Granby House Nursery

Granby House Nursery Sycamore Avenue, Wickersley, ROTHERHAM, South Yorkshire, S66 2NP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/08/2013 08/12/2010

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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 highly motivated and engage eagerly in learning. Practitioners are highly skilled in maximising every opportunity for learning, and as a result, children make rapid progress in their development.  Children demonstrate high levels of self-esteem and security in the nursery. Practitioners know children extremely well and this ensures all of their individual needs are met to a very high standard.  There are very secure attachments between practitioners and children and this fosters children's emotional security.  Children's learning and development is closely monitored through precise assessment and includes all those involved in their learning. Consequently, the planning is sharply focused and leads to rapid development for children based on their starting points.  The nursery uses highly successful strategies to engage parents in their children's learning. The partnerships established with other agencies are commendable and help

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This provision is outstanding

to support every child to learn and develop to the highest level.  Robust systems for reflecting on practice, involving managers, practitioners, parents and children, identify priorities for continued improvement. The nursery actively seeks critique from external professionals to focus their improvement plans.

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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 compulsory part 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 three rooms and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager and owner of the provision and the lead teacher from the local authority.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation and a selection of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children, the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

Granby House Nursery was registered in 1999 and re-opened as a limited company in 2004. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It is part of a small chain of three nurseries. The nursery is located in the Wickersley district of Rotherham and serves the local and wider community. It opens each weekday throughout the year from 8am to 6pm, except on bank holidays. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Children are cared for in three rooms and have access to two secure enclosed outdoor play areas.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 97 children in the early years age range. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 22 staff working directly with the children, of whom 20 have an appropriate early years qualification. Two of the staff have qualifications at level 6 and the manager has Early Years Professional Status. 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:

 enhance the already excellent partnerships with parents and carers by exploring further methods to involve extended family members in children's care, learning and development.

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who attend

The practitioners at Granby House Nursery have very high expectations of themselves and children. They have an excellent understanding of how to engage children in playing and exploring. This supports children to be highly motivated and as a result they make rapid progress in their learning and development, based on their starting points. All children are making excellent progress including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Practitioners plan experiences that challenge children's thinking and prepare them extremely well for school. For example, a group of children join a practitioner to make play dough. They help her to prepare for the activity and independently fill a jug with water and ensure they have all of the ingredients to hand. All children are included and praised for their individual contributions by the skilful practitioner who ensures they all have a role to play. For example, one child measures the salt, one pours the oil and

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who attend

another measures the flour. This fosters their personal, social and emotional development. Throughout the activity children's communication and language development is being supported as they share some fascinating discussions about their daily lives and why the cap on the oil bottle is difficult to open, for example. Children are confident to share their ideas because the practitioner listens to them and values them. Children maintain concentration and interest for a prolonged period throughout the activity. They are encouraged to be critical thinkers by the practitioner who displays her own thought processes about mixing colours. They see her having the need to ask questions and this is modelling skills for their future learning. There is a discussion about mixing colours as the children have options of colours to choose from. The practitioner asks one child to go and get the colour mixing chart to help them decide. The child confidently goes and finds the

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who attend

chart and brings it back so the group can decide on the colour they want and what colours they will need to make it. The practitioner asks skilful questions to make children think. As a result, children display the characteristics of effective learning and are making excellent progress across all areas of learning. One child decides to leave the activity as the discussions about colour mixing have given them an idea. The child returns with some different coloured magnets and informs the practitioner that they have a red and yellow magnet and if they put them together the child will have orange. The child refers back to the colour mixing sheet to check they are right. The practitioner praises the child and says how clever they are to think of this. They then have a discussion about why the magnets cannot actually be mixed together. This is an excellent example of how well children are learning and developing, linking new ideas and concepts and taking responsibility for their

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who attend

own learning. The practitioners create an environment in which children can test out their ideas in confidence, and as a result, children are making rapid progress in their learning.

