Lytham Hall Park Nursery School Limited

Lytham Hall Park Nursery School Limited Hall Park CP School, South Park, Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire, FY8 4QU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/06/2013 14/05/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 1 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

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This provision is good

 Children's communication and creative skills are well supported through music sessions, dance, drama and French lessons.  The nursery school has a very good capacity for improvement as staff have a strong commitment and enthusiasm to develop the setting further and any incidents are dealt with thoroughly and effectively.  Children are actively involved in their play and are enthusiastic learners.  The outdoor play areas provide excellent opportunities across all areas of learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Sometimes, it is not always clear how any possible gaps in learning are identified quickly.  Some elements of the daily routines do not fully support children in further developing their independence skills.  Some parents do not always have the opportunity to speak to their child's key person due to the busy collection time.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with committee members, nursery manager and staff and Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of staff's teaching and children's learning throughout the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation, including risk assessments, children's learning journals and policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of the practitioners working with the children and the provider's self-evaluation form.

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Information about the setting

Lytham Hall Park Nursery School Limited was registered in 2003 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The setting operates from within Lytham Hall Park Primary School, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. It is managed by a voluntary committee. The nursery school uses two classrooms and has access to a fully enclosed outdoor play area, including the school field, woodland area covered outdoor area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 26 members of staff. 24 of these hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and above, including one staff member with Early Years Professional Status and one qualified teacher. The school opens Monday to Friday, term time only. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 223 children on roll, 73 of these are within the early years group. It supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 review the recording of children's progress to allow any possible gaps in children's learning to be identified and addressed even more quickly, to ensure that all children can continue to make the best progress

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

 help children to become more independent, for example, by allowing even more time and opportunity for children to pursue their own child-led activities and interests; and by encouraging children to make their own decisions, such as who they would like to sit with at mealtimes

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

 provide key persons with further opportunities to share information with parents about children daily activities, for example, by reviewing the organisation of collection time.

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who attend

Children are happy and busily involved in purposeful play. Staff provide rich and varied experiences based on their knowledge of the children's interests. Children have great fun in the morning 'learning time' when 'Camilla' joins them for a Royal higher or lower card game. They join in together as they excitedly predict whether the next card will be higher or lower. This means that they learn to recognise numerals and begin to understand mathematical concepts.

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who attend

A visit from the music teacher is very well received by the children. They are learning about rhythm and beat as they keep time and sing tunefully. Children practise enthusiastically for the upcoming concert performance for their parents. They also benefit from French, dance and drama sessions throughout the week. This builds their self- confidence and communication skills as they learn to express themselves creatively. Staff are respectful to children and move quietly around the premises when they are listening to a story. Staff take opportunities to sound out the letters, which helps children to make valuable links between sounds and letters as they enjoy favourite books.

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who attend

Staff's thorough knowledge of the areas of learning and a clear understanding of how children learn informs the planning process. They set up many varied types of imaginative play to help children to explore their own first-hand experiences. Staff skilfully use the children's interest in princesses to help them to make connections in their learning. This has been extended into a royal theme at the nursery and children welcome the 'Queen' to their music sessions. They dress-up as princesses, princes and queens and enjoy the role play as they move to other activities.

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who attend

Children enjoy a full range of activities outdoors across all areas of learning. They develop very well physically as they run around in open areas. Children drive wheeled cars, skilfully avoiding obstacles and other children as they are developing a spatial awareness. They learn about the world they live in, plant flowers and vegetables and care for them as they grow.

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who attend

Children quickly start to progress in their learning as the staff carefully plan activities from the knowledge of their starting points gained from initial information provided by the parents. Staff observe children's progress thoroughly and use this information well to plan the next steps in their learning. This enables the children to develop appropriate skills and attitudes for the next stage of their learning. Staff understand the different assessment processes, such as the 'progress check at age two'. This ensures that any need for additional support for children can be identified, shared with parents and acted upon promptly. Staff track children's progress well each term. However, the recording of children's assessed development levels between tracking times does not always make it clear how gaps in learning can be identified and addressed quickly.

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who attend

Parents receive regular newsletters with suggested activities to support children's learning at home. Termly parents' evenings give key persons time to sit down with parents and discuss children's progress fully. Parents are given children's record of learning to take home termly, complete with a password protected pen drive containing children's photographs. However, some parents would like more time on a daily basis, to discuss children's activities and achievements with their key person more fully. This is difficult due to parents queuing during busy collection times.

