Early years · Early years inspection (CIF)
Kids Planet Bredbury
Summary
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- Inspection datesingle source
2 Jul 2013
- Inspectors verified
Jennifer Kennaugh
- Overall effectiveness verified
Good
- Postcode verified
SK6 2EX
- Name on report verified
Fledglings
- URN verified
EY454709
Deep dive
What this report says
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Grade profile
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- OverallGood
Tone of the report
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Reads more critically than most reports of this type graded Good.
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Strengths
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Concerns
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No strong criticism found.
Next steps
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- Children make good progress in their learning, whatever their starting points, as key persons and managers have thorough knowledge of how to support individual children's learning. p.3
- Staff make individual, flexible plans based on their observations of what children can do and use information about their interests to help motivate them in their learning. p.3
- The planning process demonstrates a high level of awareness of how learning is best achieved by following the child's lead. p.3
- Staff make assessments of what children can do when they join the setting, in order to plan effectively for their learning. p.3
- This also uses information from parents about children's observed development. p.3
- Educational programmes draw on their observed needs too, as well as making some use of themes, events and festivals that reflect the intake of children in the setting. p.3
- The educational programmes have depth and breadth, as a result of this well-organised approach. p.3
- Observations of children's learning by staff are provided by both planned and spontaneous means and effective use is made of an online system for tracking children's progress to record their learning. p.4
What the report dwells on
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Teaching & assessment12
“Staff quality of teaching is good and some is outstanding.” p.1
Anatomy of the report
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- Pages
- 13
- Words of findings
- 3,687
- longer than usual (typical 703)
- Reading level
- Hard
- Flesch 46, typical 50
- Average sentence
- 20 words
- Next steps
- 8
- typical 2
- Hedged sentences
- 4%
- “some”, “not always”, “most”…
Where the words go
Full report text
Fledglings Osborne Street, Bredbury, Stockport, Cheshire, SK6 2EX
p.1
Inspection date
Previous inspection date 02/07/2013 Not Applicable
p.1
early years provision
This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2
p.1
This provision is good
Children are confident, happy and well-behaved in the setting. Safety and security of children is an absolute priority and there are many practical measures in place to support this. Children make good progress in their learning, whatever their starting points, due to thorough staff knowledge and understanding of individual children and how to help them learn. Staff quality of teaching is good and some is outstanding. The nursery has comprehensive procedures in place to ensure that it recruits and manages an effective staff team, to protect children's welfare and support their development. Staff are observed to be friendly, caring and professional at all times. The range of ways in which parents are able to engage with their children's learning and exchange information about this with the nursery are excellent. This means that staff are able to use this information in order to plan accurately for children's learning.
p.1
It is not yet outstanding because
There is scope for information communication technology to be used more, in order to enhance even further the learning experiences for children. Less emphasis is placed on the use of reflection on practice by staff and the views of others has not yet been fully embedded to develop and make even further enhancements to the already good provision.
p.1
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
p.2
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.
p.2
Inspection activities
The inspector reviewed a range of information available about the nursery to prepare for the inspection, including on the internet.
p.2
Inspection activities
A tour of the premises was made and the inspector had an initial meeting with the manager and later with two of the directors and the company training manager, to establish a timetable for the day, which included time to discuss the leadership and management of the nursery. The inspector also spoke to another director by telephone.
p.2
Inspection activities
The inspector carried out observations on childcare staff and their interactions with children throughout the day and examined samples of documentation related to children's welfare and learning.
p.2
Inspection activities
Some staff members were interviewed to ascertain their knowledge of areas, such as safeguarding and individual children's learning.
p.2
Inspection activities
A joint observation was made by the inspector and one of the team leaders of a member of staff, who was leading a one-to-one activity for children. The inspector also spoke to children to gain information about their learning.
p.2
Inspection activities
Parents were encouraged to share their views about their children's care and learning in the setting.
p.2
Information about the setting
Fledglings was registered in 2013 and is privately owned by a limited company, which owns three other nurseries across the north west. It is registered on the Early Years Register with Ofsted. The nursery operates from a two storey building in the Bredbury area of Stockport and is accessible to all children and parents, having a lift to the first floor. The rooms used for childcare currently comprise two areas for babies, a toddler room and a pre-school room. There are two fully enclosed areas available for outdoor play accessible from most of the rooms.
p.3
Information about the setting
The nursery employs seven members of child care staff, including a manager and a named deputy. All staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or higher and one of these has a relevant foundation degree. The nursery also employs a cook. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round, from 7.30am until 6pm. Children may attend for a variety of sessions and there are 29 children on roll. The nursery supports a very small number of children, who speak English as an additional language and also children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
p.3
Information about the setting
The nursery is supported by the company's training manager and the local authority early years team. It is a member of the National Day Nursery Association.
