Fellowship of St Nicholas

Fellowship of St Nicholas St Nicholas Centre, 66 London Road, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, TN37 6AS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/07/2013 10/12/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children have great fun and make good progress, taking part in activities and experiences which they enjoy and which offer them a good level of challenge.  Staff consistently use very good strategies to extend children's communication and language.  Excellent arrangements are in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities to make significant individual progress.  Highly effective key person arrangements help children to develop an exceptionally strong sense of security and self-confidence.  Children play with an impressive range of resources and use these effectively to enhance their learning and development.  Children receive extremely good support to prepare them for their move into school.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Arrangements in place to work in partnership with other early years providers, where care of children is shared, are not fully effective in all cases.  Snack times and meal times are very friendly events but staff do not routinely extend these to give children opportunities to learn the social skills associated with using plates and cutlery.

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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 viewed all areas used by children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the management team, staff, parents and children at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed a range of activities and undertook a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed a selection of documentation including records of children's progress.

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Information about the setting

Fellowship of St Nicholas Nursery registered in 2003. It is located in St Leonards, East Sussex and is one of several early years provisions run by The Fellowship of St Nicholas charity in the local area. The nursery comprises two main playrooms and has a fully enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It opens five days a week for 48 weeks of the year. Opening times are from 8.00am to 6.00pm. There are currently 103 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The nursery employs 9 staff to work directly with the children, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications. They are supported by an administrator.

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

 extend further the arrangements for partnership working to form equally effective relationships with all early years providers involved in caring for children

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

 enhance the arrangements for snack and meal times to help children learn useful social skills.

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who attend

Children make good progress in all areas of their learning and development. The staff team skilfully assess their individual interests and levels of ability. This allows them to plan activities and experience which children thoroughly enjoy. Parents receive regular updates on their child's progress and take an active role in their learning by contributing observation from home. Good arrangements are in place to complete the required progress checks for children aged two years.

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who attend

Throughout the nursery children confidently explore and investigate and, as a result, much of their learning comes from first hand experiences. Children's communication and language skills are developing particularly well. They engage in animated conversations as they play. Staff support young children extremely well by using good, clear language which very effectively helps to extend their vocabulary. Staff also use very good techniques with older children, for example they ask open-ended questions which require children to think about their answers. Staff wait very patiently for children to form their responses and listen with genuine interest. This has the additional benefit of promoting children's self-esteem and confidence.

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who attend

Staff provide very good opportunities for children to engage in physical games. Children are able to choose to play outdoors for much of the day. They develop good coordination as they climb, balance run and play with balls. Children also enjoy more adventurous experiences such as assembling crates to make a walk-way. This encourages them to consider their own physical capabilities and to begin to take some risks. There is also a climbing frame and slide in the large group room for children to choose to stay indoors.

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who attend

Children enjoy expressing themselves creatively. They draw and paint pictures using a variety of brushes, sponges and rollers. They also demonstrate high levels of imagination as take part in role play with their friends or narrate their own games using figures from the dolls house. Staff know when to intervene to extend children's play and when to stand back and allow them the freedom to explore their own ideas.

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who attend

Overall children receive very good support from staff to develop a range of skills which promote their independence. They benefit from a lot of opportunities to make choices and take an active role in tidying away toys at intervals throughout the day. This good level of support does not fully extend to the arrangements for snacks and lunches. Staff do not always offer children plates or bowls with their snacks and those present for lunch eat from their packed lunch box. As a result, children do not benefit from many opportunities to perform the practical social skills associated with meal times such as using cutlery and tableware.

