Tiddlywinks Nursery School Ltd

Tiddlywinks Nursery School Ltd 99 Square Street, Ramsbottom, BURY, Lancashire, BL0 9AZ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/06/2013 09/06/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children have access to an extremely challenging and highly stimulating environment, both indoors and outdoors, and as a result, they make excellent progress in relation to their starting points.  Key persons are highly skilled and sensitive and help children to form exceptionally strong emotional attachments and feel very secure within the setting.  Staff have an excellent understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. The rigorous implementation of robust policies and procedures successfully promotes children's safety and well-being.  Partnerships with parents and other professionals are exemplary and make a significant contribution to meeting the needs of all children. Transitions in and out of the setting are exceptionally well organised to promote continuity of care and learning.  Self-evaluation systems are rigorous and take into account the views of staff, children

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This provision is outstanding

and parents. This ensures that strengths and weaknesses are effectively identified and addressed and plans for improvement are well targeted and achievable.

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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 the four children's playrooms and the outdoor environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager, talked to staff and key persons and carried out a joint observation with the deputy manager of an adult-led activity.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at various documents, including a sample of policies and procedures, children's records, evidence of the suitability of staff and recruitment procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of several parents spoken to on the day of the inspection.

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Information about the setting

Tiddlywinks Nursery School Ltd has been registered since 2006. It is owned and managed by a private individual. It is located in two adjacent buildings, which are linked by an indoor passageway, in the Ramsbottom area of Bury. The nursery accommodation consists of four rooms for the children, each with their own toilets. There is an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery serves children from the local community and provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Opening times are from 7am to 6.30pm from Monday to Friday, all year round. The nursery also offers overnight care every Friday. It is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 82 children on roll, 72 of whom are within the early years age range and 10 are school age children who attend after school and during school holidays. There are 12 members of staff employed to work directly with the children. Of these, eight hold an early years qualification at level 3, and one holds an early years qualification at level 2. One member of staff hold Qualified Teacher Status, one holds an early years qualification at level 6 and one holds an early years qualification at level 5.

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

 consider building on the excellent creative strategies already in place to further encourage parents to engage more fully in their children's learning.

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who attend

Children thrive and are highly motivated to learn as they participate in challenging activities designed to capture their imagination and interests, in this exceptionally high quality nursery. As a result, they consistently demonstrate the characteristics of effective learning. Teaching techniques are consistently strong across the nursery and successfully reflect children's interests. Staff skilfully build on children's home based knowledge and experiences and provide further opportunities for progression. They work extremely well together and consistently combine their skills and knowledge effectively to plan a rich, stimulating and exciting environment. Furthermore, they have a superb knowledge of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and how children learn, which is evident as they support children's learning throughout the day. Plans link to individual learning for each child and are flexible to take account of children's interests and

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who attend

spontaneous ideas. For example, children's interest in transport is skilfully utilised to plan activities that will support their learning and development. Children sing action songs about vehicles to develop their communication and language skills and enhance their creative skills as they create model buses from recyclable materials. Staff encourage children to persevere with tasks they find difficult and recognise, enjoy and share children's achievements, which successfully promotes their confidence and self-esteem.

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who attend

Babies and children demonstrate a strong exploratory impulse, which is significantly enhanced because staff provide a wealth of interesting resources and materials for them to investigate. They explore an extensive range of resources to investigate using all their senses, such as, black and white objects, textured materials, mirrors and activity toys. Older children are thoroughly engrossed as they explore the garden area, where they investigate small creatures and learn about planting and growing. The outdoor environment is a haven where children can access resources and activities that help them make excellent progress across all seven areas of learning. For example, children develop literacy skills as they share the weather chart with a member of staff who segments words to develop their understanding of letters and sounds. Children investigate media and materials as they explore how water travels down a guttering and notice the effects that

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who attend

the wind has on streamers, mobiles and wind chimes.

