The Peartree Kindergarten

Maidenhall Neighbourhood Nursery Conway Close, Maidenhall, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP2 8PR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 01/05/2013 19/03/2010

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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

 The highly motivated staff team regularly reflect on their practice and are keen to increase their skills and knowledge further as they strive for excellence.  Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and who speak English as an additional language are exceptionally well supported, especially in their communication and language skills. As a result they are making very good progress.  Staff have high expectations of all children based on accurate observation and assessment of children's interests and achievements and they provide a challenging and stimulating play environment.  Partnerships with parents and other agencies are a key strength ensuring a consistent approach to enable every child to reach their full potential.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The garden area in the under three's is not as stimulating and inviting as the other areas within the nursery. Therefore, children do not get the best learning experiences from it.  Occasionally staff are distracted or called away from meaningful interactions when supporting children's play to supervise other areas. Consequently, on these occasions, children lose interest in the activity.

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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 in all the playrooms and the outdoor learning environments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager of the provision, spoke to staff and interacted with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working within the setting, the provider's self- evaluation and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection and of information included in the self-evaluation documents.

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Information about the setting

Maidenhall Neighbourhood Nursery was registered in 2004 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in purpose- built premises in Ipswich, Suffolk. The nursery is privately owned and serves the local area and is accessible to all children. Children have access to three secure outdoor areas which are available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm, for 51 weeks of the year. Children attend for a variety of sessions and there are currently 117 children on roll, of whom 96 are in the early years age range. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Care is also offered to school age children up to 11-years-old, before and after school and during holidays. Staff escort these children to and from Hillside Primary School and Halifax Primary School. The setting has close operational links with the local children's centre.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 19 members of staff, 16 of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and three staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2. Several staff are currently working towards further qualifications.

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

 enhance the learning opportunities in the outdoor play space in the under three's area to maximise children's play experiences in the outdoor environment

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

 review the occasions when staff need to be re-deployed so children can consistently maintain interest and focus on their activity for a period of time.

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who attend

Children are enthusiastic and keen to learn because staff engage and capture their interests and fully recognise that children learn through play. The staff have high expectations of the children and make regular observations and assessments to ensure they are planning for individual children and providing sufficient challenge. A variety of highly successful strategies engage all parents in their children's learning in the setting. For example, parents are invited to 'stay and play' sessions, are involved in assessment, have daily opportunities for discussions and use a social networking site. Staff work extremely closely with parents of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and with those who speak English as an additional language. Individual educational plans are shared and reviewed regularly and staff prioritise supporting communication and language skills. Staff are skilled and motivated to find out as much as they can about the

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who attend

children in their care. They access training, research information, work with other professionals and share ideas. For example, they make a range of resources, including picture cards, to encourage communication. As a result, children are making very good progress and are able to communicate more effectively through signing and pictures, alleviating frustration.

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who attend

The children learn the skills needed to enable them to move on to their next stage in learning and their eventual move onto school. They independently access the toys and equipment in all areas of the indoor and outdoor environments. Staff follow the children's interests and extend their ideas. For example, staff use children's favourite superhero figures in a variety of resources; with the large blocks or in the sand, as they ask challenging questions to encourage children's thinking. Children enjoy water play with brushes as they paint on the walls or jump in spilt water on the ground making splashes and footprints with their boots. They use watering cans to water plants and confidently fill them at the tap.

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who attend

Children are becoming skilled at balancing and make obstacle courses with the large blocks which they walk along, sometimes using a staff member's hand to support them. They practise throwing, rolling and catching balls and many can pedal tricycles, pulling trailers as they negotiate their way around children and toys. Babies have room to crawl and explore their environment, stopping to pick up items that interest them before moving on. They use furniture and staff to pull themselves up to standing and to hold on to while they take a few steps.

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who attend

Children have many opportunities to draw, write and to make marks on paper or outside with chalks on the walls. Staff encourage the children's love of books and there are several book areas both indoors and out. Children access and look at books on their own or cuddle up on a member of staff's lap. The nursery has a book lending scheme which encourages book sharing at home with parents and families. Children are creative, they have free access to a range of art and craft materials and, for example, explore the feel of paint on their hands. The role play areas are imaginatively resourced and change from homes, to offices, hairdressers and florists, following the children's evolving interests.

