Cranbrook Independent Nursery and Preschool

Cranbrook Independent Nursery and Pre-School Ivy Cottage, Balcome Road, Horley, Surrey, RH6 9SW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/08/2013 08/09/2010

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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

 The warm approach of staff helps children to settle quickly and to feel safe and secure, forming secure attachments and bonds.  Staff have a calm and consistent manner with the children and follow sensitive behaviour management procedures.  Children have great fun in the well resourced large garden which provides wide-open spaces for them to experiment with different ways of moving.  Partnerships with parent are very good; they are fully involved in their children's learning and development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The inside area provides fewer opportunities for young children to practice their physical skills of crawling through and climbing onto different levels. This means their physical development is not always fully promoted indoors.  Young children have fewer opportunities to look at books that reflect people who are special to them in their lives. Therefore, staff do not consistently promote children's engagement with books from an early age.

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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 indoors and outdoors.  The inspector had discussions with parents, staff and children.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's records, safeguarding procedures, self-evaluation, policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

Cranbrook Independent Nursery and Pre-school is owned by Childcare and Learning Group Ltd and registered under the present owner in 2006. It operates from a converted house in Horley, Surrey. All children have access to a secure outdoor play area. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register, compulsory Childcare Register and voluntary Childcare Register. There are currently 130 children on roll aged between three months to five years. The setting receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged two, three and four-years old. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities as well as those who learn English as an additional language. The nursery opens each weekday from 7am to 6pm throughout the year. Children attend a variety of sessions that include morning, afternoon or full day. There are 13 staff who work with the children, all of whom are appropriately qualified.

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

 provide a wider range of books and other resources including photographs of the children's families and significant people in their life

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

 provide different arrangements of toys and soft play materials to encourage young children to crawl through and climb onto different levels.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use this in practice very well to meet children's individual needs. The planning displayed in each room is based on a secure assessment of children's next steps and of their current interests. All areas of learning are covered by a full range of activities and experiences in the inside environment as well as the outside environment. Staff record observations on individual children and these then feed into the planning. Each child has an informative 'learning journey' file, which show how activities link to the areas of learning and gives a general overview of where they are at in their development. The manager and her deputy oversee the tracking of children's progress, which is analysed and monitored regularly. All development records are shared regularly with parents so that they are kept well informed. Progress checks for children who are two years old are well established and

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who attend

detail of how the child is progressing. Many of the older children have been in the nursery since they were babies. Therefore, key persons pass on their 'learning journeys' to the next room as they move up and have discussions about children's individual needs and interests. As a result, there is good continuity and consistency in place for children's learning.

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who attend

Partnerships with parent are very good, they are fully involved in their children's learning and development. They share information about their child such as, what they achieve at home and what their interest are. For example, many of the preschool children have an interest in space, so staff respond by turning the home corner into a spaceship.

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who attend

Young children clearly enjoy sensory play. Toddlers use a variety of brushes, sponges, and rollers as they experiment with paint. This then develops into hand printing and body painting as they brush paint onto their arms and describe the paint as feeling 'dry'. Staff are invited to join their play and thoroughly enjoy the children painting their arms too. Children are then invited to splash in the water to wash the paint off; they are very happy and giggle with delight. Babies sit in large trays to explore shredded paper with their hands or stamp around in it and listen to the crunching sounds it makes. Staff are supportive as they show children how to use different tools, such as, plastic containers. As a result, children demonstrate high levels of curiosity and remain interested in their play.

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who attend

Books are freely available throughout the nursery. However, there are fewer opportunities for young children to access resources containing pictures and images of people that are important to them. Therefore, staff do not take all opportunities to fully engage children in looking at books that are of great interest to them as individuals. Nevertheless, staff promote children's language and communication very well. The children's learning environment both inside and outside is rich in print, which engages children's interest. Staff use good methods of promoting children's communication, through careful questioning and by giving quality commentary to everything they are doing. Consequently, children feel valued, become confident, and develop useful skills to prepare them for starting school.

