Little Stars Day Nursery

Little Stars Day Nursery 58 Woodplumpton Road, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 2LQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/07/2013 12/12/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 3 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 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 The organisation and layout of the environment both indoors and outside, contributes positively to children's all-round learning and development.  Relationships between staff and children are caring, positive and supportive; consequently, children feel safe, secure and settled at the setting.  Partnership with parents are valued as staff give verbal feedback to parents daily and written feedback keeps parents informed of their children's development at the setting.

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It is not yet good because

 Specific aspects of the welfare requirements are not fully met, such as the arrangements for a programme of regular staff supervision.  Monitoring and improvement plans lack rigour and do not fully take into the account the views of children and parents.  Staff use observations to plan next steps for children's learning, however, planning is not consistently implemented to show how individual learning needs are sufficiently met and challenged for all children, across the areas of learning and development.

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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 and staff interaction across the three playrooms of the setting and within the attached outdoor play space.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the registered person, who is also the manager and with staff at appropriate times. A joint observation was carried out with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of children's learning files, planning and assessment documentation and a sample of other records, including policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of children, parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Little Stars Day Nursery was registered in 2003. It operates from a detached building, in the area of Ashton, Preston. It is on the Early Years Register and on both parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery serves families within the local area and there is an enclosed secure outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 15 members of child care staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications. The nursery opens Monday to Friday, from 6.45am to 6pm, all year round. There are currently 85 children attending, all of whom are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children.

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must:

 ensure a regular programme for the supervision of staff is implemented in practice. Use it to foster a culture of mutual support, teamwork and continuous improvement in delivering the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage

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must:

 develop planning so that information about the stage of development of each child is used consistently to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all areas of learning and development.

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

 make better use of children's and parents contributions towards developing the setting further and refine monitoring systems, which ensure identified targets for improvement are successfully implemented.

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who attend

Staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. They carry out regular observations and use this information to support the tracking of progress for children across the seven areas of learning and development. Information about children's starting points is gathered from parents, prior to children starting at the setting. Staff use this information alongside regular assessments, including the progress check at age two, to ensure children make satisfactory progress in their development. Individual files are in place to document the learning and development, which children undertake during their time at the setting. These contain evidence, such as observations, creative artwork and photographs with annotations to show what children are doing. Staff use the next steps identified from observations to plan a range of activities to ensure that children enjoy their

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who attend

time at the setting. However, planning occasionally lacks purpose and challenge to sufficiently extend children's learning. This results in children making satisfactory progress in their learning rather than good. Staff working with the oldest children in the pre-school room have recently implemented a new way to plan, based on children's interests. Group time provides an opportunity to share a resource box with a range of stimulating resources to provoke conversation and interest. Staff use the information gathered from these discussions to plan interesting experiences for individual children. For example, children's interests in flowers instigate a trip to the shops to purchase flowers and this is also extended with creative activities. Although, planning reflects the children's interests, the activities are not fully matched to children's individual learning needs. As a result, some older children are not always fully challenged and this impacts on their ability to

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who attend

make the best possible progress towards the early learning goals.

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who attend

Staff promote children's personal, social and emotional development, as they are supportive and attentive to the child's chosen task. Children show confidence as they play and explore through self-chosen activities and staff join in, following the child's lead. All children across the setting enjoy sitting together with the staff, participating in group activities, such as register time and sharing books and singing songs together. Staff's knowledge of children means that familiar books and resources are available to support their individual interests. The staff team support children's early communication and language skills well. They use different voice tones to engage their interest and leave gaps as they read stories, prompting children to complete the sentences in familiar stories. This interaction encourages children to develop early speech sounds and recognition of familiar words.

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who attend

Children are introduced to early mathematical skills, as staff use mathematical language where appropriate to describe shapes and colours. They engage children in counting through everyday routines and interactions with them. For example, register time provides an opportunity to discuss colours and shapes and children are learning to count out their playing cards as they play cooperative games together. Their growing confidence in talking about shapes is evident as they compare a semi-circle to the shape of the moon. Children express their creativity through painting, the home-corner and water play activities. Overall, children show they are developing skills, attitudes and dispositions for their next stage in learning and eventually the move to school.

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who attend

Engagement with parents is ongoing. Daily discussions are held with parents and daily diaries are in place for the youngest children, if requested by parents. This exchange of information provides parents with brief details of activities, which children participate in and the care routines carried out. Parents are encouraged to view their children's file at any time and parent's evenings are held at specific times in the year. These provide parents with information about their children's learning at the setting. Parents are encouraged to add their views on the assessment progress sheets and completed records demonstrate that parents are happy with their children's care and education.

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

being of children during their settling-in process. For example, staff greet both children and their parents warmly. Staff have an informative discussion with parents before children start at the setting and they complete an 'all about me' booklet. This information is used by staff, to support children when settling-in at the setting. A key person is assigned to each child, ensuring that staff provide care that is responsive to meet their individual needs and help towards a smooth transition into and around the setting. For example, as children move rooms, discussions are held between the key persons, this includes the sharing of information on individual care needs alongside the completed assessment of progress. As a result, staff are knowledgeable about the individual care and developmental needs of children throughout their time at the setting.