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who attend

Observations and assessments of children are sharply focused and inform the planning extremely well. Practitioners know the children very well and plan an excellent and varied range of activities and experiences to meet their individual needs. Planning is happening all of the time as practitioners observe children constantly. They do not hesitate to implement ideas based on those observations and in some cases this happens immediately. Parents and carers are fully included in their children's learning and development. From before their children start at the nursery, practitioners are already gathering as much information as possible to ensure they provide appropriate resources and an environment tailored to each child's uniqueness. Practitioners share information about children's learning and their stage of development with parents and carers on a regular basis. Parents comment to the inspector that they feel fully included in every

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who attend

aspect of their child's learning and development and that nothing is ever too much trouble for the practitioners.

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who attend

Children are encouraged to be highly independent when they are at the nursery. An excellent example of this is at lunchtime where children lay the table in preparation for their meal ensuring they have enough plates, knives and forks for all of the children. They count the children to double check they have enough. They put cups out at each place setting and children serve themselves from the water jug. Lunch arrives in large bowls and children serve themselves, for example, the amount of pasta and bolognese sauce that they would like. This encourages children to take responsibility for their own hunger and thirst in a highly effective way. They can choose whether they would like garlic bread to accompany their meal. Lunchtime is a sociable occasion and the highly skilled practitioners do not miss any opportunities to extend children's learning as they engage them in discussions at the dinner table. Children thoroughly enjoy playing and exploring in the

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who attend

'Mud kitchen'. This is an area outside where children can dig in the mud and add water to it to make it runny. They get dressed in waterproof suits and wellington boots so they can get as messy and wet as possible without being uncomfortable. They then use the many resources available to them to mix up drinks for the practitioners. The children delight in 'washing the pots' in the mud and tell the inspector that the pots are very dirty but in the mud kitchen that means clean! Children are allowed to be creative, explore and get messy. Their learning is significantly enhanced as a result.

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who attend

Outside, some toddlers are enjoying a painting activity. They have powder paints and water which they are mixing and using to create works of art. One child decides they would like runnier consistency paint and starts to add water. Practitioners skilfully support and question them to make the child think about how runny they would like it. The child decides they would like it very runny like water. The child then creates a picture with their runny paint and turns it over and puts it onto a blank piece of paper. A practitioner says 'look at that you have made, a print'. The child looks confused so they explain to the child what has happened. They soon understand and proceed to create more 'prints' with their runny paint. The child is displaying all the characteristics of effective learning. The child is playing and exploring with a familiar material and finding out what the effect of water being added is. They are actively learning as they are enjoying what they are doing and

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who attend

concentrating. This child is creating and thinking critically as they have come up with the idea of adding paint and learnt a new skill of making prints.

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

Very close attachments are formed between children and their key person. Practitioners spend a great deal of time getting to know children very well and this has an extremely positive impact on children's self-esteem and sense of belonging. Parents are actively contributing to the time their children spend at nursery and are fully engaged by practitioners who care about them as well as the children. Care practices are exemplary throughout the nursery as consistently high standards of hygiene and safety are maintained. Children's health and well-being is fostered as a consequence of practitioner's vigilance. Transitions into the nursery and between rooms are managed efficiently with the focus being on children's well-being. Staff deployment is excellent and ensures children are kept very safe as well as being supported in their learning exceedingly well at all times. Children's behaviour is exemplary across the nursery. They learn from the

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

practitioners who are excellent role models regarding behaviour. Children play harmoniously together and regularly check to see if each other is okay. They share and take turns, mostly without prompt from practitioners and they understand the routines and rules of the nursery very well. They are learning to cooperate with each other and this is a skill for life.