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who attend

The very good quality of teaching and staff interaction is particularly evident in the significant progress made by children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. One member of staff takes the lead responsibility for coordinating the programmes for children requiring additional support. Highly effective communication takes place with parents and other professionals. This helps to fully recognise and prioritise children's very individual needs. Staff show an equally strong commitment to reflecting the many languages spoken in children's homes. There are books, written labels and CDs which expose children to a range of languages other than English. In addition, staff use some sign language. This helps children who speak English as an additional language to settle and understand the routines. It also helps all children to understand the skills needed to speak more than one language. The charity has access to translation services when

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

Exceptionally good key person arrangements very effectively promote children's emotional wellbeing. They form trusting relationships with their carers and quickly learn that they can fully rely on them for support. For example, a child who has got wet playing with water outside comes in specifically to find her key person for help to change her clothes. These strong, comfortable bonds give children the confidence to share their views and try new things without fear of failure. Children are friendly, polite and generally behave extremely well. Staff very skilfully support children to learn how to manage their own behaviour. For example, they teach them how to share and take turns.

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

Children receive excellent guidance to learn how to keep themselves and others safe. For example, even the youngest children demonstrate a clear understanding of the need to wear sun cream and hats when going outside in the sun. Staff playfully put dobs of sun cream on children and hold up mirrors so that they can wipe this in themselves. Staff also model good practice as they wear sun hats when supervising the outdoor area. Children understand the boundaries in place and move safely and sensibly around the nursery.

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

Staff very effectively promote children's understanding of the importance of healthy living. Children are becoming independent in their toileting. They also routinely wash their hands before they sit down to eat. Staff ensure that areas used to serve food are hygienically clean. They provide children with an interesting range of fruits and other nutritious snack items. This helps children to learn the about healthy eating and to explore a variety of new tastes such as mangos and figs. Parents are generally very supportive of the nursery's healthy eating policy when preparing lunch boxes. Staff encourage children to eat the most nutritious items first. Children have constant access to drinks throughout the day.

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

Children make good use of the impressive range of toys and equipment available both indoors and in the outdoor play area. These are kept clean and in good working order. The organisation of the group rooms is highly effective. Children are all confident to select the resources they want to use and transport these to the areas in which they want to play. The thoughtful presentation of each area very successfully inspires children to explore and provides spaces for a vast amount of activities to take place at the same time.

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

Excellent arrangements are in place to prepare children for their move to school. Staff work with parents and staff from the local schools to offer each child the support they need to ease any anxieties they may have. Staff prepare reports which provide teachers with comprehensive information about each child's interests and abilities.

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provision

Effective leadership and management results in an efficient, well organised service. Regular meetings, appraisals and peer-to-peer observations support staff development and help to ensure consistency between the team. Staff are highly motivated and work well together to create a warm, caring and very child-centred atmosphere. The management team fully understand their responsibility to promote children's learning and development. A system has been introduced to monitor and compare children's rates of progress. The aim of this is to identify any gaps in achievement as they emerge and to generally determine the success of educational programmes. This system is still being implemented and is too new to assess its impact on the quality of the provision at this time. Effective self-evaluation, which takes into account the views of parents, accurately identifies the strength of the nursery as well as areas for further development. Staff work

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provision

through effectively prioritised action plans to promote ongoing improvements.

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provision

Good arrangements are in place to promote children's safety. The doors leading in to the nursery are secure and visitors have to be buzzed in by a member of staff. Staff are vigilant in their supervision of children, particularly when the door is open to allow children to move between the indoor and outdoor areas. A member of staff is responsible for child protection and has attended training for this role. A clear and appropriate written policy outlines the procedures to follow in case of concerns about the welfare of any child. Robust recruitment procedures include rigorous vetting to ensure staff suitability. Students are supervised at all times and are not permitted to support children in their toileting or nappy changing.

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provision

Staff recognise the importance of working in partnership with other early years providers where children attend more than one setting. There is inconsistency in their success in this area. Some relationships are very effective and staff share information well. However, staff have not been successful in communicating with staff at another nursery setting. As a result, they are not able to fully coordinate with other professionals who know the children well. Feedback from parents shows that they greatly appreciate the service they receive. They praise the staff, describing them as 'brilliant' and feel very well informed. A parent comments that she is 'so glad she picked this nursery'. Children benefit from observing the friendly interaction between the staff and their parents. This helps them to feel secure and to settle easily.

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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 511215 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 927661 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 42 Number of children on roll 103 Name of provider Fellowship Of St Nicholas Date of previous inspection 10/12/2009 Telephone number 01424 423683

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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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