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

Staff are responsive, caring and supportive; as a result, children are confident and show interest and motivation in their self-chosen activities. Children have an understanding of the importance of displaying appropriate behaviour towards each other. This is because staff provide reminders to children, such as how to take turns and staff act as positive role-models as they respond to children's requests and offer praise as appropriate. As a result, children are learning to treat others with respect as they play together and come together during group times. Children demonstrate a sense of belonging and are developing an understanding of how to keep themselves safe, as they use the range of outdoor play apparatus safely. Staff are supportive to the youngest children. For example, they are reminded how to negotiate safely around the environment. Children's familiarity with the environment is shown as they engage in self-chosen play activities using the wide

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

range of equipment in an appropriate and safe manner. As a result, children are settled and secure in the setting.

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

Children independently go to the toilet to wash their hands. Adequate nappy changing facilities are in place that reflect dignity and respect, towards meeting the individual care needs of babies. Children enjoy meals and snacks that are freshly prepared, healthy and meet the individual dietary and religious needs of all children. This soundly promotes their health and well-being. Drinking water is accessible and staff gently remind children to have a drink, in particular where weather conditions are variable.

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

Children enjoy being outdoors in the large play area. They jump, swing, balance, climb and crawl as they play on the various play apparatus, developing a wide range of physical skills. They are eager to share their achievements with staff. For example, children display great excitement as they walk on stilts or carry out roly-polys on the swing independently. The range of accessible resources sufficiently covers the seven areas of learning and development and meets the needs of the children attending. Babies develop early physical skills as they crawl, climb and steady themselves using the range of resources available. For example, toddlers climb up and use the available storage units, steadying themselves using their hands and feet.

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provision

Children are safeguarded satisfactorily. There are appropriate policies and procedures in place to ensure the safeguarding and welfare of children. The manager, who is also the registered person, is one of the designated persons for safeguarding. The manager has a sound understanding of her responsibility in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Discussions with the manager and staff demonstrate that they have a sound understanding of the safeguarding procedures to follow, should concerns arise. Appropriate recruitment and vetting procedures ensure that all adults working with children are suitable to do so. An adequate risk assessment is conducted on all the areas used by children and reasonable steps are taken to ensure hazards to children are minimised. Informal checks are carried out on a daily basis and identified risks are

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provision

minimised as staff are vigilant as they supervise children in the setting.

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provision

The manager, who is also the registered person, demonstrates a sufficient knowledge and understanding of her role in meeting the learning and development requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff carry out regular observations and use this information to track children's progress across the areas of learning and development. Information gathered from parents and observations are used to determine starting points for children and this information is used to plan next steps for children's learning. Although, some planning has been reviewed, it lacks consistency in its approach to sufficiently challenge and meet the developmental needs of all children who attend the setting.

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provision

Informal monitoring systems takes place as the manager observes practice and oversees monitoring of the educational programmes. The setting's participation in working towards a quality mark means that they reflect upon the practice offered to children and their parents. An action plan includes brief details on suggested areas for improvement. However, it lacks information to reflect sufficient areas of self-challenge, including the contribution to how children and their parents are involved in the evaluation of the practice within the setting. Parents have completed questionnaires, although these lack focus to how the manager can use the information gathered to improve the setting further. Staff are supported to develop their skills as they attend relevant training provided by the local authority. Staff meetings and informal discussions are used to share information received from attendance on training. For example, following attendance from

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provision

training on planning and discussions with the manager, a revised approach to planning is carried out with the oldest children in the setting. The manager observes practice as a way of monitoring and ensuring that the range of activities are being provided. However, the lack of regular supervisions of the staff, means that appropriate arrangements to provide support and coaching for staff to improve their practice further are not fully implemented, this is a legal requirement that is not met fully. However, inductions for new staff are carried out when relevant and staff appraisals are conducted annually.

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provision

Parental contributions to children's learning and development are satisfactory. Parents are given opportunities to discuss their children's learning and care through daily informal discussions and daily diaries for some of the youngest children are completed. Parents are encouraged to look through children's files at any time and their comments are sought on their child's record of assessment. These discussions, alongside parents' evenings, are used as opportunities to share information together. All the relevant information about individual children is obtained from parents as required by the Early Years Foundation Stage, before children start at the setting. The setting supports the transition of children as they move forward towards the next step in their learning. For example, transition booklets are completed that show children's interests and an assessment of their stage of learning and development. As a result, this information supports the smooth transition for

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provision

children leaving the provision. The setting does not currently care for any children with special needs and/or disabilities. However, staff have previously worked in partnership with other professionals to support children's particular needs and they understand the importance of working in partnership with others.

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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 EY269734 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 819860

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 52 Number of children on roll 85 Name of provider Joanne Louise Farnworth Date of previous inspection 12/12/2011 Telephone number 01772 768 687

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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

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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