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

Throughout the nursery staff promote a calm and caring atmosphere where children develop positive relationships with them and their peers. The warm approach of staff helps them to settle quickly and to feel safe and secure, forming secure attachments and bonds. A programme of settling-in visits for new children helps them to make a smooth move from home to the nursery. This continues as they move rooms with the gentle support of their key person in the nursery. They visit the next room for short periods of time, so that they become familiar with the staff and children.

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

Children enjoy playing in this welcoming environment. For example, in each playroom resources are easily accessible for them on low level storage units or the floor. This helps them to make their own choices and develops their independence. Staff cover different festivals with the children and have a good range of resources that reflect positive images of our diverse society, to help develop children's understanding. The safety of children is given priority and they learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, children practice the emergency evacuation procedure and know that they need to have sun protection on when playing outside.

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

Staff have a consistent approach to managing children's behaviour. Staff have a calm and consistent manner with the children and follow sensitive behaviour management procedures. For example, they promote children's self-esteem by giving them meaningful praise for their efforts. Staff gently remind children how to share resources and to be considerate towards one another. Children are extremely polite and say 'please' and 'thank you' at appropriate times.

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

Children have great fun in the well resourced large garden which provides wide-open spaces for them to experiment with different ways of moving. They negotiate the space successfully as they run, skip and hop. They develop gross motor skills as they practice balancing on climbing equipment, for example they successfully climb up onto the climbing frame and jump landing on two feet. Although the outside area offers children lots of opportunity to practice their physical skills the inside area is not so well planned. For example, there are not many opportunities for children in the baby unit to crawl through and climb onto different levels.

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

Staff encourage children to be independent from an early age. Babies learn how to feed themselves using a spoon as soon as staff observe signs of the child's readiness. Older children help to set the table and count the cutlery to ensure each person on the table has a knife, fork and spoon. They thoroughly enjoy helping to serve meals to their peers and pour out their own drinks of water. Children learn about healthy foods through discussion and by growing their own vegetables. They delight as they notice the green beans are ready for eating and eagerly take them indoors ready for cooking. All of these experiences help children to develop good self-care skills.

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provision

The management team demonstrate a secure understanding of their responsibilities of meeting the welfare, safeguarding, learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff clearly understand their responsibilities with regard to child protection issues and as a result, children are protected from harm. Regular risk assessments, both indoors and outside, minimise the chance of accidental injury effectively. The robust recruitment procedure ensures that all staff are checked with regard to their suitability, qualifications and experience, in order to keep children safe. This is complemented with an effective and well-established induction procedure for all staff. Consequently, staff demonstrate a good understanding of policies and procedures and implement them well. Staff performance is monitored well, which ensures the management team's high expectations are met. All staff undertake a range of training to

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provision

develop their knowledge and enhance their practice and include safeguarding and first aid training. Staff have a good knowledge of how to prepare children for moving onto other settings and work with other providers, who deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Procedures include working closely with schools and other settings to pass information on relating to children's development and welfare. This has a positive result with promoting consistency in their care and learning. Staff follow an effective self-evaluation process, which includes input from parents and children. For example, staff ask parents to complete questionnaires and children regularly share their views on the service provided. Staff clearly identify their strengths and are realistic as they recognise areas for improvement. They also work closely with a wide range of advisers enabling them to effectively develop and enhance opportunities for all children. A 'mud' kitchen is now available outside and

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provision

has proved to be a great success with all of the children. There are many plans in place to further enhance the setting, which include an outside classroom and a 'forest' school. Daily verbal communication with parents, regular progress reports and copies of the policies and procedures, ensure parents are well informed at all times. Parents comment that 'staff are really enthusiastic and very caring'. They also like the large well equipped outside area.

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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 EY330787 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 926173 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 58 Number of children on roll 130 Name of provider Childcare and Learning (Cranbrook) Limited Date of previous inspection 08/09/2010 Telephone number 01293 825192

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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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