Kids Planet ClevedonOfsted inspection, 6 Aug 2013

Little Clowns Nursery 10 Queens Road, Clevedon, North Somerset, BS21 7TH

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/08/2013 06/06/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Staff support children's learning well, as a result, children make rapid progress and develop skills to help them prepare for starting school.  Children form trusting relationships with staff and feel safe and secure in the nursery environment.  The nursery has strong partnerships with parents and staff support parents to extend their children's learning at home.  Management and staff work very hard to improve the nursery resulting in a quality provision, in which children thrive.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Routines for morning snack are not flexible enough to minimise waiting times for children and to enable staff to fully support all children to learn new skills.  The nursery does not have many labels, signs and posters in outdoor areas for children to see and refer to in their play.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the playrooms and outside.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the registered provider.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed a sample of children's assessment records and planning documentation.  The inspector took account of views of parents spoken to during the inspection.  The inspector viewed the nursery improvement plans and a sample of policies.

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Information about the setting

Little Clowns Day Nursery is owned by a limited company. It opened in 1990 and operates from two levels of a large Victorian house in Clevedon, North Somerset. There is an enclosed area for outdoor play for older children. The baby unit operates from a separate annex in the grounds. It has its own outside area that has an all weather surface. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is open each weekday, for 51 weeks of the year, from 8am to 6pm. There are currently 82 children on roll in the early years age range. The nursery employs 11 members of childcare staff. Of these, one holds qualified teacher status, one holds a qualification at level 4, six hold a qualification at level 3 and one holds a qualification at level 2. 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:

 adapt routines for snack time to reduce the waiting time for some children and to consistently support all children's emerging independence

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

 provide a wider range of posters, signs and labelling showing numbers, letters and words in the outdoor areas, for children to see and refer to during their play.

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who attend

Children make good progress in this welcoming and exciting nursery. Staff talk to parents when children first start to find out about the children's starting points. Staff inform parents of their child's progress consistently throughout the children's time at the nursery. Staff observe children and take photographs to record children's progress. They use these good records to assess children's progress and plan for the next steps in their learning. Consequently, children make consistently good progress.

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who attend

Staff encourage children as they play by joining in and offering lots of praise and encouragement. For example, they encourage babies' communication and language skills by talking to them about what they are doing, repeating words and singing songs. Consequently, babies babble with delight and attempt to say new words. Staff support older children by focusing on what interests them and asking questions to encourage them to think through, and share, their ideas. As a result, children talk confidently saying, for example, 'Bees like flowers and make honey for people to eat'. All children enjoy stories. Babies enjoy looking at large cardboard books and cuddle up to staff to enjoy short stories. Older children particularly enjoy listening to stories, which staff read using animated voices. Staff encourage the children to join in and predict how the story will end. These positive learning experiences support children's communication and language skills

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who attend

and their social skills as they communicate confidently with one another.

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who attend

Staff support children's mathematical development by providing a good range of resources, such as puzzles and problem solving games, for all age groups. They encourage children to use numbers during play. For example, children count and compare sizes of everyday objects, such as cups during snack time and blocks while children build. Children learn to compare size and estimate growth as they create graphs recording how tall they are compared to the towers they build. However, although numbers and words are displayed in most areas indoors, there are none available for children to refer to outside. Children make marks using chalk and older children learn to write their names. Children develop useful skills to prepare them for starting school.

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who attend

Staff encourage children to express themselves creatively by providing a good range of resources, such as paints, to explore colours and patterns. Babies delight in banging musical instruments and respond enthusiastically when staff sing to them. Children have active imaginations and enjoy playing in the various role play areas. Staff join in with their play and encourage them through praise and recognition. This positive encouragement makes children feel valued and supported.

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

All children and parents receive a warm welcome when they arrive at the nursery. Each child has a member of staff who helps them to settle in and gets to know them well. The successful key person system enables children to form strong attachments to staff and highly positive relationships exist across the nursery. Staff know the individual children very well and are perceptive to their needs. For example, they know when babies are hungry or tired. They offer cuddles and sing soothing songs as they settle babies into their cots. Staff show a genuine interest in what older children have to say and they hold positive conversations, which results in children feeling valued. Staff support children through periods of change. For example, they carry out a new settling in process when children progress from the baby room to the pre-school room. They talk to children about starting school and arrange visits to and from local schools. This helps children to feel

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

reassured and confident to move on successfully to the next stage in their learning.

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

Staff support children's physical development well across all age groups. Babies learn to crawl and walk, encouraged by staff who set up the baby room thoughtfully, to motivate babies to use their physical skills. Staff put toys just out of reach so that babies stretch and crawl to reach them. Staff cheer and praise the babies, when they succeed, to give them a sense of achievement. Older children enjoy playing in the outdoor area, where they move objects around and build towers using large construction toys. Children benefit from daily outdoor play, which provides them with fresh air and exercise to enhance their wellbeing. Children enjoy a wide range of healthy meals freshly prepared on the premises each day. They learn about healthy eating through discussion and planned activities. They help to prepare fruit and vegetables and staff use these times to teach children about healthy eating.

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

Children help themselves to toys and resources indoors and outdoors. They have the time and freedom to make their own decisions, explore and become deeply involved in their own choice of activities. Overall, staff offer a good balance of child led and adult directed activities throughout the daily routine. However, routines for snack time are not as well organised. Hand washing is not managed effectively and some children become restless as they wait for their snack. This results in children swapping their cups to amuse themselves, drinks being spilled and, as a result, being poured by staff. This means that children do not have all opportunities to develop independence and learn new skills. However, staff encourage children to develop independence at other times during the day, such as helping to tidy away and serving food at lunch time. They offer children lots of encouragement and praise. Staff are positive role models and provide clear guidelines and

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

boundaries to support children's good behaviour. As a result, children are very well behaved and collaborate with each other in their play. Consequently, the nursery has a calm, yet vibrant, atmosphere.

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provision

The provider has a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. She and her team have undertaken the relevant safeguarding training and understand their responsibilities well. They monitor risks and implement a range of safety procedures, such as regularly checking all areas and resources are clean and safe. The provider has clear recruitment procedures to check that staff are suitable to work with children and clear induction procedures, so new staff learn their roles and responsibilities.

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provision

The provider is committed to meeting the learning and development requirements. She and her deputy oversee assessments and planning to ensure that staff plan for each individual child according to their needs and stage of development. They supervise staff well and plan a good range of training courses to support staff in their professional development. This good support means that staff are confident in their roles and develop further skills, which benefits children.

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provision

Management and staff effectively drive and secure improvement by using quality improvement plans. Staff successfully identify strengths and weaknesses across the nursery. All recommendations from previous inspections have been met and further improvements have taken place. These include improved information sharing with parents, new furniture and equipment and enhancements to the outdoor area.

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provision

Relationships between parents and staff are relaxed and very well established. Parents have regular discussions with key persons, which enables them to share learning priorities and enhances continuity in children's care. Staff exchange information with parents very well, for example, on the 'wow" board, which displays and celebrates children's achievements at home. There is also a special bear, which travels between home, the nursery and other provisions children also attend. The bear's diary is completed so that children can share their news and experiences. The nursery has developed strong partnerships with other professionals and agencies. Staff know how to seek additional support for children when needed and some local primary schools visit the nursery to ease the children's move to a school environment. This process effectively helps to support partnership working and continuity for children and their families.

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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 EY300167 Local authority North Somerset Inspection number 814857 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 82 Name of provider Little Clowns Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 06/06/2011 Telephone number 01275 340069

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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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