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

Staff work closely with parents, gently settling children in, to ensure each child's transition from home into the nursery is a smooth and positive experience. Each child is allocated a key person to support them and liaise with parents. Parents provide information and have discussions with their child's key person. This helps staff to understand and meet children's individual needs. Staff are caring and attentive towards the children and get to know them very well as individuals. Consequently, children settle well and form strong bonds with their key person. However, occasionally parents would like more time to speak to the key person when collecting children. This can be difficult due to the very busy time of day.

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

Children develop trusting relationships with staff and know them by name. Children clearly feel safe and secure with staff, freely and confidently approaching them with their comments and requests. The nursery is very well resourced and offers children a broad range of play and learning experiences, indoors and outside. Resources are readily accessible, enabling children to make their own choices and selections, which promotes their independence. However, due to the large number of very well-organised adult-led activities, children sometimes have fewer opportunities to choose their own play.

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

Staff are positive role models of behaviour and treat children with kindness and respect. They are skilled at supporting children to learn how to manage their own behaviour and emotions. This is helped by a calm approach and clear explanations and reminders from staff to enforce reasonable boundaries, for example, taking care not to hurt others as they manipulate large branches to make the den. Children are generally well behaved. They are learning social skills and how to manage their own behaviour, for example, waiting their turn as they throw bean bags onto numbers outside. This also demonstrates that they are learning to recognise numerals.

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

Children understand how to keep themselves safe. For example, they hold on as they negotiate the steps into the 'castle' and know how to behave on the climbing frame. A healthy lifestyle is promoted as children have daily opportunities for fresh air, daylight and exercise in the outdoor area. Snacks are varied, healthy and nutritious, encouraging children to make positive food choices. Children are offered a variety of tastes and textures, for example, apple, banana and crumpets. Parents provide children's packed lunches but healthy foods are promoted by the nursery and children are encouraged to eat the healthier items first. Children learn good hygiene habits through regular routines and reminders, for example, washing their hands after toileting and before eating. However, some opportunities are missed to develop children's independence, for example, by choosing, who they would like to sit with for dinner.

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

Children are well prepared for their future transitions to school. They are invited to participate in school sports day and they practise for their events. Children become familiar with the large play area and are treated as part of the school.

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provision

The inspection was prioritised by Ofsted due to a concern raised about a child being able to leave the school grounds unsupervised. Any incidents concerning children's safety and well-being are reviewed and this helps the setting to improve. In light of this recent incident when a child left the school grounds unsupervised for a short period of time, arrangements for handing children over to the care of the school teachers have been fully and immediately reviewed. The incident occurred after children had been released from breakfast club to the school playground. The management and school worked co- operatively to ensure there is no chance of recurrence. A locked gate and camera system installed by the nursery ensures that only authorised people enter the secure area. The hours of operation of this system have been extended in agreement with the school. Children are closely supervised and the premises are secure.

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provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children are effective and staff have a secure knowledge of what to do should they have any concerns about a child. They are also confident to carry out whistle blower procedures if they were concerned about the practice of colleagues. This contributes to maintaining children's safety and protects their well-being. Effective staff deployment and the management of safety systems help to keep children safe. For example, staff are vigilant and use 'walkie talkies' to stay in contact when they are with the children in the large school field and wooded area.

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provision

Robust recruitment and vetting procedures ensure that everyone working with the children are suitable to do so. The management monitor the ongoing suitability of all staff effectively through regular meetings and appraisals. These procedures promote children's safety and the quality of provision well. All staff work exceptionally well as a team. They are knowledgeable and enthusiastic, demonstrating a high level of commitment to further training. The nursery has appropriately trained staff advising and supporting other practitioners in the nursery on how to effectively support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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provision

Parents have high levels of regard for the service provided. They carefully considered the choice of nursery for their children and were particularly pleased with the quick, sensitive transition from home when children first start. Transitions for children moving on from nursery to school are also very well supported. They are considered an integral part of school life and most children move on to the host school.

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provision

The staff team are committed to the continuous evaluation and improvement of their practice. All of the staff team actively contribute their views and opinions and they monitor and evaluate the provision very well. The manager collects and evaluates information on children's progress within the nursery to ensure that they offer a full range of learning opportunities across all the areas of learning and children make as much progress as they can. Staff use their planning successfully to consider ways to support, challenge and extend children's current learning and development.

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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 EY236574 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 923640

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 17 Total number of places 30 Number of children on roll 223 Name of provider Lytham Hall Park Nursery School Limited Date of previous inspection 14/05/2012 Telephone number 01253 738 864 and 01253 735 179

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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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