Village Bears Kindergarten

Village Bears Kindergarten Madeley Road, KINGSWINFORD, West Midlands, DY6 8PF

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23/07/2013 Not Applicable

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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

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This provision is good

 Children demonstrate they are happy and form close relationships with the staff and their peers. They are provided with warm, loving relationships, which promote their emotional well-being and enables them to settle well into the setting.  Children make good progress in relation to their starting points and capabilities. The staff provide a range of activities and resources that supports children's current and ever changing interests.  The key person system supports good engagement with all parents and carers and ensures that they are kept well informed about their children's achievements and progress.  Partnerships with parents and other providers ensure smooth transitions between the setting and other settings and also school.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to extend children's interest in the world around them, such as their local community, to further improve their very good learning.  There is scope to extend opportunities for children to access the outdoor areas and resources during their child-initiated play times, to support their independence even further.

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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 compulsory part 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 scrutinised a range of documentation; risk assessments, policies and procedures, staff suitability, children's learning journal documents and the attendance registers.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of children and parents spoken to on the day and held meetings with the nominated person, the deputy and members of the childcare staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the main indoor play areas and the outdoor play areas.

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Information about the setting

Village Bears Kindergarten opened in 1988 and re-opened in 2013 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It is sited in the Kingswinford area of Dudley, operating from a mobile building set in grounds shared by the Dingle Primary School and Dingle Community Centre. The kindergarten is part of a private day care provision that also has a nursery for younger children, sited a few miles away in Wall Heath. They also have an out of school club in Wall Heath, sited next to the day care provision. Care is undertaken in one main playroom with an enclosed outdoor play area.

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Information about the setting

The kindergarten opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 24 children attending who are in the early years age group. There are five members of staff who care for children and all have qualifications to at least level 3. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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

 improve the organisation of resources and the environment further, such as by providing continued access to the outdoor area, to support the development of children's autonomy

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

 extend children's opportunities to explore real-life situations through having visitors from the local community and through outings to places of interest in their local neighbourhood.

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who attend

The staff provide a good range of activities to stimulate children's development across all areas of their learning. They have a good knowledge base of the seven areas of learning, which enables them to effectively observe, assess and monitor the children's progress. As a result, children make good progress towards the early learning goals. The staff talk to parents and carers about how they can further support children's learning at home. Two- way information is shared between the key person and the parents to ensure consistency and continuity for all children on roll. The parents and carers have free access to their children's learning journal documents, which keeps them fully informed about children's care and learning at all times. Parents are included in the identification of their child's starting points on entry and talk to the staff about their child's interests.

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who attend

Children's communication skills are developing well because their key person and other staff within the setting, spend time talking to them. They ask open questions and encourage them to think about and comment on what they are doing. This helps the children to achieve expected levels of development. Children can express their thoughts and opinions and confidently seek support as they wish. Children like to talk about their families and where they have been, for example, they say 'we had a barbeque and I had different coloured sausage and I loved it'. As children consider the weather during registration time, they excitedly talk about the heavy rain and flash flooding and say 'my dad says it looks like a river'.

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who attend

Children's physical skills are developing well because they have ample space to run around in the fresh air and to be exuberant. They also enjoy larger group time in the outdoors and giggle and scream with excitement as they run under the parachute with their peers. Children show good control as they climb the balance bridge under supervision and as they run up and down the sloped grass areas with confidence. The staff support children with their chosen activities as they follow their lead. However, because the staff only open the doors to the outdoor area mid-morning, children are unable to access these areas and their resources during the whole session through organised free flow. This may, at times, lessen children's very good range of informed choices.

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who attend

The staff join in with the children, being positive role models, so that children continue to be motivated during their chosen play. Children independently put on their wellingtons, serve their own snacks and tidy away afterwards. Children's listening and attention skills are also supported very well during such times. Staff praise the children's efforts as they show off their physical abilities and demonstrate how to cut paper and write their own names. This supports children's school readiness.

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who attend

Children like to experiment with a range of different activities. This includes making their own play dough, taking turns in counting spoonfuls of flour and salt, and pouring in water, commenting on the consistency, 'it's like porridge'. As they join in such activities, children's learning about mathematical concepts are fostered well. The staff ensure children are made aware that they must not eat salt as it will make them very ill, thereby, ensuring children's safety and well-being.

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who attend

Staff provide a good balance between child-initiated and adult-guided activities. This supports children's learning across all areas. However, there is room to improve children's understanding about their local community, for instance, through outings to places of interest and through visitors to the setting to extend children's interest.

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

The children feel secure because the key person system is effective in helping them to feel confident and happy in their surroundings. Children's needs are well met as all relevant information is obtained from parents to support their well-being. Children show that they feel safe in their environment as they laugh, giggle and have fun with their peers and the staff caring for them. Staff provide time for children to be with one another and their key person as well as with other members of staff. This ensures that children develop strong attachments with other children and the adults that care for them. Children enjoy the company of their peers as they negotiate the rules of familiar games or seek support from the staff around them when needed. This demonstrates that children are building positive relationships and have a good sense of belonging to the setting. Children's sense of belonging is further promoted because the staff display their drawings and their

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

Children's skills in self-help are fostered well because they take turns in laying tables, pouring drinks and clearing away. They show good levels of consideration as they say 'please' and 'thank you' to one another during such times. Children demonstrate that they have a good awareness of the importance of hygiene as they independently wash their hands after visiting the toilet and before they eat. Staff ensure children are fully encouraged to be involved in physical activity because they make this fun.

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

Children's self-esteem is raised consistently because the staff praise them for their positive behaviour and cooperation in activities. Children's transitions are managed well by the staff. There is a good liaison between the children's key person and all other providers caring for the children, including other settings. This ensures that children's needs are identified and met. Staff support children's transitions between the setting and school through encouraging their independence throughout the session. The staffing arrangements are fully effective and ensure close supervision of children, so that they are kept safe while they learn about taking risks. Children learn about personal safety as they discuss using the scissors appropriately and discuss safety around the use of large outdoor equipment.

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provision

All those in charge clearly understand their responsibilities in meeting the requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and there is an obvious drive for increasing the quality of practice. Children are safeguarded because there are rigorous risk assessments in place to ensure that all areas and equipment are checked each day. This ensures children's safety and well-being. The staff are fully informed about the child protection procedures to be followed in line with current policies and they know who to contact about concerns. Rigorous recruitment and induction procedures ensure that all adults working with children are suitable to do so. All staff receive supervision monitoring sessions to identify where support is needed to improve their performance. This then benefits all children on roll. There are regular management and staff meetings held to discuss and review practice.

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provision

The management and staff teams work coherently with one another and they have familiarised themselves with the learning and development requirements of the revised framework. This ensures that they can accurately assess the educational programme, including the planning for children's progress. This further ensures that there are no gaps in children's learning and development.

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provision

The parents contribute to the initial assessment of their children's development and have access to their child's learning journal documents. This ensures they are fully informed about their child's achievements and progress over time. The staff provide parents with information, both verbally and in writing, about their child's experiences in the setting. Parents and carers comment on the warm relationships between their child and their child's key person and how children's personal social and emotional well-being is fostered within the provision. Parents have free access to the policies and procedures of the setting at all times. Partnership working with other agencies ensures that children's needs are fully identified and met. The self-evaluation systems in place have high levels of positive impact on the provision as a whole. As a result, the improvement plans in place ensure changes benefit all children on roll.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY458034 Local authority Dudley Inspection number 902651 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 24 Number of children on roll 24 Name of provider Village Bears Partnership Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01384 294470

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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.

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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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