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who attend

Staff place an extremely strong emphasis on helping children to acquire communication and language skills and supporting their physical, personal, social and emotional development. As a result, children gain the skills, abilities and attitudes that provide them with a firm foundation for their future learning. Staff teach children to play cooperatively, take turns, share resources, and collaborate in their play. For example, children enjoy a chasing game when they use effective negotiating skills to decide who is going to be the 'chaser'. They also demonstrate their competent social skills as they build up a role-play game with other children. They collaborate in group play, extend and elaborate ideas and confidently invite other children to join them. Children are extremely independent as they move around the indoor and outdoor environment and select their own choice of toys and equipment. They tidy away their toys and games, listen to instructions from adults and are

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who attend

Children's communication and language development is supported exceptionally well by the knowledgeable and experienced staff team. Staff have undertaken specific communication and language development training to enhance their knowledge and skills. This enables them to skilfully use a range of highly effective techniques, which have a significant impact on the progress children make in this area of development. For example, staff ensure children are given thinking time to answer questions. They provide a running commentary as they play and help children to expand on what they say by introducing new words and more complex sentences. Furthermore, staff have gained additional expertise in quickly identifying children whose language is below expected levels of development. As a result, staff can seek out timely interventions from external professionals so that achievement gaps are rapidly closed. Children develop their listening

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who attend

and attention skills as they sit in the carpet area and share experiences. They describe where they have been at the weekend and talk about their home and family. Staff make excellent use of the 'Letters and Sounds' phonics programme to develop children's ability to tune into sounds, listen and remember sounds and talk about sounds. Children enjoy an extensive range of daily, well-planned multisensory activities, which capture their interests and motivates them to learn.

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who attend

Children explore and investigate a vast range of resources to promote their physical skills. For example, babies have space indoors to move, crawl, roll and cruise along furniture. They develop control and coordination as they are provided with exciting and stimulating objects, such as, baubles, ribbons and lights to encourage them to reach and stretch. Children demonstrate their physical skills as they confidently use large climbing equipment, balance on logs, use bats and balls and play a skittle game. They develop their small muscle control as they press buttons on interactive toys, fill and empty containers with sand and water and use gardening tools.

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who attend

Staff undertake purposeful observations and assessments that highlight individual interests and preferred learning styles. This information is used exceptionally well in conjunction with their home experiences and translated into individualised planning that clearly identifies each child's next steps in learning. Children's learning journals illustrate the rapid improvement in their learning. These are maintained to an exceptionally high standard, detailing photographs of the children involved in a variety of activities, their artwork and regular observations, which are clearly linked to the seven areas of learning. Children are excited as they share their drawings, paintings and models they have made with staff and other children and these are, subsequently, taken home to share with parents on a regular basis.

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who attend

Practitioners work extremely closely with parents from the point of entry. They obtain detailed information to establish what children can do and define initial targets linked to the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Parents can access their children's learning journals at any time. They are provided with record sheets to share significant experiences, interests and their observations of their children's progress at home. Parents also write comments about their children's significant achievements at home and hang them on the 'learning tree', which is situated in the entrance. This enables staff to plan activities that build on their existing knowledge and past experiences. Parents are kept fully informed of their children's progress, through the provision of consultation meetings held every term. A wealth of information is displayed and distributed continually to inform them about the early years curriculum and the 'Letters and Sounds' phonics

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who attend

Highly successful strategies engage the majority of parents in their children's learning at home. Additionally, staff provide parents with bags of resources and books, which they can borrow from the lending library. For example, bags contain magnetic shapes, a shape book and cards which say 'How many circles can you find in your house?', to further promote children's mathematical development. Parents have the opportunity to talk to key persons and staff about what their children have been doing throughout the day as they collect their children from the reception area. Staff share information about babies' activities and care routines each day, verbally and through the use of daily diaries. Parents periodically update the 'All about me' sheets to keep staff informed of children's development and achievements at home, so that they can enhance the planning for children's next steps in learning. Further developments to the excellent systems to involve

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who attend

parents are currently in the process of being established and fully embedded in practice.