p.3
To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:
enhance the use of age appropriate information communication technology across the setting to support all areas of learning
p.3
To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:
embed the processes for using reflections by staff and views of others to bring about further continuous improvement to benefit children.
p.3
who attend
Children make good progress in their learning, whatever their starting points, as key persons and managers have thorough knowledge of how to support individual children's learning. Staff make individual, flexible plans based on their observations of what children can do and use information about their interests to help motivate them in their learning. The planning process demonstrates a high level of awareness of how learning is best achieved by following the child's lead. Staff make assessments of what children can do when they join the setting, in order to plan effectively for their learning. This also uses information from parents about children's observed development. Educational programmes draw on their observed needs too, as well as making some use of themes, events and festivals that reflect the intake of children in the setting. The educational programmes have depth and breadth, as a result of this well-organised approach.
p.3
who attend
Observations of children's learning by staff are provided by both planned and spontaneous means and effective use is made of an online system for tracking children's progress to record their learning. The photographs, observations, assessment and possible next steps recorded on here by staff can be viewed online by parents. This is made secure using a password system and enables parents to engage with their children's progress at any convenient time. Parents can also upload photographs and observations to the system and this means that these are available to share with staff for planning and assessment purposes. As a result, parents are directly involved in these processes to support their child's learning. The nursery has also initiated other ways in which parents can become involved in children's learning, such as by operating a weekly book sharing scheme for pre-school children and lending books to younger children. The nursery is developing the
p.4
who attend
use of a 'take-home' toy with a book for children to add photographs and drawings of the toy in their care. Parents are also encouraged to add to this, again directly contributing to the learning of their child. The detail of assessment enables staff to see if children's progress is as expected, above, or below for their age and stage. This can also be seen by parents, as the assessments are made with each observation and consequently, parents and staff are better able to work together to address any gaps in learning that may emerge. This means that early intervention and partnership working can help to prevent any greater future difficulties. The partnership with parents to support children's learning is excellent, as a result.
p.4
who attend
The nursery childcare staff have received in-house training in order to implement the progress check at age two. This includes the opportunity for all staff to practise this assessment using the same child, which supports the effective evaluation by managers of their skills in this respect. As a result, the nursery is ready to prepare these reports for children who require them and to seek information from parents when planning children's next steps or the involvement of other agencies. The nursery has made arrangements to pass information about children's progress to the next settings when they leave, to support continuity of learning. Overall, the nursery prepares children very well for their next steps in learning, such as full-time school, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery broadens children's knowledge and understanding of the wider community, while celebrating diversity in the setting, by incorporating
p.4
who attend
learning about a range of cultures and religions. This represents the intake of children to the nursery, so that children learn more about each other and develop tolerance of differences, but also recognise similarities. Children have free access to a range of resources indoors and out, that covers all areas of learning. This helps children develop independence through making their own decisions about what to play with and how to combine toys. Children have access to a selection of age appropriate information communication technology toys, such as children's laptops with games installed, or cause and effect toys for babies. Although, there is scope to develop this area further to promote children's very good learning.
p.4
who attend
Children enjoy exploring paint with their finger and brushes. They become engrossed in painting their own hand and then making prints with both fingers and their whole hand. They look at the marks they have made, recognising that they have produced an effect by their actions. Staff use the opportunity to re-visit learning about mini beasts, as they suggest that the hand prints could be used to represent a butterfly. They follow the child's lead by letting them explore the paint at their own pace, so that the child feels in control of their learning experience. Staff talk to the child to gain knowledge of their experience of mini beasts away from the nursery. This also helps children to link the experience between home and the nursery. When children say that they have seen a butterfly at home, they ask the child whereabouts, developing their thought and language about whether it was indoors or outside. They also help children to recall other mini beasts, such as spiders and
p.5
who attend
incorporate counting activities about the number of legs, while children make fingertip spots of paint as they count up to eight. This physical activity helps to reinforce their learning. Staff introduce words such as 'more' and 'less', as early mathematical language and this also develops children's knowledge of words. They suggest that children paint a second colour on to their hand and encourage the child to squeeze the two together. This enables the child to have the experience of making a change by mixing two colours and means staff can then move on to supporting their learning of colour names. They use open-ended questions effectively, to develop children's thinking and talking and demonstrate good standards of teaching.
p.5
who attend
Staff are skilful at using children's interests to help them sustain their concentration for an activity. For example, they use a child's interest in engines to help them engage with others, while children make representations of trains and buildings with construction materials. This means that the child has the opportunity to practise sharing resources with other children, while having adult support, which is an area that staff have identified by observation as a learning need. They encourage cooperative play by suggesting ways that children can work on models together and provide plenty of praise when they show their creations. Staff draw children's attention to the models of others, in order to use these as models for children to copy and this also raises their awareness of others around them. They ask questions to encourage children to problem solve and use 'thinking out loud' to show them how the difficulty has been resolved. For example, they talk through how a
p.5
who attend
model does not roll well because it is not balanced and child then takes another wheel and shows the improved model to staff proudly. The activity also helps a child to become creative and to explain how she has put 'wings' on the model, so that it is now a 'flying engine'. Staff show a very good awareness of the behaviours and language they need to encourage children to use in order to support learning. The quality of staff teaching is good and some staff demonstrate outstanding practice when supporting children's learning. This means that children are well prepared for their next steps in education, including full-time school.
