West Downs Day Nursery

West Downs Day Nursery West Downs Student Village, Romsey Road, Winchester, Hampshire, SO22 5HT

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 02/04/2013 14/04/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children are very happy and settled at the nursery. They benefit from the kind and caring way that staff support them and meet their daily needs. They make excellent progress as a result.  A robust key person system supports engagement with all parents. Parents contribute to initial assessments of children's starting points on entry and are kept very well informed about their children's progress.  Staff work very effectively as a team and know all the children and their families well.  Children are prepared extremely well for transitions. As younger children move between rooms within the nursery, they are well supported in joining a new age group of children.

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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 all four rooms within the nursery and the outside area. This included children's play and staff interaction.  The inspector and deputy manager undertook a joint observation of outdoor play.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the staff, the manager, deputy manager and regional manager at appropriate times throughout the observations.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journeys, planning documentation, the self-evaluation form and a selection of policies, children's records and staff suitability records.  The inspector also took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

West Downs Day Nursery opened in 1998 and is part of the Child Base chain of nurseries. Child Base Ltd is an independent company, which was established in 1990; it currently owns and runs 40 nurseries across the country. West Downs Day Nursery is situated within the university grounds of West Downs student village, in Winchester, Hampshire. Children are grouped in four different areas according to their age and stage of development. All ages have access to a large enclosed garden. The nursery is open from 8.00am until 6.00pm every day for 52 weeks of the year. It provides full and part-time places for the children of staff and students at the university and also for working parents in the surrounding urban area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 116 children in the early years age group on roll. The nursery receives funding for the

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Information about the setting

provision of free early education to children aged three and four years. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are learning English as an additional language. There are currently 25 staff who work with the children, of whom 16 hold a relevant early years qualification. There are four members of staff who are working towards relevant qualifications. The nursery receives support from the local authority.

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

 strengthen arrangements for information sharing and partnership working with other providers and schools in order to ensure greater continuity in children's learning and development.

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who attend

The atmosphere of the day nursery is busy and purposeful. There is an extremely clear focus on helping children to acquire communication and language skills and on supporting their physical, personal, social and emotional development. Children are highly motivated and eager to take part in the interesting learning experiences on offer each day. Staff are enthusiastic about the experiences that they provide for children and use extremely good teaching techniques. Many have worked in the setting for a number of years and this provides consistent care and learning for the children. This has a very positive impact on children's learning and development and ensures that they all make the very best progress. Children are eager to take part in the wide range of exciting and challenging experiences offered to them. They benefit from staff whose interaction is exceptional and provides much individual attention for all children. Staff make good eye contact with children and

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who attend

give them plenty of time to think and form their answers. They encourage children's independence and instil a 'have a go' approach. Staff deploy themselves very effectively and work well together to enhance children's learning both indoors and outside.

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who attend

Children develop very good communication skills. They are encouraged to speak clearly and politely to their friends and to adults. They sing a huge range of songs and rhymes and younger children are encouraged to repeat sounds or words while looking at books. Many of the older children recognise and write their names. They have excellent control and co-ordination as they handle pencils and crayons to form recognisable letters; for example they label their Easter cards with 'Happy Easter' above the interestingly decorated and colourful picture of an egg. Older children count well and recognise numbers. They are able to match the frog to the number as they line them up on the log. They begin to make predictions as they play matching and memory games and many easily recall where the two similar pictures are hidden. Children develop their mathematical language as they discuss the size and shape of the blocks they need to build

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who attend

a tall tower to ensure that it won't fall over.

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who attend

Children's physical development is given very good emphasis. They are able to move freely between the garden area and indoors for much of the day. Younger children learn new skills as they watch the older children dig in the sand or work out how to manoeuvre the digger to make a hole in the wood chips. All children successfully develop and extend their physical skills as they learn through their play in the varied, safe and interesting outdoor environments. They greatly benefit from, and enjoy, playing together in the mixed age groups, developing in confidence and self-esteem as they progress through the nursery.

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who attend

Staff plan children's experiences to cover all areas of learning, both indoors and outside. Planning documents detail an extensive programme of challenging and interesting activities for all children. Staff establish what children can do when they first start through talking with parents and asking them to complete an 'All about me' document for their child. Planning for individual children is based on further observations and assessments made by all staff and passed to each child's key worker. Key staff undertake additional observations which they use to make accurate assessments and to plan individual next steps for each child. Assessments are prepared for the progress check for 2-year-olds to ensure that all children are developing at the expected rate. Staff work extremely closely with parents to keep them informed about their children's learning and development. They frequently share children's learning journeys with parents and encourage them to share

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who attend

information about their children's achievements at home. Any children who are assessed as needing extra support or guidance, such as children with any particular needs or English as an additional language, are very well provided for. If it is felt that children and their families would benefit, other professionals are invited in to work with staff and provide further expertise.

