Thorne Manor Day Nursery

Thorne Manor Day Nursery Thorne Manor, HOLSWORTHY, Devon, EX22 7JD

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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

 Children show great enthusiasm and love being at the nursery, so they develop excellent foundations for learning.  Staff are highly effective in behaviour management and teaching children safe boundaries.  Partnerships with parents and others are very strong, which makes a significant contribution to children's welfare, learning and development.  Staff are very attentive to children and meet their individual needs exceptionally well.  A well-established, consistent staff and management team implements rigorous self- evaluation procedures and strives for ongoing improvement.

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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 had discussions with the manager, staff, parents and the company director.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children in their indoor and outdoor activities, including the Forest School.  The inspector and manager conducted joint observations and had a meeting.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed the self-evaluation form and evaluation schedule with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Thorne Manor Day Nursery first registered in 2004. Following a change to the management structure it re-registered with Ofsted 2012. It operates from a purpose-built building, with various rooms including a gym and indoor garden. It is situated on a working farm just outside the market town of Holsworthy, Devon. Children have use of a number of outdoor areas, including a Forest School.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Care is available for children aged from birth to 11 years. There are currently 131 children on roll, of whom 111 are in the early years age range. The nursery receives funding to provide free early education for children aged two, three and four years. It opens each weekday from 8am to 6pm, for 50 weeks of the year. The holiday club for older children is open in some school holidays, five days a week. The nursery closes for two weeks during the Christmas period and on bank holidays. The nursery employs 15 members of staff. Of these, all hold appropriate childcare qualifications. There is one member of staff with Qualified Teacher Status and one with Early Years Professional Status. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who learn English as an additional language.

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

 encourage children further to use their writing skills during outdoor activities, for example, writing labels for plant pots.

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who attend

Staff organise children in three age groups known as Calves, Piglets and Lambs. Throughout the nursery staff have an excellent awareness of children's individual preferences. They are highly conscientious in meeting the needs of each child and provide exemplary care. As a result, all children are very happy, content and flourish in the nursery. Systematic observation procedures are in place and staff compile precise records of children's development. These include detailed summary checks for children aged two years. Staff regularly consult with parents to set clear progress targets for children. They plan exciting, innovative activities to capture children's imagination and make learning fun. As an example, they make excellent use of props to bring popular stories to life. These include various puppets, soft toys and real life giant land snails. Staff enthral children in activities, which promotes high levels of interest and concentration. The highly effective

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who attend

arrangements for children to move on in their learning result in children being confident, secure and enthusiastic in their manner. The Piglets and Calves enjoy making independent choices on where they want to play. Children eagerly explore in the 'gym', pre-school room and outdoor play areas. The indoor garden room provides additional experiences where children can use their senses. For instance, babies are fascinated as they watch the goldfish and hear the sound of the water features. Children sow seeds and learn how plants and flowers grow.

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who attend

Staff place keen emphasis on outdoor learning and the natural environment. Children love being outside and benefit from well-planned activities, which effectively promote all areas of development. For example, children daub water with brushes on the walls and chalk on boards. They sit under a canopy in a cosy reading area. Staff take children into the sensory garden, where they discover sand, a play house and scented and textured plants. The wormery is of particular interest and children delight at finding and holding worms. They learn about recycling and, composting and grow their own vegetables to eat. Staff promote communication and language development exceptionally well. They frequently use Makaton signing, which they actively encourage parents to use, to support children's understanding and communication. Excellent use is made of pictures, signs and labels around the setting, although very occasionally children are not encouraged to use their

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who attend

writing skills for a purpose outdoors, for example, by making plant labels. Parents translate key words, such as 'Hello' for signs to reflect children's different home languages. Staff use key words in children's home languages for children who are learning English as an additional language, to make sure they can communicate effectively with the children and to develop their sense of belonging. They continuously engage parents in children's learning, which promotes strong partnerships. For example, staff invite parents to attend Forest School sessions so they can see how and what their children learn. Children take a special bear on holiday and love to share the bear's experiences with their friends. This helps children to learn about different people and places and develop their understanding of the world. Children frequently look after various animals on the farm, which motivates their interest in nature.

