Munchkins Village Nursery

Munchkins Village Nursery 31 Junction Lane, Burscough, ORMSKIRK, Lancashire, L40 5SN

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/08/2013 Not Applicable

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

p.1

This provision is good

 Children's dietary needs are well met. This is because the cook uses fresh ingredients to prepare a varied range of meals and snacks. She also involves children in the preparation of some meals and helps them to understand the importance of nutritious food in a healthy lifestyle.  Children enjoy a range of visits to places in the local area, such as to the supermarket, the library and places of interest, for example, the canal. This effectively extends children's learning and promotes their social skills as they meet a wide range of people in the community.  The enthusiastic leadership and management team contribute significantly to the ongoing development of the nursery and the good achievements of the children.  Staff know the children and families well, which helps children feel secure.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 The nursery does not have a whole setting approach to the labelling of resources and displays. As a result, a mix of capital and lower case letters are used, which makes it difficult for children in the early stages of learning to read.  The available role play outfits are themed and do not offer sufficient opportunities for children to be imaginative in their play.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the nursery rooms and in the gardens.  The inspector looked at a sample of children's records and planning documentation.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of staff's suitability to work with children, the provider's self-evaluation form and self-identified development plan.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the registered person, manager, individual staff and children at appropriate times throughout the observations.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector conducted a joint observation with the manager, who has Early Years Professional Status.

p.2

Information about the setting

Munchkins Village Nursery was registered in 2013 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in Burscough, Lancashire and is managed by Munchkins Village Nursery Limited. It operates from two open-plan floors in a detached building. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

p.3

Information about the setting

The nursery employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, two hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, two at level 5 and two at level 6, including one with Early Years Professional Status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm, 51 weeks a year. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 40 children on roll, of which 38 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, who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.3

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

 improve children's ability to recognise familiar words and decode words, by considering how resources and displays are labelled consistently and effectively across the nursery, to best support children's emerging literacy skills

p.3

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

 support children's make-believe play by providing a wider range of clothes and accessories with which to express their own ideas, including 'everyday' clothes, bags and hats.

p.3

who attend

Staff identify with parents, what each child knows and can do before they start nursery. Then, they actively seek out any resources they need, so that they are well prepared and children settle well. For instance, they add cameras to the technological toys in the baby room for a toddler whose parents say they are fascinated by gadgets. They also label resources in the home languages of children and actively seek children's story books from the relevant country. This values the children's home languages and cultures, helps them feel at home and positively teaches all children about similarities and differences. While they play alongside, staff purposefully encourage children's communication and language skills and effectively promote their physical, personal, social and emotional development. Children's good progress in these three areas ensures that they have the key skills needed for the next steps in their learning, such as moving on to school.

p.3

who attend

Children, who speak English as an additional language receive appropriate support, for example, through the use of pictures and signs and by staff using key words in their home language. Staff work very well with parents and other professionals to ensure that children receive the support they need and make good progress over time. As a result, children are generally working comfortably within the typical range of development expected for their age. At least every month, parents receive a written record of their child's interests and learning at nursery. Parents return this form with additional information about children's learning and interests at home. This combined information provides a true picture of children's abilities and is used to ensure the next planned experience matches their learning needs and builds on their interests. The manager carefully monitors the assessment records and planning to identify gaps in children's learning and supports staff

p.4

who attend

Children are interested and keen learners, who display the characteristics of effective learning. This is because, from the baby room upwards, staff allow children plenty of time to concentrate on self-chosen tasks. Babies focus well as they explore and investigate what they find, such as shiny spoons. Staff include natural and household items in the range of freely accessible materials for babies. This stimulates their senses and increases their awareness of their world. Babies also run their fingers through foam on a low-level A-frame and jelly on a tray. These sensory experiences successfully encourage them to make marks with their fingers. Similarly, older children concentrate well on self-chosen tasks, such as painting at an easel and drawing at the table, which successfully encourages their early writing skills. Children's early writing, with some recognisable letters, is clearly valued by staff. However, the nursery does not have a consistent

p.4

who attend

approach to the labelling of resources and displays. As a result, there is a mix of capital and lower case letters, which lessens children's ability to recognise words or easily decode them.

p.4

who attend

Children develop good speaking and listening skills and show a keen interest in literacy. They appropriately turn the pages of books and retell familiar stories. Children make themselves comfortable on the carpet to listen to stories read by staff. Babies explore technology as they activate sounds as they play with toy animals. Staff copy the sounds of animal noises, which encourages babies to respond and develops their speaking and listening skills. Babies are encouraged to listen to and distinguish sounds in the environment. For example, when they hear the noise of building machinery, babies are lifted up to look out of the window at the building work next door. Older children are supported to link sounds to letters, for example, as they are encouraged to use their phonic knowledge to write a message in a birthday card they have made. They also demonstrate their good mathematical knowledge as they correctly name the numerals

p.4

who attend

they have chosen to draw round, cut out and glue onto their birthday card. Children use mathematical words, such as 'tall' and 'short' as they sing and act out songs, for example, 'The grand old Duke of York.' Children play imaginatively with props in both the home and the shop role play area. However, there is scope to add items that are multi-use, such as 'everyday' clothes, bags and hats, to the available range of themed outfits to further support children's make-believe play.