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who attend

The outstanding partnership between the nursery, parents and other providers ensure children's needs are quickly identified and exceptionally well met. The highly successful strategies in shared learning ensure children are extremely well prepared for the next steps in their learning and school.

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

The key person system is highly effective and well embedded, which helps children form secure, emotional attachments and provides a strong base for their personal, social and emotional development. Parents are informed of their child's key person through information displayed on the wall and written details in their child's learning journal. Children select resources independently and learn to plan and initiate their own learning as they explore the high quality resources and activities provided. Staff teach children to adopt a 'can do' attitude to help them understand that they get better at doing things through practice and that they can learn through making mistakes. Children have their own tray to store their possessions, and as a result, they develop a strong sense of belonging. They are happy, content and well settled in the nursery because staff have an excellent understanding of their needs through 'All about me' information provided by

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

parents on entry to the setting. Children and parents are warmly greeted at the door on arrival where staff talk to them about how they are feeling. They make notes of anything significant that needs passing on to relevant members of staff.

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

There are excellent systems in place to support children as they move rooms within the nursery. For example, learning records are shared with the new key person and taster visits are organised, which promotes a highly effective seamless transition process. In addition, parents are informed of their child's new key person as they move rooms so that they know where staff are deployed, feel reassured and are fully involved in the changes. Children confidently seek reassurance and support from staff if they need help or comfort. Staff consistently give the highest priority to the safety of children and effectively support them to develop their understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Children display high levels of confidence with day-to-day routines and understand the procedures in place to ensure they are kept safe. For example, they know that they need to hold on tight as they walk across the rope bridge and not to run around indoors.

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

Children learn about expected levels of behaviour from the very positive role modelling of staff and from each other. Children's behaviour is exemplary because staff provide them with clear and consistent boundaries and help them to learn to manage their own feelings. Any minor disagreements are dealt with sensitively and calmly in line with the age and stage of development of each child and their level of understanding. Staff also use 'Wilfred', the monkey puppet, as a resource to further reinforce children's understanding of acceptable behaviour and to encourage children to teach him how to be kind, share and take turns. Staff promote good health and well-being in a very wide variety of different ways, for example, all children have regular access to outdoor provision where they enjoy the benefits of physical exercise and fresh air. Children are provided with waterproof outdoor coats, wellingtons and sunhats, and the shelters from the rain and sun mean that they can

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

access the outdoor environment in all weathers. Staff are very flexibly and appropriately deployed to respond to the flow of movement of children between indoors and outdoors. Furthermore, the separation of the baby and toddler outdoor areas means that they can access the space safely. Children are provided with a wide variety of nutritious meals and snacks, which are carefully planned to ensure they access a healthy balanced diet. The setting has received the 'Golden Apple' award and staff use the guidelines to consistently promote children's understanding of making healthy choices. Information is gathered from parents on entry about children's specific nutritional requirements and allergies to ensure that each child's individual dietary needs are met.

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

Children develop an extremely good understanding of their own self-care and the importance of good health. They independently help themselves to tissues to wipe their nose and instinctively know to wash their hands before handling food or after visiting the toilet. They sing 'This is the way we wash our hands' as they prepare to eat their snack. Staff consistently supervise children as they use the bathroom and encourage children to be independent, while at the same time stay close by to help children if needed. Children acquire a vast range of self-care skills through precise teaching and confidently demonstrate their ability to put on and take off aprons and fasten their own coats.

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provision

Leadership is inspirational and the robust process of self-evaluation is extensive and highly effective in ensuring that the setting continues to improve. The manager and staff team have worked exceptionally hard since the last inspection, to improve their practice, the premises and environment, both indoors and outdoors. This has had a huge impact on improving outcomes for all children. For example, the two buildings have been linked together, which enables children to move freely between the two. Children's toilets and nappy changing facilities areas are situated within the playrooms so that staff are always in the rooms. Additionally, the outdoor environment has been further developed to incorporate all areas of learning and is exceptionally well designed to maximise children's learning potential. Staff reflect on their practice on a daily basis and the environment and resources are continually adapted to ensure they meet the individual needs of the children

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provision

attending. Strengths and weaknesses are clearly identified and systems are in place to secure continuous improvement, including the ongoing review of planning, observation and assessment procedures. Staff, children and parents are fully involved in the process and their views are actively listened to and their ideas and suggestions are implemented.

