Little Alphabet

Little Alphabet 319 London Road, PORTSMOUTH, PO2 9HQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/07/2013 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

 There is strong leadership in the provision to support staff and continually evaluate and drive improvements for children.  Staff follow well organised nursery routines to help maintain a safe environment and effectively promote and safeguard the children.  Staff sensitively help children to form secure attachments and this enables children to develop and increase their confidence and independence.  Staff engage well with parents and wider family members and this strengthens relationships and supports children's sense of belonging.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Systems to monitor the impact of all activities on children's learning are still in development.

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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 arrived and showed identification documents.  The inspector viewed the premises and observed staff and children's activities.  The inspector jointly observed and discussed activities with the provider.  The inspector viewed a range of documentation.  The inspector provided feedback and gave the inspection judgements.

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Information about the setting

Little Alphabet nursery registered in 2012. It is the second nursery registered by the provider and operates from a building close to the main nursery in the North End area of Portsmouth in Hampshire. Children attending this nursery are all under two years. The premises are for the sole use of the nursery and there is a fully secure outdoor play area. Children have a large playroom with a separate area for non-mobile babies. There is a quieter playroom, a messy play room and a sleep room. The provision is registered on the Early Years Register and there are currently 35 children on roll. There are seven staff, of whom six have appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery is open from Monday to Friday 7.30am until 6pm for 51 weeks of the year, closing for one week over the Christmas period.

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

 enhance systems to monitor and evaluate activities provided to children in order to develop and enhance children's progress further.

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who attend

The provider and staff have a clear understanding of the learning needs of very young children. They have effectively organised the nursery to enable babies and toddlers to crawl, shuffle and learn to walk freely in a wide area. This provides many opportunities for them to investigate, handle items and learn to move their bodies. Staff fully understand that these early skills are fundamental to all children's learning and development. Children become curious and they are encouraged to be adventurous. Staff are happy, smiling and positive and this encourages children to respond and communicate through sounds and gestures. Staff use all daily routines as well as activities to encourage children's understanding and learning, for example, explaining what they are doing, and why, when they change nappies. Children can see their reflection in mirrors above them while being changed and this keeps them engaged. Staff sing to children frequently and

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who attend

spontaneously and this calms and reassures them. Children learn to follow actions to songs and rhymes and this increases their early understanding of the meaning of words. They learn to communicate through actions and gestures.

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who attend

Children have many opportunities to begin to understand counting. For example, staff count one, two when children are learning to manage the low steps. Staff include counting in low numbers when children handle items and when they have fruit at snack time. This frequent repetition fosters children's interest and helps their developing language and number skills.

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who attend

Staff encourage children to use chalks on the blackboard and praise them for making marks. Children hold the chalks well and capably create patterns. Staff name colours and match these together to show the children. Children take part in painting and printing activities regularly to extend their physical skills, develop their language and their understanding of the world around them. Children show strong interest in books and staff use these opportunities to encourage younger children to 'read' from pictures. They sit together explaining what they can see and children show close interest and take part by pointing to the pictures. Children learn to turn the pages appropriately and this level of interest clearly develops children's future reading skills.

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who attend

Overall, there are well organised and effective systems in place to record and assess children's individual progress in learning. Staff gather information about children's very early learning skills to use for the progress check for two year old children. This information is recorded for sharing with staff in the next stage of the nursery provision. Staff gain comprehensive details from parents for children's starting points and they use these to plan for children's individual learning. Staff recognise children's capabilities and plan in advance to ensure that young children have opportunities to make progress across all aspects of learning. The provider is aware of monitoring children's overall progress in the nursery and there are high levels of expectation for each child attending. However, systems to monitor the success of individual activities and their impact on children's learning, are still in development. As a result, while children all progress well, the staff do

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who attend

not take all opportunities to improve children's individual progress as quickly as possible.

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who attend

The providers and staff include very positive systems to engage with parents and this encourages parents to share information about children's development at home. Parents are invited to take part in activities and this enables them to understand how staff encourage children's learning through play. The children's records of learning reflect all shared information and follow children on to their next stage of learning in the nursery provision.

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

Children show increasing levels of confidence; they form secure attachments and eagerly respond to key person staff throughout the day. Staff encourage younger children's emotional development through offering continual reassurance and by being happy, smiling and positive. Staff show high levels of skill and sensitivity to meet individual children's needs and this supports children's sense of belonging and helps them to feel secure. The daily opportunity for children to freely move and explore their surroundings encourages children to make progress in becoming independent. Children crawl and toddle to find items of interest; they hold and handle toys and resources that are easily accessible. This increases their decision making and develops their physical strength and ability. Staff recognise younger children's level of interest and often provide items for children to feel and discover. For example, brushes with hard and soft bristles for

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

children's sensory development. Younger children are keen to watch the movement of glittery water in plastic bottles as they turn these in different directions. Most activities in the nursery help younger children to develop physically and because of their age range there are high levels of staff supervision. However staff recognise and encourage independent movement, for example when children learn to competently manage the two steps between playrooms. These small steps of supervised independence increase children's understanding of risks.

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

Staff effectively promote children's good health through constantly encouraging active play both indoors and outside. They often talk about the weather and this helps children to understand when the sun is too hot and they need protection. Staff provide healthy snacks for children and follow well organised routines. They always explain as they clean babies and toddler's hands before children feed themselves. Through these daily routines very young children are learning the importance of good hygiene to maintain their health. Younger children show they are eager to eat the fruit and vegetables and they have plenty of drinks available throughout the day. Staff are good roles models and they are well deployed at all times. They maintain clear boundaries at meal times to encourage very young children to learn the routines. This promotes positive behaviour and increases opportunities for children to learn social skills. There is a stimulating well-resourced

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

environment that encourages children's learning across a wide range of experiences.

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

Younger children have regular opportunities to meet and develop relationships with children and staff from the sister nursery. The nurseries are in close proximity and children and staff visit at times. This develops children's wider understanding and prepares them moving on in their learning.

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provision

There is strong leadership in the provision and successful systems of organisation are in place to motivate staff. This takes place through a good balance of shared responsibilities and this encourages staff to learn and support children's progress. Consequently the providers and staff have a very clear understanding of their responsibilities to protect children and meet the learning and development requirements. The provider is establishing systems to enable her to monitor children's overall progress and close any gaps in children's levels of achievement.

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provision

The nursery has clear and well explained procedures in place to meet all regulatory requirements. Staff know and become familiar with these as they progress through the fully documented induction process. The providers have established comprehensive clearance systems for all staff, supported by detailed documentation. Newly introduced supervision and appraisal systems show that providers maintain children's safety by updating all staff details regularly. Staff have high levels of understanding about protecting children and they all complete training to ensure they know how to follow any procedures and refer concerns.

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provision

Most staff in the nursery are qualified and other staff are currently training through an apprenticeship scheme. Staff work together well and the opportunity to effectively learn from each other shows how staff are keen to drive improvements. For example, staff have included and shared information when they have successfully tracked children's play. This has resulted in re-organising the areas to encourage children's use of resources and space at times. Many smaller ideas from staff, parents and the providers have led to evaluating wider nursery provision. This has resulted in improvements to daily routines or benefitting the children's individual needs. These changes clearly show how the nursery adapts and how the providers are determined to develop progressively in driving improvements.

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provision

There is a clear willingness to work with other providers who share children's care and the nursery staff include this system with their sister nursery in the locality. This shared information increases staff understanding of children's progress and enables them to promote children's learning.

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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 EY451629 Local authority Portsmouth Inspection number 899162 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 21 Number of children on roll 35 Name of provider Anderson & Brett Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 02392 177020

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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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