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

All babies and young children are very happy, settled and thoroughly enjoy their time at the nursery owing to the trusting relationships established with all staff. Care practices are extremely good and children learn about good hygiene routines such as hand washing and using tissues to wipe their noses. As they do this, they are developing a very strong sense of independence and gaining in confidence. Babies' routine needs are met efficiently by staff who are flexible and adaptable. All staff know the children in the nursery well and form particularly close bonds with the children and families for whom they take special responsibility. This robust and well established key person and buddy key person system ensures that routines are individual to each child and agreed with parents.

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

Children confidently help themselves to the good quality resources and equipment. Children interact extremely well with staff, asking for help or support if required. As a result of the secure emotional bonds they have formed they are confident to approach any member of staff and quickly learn the daily routine. Many older children help to tidy the toys away or clean the tables before lunch.

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

All children enjoy a hot, nutritious meal at midday and the nursery is able to cater for all dietary requirements. Babies are encouraged to try feeding themselves and older children to serve their own food. Older children know to wash their hands before lunch and to sit quietly while eating. They are encouraged to learn how to meet their own care and hygiene needs. Children chat confidently with staff about healthy eating, what they have done during the morning or their plans for the afternoon session. All children very much enjoy this social occasion and benefit from the interaction with their friends and staff who sit with them. Children's understanding of safety is threaded through many daily routines and activities. Children confidently remind each other, and sometimes adults, about keeping safe; for example they talk about lining up and waiting for an adult to accompany them up the steps in the garden to make sure they don't fall.

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

Children behave extremely well and many learn to play cooperatively with their friends and staff. They are learning that they must be kind to each other and take turns with equipment. Staff encourage this through the playing of games where each child must wait for their turn. Children know to sit quietly and wait patiently for their go. Staff use very successful strategies such as praising children for sharing or giving them a sticker for their achievements with potty training.

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

Staff support children very successfully as they progress through the different rooms within the nursery. Children visit the next age group before moving up permanently to ensure that they are familiar with both staff and the environment. This process is made significantly easier for children as they are already familiar with all staff and older children as a result of the opportunities for outside play and interaction. The nursery children feed into a wide range of different schools and some also attend other settings. Staff and management have made good arrangements for sharing their knowledge of the children with these other providers and schools. They do not have as effective systems in place to encourage other settings to share information about the children to ensure greater continuity in children's learning and development.

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provision

Management and staff work extremely well together to ensure that the nursery is very well organised and that daily routines operate smoothly. They have an exceedingly good understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the welfare, safeguarding and learning and development requirements and ensuring staff suitability. Robust and efficient systems ensure that all staff are suitably qualified and appropriately vetted. Adults are not allowed to work with children until all checks are cleared. Thorough induction and appraisal systems are in place to identify staff training needs and to make sure that these are clearly targeted to improve the setting's already excellent practice. All staff are encouraged to develop their own professional practice and to share the benefit of this with their colleagues. Since the last inspection, staff and management have worked extremely hard to address weaknesses, leading to improved monitoring of safety systems and a

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provision

greater understanding of child development. The whole team work exceptionally well together in the pursuit of excellence.

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provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children's well-being are extremely effective. All staff receive in-house training in how to protect the children in their care and, as a result, have an excellent understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The implementation of a comprehensive range of policies and procedures and accurate completion of records ensures children's needs are exceptionally well met and that they are fully safeguarded.

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provision

Staff organise the environment very well to ensure it is interesting and welcoming for children and meets their learning needs. Management and staff track and monitor the education provided for children ensuring that very good progress is made in all areas of learning. Staff and management form very effective partnerships with parents and other agencies to ensure that any interventions needed are secured and children receive the support they need. Parents' opinions are sought regarding the organisation of the nursery and changes are implemented accordingly. Parents demonstrate that they appreciate the staff's work and dedication. They particularly appreciate the effective settling-in procedure which enables them to be reassured that their children are happy at nursery. Accurate self-evaluation is carried out by management at the nursery, taking into account the views of staff and parents. This leads to successful identification of the setting's

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provision

strengths and areas for development. As a result, the outdoor learning environment has been further developed leading to improvements in numerous aspects of the children's welfare and learning and development.

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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 110335 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 909792

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 68 Number of children on roll 116 Name of provider Child Base Limited Date of previous inspection 14/04/2011 Telephone number 01962 827393

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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

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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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