Meadowfield Nursery School

Meadowfield Nursery School 4 Meadowfield, Amotherby, MALTON, North Yorkshire, YO17 6TS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 01/07/2013 20/11/2008

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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

 Staff regularly observe and assess children to support their individual interests and learning very well. This results in children making good, continuous progress relevant to their starting points.  Children are very secure in their attachments with their key person and staff because they are sensitive and knowledgeable about children's individual needs. Consequently, children are very confident and motivated in their play and learning.  The interesting variety of accessible resources and equipment offer a rich environment that is very welcoming both indoors and outdoors for the children. This results in successfully engaging their ongoing interests and decision making to promote their independence.  The partnerships formed with other early years providers and partner agencies are good. As a result, children's transitions and individual needs are managed effectively through an inclusive shared approach to their ongoing learning and development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The opportunity to strengthen the positive partnerships with parents, to encourage them to share and contribute more about what their children enjoy and do at home is not fully extended to further enhance children's ongoing learning experiences.

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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 observed activities with the children and staff in the nursery both inside and outside during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's observation and assessment records and planning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at all relevant records, policies, procedures and the nursery's monitoring and self-evaluation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and from written information.

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Information about the setting

Meadowfield Nursery School was registered in 2004 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. An out-of-school club is also provided. The nursery school and out-of-school club is privately owned and managed. It is situated in a converted detached bungalow adjacent to the Amotherby County Primary School in the village of Amotherby near Malton, North Yorkshire. The nursery and out-of- school club serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There are enclosed areas available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open Monday to Friday all year round, except for the Christmas period, bank holidays and one week in August. Sessions are from 7.30am to 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 112 children attending of whom 42 are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs nine members of staff. Of these, eight hold appropriate qualifications from level 2 to 6. One staff member holds Early Years Professional Status and Qualified Teacher Status. The nursery is a member of the North Yorkshire Leadership Forum and the North Yorkshire Early Years Professional Status group and they attend the local cluster group meetings

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

 encourage parents to share more about what their children enjoy and do at home, to further enhance their children's ongoing learning experiences.

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who attend

The key person form is shared with the parents to complete as each child starts nursery. This provides staff with information on children's routines, needs, current interests and starting points on which to develop. Staff complete regular observations and assessments of the children to track their play and learning experiences. This enables them to clearly identify children's next steps and inform the planning to ensure the activities and resources support all the children to make good progress. This information is recorded in children's individual learning files and includes photographs of them at their various activities. These provide a clear and informative picture of each child's learning journey in the nursery. Parents can share in their children's learning through regular contact both daily and at meetings with their children's key person. However, opportunities to encourage and support parents to share more about what their children enjoy and do at

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who attend

home is not fully extended to further enhance their children's ongoing learning experiences.

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who attend

Staff and the children are monitoring the life cycle of caterpillars by observing them through a special container. Children have their own picture chart to follow the changes taking place which they cut out and put into their own butterfly booklet. A child described the current stage as being a 'cocoon'. Children have areas outside to grow a range of vegetables and fruit which they harvest and eat; there are places to look for insects and the occasional frog. These hands-on experiences foster children's interests to see nature close up and raise their awareness of the environment very well. The children readily get themselves ready to go outside; they put on the all-weather suits, their shoes and wellingtons if needed. The space and provision outside fully engage the children to explore and investigate. The mud kitchen is next to the herb garden that enables the children to make different 'cakes and dinners' with the sieved soil and to add the herbs they pick

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who attend

which enhance their sensory experiences. The story shed is well-used by the children as it is open at the front so they can come and go as they please. They enjoy sitting reading books or taking part in role play, such as making a garden centre. Children use the tap outside to fill their different containers with water to pour down the plastic channels and watch it collect in the tray at the bottom. They enjoy the freedom of being outside to use different crates to make their own assault course or make dens under the trees. The wide selection of pedal equipment, sit-on rides and games challenge the children as they go up and down the small hill in the garden. These opportunities fully extend children's imagination, physical skills and enjoyment.