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

The welcoming and friendly environment supports children's emotional well-being. They are happy, confident and most settle very well. Staff spend time with those who find it more difficult to part with their parents, giving reassurance to the children as well as to their parents. This helps to ensure that the transition from home to the nursery, is as smooth as possible. Staff respect each child's unique personality and individual needs. They follow their home routines and provide the children with many choices to develop their independence and autonomy. For example, children come to snack when they are hungry or thirsty, they confidently take themselves off to sleep when they are tired and move freely around all areas of the indoor and outdoor learning environments. Strong, trusting bonds are built between the staff and children, especially with their key children. Staff are affectionate and caring and as a result, the children come to them for cuddles

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

and include them in their play. Trusting relationships are also built with parents and their families and parents value the support and friendship. Parents are very happy with the way staff prepare children for transitions into the over three's room. The children have as many trial sessions as they need to help them to feel secure and to settle well. Thorough detailed records are passed onto the child's new key person to ensure they know all about the child, their abilities, interests and needs.

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

Children's good health is promoted through varied, balanced and nutritious snacks and home cooked meals. Menus are planned very well to provide a range of textures, tastes and variety to encourage children to eat a healthy, varied diet. Staff work closely with parents, respecting individual diets, allergies and preferences. Dedicated, knowledgeable staff ensure that individual care routines are discussed in detail, followed and reviewed regularly with the parents to ensure all children receive the best care possible. Babies and very young children sleep in cots and older children sleep on mattresses. Each child has their own clean bedding, including blankets which are stored in individual baskets and laundered regularly to limit the spread of infection. The nursery is clean and staff ensure that it remains this way throughout the day. For example, after lunch food is swept up before children use the area for play and the toddler room is a shoe free zone to ensure it

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

is clean for babies to crawl. Furthermore, a cleaner is employed who undertakes a deep clean of the nursery at the weekends.

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

Children learn to keep themselves safe as they are encouraged to treat each other with kindness and respect. They are encouraged to take risks in the safety of the environment as they balance across blocks and build them up. Staff have realistic expectations of children's behaviour and support children to manage their own behaviour. For example, they remain calm as they support children who become frustrated and offer reassurance and ideas of how to deal with their feelings more effectively.

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provision

The staff work well under the support and guidance of a highly motivated manager and her deputies. As a result, all staff share a strong drive for excellence. Self-evaluation is thorough, it involves all staff and takes into account views from parents, children and other professionals. Staff teams evaluate their own rooms and each member of staff has an area of responsibility within their room which they take pride in developing. Training is encouraged and supported and ideas are shared and fed back to the staff team. As a result, all staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of the areas of learning and how children learn.

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provision

All staff fully understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children from abuse and neglect and work with other agencies to ensure children are supported and safe. Robust policies and procedures support their practice and all staff receive training in safeguarding, first aid and food hygiene. The premises are very safe and secure, children cannot leave them unsupervised and unauthorised persons cannot gain access. Thorough risk assessments are carried out, including ones for individual children and they are reviewed regularly to ensure hazards are minimised and children remain safe.

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provision

The nursery is organised to provide as much independence and choice as possible for the children. Most of the learning environments are stimulating and children move around with confidence as they choose where they play. However, the nursery has recently had a change around of rooms and consequently the outdoor area for the under three's has not been developed fully and is not as stimulating or inviting as the other areas.

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provision

The staff are vigilant about children's safety and ensure that all areas are supervised at all times and ratios of adults to children are maintained. However, there are occasions when staff are distracted from supporting children with their play to help another member of staff or to supervise another area. As a result, children sometimes lose focus in the activity and move on to something else, which, on these occasions, does not help enhance or extend their learning.

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provision

Partnership with parents and others is a strength. Parents are extremely happy and state that the staff are friendly, approachable and supportive. Many comment on how well their child is developing since attending the setting, especially in communication, language and social skills. The staff work closely with parents and any other agencies who are involved with individual children, for example, speech and language professionals. This close partnership working provides a consistent approach for the children to ensure they make the best progress possible. Links with other early years settings and schools are well established and effectively support children to make smooth transitions.

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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 EY285889 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 914693

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 51 Number of children on roll 117 Name of provider GHNS Ltd Date of previous inspection 19/03/2010 Telephone number 01473 601178

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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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