Childcare on Domestic Premises, Full day care in Hampshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/06/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 Assessment systems are not effective in identifying children's next steps in learning. Staff fail to track children's progress effectively or plan activities and experiences to meet children's individual needs or learning styles. As a result children do not make sufficient progress in their learning.  Some staff do not have a clear understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework or child development to ensure children receive quality learning experiences.  The owner does not deploy the qualified and experienced staff members effectively to support the children's learning and development.  There is no named deputy to take charge in the absence of the manager, as required.  Parents do not have regular opportunities to contribute to their children's learning.  Information is not shared with other providers to ensure children who attend other early years setting receive continuity of care, play and learning.

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It has the following strengths

 The staff team implement the safeguarding and child protection procedures well to promote the children's welfare.  Children's well-being is adequately supported because staff work closely with parents to follow the children's home care routines.  All children develop an interest in books and stories from an early age, developing their literacy, communication and language skills.

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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 observed activities in the pre-school room, the quiet room, the baby room and outside.  The inspector had discussions with parents, the staff and the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector analysed samples of the children's learning journeys, planning documentation, and a selection of the group policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

Tree Tops Day Care was registered in 2011. It operates from a house in Langstone, near Havant. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 7pm for 51 weeks of the year. Apart from the owners' living accommodation the whole of the home is registered for childcare. All children have access to a secure outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register. There are currently 18 children in the early years age group on roll. The nursery provides free early education for children aged three and four years. The nursery has systems in place to support children with special education needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs six staff to work directly with the children including the owner. Of these, three staff and the owner hold appropriate early years qualifications.

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must:

 improve the assessment system so all staff identify children's next steps in learning effectively; use this system to accurately track children's progress and plan opportunities, activities and experiences to meet children's stage of development, individual learning needs and styles

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must:

 improve the training and development needs of some staff members to ensure they understand the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and child development to ensure they offer quality learning experiences for all children

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must:

 ensure all qualified staff are deployed effectively throughout the week to fully support the children's learning and development and ensure all children gain the most from the activities and learning experiences

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must:

 ensure there is a named deputy, who is capable and qualified to take charge in the manager's absence.

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

 provide regular opportunities for parents to contribute to their children's learning both at home and in the nursery to fully involve them in their children's learning

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

 develop further the systems to share information with other early years providers, to ensure those children who attend other early years settings experience continuity of care, play and learning.

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who attend

Some staff have a limited understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, the learning and development requirements and little knowledge of child development. Staff spend time observing and recording what the children can do. However, staff do not routinely identity children's next steps in learning, or use the information to track their progress or plan purposeful activities. As a result, some activities are inappropriate for the age and stage of the children taking part. The deployment of qualified and experienced staff varies from day to day, which affects the quality of the activities and experiences the children receive. Consequently, some activities do not meet the children's individual learning needs or styles and there are no planned learning intentions. Therefore, children are not making sufficient progress in relation to their starting points on entry. Although there are significant weaknesses in assessment arrangements and planning the

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who attend

skilled staff do instinctively offer children some positive play experiences. Children's spoken language is developing well as staff introduce new vocabulary and give the children time to repeat and practise the new words. All children have opportunities to develop their physical skills in a range of ways. For example, they enjoy going for walks around the local area and they ride wheeled toys with ease. The playrooms have equipment in place to encourage the children to crawl and begin to walk as they learn to move with control. All children have access to a range of books and enjoy listening to stories. Staff use character voices and involve the children in the stories, bringing them to life. This develops the children's interest in books and supports their understanding that text has meaning from an early age. Children use mathematical language as they say random numbers during activities. They build towers and carefully place the bricks on top

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who attend

of each other demonstrating their developing coordination skills. Babies and young children enjoy using musical instruments and listen to the different sounds. They wave the shakers in the air and giggle as they make different sounds, developing their listening skills. Children are beginning to learn about the world around them as they watch tadpoles grow and visit the local pet shop to buy food for them. This enables children to learn about life cycles and become familiar with the local area. Children confidently match actions to rhymes and babies move their whole bodies to the music. Children have some opportunities to express themselves creatively and enjoy painting and playing instruments. However, some adult led art activities do not provide opportunities for young children to experiment and explore the materials or express themselves creatively. Often the expectations for the young children, aged under three years during these activities are not

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who attend

appropriate. For example, they are expected to wait turns to share glue sticks and then place torn tissue paper onto a pre-draw outline, as instructed by the staff. There is no scope for them to explore the materials and mediums until a more skilled member of staff intervenes. On the whole children enjoy most of the activities offered, but because they are not planned to build on what children already know and can do, some children are not suitably challenged to make further progress.

