North Banbury Children's Centre Nursery

North Banbury Children's Centre Nursery The Cabin, Hardwick Primary School, Ferriston, BANBURY, Oxfordshire, OX16 1XE

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/06/2013 Not Applicable

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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

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This provision is good

 Children are making good progress in their learning and development and they benefit from a welcoming environment and a good range of activities and experiences.  Children are well cared for by staff who develop strong and trusting relationships with them.  The extended outdoor environment is used well to support children's understanding of the natural world.  Parents appreciate the good communication about children's progress especially the information about the children's next steps in learning.  Managers deliver good quality provision for the young children in their care.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children do not always have good access outside to activities such as mark making and water play to support their physical development and overall learning.

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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 took account of parents' views following discussions with them.  The inspector held discussions with the manager and her nursery supervisor.  The inspector reviewed a sample of the nursery's documentation.  The inspector spoke to children and staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector made a number of observations of activities, including undertaking a joint observation of an activity with the nursery supervisor.

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Information about the setting

North Banbury Children's Centre Nursery registered in 2013. It operates from a room inside the Children's Centre on the site of Hardwick School, in the Hardwick area of Banbury, in Oxfordshire. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The children have access to the main play room, toilets, a fully enclosed garden and a physical play room. The nursery opens each weekday, with sessions from 9am to 12 noon, and from 12 noon to 3pm during term times only. Children attend for a variety of sessions. A breakfast club is available from 8am for nursery children. There are currently 37 children on roll aged from two years to five years.

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Information about the setting

The nursery supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery gets funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four years. The nursery employs five members of staff. Of these, three hold appropriate early years qualifications including Early Years Professional Status, National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) at level 6, and level 3. Two staff are currently unqualified but are in their final month of NVQ level 3 training.

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

 strengthen opportunities for children to engage in mark making and water play activities in the outdoor environment.

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who attend

Children arrive very excitedly because they are pleased to be in the nursery, and confidently leave their parents to engage in the good range of activities prepared for them. The nursery room is organised into the different areas of learning and provides a wide range of interesting activities from which the children make choices. Staff interact with children and extend their learning, for example, by helping to count a number of objects used in a construction activity. They model language to help describe the size of the construction, and encourage children to engage in conversation throughout the activity. At other times children choose to engage with other children, such as playing musical instruments by banging and shaking the percussion instruments in a rhythmic manner. There are appropriate ratios of staff to children, and staff skilfully intervene by asking questions to challenge children's thinking and understanding. For example, staff

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who attend

ask children to match emotions and expressions in an activity involving jigsaws of people's faces and to explain why they have done so.

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who attend

The nursery plans activities that match children's learning and development needs, and provide for the older and more able children's needs through more challenging activities. There are opportunities for children to engage in the development of their early writing skills and to build on their manipulative skills through painting and drawing. There is an appropriate balance of activities that children can choose for themselves, and those that are led by adults to support their learning and development.

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who attend

The immediate outdoor area is spacious and has a covered area to enable use in all weathers. However, the range of activities provided do not always include all areas of learning, unlike the indoors where they are provided well. For instance, fewer opportunities are provided to develop children's mark-making skills and to engage in activities such as water play to learn about concepts such as filling and emptying. There are mostly good opportunities to encourage children's physical development outside and shared use of the school's adventure playground provide good opportunities to develop confidence in climbing and balancing. Children's knowledge and understand of the natural world are well promoted through the use of the garden area where they grow vegetables, and observe insects and wildlife first hand. The many leafy trees provide a good area for imaginative play as children weave their way through the overhanging branches.

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who attend

Counting skills are constantly used and practised in activities such as when lining up to go into the school playground, or when singing favourite songs. Staff make regular observations and track children's progress carefully against the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, so that they know how well they are doing. They know each individual child well, carefully monitor their progress and plan their next steps in learning. The small number of children who speak English as an additional language are also making good progress because of the good support they get from the staff. Any child who is not making the expected level of progress is carefully monitored and discussions are held with parents with a view to additional support being sought. Staff share information about children's progress with parents daily and at termly open evenings. Staff monitor children's progress when they are aged between two and three years and they are currently preparing the

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who attend

required report to be sent to parents. The good provision made for children means that they are prepared well for the next stage of their education when they enter full-time school.

