Pre-School Learning Alliance Newstead Childcare

Pre-School Learning Alliance Newstead Childcare Newstead Childrens Centre, Newstead Village, NOTTINGHAM, NG15 0BS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/08/2013 28/02/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 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

 Staff effectively plan and resource the environment and activities to meet children's needs and interests, which supports them to make progress in their learning.  Children's independence is effectively promoted as they learn important health and self- care skills. This gives them self-confidence and increased self-esteem, enabling them to make choices that enhance their learning experiences.  There is a good overview of the curriculum through monitoring of educational programmes, this ensures children make good progress to the early learning goals and is based on a secure understanding of the areas of learning and how children learn.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not always extend children's learning or provide opportunity for the use of mathematical language to maximise learning experiences.  Although, the manager has comprehensive action plans in place, including strengthening partnerships with parents and other providers, they are not yet fully effective, in order that the benefit to children is maximised.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children in all areas of the premises and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's records, planning, assessment and other required documents.  The inspector held discussions with staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sought the views of parents and a representative of the umbrella organisation.

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Information about the setting

Pre-School Learning Alliance Newstead Childcare was registered in 2004 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in purpose built premises in the village of Newstead, to the north of Nottingham and is run by the Pre-School Learning Alliance. The nursery serves the local area, is accessible to all children and supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs five members of childcare staff, all of whom hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The manager intends to study for a qualification at level 4 in the coming year.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens each weekday from 7.30am to 4.30pm for 51 weeks of the year, closing only for Christmas week and all main bank holidays. All children share access to a secure, enclosed outdoor play area. There are currently 36 children attending, who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The nursery receives support from Nottinghamshire Local Authority.

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

 develop links and opportunities further, to exchange information with parents, school staff and other providers delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage, to better support children at times of transition

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

 open up more opportunities to extend children's learning and the use of mathematical language, to ensure opportunities to further develop learning are maximised at all times

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who attend

Children develop many positive skills, which will help them to make a smooth transition to school life. They make independent choices about what to play with. Resources are accessible, labelled and appropriate to the ages and stages of development within each of the areas. Staff enhance the learning environment as they follow children's interests and plan next steps to support each child effectively to learn through play. For example, children show interest in a fan made by an older child and the member of staff sets up an activity to support the older child in assisting younger children to make a fan.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of the seven areas of learning. They provide well- organised environments with interesting and stimulating experiences to support children to become engaged and motivated. However, occasionally opportunities to extend and enhance learning are not always fully embraced or maximised. For example, when children find a piece of roof slate in the soil while digging outside, the staff member does not provide the opportunity for children to use their critical thinking skills to explore where it had come from or how it had got there, she took it away and disposed of it.

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who attend

Children are fully engaged and enthusiastic in their play, they make choices from a wide range of activities and resources. They especially enjoy being outside in the rain, they put on their coats and hats independently and choose what they want to play with. Some children ride on bikes, some dig in the soil, some take large trucks outside, all are fully engaged. Staff support children effectively and only intervene when invited to. Children are confident, happy and motivated, they have fun and constantly communicate with adults and peers throughout the day.

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who attend

Children's communication is actively encouraged through discussions, appropriate open ended questioning and the use of sign language by all staff. During story time older children sit and listen and younger children are supported with props to sustain concentration. Children play cooperatively with others and talk confidently to visitors. For example, a two-year-old child takes a popular farm animal book, which is also a glove puppet, to a visitor and engages in two-way interaction, pointing to the animals and making the sounds with excitement. The use of sign language supports children's non- verbal communication and is used alongside symbols and pictures to support individual children's needs and language development well. However, occasionally opportunities to promote children's mathematical understanding are not always used to full effect. For example, children make pizza for lunch but opportunities to give children a reason to

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who attend

count as they put the ingredients onto their pizza and to explore quantity and measure are missed.

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who attend

Progress checks at age two are completed and children's learning records in this age group are well established, taking into account the prime areas of learning. Parents are kept informed through both verbal and written media and there is evidence of parent's engagement in their child's development file. Parents have input into the weekly planning through contributing to their child's interests and next steps of learning on the planning boards. This ensures that staff have an all-round view of children's development and this is taken into account when planning for their future learning.

