Brookvale Nursery

Brookvale Nursery Brookvale Childrens Centre, Woodhatch Road, Brookvale, RUNCORN, Cheshire, WA7 6BJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 29/07/2013 10/02/2011

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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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children form good attachments to their key person and feel secure in the environment and so they are keen to explore, knowing staff are close by to give support.  Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are very well supported in their care and learning and make good progress.  The staff promote children's early communication and language skills well. They use clear speech and repetition during children's play to reinforce their developing language.  The range of resources both inside and out in the garden is very good. Children have lots of opportunities to explore and investigate.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to enhance the very good levels of independence children develop further, by encouraging them to serve themselves at lunchtime.  The range of information collected about children's needs on entry could be even more effective in helping staff to swiftly plan for each child, if parents are always asked to identify what their children can already do.  There is scope to further develop the very good methods of staff appraisal by extending the use of peer observations to help them to support children's learning even more effectively.

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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 children and staff engaged in a range of activities, indoors and in the garden.  The inspector had discussions with children, parents and staff.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined a sample of children's learning records and enrolment forms.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector met with the manager and also completed a joint observation of staff practice with her.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined a sample of staff records, such as those relating to recruitment, induction and appraisal, as well as training certificates.

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Information about the setting

Brookvale Neighbourhood Nursery opened in 2004 and is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is managed by the Pre-school Learning Alliance. It operates from Brookvale Children's Centre in Runcorn, Cheshire. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There are enclosed areas for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 15 members of childcare staff. Of these 14 have appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above with all room managers holding a level 4 qualification or higher. The manager and deputy manager have level 6 qualifications. In addition, the company employs additional bank staff to work specifically for the nursery as required.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm, 51 weeks of the year. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 114 children attending, all of whom are within the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 extend the wide range of information gathered about children on entry by asking parents to identify what they know their children can already do, in order to swiftly plan to help each child make even more progress

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

 encourage children to serve themselves at lunchtimes so that they can develop even better self-help skills

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

 enhance the existing staff appraisals by extending the use of peer observations, so they can even more effectively help children to make good progress.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of how young children learn. They observe children in their play and plan activities to help them make good progress in all areas of their learning and development. Staff are very good at asking children open-ended questions and giving them time to respond. For example, during a puddle activity, they ask 'what is happening to the colours?' as children mix powder paint into the puddle. They wonder out loud, why white paint has turned grey and children think and then respond by saying, 'it's mixed with the puddle water'. They describe pictures in a lotto game and pause to encourage children to think about whether they have the same picture on their board. Young children have regular sing along sessions and recall the words and actions to their favourite songs. As a result, children develop very good communication skills and confidently discuss interesting topics and make imaginative suggestions. For example, a child explains that

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who attend

the baby giant African snails in the tank, enjoy eating the children's leftover lettuce.

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who attend

Alongside the information about children's care needs, the staff collect some developmental information for each child on entry. However, there is scope to extend this information even further by asking parents what their child can do. This means staff can more swiftly plan for children, so that they make even more progress in their learning. Where children have special educational needs and/or disabilities or need additional support, staff have put very effective methods in place to help them. For example, visual support is provided, through a selection of images, to help children communicate and anticipate the daily routine. In addition, all staff model basic sign language and so children know how to sign simple words, such as 'drink' and 'thank you' and use these throughout the day.

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who attend

Staff teach children about numbers through planned activities and during meal times, when they count how many children are at the table and how many plates they will need. Toddlers confidently count how many ducks there are, when they sing 'Five little ducks'. Babies have lots of opportunities to develop their senses through tactile activities, such as finger painting and playing with bubbles. They explore how to put plastic rings onto the stacking tower, persisting until they get them on. As a result, babies are beginning to develop physical skills and to understand how things fit together.

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who attend

Staff assess children's development on a regular basis and share their progress with parents, giving them termly summaries and suggestions about how they can extend children's learning further at home. Staff ask parents to share their child's family life, when children take home the nursery's cuddly toy 'Ted' and then complete 'Ted's diary' with details of what he has been doing. In addition, parents can borrow story sacks to read with their children at home. Consequently, children are very well supported in their learning and are gaining a good range of skills to ensure their readiness for school when the time comes.

