan.

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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 253205 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 922321

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 83 Name of provider Susan Mary Williams Date of previous inspection 29/11/2011 Telephone number 0115 965 2540

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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