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

There is an effective key person system and staff gently nurture babies in their care. Babies smile and gurgle in response to familiar people, which shows that they feel very secure and have warm attachments. Staff follow babies routines and work closely with parents to effectively promote consistent care. They interest and stimulate babies with a wide range of activities. For example, babies play with different materials, such as paint, dried pasta and treasure basket items. Mobile babies explore the room and show keen interest in their surroundings. They happily sit with staff to look at books and watch the hand puppet as a story is told. Babies find a basket of laminated photographs and show great pleasure as they recognise pictures of themselves. Therefore, babies develop their identity and make very good progress in their personal social and emotional development. Staff take babies out for walks in the fresh air each day, or into the garden, to promote

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

health and physical development. They provide individual attention and activities. As an example, a member of staff takes a baby into a comfortable, enclosed space to play. Staff maintain good eye contact as they encourage babies to babble and repeat sounds. Consequently, babies are attentive and focus well and as they develop early communication skills.

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

Staff are very skilful in their strategies to manage children's behaviour. They sing songs to prompt children, such as 'time to line up', 'time to roll our sleeves up', 'please and thank you'. Children readily respond and understand that it is time to go inside, wash and prepare for lunch. Staff continuously extend and challenge children's learning. For example, they ask children why and how they do things. During lunch there are lively conversations between staff and children as one comment leads to another. They talk about different foods, animals, preferences and events. For instance, children confidently say that they 'like chicken and barbeques'. In the Lambs room staff carefully position babies to develop their social skills. They place babies in highchairs facing one another and close together. A member of staff sits by them to support feeding and to interact with the babies. Other babies sit at a low-level table with staff and learn to feed themselves.

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

Staff encourage babies to look at the birds on the feeder immediately outside the window. Consequently, babies are content and enjoy sociable mealtimes. At the age of three years children attend Forest School, which is extremely popular. They eagerly get ready as they gather sun hats, waterproof suits and wellington boots. They listen carefully to staff instructions and confidently recall the rules, which are in place to keep them safe. For example, children know to meet at a special tree when staff call them. They learn that some plants may be harmful, such as nettles, brambles and holly. Children know that they must only use a stick 'as long as their arm', which links to mathematical understanding. Children explore the forest with tremendous enthusiasm, looking for bugs and playing imaginative games. Staff inspire the children to investigate and learn. Children chatter about their discoveries and ideas, for example, they pierce a leaf with a stick to make 'a

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

roof for the bug house'. Staff effectively plan Forest School activities to incorporate the early years curriculum. Therefore, children continue to learn and make excellent progress in all areas of their learning and development.

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provision

Staff fully implement their policies and procedures to promote and protect children's health and well-being. They are highly conscientious in their attention to children's safety and welfare. For example, they are rigorous in their checks on sleeping babies. Staff complete comprehensive risk assessments and have effective safety measures in place to prevent accidents. They have designated roles and responsibilities and work very well together. Procedures to safeguard and protect children's welfare are robust. Staff attend relevant child protection training to maintain a good knowledge of the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures. Managers rigorously assess staff suitability through robust vetting and recruitment procedures. They also have highly effective induction, appraisal and supervision systems. Therefore, suitable people care for the children.

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provision

Communication and partnerships with parents and relevant others are excellent. This helps staff expertly meet children's individual care, learning and development needs. Staff use diaries to record detailed information on children's activities, routines and achievements each day. They include ideas for shared learning at home to involve parents fully. Staff also provide photographs of key persons so that parents know exactly who is caring for their children. Parents provide extremely positive feedback at inspection on all aspects of the provision. They commend the care the staff give to the children and confirm that their children make exceptional progress from their starting points. Although this is a post registration inspection, ownership of the company remains the same. Re- registration was due to the appointment of a director within the same family. There have been no changes to the manager or staff since the last inspection, which families highly

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provision

value for continuity of care. Self-evaluation procedures are very thorough and include staff, parent and child contributions. There are regular management and staff meetings to evaluate effectiveness. A comprehensive staff training programme is in place, which shows a strong emphasis on continuous professional development. Staff meticulously analyse the benefit of activities to assess impact on children's learning. For example, they return from a countryside walk and note what children saw, heard and said. They take clear account of children's views and include their interests in planning. Staff are highly reflective and strive for improvements to benefit children. As an example, 'windows' have been created in the outdoor fencing, so children can see farmland beyond the play space. Staff have extended the opportunities for children to attend Forest School sessions. For the younger children they create 'Forest School trays', to 'bring the outdoors inside'. Therefore, staff

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provision

provide an inclusive, highly stimulating environment for all children.

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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 EY456627 Local authority Devon Inspection number 899327 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 131 Name of provider Thorne Manor Day Nursery (Holsworthy) Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01409255444

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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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