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who attend

Staff provide a good range of activities that support children's early mathematical skills effectively. The use of different games enables children to match and sequence different shapes and patterns. Children make their own tape measures using numbers and dots to assist them in their counting. The displays of numbers, use of counters and different number lines and props of a favourite story, such as the 'Three Little Pigs' fully support children's understanding of mathematics through their everyday play. The children handle different tools to enable them to develop their early literacy skills, such as pens, paper, clip boards and chalks both inside and outside. The children have their own book that they independently use to make a picture or start to form letters in their name. Reading books are all around the nursery so the children easily access these to read with staff or sit with another child to share the story as they look at the pictures. Staff skilfully engage the

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who attend

children in conversations to extend their thoughts and vocabulary very effectively. This results in children being confident to express their needs and be actively engaged in their learning. The very strong level of support and learning experiences provided for all the children ensures they are ready to move on to school.

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

Children are very secure in their attachments with their key person and staff because they are sensitive to the children's individual needs. As a result, children are very confident, engaged and motivated in all areas of their play and learning. The well-presented range of accessible resources and equipment in all areas of the nursery offer a stimulating and fun environment that is very welcoming for the children. This result in successfully engaging children's ongoing interests and decision making to promote their independence in what they do very well. Staff provide a positive and inclusive environment where all children can develop and make progress. The nursery provides dual language information and books to share with children and parents in support of other languages spoken at home.

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

The transition arrangements for children from home to nursery are well-supported and sensitively reflect the needs of the children and parents at this time. As a result, children settle well and form secure attachments to their key person and staff. The nursery has good partnerships with the schools and visits are arranged and information shared to effectively support children's move to school. This ensures continuity in their ongoing learning and development. Staff support the children in their behaviour through providing positive role models in how they conduct themselves and by their caring and calm approach. They enable children to share their feelings and staff tune into this very well. The children are aware of the basic rules in nursery about being kind to each other, to share and take turns, which they manage very well. Children's behaviour is very good because they are secure and confident in their surroundings and in their relationships with

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

The meals and snacks are provided by the nursery for the children. These are prepared and cooked on site and menus displayed. These offer a healthy selection and children enjoy helping themselves to seconds. They assist staff especially at snack time to prepare and cut up the fruit and to set the table at lunch time. Children manage their personal care confidently and staff know when it is appropriate to give assistance. Information is shared and displayed regarding the care of children when ill and in managing cross infection at the nursery. Staff discuss dangers with the children, such as stacking the crates no higher than three when making their assault course. Tree climbing enables children to assess and manage the risks as they explore with staff guidance. The nursery invites guests to the nursery to talk to the children about them keeping safe. For example, the lollipop person and the police, so the children learn about the roles of people who can

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provision

The monitoring of children's progress and the teaching and learning are managed effectively on a regular basis by staff and management. The characteristics of effective learning underpins their approach as a staff team. This ensures children are making consistent progress relevant to their individual needs and abilities through focused interventions. Staff, parents, children and other partners all contribute to the nursery's self-evaluation. This results in a detailed development plan of the areas to improve and take forward as a nursery. Staff follow guidance from other professionals, as required, to ensure children receive relevant support to promote their ongoing learning and development.

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provision

Staff understand safeguarding issues through regular training and are aware of the procedures to follow if they have any concerns about a child's well-being. The recruitment and selection procedures are secure. Practitioners attend weekly staff meetings and receive regular supervision and appraisals that effectively support their ongoing development. The detailed risk assessments, policies and procedures are reviewed regularly, to ensure these reflect current guidelines and practices. All documentation is maintained to support the safe management of the nursery.

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provision

The partnerships formed with parents are very good. The daily contact with parents is highly valued as a time to talk about their child's day. This is also recorded in the home books that provide parents with an overview of the day and enables them to share any messages or changes to their children's ongoing needs. Parents know their children's key person and comment on the welcoming environment provided by all the staff. They are very complimentary about the staff's knowledge of their children as individuals. Meetings with parents are provided to discuss their children's progress and questionnaires provide another form of feedback for the staff and management. Parents see the positive changes in their children, particularly in their confidence, growing independence, and speech and language. They are secure in the knowledge that their children are happy and safe.

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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 EY289521 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 861338

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 26 Number of children on roll 112 Name of provider Sarah Harper and Neil Harper Partnership Date of previous inspection 20/11/2008 Telephone number 01653 694491

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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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