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who attend

The setting work closely with a range of other professionals to provide for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They provide additional support to ensure that all children are included and have enjoyable and valuable experiences, specific to their individual interests and learning needs that supports their learning and development.

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

The key person system helps children and parents to form secure relationships with familiar staff. This enables children to develop stable emotional attachments with staff in the setting. There is a commitment to ensuring children are cared for by consistent staff, who know children well. For example, during holiday periods only bank staff familiar to children provide cover to enable substantive staff to take annual leave.

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

Snack time and lunch time provide important opportunities for children to develop an understanding of healthy eating and practices. Children are supported to independently pour their own drinks. Good table manners are reinforced constantly and good eating habits promoted. A cook provides a healthy options menu and children are enabled to contribute to this on a weekly basis. Fresh food is cooked daily within the setting. Children have first-hand experiences of preparing food by making pizza for lunch. Children wash their hands and put on an apron before going to the snack table. Each child chooses toppings from a variety of healthy ingredients and take turns to pass them around the table. The pizza is baked and children thoroughly enjoy eating them at lunchtime. There is a clear sense of enjoyment and achievement.

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

Staff give constant praise and encouragement to children. They are supported to learn acceptable rules and boundaries. This promotes self-confidence and self-esteem and results in positive behaviour management. Children make their own decisions as they access and choose resources and play materials. Children are developing self-care skills as they independently access toilet and hand washing facilities, this will help them to prepare for school. When children move to another area in the setting or to school, key information in regard to their skills and development is shared to assist transitions. However, some relationships require further nurturing to ensure staff engage in purposeful exchanges about children's care and progress to better promote continuity.

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

Children have the opportunity for free-flow access to the indoor and outdoor environment that enables them to engage in physical play. For example, children choose a skipping rope and staff support them to turn the rope for other children to skip. Younger children are helped to jump or step over the rope and older children count how many skips they complete. One child counts to 21 and states that she is out of breath. The staff member encourages her to put her hand on her chest and feel how fast her heart is beating. The child says to be out of breath is good for you showing an understanding of the importance of physical activity in keeping her healthy.

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provision

Staff have a good understanding of their responsibility in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements to keep children safe. They understand their responsibility to ensure children are protected and cared for in a safe and secure environment. Staff have attended regular safeguarding training and are supported by robust policies and procedures within the setting. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed, implemented well and displayed within the main play area.

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provision

The Pre-School Learning Alliance are responsible for all recruitment and have comprehensive procedures in place to ensure all legislative guidelines and checks are followed. All staff hold a qualification at level 3 and have access to online training developed by the provider. Performance management processes support staff. These include a yearly appraisal, supervision every six weeks and half termly staff meetings that have an agenda and minutes are taken.

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provision

The setting has completed a self-evaluation of the provision and all stakeholders are fully involved. The manager has developed clear and comprehensive action plans for the future development of the setting with precise timescales for completion. She shared some supporting information and evidence of actions already completed. For example, an action to improve planning within the setting that involves parents has been implemented. A display on the wall clearly indicates how children's interests and next steps in learning are identified and followed. There is also evidence of the contribution of parents to this, that is annotated and dated. The manager has a clear vision, motivation and high expectation that is shared by all staff.

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provision

Staff support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their families. They work closely with other relevant professionals to provide specialist support on an individual basis. This ensures children's emerging needs are identified efficiently and appropriate interventions support their development needs. The setting shares premises with a children's centre and links are being strengthened to further support children and their families within the community.

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provision

Displays around the setting support parents and enable them to contribute to their children's learning development. Some displays are interactive for both children and parents. For example, children have a self-registration board and parents assist them to find their registration card and put it onto the display. The planning display has room for input by parents about following their child's interests and next steps in learning, including what they have been doing at home. Planning, observation and assessment is a strength of the setting and educational programmes are thoroughly monitored by the manager. This ensures that children are offered a broad range of experiences, so that they make good progress.

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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 EY280515 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 915077

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 49 Number of children on roll 36 Name of provider Pre-School Learning Alliance Date of previous inspection 28/02/2011 Telephone number 01623 722711

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Type of provision

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children,

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

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

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