West Park Kindergarten

Noah's Ark Nursery West Park Road, SOUTH SHIELDS, Tyne and Wear, NE33 4LB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 05/08/2013 30/07/2012

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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 take part in a good range of self-chosen and adult-led activities that are tailored to meet their needs and build on their individual interests. As a result, children reach expected levels of attainment in their overall learning and development.  Children play in a welcoming, stimulating well-set out environment where they are happy and enjoy their play. They move around independently and access their toys and equipment easily. This shows that they are very confident and self-assured.  Support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and English as an additional language is a key strength of the nursery.  Self-evaluation, clear action plans and constant reviews, means that there is a clear process for ongoing improvement. This benefits the children's well-being, safety and learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Collections of natural, real, recyclable and interesting objects for children to sort, order, weigh, count and label are not available to further enhance children's curiosity about mathematical concepts.  Two- to three-year-old children are not consistently given opportunities to take part in preparing their own snacks to further enhance their independence and self-help skills.

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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 held a meeting with the registered person and two managers, spoke to key persons and staff.  The inspector interacted with babies and spoke to children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities and routines in the playrooms and the outdoor area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of documentation including children's learning journals and planning, action plans, the self-evaluation form, some policies and records, and completed parental questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

Noah's Ark Nursery was registered in 2000 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in Wrekendyke, South Shields in South Tyneside. It is one of three nurseries managed by a private provider. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from a converted building and there are four main rooms. The babies are cared for on the first floor, which is accessible via a flight of stairs. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 13 members of childcare staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above; one member of staff holds a relevant degree. The nursery opens Monday to Friday for 51 weeks of the year from 7am until 6pm. There are currently 84 children attending, 70 are within the early years age group. Children attend for a variety of sessions and full days. Wrap around and out-of-school care is also available each weekday from 7am until 9am and 3pm until 6pm during term time. A holiday club is available from 7am until 6pm in the school holidays. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children who speak English as an additional language and 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:

 provide collections of natural, real, recyclable and interesting objects for children to sort, order, weigh, count and label, to further enhance their mathematical development

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

 give two- to three-year-old children more opportunities to enhance their independence and self-help skills further, by providing them with relevant equipment to enable them to help prepare their own snacks and pour their own drinks.

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who attend

Staff successfully implement the Early Years Foundation Stage in practice. They plan stimulating activities based on children's interests and what they enjoy doing. They record short notes on what they see children doing during child-initiated play and provide activities and resources to build on this. For example, when babies enjoy banging and shaking objects, the key person makes some coloured water bottles to enhance their interests, sensory awareness and enjoyment further. Adult-led activities are also planned well, which reflect children's interests and stage of development. For example, there are a number of boys in the pre-school room who enjoy being energetic. Therefore, outside play and trips to the park are regularly planned in, so that they can make use of local facilities and burn off excess energy. This also further enhances children's enjoyment and learning, such as climbing and balancing. The staff analyse observations to help plan for children's

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who attend

next steps in their learning. They use good tracker systems to show whether a child is emerging, developing or secure in specific aspects of their learning and development. This gives them a good overview of where children are at and where they may need to target any support to ensure that children continue to make good progress.

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who attend

Young children love to get messy during their art activities. They eagerly explore the paint with their fingers and hands and hold them up stating, 'Look at my hands!' When staff notice that children have been showing an interest in letter formation, they introduce some letter shape sponges that they can use in the paint. When children mix the paint together staff ask them about the colours and what it feels like. They point out to them that they have made the colour orange by mixing red and yellow. Children are very excited, happy and animated during these creative activities. Staff build on children's curiosity well. For example, when a two-year-old sees the older children playing outside, they go to the decked area and make gestures that they would like to go out too. Staff ask children questions that make them think, such as what they will need to wear and to check if it is still raining. Children, look to the sky, put their hand out and state; 'Yes it's

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who attend

raining now'. This good questioning promotes children's thinking, independence and decision making successfully. Children love to look through their learning journal's and are very protective as they state, 'That's mine, my file'. They happily look through their artwork and photographs and point out and name things that are familiar to them. This shows that young children are developing the confidence and skills to move on in their learning and be ready for school.

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who attend

Pre-school children are encouraged to put on their own coats and shoes and they use the bathrooms independently. They also change their clothes when they are wet after a trip to the park in the rain. New mathematics, writing and investigative areas have recently been established in the pre-school room. Numbers, letters and words are also prominently displayed in the environment. These resources and encouragement of self-helps skills, assist children to progress in the specific areas of learning in readiness for school. However, most of the mathematics equipment is plastic and manufactured, which does not provide a sufficient collection of interesting things for children to sort, order, weigh, count and label during play. For example, they do not use things that they may have collected in the outdoors, real or recyclable objects and materials. They do, however, like to hunt for the real money 'treasure' in the sand.

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who attend

Daily diary sheets are used as well as regular verbal feedback to inform parents of their child's day. Children's individual learning journals are available at any time for parents to view. Regular parents' evenings and open days, ensure that parents have sufficient chances to discuss their child's development with their key person. Staff encourage parents to contribute to the 'Wow' boards if they notice something their child has done at home. Management and staff are also working on ways to increase the level of parental input, to ensure that they can exchange more regular information on what their children enjoy doing at home. Staff are developing displays with photographs of the children's families to provide talking points for the children. Staff also ensure that they engage children with English as an additional language successfully. They sing their 'Hello' song in their home language, gain key words from parents and they plan activities with different

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who attend

cultures and traditions in mind, such as food tasting. This helps children to settle in, shows that every child is valued and parents are recognised as key partners their child's learning.

