Oak House Nursery

Oak House Nursery 127 Station Road, Mickleover, Derby, Derbyshire, DE3 9FN

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/04/2013 10/03/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 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 build strong attachments and relationships with the staff because of the good settling-in process at the nursery. As a result, they settle quickly into the nursery's routine and become keen learners.  Children make good progress in their learning and development because they are excited and motivated by the wide range of fun and stimulating activities available for them.  The management team monitors the nursery effectively and supports the staff team's professional development, which in turn benefits all children.  Staff have effective partnerships with parents and others, which makes a significant contribution to children's individual care, learning and development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children do not always have free movement between the indoor and outdoor areas. As a result, they cannot fully choose for themselves where they play to support their individual preferences.  Less experienced staff show inconsistencies in the implementation of the nursery's positive behaviour management procedures. As a result, occasionally children's self- esteem is not promoted as effectively.

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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 held discussions with the manager and deputy manager, and spoke to the staff, children and parents.  The inspector observed free play, focused activities, outside play and meal times.  The inspector held a joint observation with the deputy manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, learning journey records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with the children, the documentation and the nursery's policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

Oak House Nursery opened in 2005 and is on the Early Years Register. It operates from a two-storey converted detached property in Mickleover, Derby. Children are cared for in rooms according to their age and stage of development. All children share access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery serves the local and surrounding area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 5.30pm, excluding Bank Holidays and a week at Christmas. There are currently 82 children on roll, all of whom are within the early years age range. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four- year-olds. It supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 19 members of staff and a cook, who work directly with the children. Of these, 12 hold an early years qualification at level 3, one holds an early years degree, and the manager of the setting is a qualified teacher with Early Years Professional Status.

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

 provide as much opportunity as possible for children to move freely between the indoor and outdoor environment, so that they can make choices as to where they play and help develop their individual preferences

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

 review the implementation of the nursery's positive behaviour management procedure to ensure all staff effectively promote children's self-esteem at all times.

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who attend

Children are making good progress in their learning and development with the support of staff and through an exploration of a broad range of activities, resources and experiences. Information is gathered about children's starting points from their parents at settling-in times and through the completion of the 'all about me' booklets. This helps staff find out about their interests and enables them to begin to plan to meet their individual needs effectively. Each child has a 'learning journal' record, which their key person uses to identify the next steps in their learning and plan for how these will be achieved. Parents are invited to view these whenever they wish and make comments on how their children are progressing. There is an ongoing exchange of information between the key persons and parents, which enables them to exchange any achievements the children make successfully. This means the children's needs are continually met. Staff track children's

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who attend

achievements efficiently and use this information to identify any gaps in children's learning and to successfully complete the progress check at age two summary, which is also shared with parents. Staff adapt their interactions to support children who speak English as an additional language. Visual timetables, dual-language books and displays of pictures and words in children's home languages further contribute to their inclusion and ongoing progress.

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who attend

Staff interact positively with children and are fully committed to their learning; they talk and play with children skilfully and efficiently. Staff in the baby rooms acknowledge the sounds and gestures of younger children very well. They introduce vocabulary and ask questions that encourage the babies' language skills. Babies display confidence in their surroundings and as they make choices from the play materials that arouse their interest or curiosity. They learn to pull themselves up and are inspired to crawl in order to explore resources, such as a piece of low-level climbing equipment in their room. They have sensory experiences which help them to learn about the world around them. For instance, they thoroughly enjoy feeling and exploring the textures of the treasure baskets. They smile and giggle as they investigate the handbags, bangles and shoes in the role play area. Toddlers are actively involved in their play, confidently exploring resources. They

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who attend

shake and bang musical instruments and are able to express their feelings as they freely paint and make hand prints, which helps the children to develop their moving and handling skills. These skills are further developed when they enjoy being outside. They play with the balls, throwing and kicking them to each other, which helps them to develop confidence and cooperation with their friends. They scream with delight as they climb up the steps on the slide and slide down successfully. The staff fully understand and support effectively the prime areas of learning and how young children learn best through play and investigation.

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who attend

Children enjoy opportunities to develop their learning by taking a risk, engaging in new experiences and learning by trial and error. One example that clearly demonstrates this is when the younger children experiment with, water, bubbles and tubes. One child begins to fill a long, thin tube with water. A member of staff joins him and before long, there is a small group. Staff ask the children if they could get the water through the one end of the tube to the other. They keep on trying, moving the tubes around, and eventually complete the task. Throughout the activity, the children maintain focus for a period of time and are persistent. Consequently, they are effective learners. Staff provide constant encouragement and praise, which helps children to complete the task and builds their confidence in their own abilities.

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who attend

Pre-school children create 'pirate ships' and hunt for 'treasure', and they make delightful noises as they find gold and jewels. They are constantly talking about the treasure and staff use these opportunities to enhance the children's learning. For example, they suggest they might want to bury the treasure or sail the ships. This activity evolves and a small adult-led group of children show great excitement as they paint recognisable pictures of pirate ships, with sails and masts. They accurately write their names on their pictures. Children's literacy skills are developing well and above the development bands. For example, two children snuggle with in the cosy book area and look at a book about space, carefully turning the pages and discussing the pictures. They talk to each other about the rockets and their experiences of making their own. They are critically thinking, using their imagination and being effective independent learners.

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who attend

Older early years children confidently use numbers in conversation. For instance, they chat about how old they are now and how old they will be on their next birthday. Activities using scales to weigh items encourage them to identify written numerals and compare size. Children learn about the natural world as they explore and investigate in the large garden. This includes digging in the soil for worms, planting vegetables and watching the birds. They also develop their physical skills effectively because of the high quality of resources available, such as the small 'adventure' equipment. This enables children to crawl through tunnels, balance on moving planks, and climb up climbing walls. They use sit-and-ride toys and the small equipment effectively and enjoy purposeful games, such as hide and seek. However, staff do not always see the benefit of allowing older children to freely access the large, well-resourced garden. Consequently, children cannot always

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who attend

decide for themselves how much time they wish to spend outside throughout the day to support their chosen play experiences.