p.5
who attend
The youngest babies are encouraged to roll and play on their fronts, in order to strengthen their necks and develop their whole-body coordination. Crawling babies have plenty of interesting objects and toys to move towards, which helps to extend their physical skills, both for their hands and their coordination. They also have plenty of space in which to practise moving without interruption, so that they can learn to move quickly. Babies, who can walk, play at low tables to support themselves and enjoy the challenge of play with cause and effect toys or simple jigsaws. Staff have a good understanding of how interaction is essential for babies' development and play by talking to them about what they are doing. The nursery uses music, song and rhyme for activities, rather than as a continual background. This is because the manager has an effective understanding of how best to help babies and children concentrate on listening to talk around them. This means
p.5
who attend
that the nursery can support children's and babies' development in communication and language well.
p.6
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
The setting operates a key person system in order to support children's emotional welfare and key persons show good knowledge of children and their families. This is due to their observations, information from parents and talking to children informally or during group times. Children demonstrate very good emotional security by exploring the space and resources thoroughly, indoors and outside. Staff are observed to provide effective support for children and babies if they become frustrated or tired, by providing plenty of physical reassurance and gentle talk. This means that children feel secure and valued in the nursery. Children's artwork and photographs are also displayed to show children that they and their efforts are important to adults who care for them.
p.6
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
Children's behaviour is very good and they show regard for their own safety and that of others when playing. For example, a pre-school age child is observed by staff to show concern about a possible accident occurring when a younger child runs excitedly. Children's welfare is well protected by a comprehensive range of parental permissions. For example, detailed records and permissions are held for children regarding the administration of medicines and sun protection creams. The setting provides a well equipped and imaginative environment, which gives children a range of opportunities to take reasonable risk in their outdoor play. As a result, children can play with careful supervision on age-appropriate climbing frames, learn how to tackle moving on slopes and explore underground tunnels. This also develops their whole body control and enables them to enjoy exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. Children have ample opportunities to
p.6
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
pedal and move themselves on wheeled toys and to develop their hand-eye control by catching balls or playing with sand.
p.6
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
Children show a good level of self-care and they are supported to manage a variety of aspects of personal care as staff give careful explanations. For example, in the over two's room, staff explain why hand washing is important after using the toilet or before eating. Snacks and meals are healthy and children have access to water over the day. This contributes to children receiving a balanced diet and learning how to manage their needs. Children have opportunities to help themselves to some foods, developing their independence. Staff provide good support for independence skills when children get ready to go out to play, by starting their coat zip, then encouraging them to pull it up unaided. This also supports their development of fine physical skills.
p.6
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
All operational areas of the nursery are clean and well maintained, including the kitchen and toilets. Suitable practical measures, such as radiator covers and safety gates are in place, to help support children's safety. Staff deploy themselves well to in order to maintain children's safety indoors and outside and daily checks are carried out to minimise hazards, therefore, helping to prevent accidents. The nursery has a biometric security system on the main door and also comprehensive closed circuit television coverage of some internal areas and external doors. This helps to protect children and staff from unauthorised access.
p.6
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
Transitions within the setting are well managed, with plenty of discussion with parents to support children when they join, in order to have information to help them settle. A flexible approach, which is based on the needs of the individual child and parents, is taken, to maintain children's emotional well-being. The nursery uses information from any previous settings attended by children, in order to inform their initial planning for settling- in. It also seeks detailed information from parents to supplement this. Comprehensive information to support children's good health and well-being is kept from when children join the nursery, in order to meet their needs, such as dietary requirements. Parents are well informed about their children's daily welfare. This is by the use of daily diary sheets for babies and comprehensive verbal information from staff at collection times, whatever the age of the child. A wipe-clean board is situated by each room's main door, displaying
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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
information about menus, activities and the names of children who have attended that day. This also helps parents to talk to their child about their day, developing their communication and language skills. Staff can explain how they use routines, such as nappy changing times, to talk to children and babies. They recognise that using these frequent opportunities for one-to-one communication is important for children's development.
p.7
The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children
A selection of information leaflets and posters are available to parents in the entry areas of the setting and these cover local events, resources, such as children's centres and information about the Early Years Foundation Stage. The nursery also displays information about how to report a concern about a child and how to contact Ofsted, in order to support children's safety.