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

Children play in a warm, welcoming and stimulating environment and have daily access to fresh air and exercise. Toys are stored at low level, which means that all children, including babies and toddlers, access these easily. For example, toddlers love to crawl into the rice tray to explore and two-year-olds have fun when they play in the large sand tray with buckets and scoops. Staff who work with babies and the under three's are very experienced and competent. This means that the youngest children form close bonds and attachments, even with staff who are new to the nursery. Staff are clear about where their expertise is better utilised. This means that deployment of staff is good and ensures that children's individual care and development is supported well in the three prime areas of learning. New staff get to know parents by having introductory meetings and regular discussions on a daily basis about their child's changing routines so that care plans are

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

regularly updated. 'All about me' information is completed on individual children and kept in their learning journals. This helps staff to establish a starting point from which to base children's care. Staff adhere to any new routines, achievements and changing interests that children demonstrate. For example, when parents tell a key person that their toddler has just started walking, she introduces new equipment and verbal encouragement to support this important milestone in their physical development.

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

Transition moves to new rooms are managed very well. Key persons discuss this with parents and agree the process on an individual basis. Short introductory visits are held and the child's key person accompanies them to the new room. Written summary reviews on children's learning and development are handed over to new key persons and the settling-in process is flexible. For example, parents are informed that once their child has moved through, they can be welcomed back into their previous room at any time. This means that children receive effective support to help them settle and move on in their independent learning.

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

Staff sit and chat with children at snack and lunchtimes and they talk about healthy lifestyles and what is good for them. Children are becoming used to a new system, as a designated dining area in the existing out-of-school room will be developed to support their social skills further. Older children have appropriate opportunities to serve themselves, which aids their independence, but this is not as well supported for the two- to three-year-olds. For example, the appropriate cutlery and tools, such as, small jugs, plates and safe knives are not always available to encourage children to spread their own crackers and pour their own milk at snack times. Therefore, children who are developing strong independent skills are not consistently supported to carry out these self-help tasks successfully.

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

Children are supervised well. For example, when they go on an outing, they line up carefully and hold the staffs' hands. They know that they should wear their 'walking shoes' inside for safety and quickly remind their friends of this if they see them run around indoors. Children take part in whole group, planned activities around feelings and behaviour, such as what makes them feel 'happy or sad'. Staff are quick to intervene if they notice any conflicts between the older children and remind them of this activity. They build on children's interests and when they notice that children need to move on, they change activities and distract them. For example, by taking a smaller group of children up to the mezzanine area to sing and play musical instruments. Staff offer lots of positive praise, which helps to raise children's self-esteem. Therefore, staff manage children's behaviour successfully. This helps children to learn about what is acceptable and what is

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

not and to understand how their actions can sometimes upset their friends.

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provision

The nursery has been well-established for a number of years and the owner is keen to ensure that the staff provide good quality care and education for children. There have been a few staff changes and a new manager has recently taken up post. The manager is currently in the process of reviewing all the current systems, updating policies and procedures and implementing changes to the environment to benefit the children's overall welfare, care and learning further. The manager is clear about his role in child protection and he has support from the owner, local authority advisor and another manager from a partner nursery, should he need advice. He is confident that staff understand the safeguarding procedures and knows that they would alert him if they have any concerns about a child's care or welfare. The premises are secured by internal doors that can only be opened from inside, visitors sign in and out and good staff rotas and registers are in

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provision

place. Clear collection and drop off systems are in place for children who attend wrap around care and higher than required staff:child ratios are in place at this time. The majority of staff hold paediatric first-aid certificates and accident recording meets requirements. Any accidents are closely monitored and reviewed so that the manager and owner can identify any recurring incidents and deal with this through activity planning or changes to the environment. Consequently, children remain safe.

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provision

The drive for further improvement is strong. All staff have action plans for areas that they want to develop further and equipment that they would like. Some staff have clear intentions, such as developing a designated baby area in the garden. The Ofsted self- evaluation form has been updated and this gives a clear picture of the nursery's strengths. They are working on the key priorities for improvement and use parental feedback from questionnaires to make changes; for example, when a parent had some concerns about the entrance a second gate was added to the exit route as an extra precaution. The recommendations from the last inspection have been addressed successfully. This has improved the environment, enhanced activities and children's learning through everyday routines.

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provision

The manager has a good understanding of how to monitor staff performance. As he is new to the role he has not yet carried out supervision or peer observations on current staff, but these are planned for the near future. He is responsible for safe recruitment across all of the nurseries. References are followed up, Disclosure and Barring Service checks are obtained and qualifications are checked. Staff are always on a probationary period and as well as a verbal interview they are observed in practice carrying out an activity with the children before they are appointed. Therefore, clear recruitment, selection and interview techniques are used to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children and within the team.

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provision

New staff and the manager liaise regularly with parents to keep them up-to-date with current developments, such as any changes to key persons. This ensures that they continue to be happy with the care that their children receive. The manager has an open door policy, is able to see parents coming and going and welcomes their feedback. The majority of recent parents' questionnaires indicate that they are pleased with the setting, comments include; 'Staff are so friendly and helpful,' and that they are pleased with the amount of information they receive. Management are currently working on engaging with parents further, to enhance the information they give out on the curriculum and children's activities.

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provision

The dedicated special educational needs coordinator within the nursery works highly successfully with parents and external professionals, such as pre-school portage workers. She implements suggestions and individually tailored activities prepared by outside professionals, attends meetings to share information and acts as a very good support for parents and other staff. This means that all children with differing needs receive the targeted help they need. Consequently, close partnership working enables all children to make progress and reach their full potential.

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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 EY305369 Local authority South Tyneside Inspection number 930825

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 78 Number of children on roll 84 Name of provider Eamonn Patrick Gribben and Susan Julie Gribben Partnership Date of previous inspection 30/07/2012 Telephone number 0191 4543223

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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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