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who attend

All children have the opportunity to explore and learn about technology using appropriate resources. Younger children explore simple cause-and-effect toys, while the pre-school children use interactive computers with skill. They use many games to support their learning, such as sound and matching games which help them learn about shapes, numbers and letters. Children have opportunities to explore their local community as staff take them off site to go to the library and on walks around the community. The activities motivate and interest the children, provide opportunities for them to be positively ready for their next stage of learning, and help them to enjoy their learning and time at the nursery.

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

The effective key person system contributes towards children's feelings of security and well-being. Children are extremely well settled and secure, and they enjoy trusting relationships with staff. This results in the warm, happy atmosphere that is clearly evident at the nursery, and means that children's emotional well-being is well fostered. Babies enjoy a relaxing cuddle as they wake, allowing them time to ease back into play and exploration. Children seek out staff for support and reassurance or just to share in their play. Children benefit from individually planned settling-in arrangements when they first start at the nursery, and their transitions between rooms are sensitively managed. Effective processes are also in place to help the older early years children prepare for their transition to school.

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

Children are accommodated in a clean, comfortable environment that is secure and well maintained. Staff put a lot of effort into the presentation of their rooms, resulting in interesting, attractive and child-friendly surroundings. For instance, there are covered cosy areas in the all rooms, which are beautifully presented, and areas for children to investigate and use their curiosity. They explore a wide range of quality resources in their rooms which cater for all areas of learning. Play materials are arranged to be easily accessible; this encourages children to help themselves and follow their own interests. Children gain a good sense of belonging as they see many examples of their artwork and photographs displayed.

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

Children are confident, friendly, well mannered and motivated. They form friendships and play cooperatively with their peers, for example, completing puzzles and games and engaging in imaginative role play, such as going 'shopping' together. They are generous in celebrating other children's success and show pride in their own achievements. This gives them valuable experience to learn how to interact socially. Older early years children are encouraged to be as independent as possible. For instance, they put their own coats and shoes on when going outside and use the bathroom appropriately. At meal times, children pour their own drinks and serve their food. This means children are practising their independence skills at this time.

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

Children learn how to keep themselves and others safe with the support of staff. They talk to them about safe actions and behaviours, such as not throwing sand or toys. Older early years children follow 'rules' which they have helped to decide. These include being nice to each other, sharing and taking care of their friends. Children's behaviour is good and they learn how to behave and know what is expected of them. Staff have a behaviour policy in place to follow, which emphasises positive behaviour management. However, on occasions, inexperienced staff do not fully engage in promoting positive behaviour management. As a result, they are not always building children's self-esteem.

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

Children are learning about good hygiene routines and receive good support to understand the importance of adopting healthy lifestyles. They benefit from regular opportunities to play in the fresh air and enjoy nutritious, tasty meals, such as chicken curry and rice, followed by pineapple and ice cream. Staff provide activities, such as growing vegetables to encourage children to eat healthily, and visits from the dentist to help them care for their teeth. Staff are informed of any health or dietary issues children may have and there are thorough records of accidents and any medication administered to support their safety and well-being.

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provision

Leaders and managers monitor the delivery of the educational programme thoroughly. As a result, children are developing well in all seven areas of learning and progressing well towards the early learning goals of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children who speak English as an additional language are given targeted support to reach their potential. This is done as inclusively as possible, and staff communicate well with parents and other involved professionals to provide consistency and cohesion. Staff have a secure understanding of their roles and responsibilities with regard to the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. All staff are thoroughly aware of the procedures for dealing with child protection concerns. They ensure access to the premises is secure and that visitors sign in when entering the nursery. Areas used by the children are well organised

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provision

and enable children to move around the rooms freely and safely. A comprehensive range of policies and procedures are in place, and documentation and records are complete to help ensure children's health and safety needs are efficiently well met. All staff take responsibility and use risk assessments to help ensure children's health and safety in each room, as well as outside and on outings.

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provision

The nursery demonstrates a good capacity to drive improvement. The management team and staff are dedicated and enthusiastic. Ongoing self-evaluation and critical reflection, which take account of the views of staff, parents and children, form part of this process. This leads to a clear awareness of the strengths of the nursery and the identification of areas for improvement. Detailed action plans are devised to address these issues. Recommendations made at the last inspection have been addressed successfully. Staff complete a range of training courses and they are encouraged to continue to increase their knowledge through ongoing training. These not only help to assure personal professional development, but also enhance the nursery provision and lead to maintaining quality care for all children. For example, staff attended a course which led to children using recycled materials in their play. Performance management systems are generally

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provision

effective to support consistency of practice, although occasionally, less-experienced staff to do always use positive strategies to support children's understanding of expected behaviour.

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provision

Management and staff have strong relationships with parents. On their child's entry to the provision, they are provided with the opportunity to see all the comprehensive policies and procedures that cover all relevant legislation. Parents receive quality newsletters and can review detailed notice boards to gain further information about the nursery. They comment on how happy they are with the nursery and enjoy events, such as the 'graduation' for the children and yearly social events. To aid all children, good links have been established with outside agencies, such as the local authority. This also ensures that children's specific needs are assessed and that appropriate support is given over time.

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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 EY304261 Local authority Derby, City of Inspection number 909172

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 4 Total number of places 45 Number of children on roll 82 Name of provider Oak House Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 10/03/2010 Telephone number 01332 512484

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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