Blakenhall Neighbourhood Nursery

Blakenhall Neighbourhood Nursery Baggot Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV2 3AJ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/08/2013 07/06/2013

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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

 Teaching is strong and consistent across the nursery, rooted in staff's strong knowledge and understanding of how children learn; consequently, children make good progress in all areas of their learning and development.  The successful implementation of the key person system enhances the relationship with children and their families. Children develop secure and trusting emotional attachments with their key persons and other nursery staff.  The transition arrangements in the nursery are highly successful in preparing children sensitively for the next steps in their lives, particularly as they develop the skills and aptitudes necessary to support their move to full-time school.  The outdoor environment is thoughtfully planned and presented to promote children's independent play as they explore, experiment, take risks and test out their confidence.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Occasionally, some younger children's full involvement in activities is interrupted when daily routines, such as toileting, are followed.  There is scope to extend the range of resources for older, more able children, particularly regarding wheeled toys and bicycles, to further challenge their physical 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 observed activities and interaction between staff and children in all of the care bases, undertaking a safety inspection of the provision, indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with staff and children at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with directors from the registered body, the manager and deputy managers and conducted joint observations with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views and comments from parents spoken to as part of the inspection and from written comments obtained by the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined a range of documentation, including risk assessments, complaints procedures, records to assess staff suitability and qualifications, children's records, policies and procedures and children's developmental records.  The inspector discussed the setting's self-evaluation with the manager.

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Information about the setting

Blakenhall Neighbourhood Nursery was registered in 2005 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from three rooms set out over two floors within a purpose-built building at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. There is lift access to the first floor. The nursery is managed by a Limited company. It serves the local community and is accessible to all children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round from 8am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 56 children attending, who are within the early years age group. It supports a number of children, who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The nursery employs 18 members of childcare staff. Of these, eight hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and five members of staff hold qualifications at level 2. Two members of staff have a Foundation Degree in Early Years and one holds a BA (Honours) degree in early years. The setting receives support from the local authority and has regular access to support from a qualified teacher from the local children's centre.

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

 review the daily routines in the nursery to enhance younger children's engagement in group activities with as little interruption as possible

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

 extend the range of resources further to offer challenge and comfort for older and more able children, with particular regard to larger wheeled toys, such as bicycles.

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who attend

Children make good progress in all areas of their learning and development as a result of the strong teaching. This is rooted in the staff's wide knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and their skills in get into know the individual characters of the children. They know their children well and plan very effectively around individual interests and abilities to maximise their learning opportunities. The nursery serves a very diverse community and great care is taken when matching children with their key persons, particularly with regard to home languages. The bi-lingual skills of some staff are used to develop strong and respectful relationships with children and their families. This includes relating daily information verbally and in written form in home languages. This ensures that information is accurately exchanged and that all parents are fully aware of the progress their children are making.

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who attend

Children involve the staff actively in their play, often posing intriguing questions that take staff by surprise. They ask a member of staff if they can remember what they did when they were a little baby. A wonderful conversation ensues as the member of staff encourages recall, memory and humour, demonstrating a clear enjoyment of each other's company and contribution to the discussion. Staff are acutely aware of how such interaction supports and promotes children's communication and language development.

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who attend

Younger children delight in clambering actively indoors and outside, as they hone their early walking skills. They explore and investigate as they crawl to the sand, clamber on the wooden frame and dabble vigorously in the water play. Giggles and laughter are enjoyed as staff and children discover how far water can be splashed, squirted and daubed on the walls to develop mark-making skills. Children tend their crops as they water the broad beans and measure the sunflowers, gaining an understanding of the natural world. Occasionally, the daily routine of the nursery can interrupt younger children's play as, for instance, staff take the toddlers inside for group toileting and nappy changing.

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who attend

Budding superheroes don their outfits and prepare to 'soar to infinity' as they play actively and develop their imagination. Resources, both found and commercial, are provided for children to use freely in their play, with little need for any guidance from staff. Wooden planks, plastic guttering and welded copper piping form the basis of a pirate ship with a camouflage sail, as children organise and recruit the crew. They work out the hierarchy and take turns to 'captain' the ship as they forge firm friendships. All children delight in testing out their risk-taking play, working the pulleys in the sand pit, crawling through the tunnel and using effort to clamber up the slope. Some children use the wheeled toys and tricycles to attempt this, as they become aware of steering and manoeuvring round in safety. There is a varied range of wheeled toys, although, for some children, these do not offer sufficient challenge. For example, some of this equipment is too small for older and

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who attend

bigger children, particularly some of the bikes.

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who attend

Children are very well prepared for their move to school. The nursery has been involved in a specific project regarding transition, engaging and working collaboratively with providers and schools in the area. This results in a consistency in children's learning as they move to full-time school. They show visitors their 'uniforms', which are available in the dressing-up area. Discussions take place about the various schools children will be attending and they refer to the low-level display, which has photographs of each of the main schools and pictures of the various uniforms and teachers.

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who attend

Children's good progress is supported by the enthusiastic and intuitive staff, who undertake pertinent and accurate observations and assessments of each child. Parents are actively involved in their children's learning and development. They share events and achievements from home and staff add these to children's developmental records. This enhances the relationship between home and the nursery, highlighting that children's progress is a true partnership. Where any child is identified as benefiting from additional support or intervention, the nursery works very closely with parents and other professionals and agencies to prepare tailored programmes. This promotes consistency and clarity in children's learning and development, so that all children can be supported in reaching their full potential, whatever their starting points may be.