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

Children are able to manage their own safety and take risks because practitioners have created an extremely enabling environment in which they can do so. Children learn how to manage their own health to a high standard. For example, they initiate a discussion about the harmful effects of salt on the body and practitioners extend this by introducing the concept that salt is bad for their livers. Children are aware that when they go outside in the sunshine they must wear a hat and have sun cream applied. They confidently inform practitioners of this who in turn praise them for having such good knowledge of how to protect themselves. Children's self-care skills are exceptionally well promoted as they independently wash their hands before they eat and after they have visited the toilet. Older children support younger children to use the soap and they understand that they are washing the germs from their hands so they do not get poorly. The nursery cook provides

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

children with healthy and nutritious snacks and meals which they thoroughly enjoy. One child comments that they love the food as it is 'not junk food which can make your tummy poorly'. Children have many opportunities for physical exercise inside and outside in the nursery gardens. They also go on regular trips to the local park. Children's health is very well safeguarded by practitioners who gather thorough information and keep robust records of any medication they administer.

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

The provision for the youngest children is very good. Practitioners focus on the prime areas of learning which ensures babies development is supported extremely appropriately. The environment is calm and this allows babies to rest when they need to and not become over stimulated. There are an abundance of natural resources which babies can access independently according to their age and stage of development. Practitioners have a clear emphasis on getting to know the babies very well and place high priority on forming strong bonds with them. As a result, babies emotional security is extremely well fostered. An example of this is when a practitioner explains to the inspector how much a very young baby loves the black and white musical cow and the practitioner goes and gets it for the baby. When the baby sees the cow their face illuminates and they reach out for it and hold on tight. The baby gets very excited when the cow's music plays and they start to

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provision

The manager and deputy manager have an excellent understanding of their responsibilities with regard to meeting the learning and development requirements for all children. Monitoring of the planning and delivery of the educational programmes is constant and thorough. The manager is supported by the owner and area manager as well as the lead teacher from the local authority. This abundance of support combined with the manager's commitment to constantly strive for improvement means that leadership and management is very strong and children are making excellent progress as a result. Any additional needs children may have are observed quickly and support is put in place so that their development is not adversely affected. Practitioners are consistently reflecting on their practice and this is further supported by them observing each other and offering constructive criticism to support their professional development. Meeting the safeguarding

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provision

and welfare requirements is of very high priority to the manager and leadership team. They all have an excellent understanding of their responsibilities to keep children safe and have a robust range of policies and procedures in place to support this. Children are safeguarded as a result. The environment is very safe for children and this is due to thorough risk assessments combined with staff vigilance. Practitioners place children's safety high on the list of their priorities. The nursery works extremely well in partnership with parents and carers. They share a wealth of information with the aim of getting to know the children and their parents and carers very well. They also work exceptionally well in partnership with external agencies and the local authority. They have recognised that they could do even more to enhance the already excellent partnerships with parents and plan to introduce home visits as a way

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provision

of involving extended family members in children's care, learning and development. The manager is constantly reflecting on practice and regularly completes thorough self- evaluations. She uses these to focus her plans for improvement and is always looking for new ideas and ways to do things. The whole staff team are committed to striving for continuous improvement and will never think they have achieved perfection. There are regular meetings between the leaders and managers at each of the three nurseries in the chain. Managers find these meetings extremely useful in supporting them to continually improve practice. Managers also regularly visit each other's nurseries and spend time working with the practitioners and children there to get new ideas and continue their professional development. The nursery has just been through a vigorous quality assurance scheme which has been another way in which they have reflected on their practice.

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provision

There is an emphasis on professional development within the nursery and through regular supervision, practitioners are encouraged to access any training they feel will support them in their practice. As a result, the staff team are very highly qualified and trained and this has a significant effect on children's care, learning and development. The nursery have developed their own in-house training schedule and one of their priorities for improvement is to develop this even further so that they can offer practitioners a comprehensive training package which covers all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The manager operates a 'bottom up' approach and includes all practitioners at every level. Staff retention is excellent and this is because they love working at the nursery and feel totally supported by the managers and owners. Practitioners constantly support each other and the result is a harmonious working environment where morale is

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provision

high. This enables adults and children to thrive.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY281270 Local authority Rotherham Inspection number 861071

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 41 Number of children on roll 97 Name of provider Granby Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 08/12/2010 Telephone number 01709 548008

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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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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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