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

The nursery provides a secure and caring environment where staff know all children well and meet their individual needs. Children establish strong relationships and attachments with their key person and this assists them well in fostering children's personal development. Staff provide regular opportunities for children to engage in talk and play with adults, and to socialise and mix with other children. Children are encouraged to participate in activities and to have a go at new ones that will develop their self-confidence and enhance their progress.

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

Great care is taken to maintain children's safety and well-being throughout the session, such as being suitably dressed for the weather in outdoor play. Children learn to play safely and staff carefully monitor children especially when outside. The hazardous areas such as the frog pool and nettle bed are appropriately fenced off, but still visible to enable children to observe the wild life attracted to those areas. Children feel safe and this is reflected in their positive behaviour. Staff encourage their independence by enabling children to do things for themselves such as pouring their own drinks at snack time, and attending to their own personal needs. They decide for themselves which activity they are to engage in and have the ability to stay focused and concentrate well.

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

The nursery encourages children to follow a healthy lifestyle through the promotion of healthy snacks and packed lunches, and the provision of fresh fruit and vegetable always being available. Children benefit from daily opportunities to be active and enjoy using the wheeled toys and tricycles, climbing and exploring the adventure playground equipment, and developing coordination skills with bats and balls. These activities contribute well towards children's physical development. Good hygiene procedures are followed to avoid the spread of infection, and staff have been trained in food handling practices. Children understand when they need to wash their hands and why, and do so independently. The good progress children are making across all areas of learning is preparing them well for their next stage of learning.

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provision

The manager and her staff provide good quality provision for children. A well-resourced and developed curriculum is in place. Staff implement a good range of policies and procedures to help to ensure the safe and smooth running of the nursery. The manager's clear and accurate evaluation of the provision has enabled her to establish what the nursery does well, and those areas that require further development. She has a clear vision for the future and has the drive to realise the nursery's potential. Among her priorities she views relationships with parents as of high importance and plans to involve them more through the development of a parents' forum. A staff training programme is to be established after the current round of appraisal interviews is completed.

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provision

Secure safeguarding procedures are in place and staff demonstrate through discussion a clear understanding of the nursery's policies and procedures. Staff have all received training in child protection procedures, and an appropriate number of staff hold paediatric first aid certificates, and food handling qualifications. When appointing new staff strict vetting procedures are in place, including vetting and barring checks, to ensure only suitable staff are employed to work with young children. A clear policy is in place regarding the use of cameras and mobile phones and is understood by all staff. The community centre staff monitor and control access to the building so that only authorised people can enter. Staff monitor gates in the garden to prevent children from straying, and the fairly extensive grounds are well supervised at all times to keep children safe. The staff cover the educational programmes in planning, with regular assessments of

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provision

children's progress made and monitored. This enables staff to identify any children who are not making expected progress so that appropriate action can be taken to address any issues. Assessment information is shared with parents so that they know how well their children are doing. Parents particularly like the 'next steps' information that is shared at open evenings at the end of the term. Parents speak highly of the nursery staff who they say are very approachable and welcome their ideas and views. The parents value home visits because they are able to share developmental information with the staff who can then establish and plan starting points for each individual child. To ensure effective communication a small number of parents receive letters translated into their home language. One parent said, 'I would highly recommend the nursery'.

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provision

Partnership working is also strong with the host school where a number of children will transfer in the autumn. Shared access to use the school facilities enhances opportunities to extend their learning and development, and helps with the preparation for the move into school. The community centre also works closely with the nursery, and usefully provides educational facilities for parents, and access to other services that help support them and their children. Shared access to other parts of the premises, such as the soft play room, provides further experiences for children to engage in physical play.

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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 EY454405 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 900026 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 2 - 8 Total number of places 16 Number of children on roll 37 Name of provider North Banbury Children's Centre Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01295 271841

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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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