p.7
provision
Risk assessments and safety checks are detailed and reviewed as needed to enable children to play safely and freely in permitted areas. Staff receive regular training in safeguarding and have their understanding of this checked at various times, such as during the induction period. Consequently, staff are knowledgeable about how to manage any concerns they may have about a child's welfare. Owners, managers, staff and students are checked and vetted for suitability to work with children. Staff also are requested to make regular declarations that they remain suitable for work with children, in order to protect children's welfare. All documentation related to statutory requirements is completed to support the safe and effective running of the setting. This includes a policy for the use of devices with cameras on the premises, such as mobile telephones. For example, the nursery provides lockers for parents to use for telephone storage if they are
p.7
provision
in the nursery to help familiarise their child with the setting, prior to entry. A comprehensive range of policies and procedures is used to maintain a very good standard of care and learning for all children in the setting, including when children require care plans due to health needs.
p.8
provision
Responsibilities of staff and managers are clearly defined to ensure that staff have a good understanding of how to carry out their roles to a high standard. For example, there is policy to cover staff conduct on social networking sites, in order to support maintaining confidentiality. There is a comprehensive procedure for the recruitment of new staff. This is to ensure that they are suitable to work with children, so that an effective childcare team is established. Owners and managers demonstrate a good understanding of the conditions that disqualify a person from being employed to work with children, including disqualification by association. This means that the selection process prevents anyone disqualified from working with children from being accepted for work in the nursery.
p.8
provision
There are thorough procedures in place for induction of new staff and any apprentices or students, in order to protect children's welfare. This is because the process involves frequent observations on new staff by both managers and the company training officer, in order to assess and develop staff practice with children. Observations are used to provide constructive guidance for staff by managers and staff receive evaluative feedback. The use of frequent observations in the induction process enables a smooth transition for staff to the peer observations used in the staff performance management procedures. The purposeful approach to managing staff performance and preventing underperformance is as a result of the extensive experience of the owners and managers. This means that the recently opened setting already has strong practice to support its staff. For example, the managers identify areas where staff, including new and experienced ones, may benefit
p.8
provision
from training through a programme of regular discussions during the induction period. Quality of teaching is also monitored through daily spontaneous observations by the managers as well as by the formal procedures for induction and appraisal. This is used to provide ongoing informal feedback on practice to staff.
p.8
provision
Staff plan activities based on the needs of individual children, which provide good and sometimes better, levels of challenge appropriate to their age and stage of development. The educational programmes that result from planning are monitored by the managers to ensure they consistently have depth and breadth. Monitoring of breadth and quality of observations by managers is facilitated by the use of an online tracking system, which can easily show managers and key persons the spread of observations for each child across the areas of learning. Managers can also read the observations and next steps planned by staff and use this in their evaluation of staff practice. Staff across the setting plan with precision for children, to enhance their learning and also make sure that they are flexible, in order to accommodate any changes to children's interests.
p.8
provision
The setting has established strong partnerships with all parents and they praise it very highly for its care, security and education of children. Parents can contribute to the evaluation process both through verbal and written means. Staff have regular opportunities to share information with the manager for the evaluation process at whole staff meetings and also as part of their yearly appraisal meetings. The setting has already developed a partnership with early years support from the local authority, in order to enhance its provision. The experienced owners and managers demonstrate an organised and enthusiastic commitment towards continuous improvement, in order to enhance children's care and learning. The nursery has begun to use the Ofsted self-evaluation tool to show how the provision develops and refines it practice, since its relatively recent opening. This means that evaluation of practice occurs across both the quality of provision
p.8
provision
for children's welfare and learning as well as the leadership and management of the setting. However, the impact of evaluation and reflection has yet to reach its full potential as staff are not always fully engaged in reflection on their practice to inform continuous improvement to benefit children. There has also been only a short amount of time for the nursery to gather and act on information from parents as part of the evaluation process, due to the nursery being relatively newly-established. However, the managers have obtained information from parents after they have viewed the nursery before deciding if their child will attend, in order to use this to evaluate the impression that parents receive during an initial visit. Parents are positive about this opportunity to give their views and this helps to build partnerships.
p.9
provision
Staff and managers show a strong understanding of how sharing information with other agencies and settings can support continuity of care and education for children. Consequently, the setting already demonstrates a purposeful approach to working with other professionals to support children's welfare and learning. For example, the nursery has made links with the health visiting service, along with the Sure Start centre, in order to support children receiving referrals to other agencies as needed. The nursery has also been pro-active when making contact with other settings attended by children, in order to initiate the exchange of information about individual children's progress.
p.9
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.
p.10
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 EY454709 Local authority Stockport Inspection number 925430 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 90 Number of children on roll 29 Name of provider Fledglings Ltd Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 0161 281 2821
p.11
Setting details
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.
p.11
Type of provision
For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:
p.11
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.
p.11
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.
p.11
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.
p.12
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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