p.4

who attend

Children enjoy simple experiences, which relate to their own culture and are beginning to raise their awareness of the culture of others. For example, they make cards for Easter, flags for St George's day and wear red, white and blue for American Independence Day. At Chinese New Year, children taste different foods. Regular outings in the local area significantly increase children's awareness of their community and develop their understanding of the world. They take the train to the town library, look at horses, ducks and barges on the canal and scan and pack their own shopping at the supermarket.

p.5

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

The nursery rooms are well organised and provide babies with plenty of spaces in which to roll, crawl and practise walking. Indoors and outdoors, children move freely around and access a broad range of experiences that develop their growing independence and physical ability. They demonstrate increasing balance as they sit on and manoeuvre 'wheelie bugs'. Good access to bathrooms enables children to independently go to the toilet. They recognise and manage their personal needs increasingly well, relative to their ages. Babies sleep comfortably in cots at times appropriate to their needs.

p.5

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

Children develop a good understanding of risks and how to manage them. They listen to stories with safety messages and enjoy visits from the fire department. Staff teach children how to use real tools safely when gardening and trust them to use these tools when in the digging area. Children demonstrate secure attachments to staff and confidently move around their room choosing where to play. They demonstrate a developing understanding of acceptable behaviour. Older children are given plenty of time and freedom to become deeply involved in activities they are enjoying. Children receive praise from staff for achievements and positive behaviour, which promotes their self- esteem and confidence. They continue to feel safe and secure as they move up from the baby room because they visit with their key person as many times as they need in order to settle well. The transition from the baby room or from other settings, is discussed

p.5

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

thoroughly with parents. Therefore, the new key person is aware of the child's prior skills, knowledge and understanding and their good progress continues.

p.5

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

Children's dietary needs are well met. The cook uses fresh foods to prepare a varied range of meals and snacks. She works closely with children to share her knowledge of nutrition. They talk about healthy eating as they prepare some of their own meals, such as pizza. They grow and pick herbs, such as, curry leaf, sage, rosemary and thyme, for the cook to use in meals. They also plant and grow a range of vegetables and fruits, such as runner beans, tomatoes, cooking apples, eating apples and pears. They regularly walk to the local supermarket to buy extra ingredients, such as blueberries for baking cakes. These experiences positively raise children's awareness of good nutrition.

p.5

provision

The management team and staff have a good awareness of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Written risk assessments are regularly reviewed and staff follow a useful checklist to help visually check their rooms are suitable and safe for children. Robust recruitment and vetting, followed by in-depth induction, check staff's suitability to work with children. Arrangements for safeguarding children within the nursery and through work with outside agencies are good. All staff are briefed on and randomly quizzed about their awareness of child protection and the appropriate telephone numbers to ring if concerned about a child. There is a named staff member trained to a higher level in safeguarding to support them. Displayed information provides easy access to the procedures to be followed if worried a child is being abused. Parents also have access to a wealth of other information about the

p.6

provision

nursery on notice boards, newsletters, the website and social network.

p.6

provision

Staff effectively support children to make good progress in their learning and development. Children freely choose activities from a wide range of accessible toys and books. In addition, each week, a key person individually plans activities for each child based on their good knowledge of the child's abilities. Regular checks are made to oversee the assessment and planning in each room to ensure that they are effective for each child and manageable for staff. Planning and assessment systems have already been modified for improvement.

p.6

provision

Partnerships with parents and external agencies strongly contribute to meeting children's needs and securing the support they need. Positive links with professionals, such as health visitors and speech and language therapists, effectively support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff follow individual learning plans, which include their parents' views and any professionals involved with them, to make sure that children make consistent progress in the areas where they need extra support. The management team and staff have a strong drive and ability to build on their good practice. They increasingly seek and make good use of parents' and children's views to effectively identify areas for improvement. Parents spoken to at the inspection are very complimentary about the way staff understand their child's needs and care about their children. Although, they have not yet met, a parents' committee has been set up as a way of involving all parents

p.6

provision

in the management of the setting. A wealth of ways to audit all aspects of the nursery is in place. These are having a positive impact on the organisation of the nursery and staff performance.

p.6

provision

The manager has Early Years Professional Status and uses her wealth of skills and knowledge to monitor the educational programmes, review and change practice across the whole nursery, in order to maintain a consistent approach. She monitors staff performance and the effectiveness of teaching and is beginning to introduce peer observations to further involve staff in the development of the nursery. This is already having a positive impact on children's learning. On return from training, staff share what they have learnt with other staff, in order to benefit the whole team.

p.6

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

p.6

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

Setting details

Unique reference number EY456591 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 907485 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 73 Number of children on roll 40 Name of provider Munchkins Village Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01704 807 202

p.9

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.

p.9

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.9

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.

p.9

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.

p.9

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.

p.10

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,

p.10

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’.

p.11

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.11