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

Children form good attachments to their key person and feel secure in the environment and so they are keen to explore, knowing staff are close by to give support. Staff find opportunities to give children one-to-one attention during the busy nursery day and notice quieter children who need more time to join in a group discussion. As a result, children's emotional needs are very well met. Staff praise children's efforts and cooperation, they gently remind children to tidy up and to sit down so all children can see the items in the prop box. Consequently, children are generally well behaved. Staff manage more challenging behaviour effectively, by distracting children and directing them to interesting activities. Children know how to behave safely. For example, they know to blow on their food when staff ask them what they should do if their pudding is hot.

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

The environment is bright and attractive, with the vast majority of resources stored at low levels, so that even young babies can independently select the toys they want to play with. Playrooms are partitioned to create different areas and children can find a quiet corner to play or rest away from a larger group. The building layout does not allow for most children to move freely, between the playrooms and the gardens. However, staff take groups of children outside and so they enjoy fresh air and physical activity throughout the day. Children enjoy the outdoors because of the wide range of activities available to them. They can choose to play in the natural wooded area, climb the challenging slide or dig in the large sand pit. This means they take managed risks which helps them to learn about keeping safe. Children are encouraged to become independent at every age. Babies try to feed themselves at meal times and pre-school children are

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

encouraged to put on their own wet weather suits. However, at meal times opportunities to further encourage independence are missed, as children do not serve themselves. Despite this, children are active and animated learners, who are developing skills that will help them make the transition to school at the appropriate time.

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

Flexible settling-in sessions are adapted to meet individual children's needs. Parents are asked to fill in 'all about me' sheets for their children, which detail their likes and dislikes and any specific needs they may have. This helps staff to provide appropriate care. For example, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities have detailed care plans in place. Transitions between different rooms are very well planned to effectively support children's attachment to their new key person. Children's health is further promoted because they are offered nutritious, well-balanced meals and snacks. They learn about healthy food choices through food tasting and cooking activities. Children's good oral health is supported as the nursery participates in a tooth brushing scheme.

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provision

The inspection took place following an incident where a child left the nursery unaccompanied for a few minutes just after being dropped off in the morning. The manager has since reviewed the risk assessment for arrival and collection times and now has a designated person on door duty. In addition, extra security catches are in place on gates and signs have been displayed asking parents not to let children push the automatic door buttons. This means children's safety is well promoted. Recruitment procedures are robust. Staff undergo a thorough induction programme that includes training on a range of safeguarding issues and health and safety. Staff are aware of the potential signs of abuse and know who to contact if they have concerns. Daily risk assessments ensure that the environment is safe and effective, and procedures for managing allegations against staff, allergies, medicines and accidents are in place. Consequently, children are kept safe

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provision

The management team are reflective and strive to improve all aspects of the nursery. They are currently working their way through a company quality assurance scheme and have plans to review how they observe and plan for children's learning. They regularly ask parents for their views and share information through regular newsletters, daily verbal feedback and home diaries. As a result, parents are very happy with the care and education their children receive. One parent comments 'the staff are fantastic, they listen to my ideas and always try to accommodate them, they are genuinely pleased with the progress my daughter is making, she's developed so well'.

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provision

The manager has implemented effective methods of monitoring children's learning through regular supervision sessions with staff. Staff performance is also monitored through supervision and peer observations. However, some time has elapsed since the last round of observations of practice. As a result, there is scope to offer precise, targeted support to staff by increasing their frequency, which will ultimately benefit children.

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provision

The management team seek the support of specific agencies to help provide targeted support for individual children and they are making good progress, taking account of their starting points and capabilities. Individual children's development trackers are monitored by the manager. Data is gathered to analyse the progress of specific groups of children, to ensure their achievements remain consistently good over time. The nursery has good relationships with the children's centre team, the local primary school and other local settings and this helps the staff share good practice. Effective partnerships are in place with the other settings some children attend, enabling continuity in assessment and evaluation of their learning. Teachers from local schools are invited to come to the nursery to meet pre-school children prior to leaving to start school. Staff help children become familiar with school life and support individual children by going with them to visit their

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provision

new school. As a result, children are well prepared to make the transition to reception class.

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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 EY280215 Local authority Halton Inspection number 915040

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 60 Number of children on roll 114 Name of provider Pre-School Learning Alliance Date of previous inspection 10/02/2011 Telephone number 01928 790144

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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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