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who attend

Staff have sound links with local schools to help ensure children's move to school is smooth. Children are able to visit the local school to familiarise themselves with the reception staff and the school buildings. As a result, children are gaining most of the skills, dispositions and attitudes they need to be ready for school or their next stage of learning. Some children attend other early years settings, and the owner shares some information with the settings' staff about the children's welfare using the children's daily diaries. However, staff share limited information about the children's learning and development to ensure the children's continuity of care, play and learning.

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

All children are happy and settled during their time at the nursery. Children form positive relationships with the adults and other children. Babies and young children smile when they see familiar adults and often hold their arms up for cuddles. This demonstrates that children feel safe and secure. Children snuggle up to staff as they listen to stories and staff are aware of the children's individual care routines. Staff spend time gathering a range of information about the children's welfare needs, such as sleep routines and dietary requirements. The staff organise the daily routines to incorporate the children's individual care routines successfully. For example, children rest when they are tired and do not have set sleep times. Staff work closely with parents to provide individual care routines that reflect the children's home routines. For example, staff follow the parents' lead closely when the children are toilet training, to prevent the children from receiving

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

mixed messages. All children have access to a range of resources and materials stored at a low-level so they are within children's easy reach. This promotes the children's independence and decision-making skills well. Babies and young children confidently explore the resources as they investigate their surroundings. Staff ensure that all the resources and equipment are clean and well maintained.

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

All children behave well and develop a sound understanding of right and wrong from an early age. This is because staff implement the clear rules and boundaries consistently. Consequently, children know what staff expect from them and they respond well to their expectations. Children are actively encouraged to use good manners and staff praise them when they remember to say thank you. All children are beginning to learn the importance of keeping themselves safe. They use a range of tools and resources safely. All children and staff practise regular fire drills to ensure everyone knows how to evacuate the building quickly and safely in an emergency. Children are beginning to learn about healthy eating from an early age through discussion and daily routines. Children enjoy a range of fresh fruit and vegetables during snacks and meals that are cooked and prepared on site. The owner shares sample menus with parents to keep them informed and staff record

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

information about the children's daily diet in their home link diaries. The kitchen where food is prepared is clean and tidy. The food is stored in a refrigerator and the owner monitors the temperatures regularly.

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

The nursery partnerships with parents are sound. Parents are able to visit the nursery at any time and have access to their children's records on request. Parents may talk to the key people or the owner at any time and are encouraged to share what they know about their children. However, parents have few opportunities to contribute to their children's learning, in the nursery and are not given information that can help them to support their children's ongoing learning at home. The nursery has links with other agencies and professionals to enable staff to seek additional support for children, as required.

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provision

The nursery provision fails to fully promote the children's learning and development. Weaknesses in some staff's understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and how to support children's learning means that children are not making enough progress in their learning. Poor deployment of qualified staff leads to activities that are not planned to meet the children's individual learning needs. Current assessment and planning arrangements do not work to monitor children's progress and aid their further learning and development The inspection was brought forward following concerns about the general suitability of the owner, staff: children ratios, the supervision of the children, staff deployment and the provision of food and drink. The inspection found that the owner has a clear understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and most of the legal requirements; ratios in the nursery are maintained; children are supervised adequately

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provision

and receive a selection of healthy and nutritious meals. However, there is no named deputy to take charge in the absence of the manager, as required. Also the deployment of qualified staff varies from day to day, which means the quality of the children's learning experiences and activities is sporadic. The staff have a clear understanding of safeguarding procedures and know how to implement them. Staff inform the parents about safeguarding procedures through discussion and access to the written policies. Children play in a secure learning environment and staff complete full written risk assessments and carry out daily checks to ensure the playrooms are safe. All visitors are required to show identification and sign in the visitor's book. Robust recruitment and vetting procedures help to ensure all adults in the nursery are suitable to work with children. All new staff are appointed on probation and are required to complete a full

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provision

induction programme. The induction covers all the required aspects, including safeguarding, health and safety, emergency evacuation and individual roles and responsibilities.

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provision

The owner and staff team are beginning to identify the nursery's strengths and areas for development through evaluation and demonstrate a commitment to making improvements. For example, the owner is aware of the need to strengthen the systems for assessing and monitoring the children's progress. The nursery has undergone some major staff changes in recent months and this has led to some of the identified weaknesses. The owner has not given enough attention to the lack of skills that less experienced staff demonstrate. There is a working action plan in place to drive improvement; the owner has employed more qualified and experienced staff members to support her during this time, but is not clear how she intends to support the weaker staff to gain greater competency in their roles. The owner is introducing new systems, such as tracking sheets to monitor the children's progress across all areas of learning. However, the assessment systems are not

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provision

fully embedded to show the impact on the outcomes for children at this 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 EY427979 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 918321 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childcare - Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 18

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Name of provider

Date of previous inspection not applicable

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Telephone number

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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