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provision

Staff place the highest emphasis on safeguarding children and ensuring they are protected from harm. New procedures have been put in place so that adults do not wear outdoor shoes in the baby room. This ensures that the environment remains clean and the risk of babies getting injured as they crawl around are significantly reduced. Parents were informed of this and visitors are happy to comply with the procedure. Older children are no longer allowed to walk indoors without shoes as this was becoming a slipping hazard. Staff receive regular updated training in safeguarding and have an excellent understanding of procedures so that they can manage any concerns they may have about a child's welfare or the behaviour of any member of staff, so children are fully safeguarded. In addition the manager has completed further intensive safeguarding training at level 5. An extensive range of policies and procedures successfully underpin

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provision

daily practice and are available to parents. They are continually reviewed and discussed at staff meetings and regularly updated. Accurately maintained records also ensure children's welfare is meticulously protected. The manager has reviewed existing policies and procedures and added to them to ensure the safe management of recently offered overnight care.

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provision

Extensive risk assessments for all areas of the building, the outdoor area and resources ensure children's safety remains paramount. Robust recruitment and vetting systems ensure all adults working with children are suitable to do so. Highly effective supervision of new staff and the rigorous induction process ensures that they effectively develop their knowledge and skills, quickly become familiar with the policies and procedures and understand their roles and responsibilities. There are effective systems to monitor staff's ongoing suitability and regular observations from the manager ensures this practice consistently maintains children's safety and well-being. Extensive support and liaison with a wide range of professionals and continual access to professional development training enables staff to implement the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage with confidence. Staff are encouraged to share their expertise and skills with each other

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provision

and carry out peer observations to critically reflect on their practice. The nursery promotes a culture of mentoring and coaching to enable staff to continue to learn and progress in their roles as early years practitioners. Consequently, staff have a highly accurate understanding of the requirements to effectively monitor all children's skills and abilities to ensure they continue to make excellent progress.

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provision

Robust security measures, including the use of CCTV cameras, enable managers to observe all rooms and check the identity of visitors who arrive at the front door. Staff are deployed exceedingly well to ensure children are closely supervised and robust systems are in place for calculating how many children are attending each day. This ensures that ratios are consistently met and often exceed the statutory requirements. Staff absences are managed extremely well as the manager employs a bank of relief staff to cover staff sickness and holidays. In addition, if the manager knows in advance that staff are leaving, for example, to take maternity leave, new staff are appointed before the staff member leaves. This is so that there can be an effective handover process, and the new member of staff can be supported and mentored as part of the induction process. Any complaints are meticulously recorded, responded to within the appropriate time scale and reported to

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provision

the relevant agencies. Parents are fully informed of the complaints procedure and aware of who to contact and what to do if they have any cause for concern.

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provision

Children learn about the transition to school through discussions, activities and visits to the setting from teachers. These systems devised by the setting ensure that Reception class teachers are fully informed of children's stage of development and also find out about their likes, dislikes and interests from comments made by key persons. Highly complimentary feedback from parents during the inspection highlights they are delighted with the service they receive and are incredibly happy with how well their children are progressing. They state that 'staff are the biggest asset of the setting' and 'take time to talk to them about what children have been doing'. They comment that 'the nursery is fantastic' and that staff 'go that little bit further to ensure all children thrive in a happy, safe and secure environment'.

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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 EY319256 Local authority Bury Inspection number 924150

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 84 Number of children on roll 82 Name of provider Tiddlywinks Nursery School Ltd Date of previous inspection 09/06/2009 Telephone number 01706 827837

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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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