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

The well-established key person system employed in the nursery ensures that all children form firm and very secure attachments with friendly and very caring staff. Great care is taken when matching children to key persons, so that children feel settled and at ease swiftly. This also reassures parents as children's needs are discussed in great detail with the key person, so that staff get to know children's individual characters and interests. Staff are also aware of extending children's relationships with other staff as they work very sensitively to encourage children to relate to others. For example, babies, who have connected strongly with their key person, experience the interaction from other staff, while being reassured that their key person is nearby. This works very well as, for instance, a baby is seen to be gaining in confidence as they start to explore the outside environment independently rather than relying on the key person to facilitate this. This is

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

as a result of very effective deployment of staff and their understanding of how to support children in gaining confidence and independence.

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

Children's health and well-being are promoted effectively as they engage in active play, indoors and outside, daily, regardless of weather. Children gain independence in self-care as they put on their own overalls for messy play, locate their sun hats and know that sun cream is needed when it is hot. Staff are diligent in ensuring that sun cream is replenishes to keep them safe and offer copious opportunities to have drinks of water during their active play. Children enjoy healthy and nutritious snacks and meals that are prepared with care and attention to individual dietary and religious requirements. Younger children have a more formal snack time as they learn about good manners, using tools and cutlery with skill as staff openly discuss healthy eating. Older children have a more informal snack time, choosing when to have their break and with whom, in a social group of their choosing. Staff are very positive role models, encouraging good manners, reminding

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

children about not wasting drinks and food and clearing away after themselves. This encourages children's independence as they move through the nursery and prepare for the move to school and other settings.

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

Children's behaviour is managed positively as they are made aware of the impact their actions may have on others. Older children understand the consequences of their behaviour and often rectify situations of minor conflict for themselves. Younger children are supervised well by staff and supported in learning to share, take turns and find more positive ways of reacting to the presence of others. Children become aware of their own safety and that of others. They move round with care and staff use close observations of children's activity to adapt and change room layouts to facilitate safer play. Older children are assessing their own safety too, as they remind each other about looking out for passing children when moving the planks. Where young toddlers are developing their walking and running skills, staff supervise discreetly, ensuring their safety without curtailing their exploratory drive.

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provision

All involved in the operation of the nursery understand their collective roles and responsibility in safeguarding the welfare of every child in their care. Safeguarding arrangements are clearly known and understood by all staff and parents are made fully aware of the nursery's duty of care to act in the child's best interests at all times. Staff recruitment and selection procedures are sound and follow 'safer recruitment' guidelines. All staff and board members have undergone the appropriate checks to assess their suitability, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks. There are clear procedures to ensure that any child's needs are attended to only by staff, who have been assessed through these processes to safeguard children. Staff appraisals and supervisions are carried out regularly to assess staff's ongoing suitability and all are made aware of the impact their personal conduct may have in their continued professional role. The directors

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provision

are planning to conduct the manager's appraisal following the recent appointment.

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provision

This inspection was carried out in response to information received by Ofsted concerning some aspects of the provision. This was with regard to working in partnership with parents, behaviour management and the management of accidents in the nursery. The strong and passionate leadership and management is instrumental in driving the strong practice that contributes to children's safeguarding and welfare being fully prioritised. Parents have in-depth discussions with the key person assigned to their child to assess the child's needs and note individual interests and levels of development. From this, staff start to plan effectively, assessing accurately, so that any concerns, gaps or additional challenge and support can be provided. Parents' wishes are met and staff take time to discuss their child's day, passing on information about feeds, meals, sleep times and some of the very special wow moments that occur, such as when a young toddler decides to

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provision

decline a routine bottle feed in place of eating more solid foods.

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provision

Parents receive detailed information about the nursery's policies and procedures, so that they are aware of the organisation and commitment from the staff. Parents speak very strongly about how pleased they are with their children's progress. They have recently joined their children in the graduation ceremony, feeling very much a part of their child's success. Parents' views and opinions are requested through the regular questionnaires that the nursery distributes. Some of the comments have driven further improvement and resulted in additional staff training where this has been deemed appropriate. For example, a parent was concerned about some confusion surrounding the administration of medication in the nursery. A following staff meeting was used most effectively to set staff a 'quiz' to assess the level of knowledge and understanding of the process. This promoted a further review of the policies and procedures to ensure that it was clearly explained for

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provision

parents. Parents' comment strongly, highlighting the 'fantastic communication between us and the staff' and that staff 'always have time to answer any questions or get back to you promptly'.

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provision

Staff attend to children's minor accidents and injuries with care as they hold current first aid qualifications and record all incidents to share with parents. Rigorous risk assessments are carried out to help ensure children's safety. The manager regularly reviews the level of accidents happening in the nursery to identify any potential 'hot spots' and endeavours to solve such issues. She noted recently that the slide tower in the baby room was the site of a number of bumps and with the staff, observed the children using the area closely. As a result, the layout of the room was changed and the level of bumps diminished. Through further observation and evaluation, staff have also noted that children prefer the new position as it enables them to view day-to-day happenings outside more easily.

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provision

The board of directors take time to meet with the mangers and the staff to evaluate the practice in the nursery. They express deep pride in the skills of the manager and her two deputies in driving improvement and ensuring that children make good progress as they move towards the next big steps in their lives. Where necessary, directors meet with parents to discuss their childcare arrangements confidentially. There is a comprehensive complaints procedure in place and parents speak knowledgeably about how to approach this should it be necessary. The monitoring of staff practice is very effective in ensuring the consistency in teaching and care practice seen throughout the nursery. The assessment of children's progress is reviewed by the manager and her deputies to ensure consistency and accuracy. All involved take time to reflect on their practice and the impact it has on children's enjoyment and achievement. This includes the views and opinions of

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provision

the parents, children and other agencies the nursery works with, in order to meet children's needs.

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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 EY313852 Local authority Wolverhampton Inspection number 930798

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 50 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider GNG Community Services Ltd Date of previous inspection 07/06/2013 Telephone number 01902 870008

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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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