Little Learners Nursery Centre Ltd.

Little Learners Nursery Centre Ltd. Stags Way, Scorton, RICHMOND, North Yorkshire, DL10 6HB

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21/08/2013 12/05/2010

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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

 Staff use observation and assessment well to check the progress that the children are making in their learning. This information is shared with parents and is used by staff to plan precisely the next steps in their learning.  Children's sense of security is promoted by the effective key person system, which helps them to form strong bonds and emotional attachments. Staff are kind, caring and attentive to what children say and do.  The partnership with parents is effectively promoted as staff are skilled in sharing relevant information regarding child development. This ensures parent's active involvement in children's learning.  Staff members have high expectations of children's behaviour. They constantly and consistently praise and encourage children to do their best and the success of this is seen in the children's delight and busy involvement in all activities.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff have not consider how to help children self-regulate their time when using popular resources, which means children waiting lose interest.  There is scope to extend opportunities that help to develop children's understanding of how to keep themselves safe.

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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 throughout the nursery in both indoor and outdoor spaces.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the nursery manager, staff and children throughout the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation including children's records, learning and development information, staff records and a selection of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents through discussion and from written questionnaires sent out by the nursery.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the nursery manager.

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Information about the setting

Little Learners Nursery Centre Ltd was registered in 1998 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is privately owned and located in purpose-built premises in the village of Scorton, between Richmond and Northallerton, in North Yorkshire. Children are cared for in five separate rooms, one of which is on the first floor of the building and accommodates older, school-age children. There is also a soft play area on the first floor plus the office and staff facilities. Children have access to three separate, enclosed outdoor play areas. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. There are currently 121 children on roll, of these, 74 are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. There are 18 members of staff employed, of whom 17 have appropriate early years qualifications from level 3. The

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Information about the setting

nursery receives support from the local authority.

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

 help children to self-regulate their time when using the computer, for example, by providing them with egg or sand timers

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

 help children to gain a greater understanding of how to keep themselves safe, by providing simple explanations to highlight the consequences of their actions.

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who attend

Children are very happy and enjoy their time at the nursery. They benefit from the staff's caring attitudes and enthusiasm for providing good quality learning experiences. This combined with staff's thorough knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements mean all children make good progress. Staff monitor children's learning through regularly observing and assessing them to identify progress and achievements over time and children's individual learning journals show how they are progressing. This information is then used when planning future play experiences. Planning systems overall are informative and staff know the children in their care well. They plan activities and play experiences that cover all areas of learning and which take account of individual children's interests and developmental stages. Staff work hard to provide a child-centred environment where the daily routine has a balance of adult-led and

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who attend

child-initiated activities. The staff have started to complete with parents the 'progress check at age two' for children. This is effective in highlighting any gaps in learning and also enables them to secure early intervention to ensure that no child gets left behind in their development.

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who attend

All staff place high importance on the encouragement of children's communication and language skills. Children in the pre-school and toddler rooms enjoy singing and have opportunities to talk with staff and each other in small groups, which help them to become confident and articulate speakers. Children see lots of printed language around the nursery, and are starting to recognise and form familiar letters and sustain attentive listening. Pre-school children are learning to say the initial sounds in words and are beginning to understand that letters represent some of these sounds. Staff working with babies and toddlers in the 'Twinnie' room chat constantly to the children, ably interpreting and reinforcing the sounds and gestures they make with appropriate words. Children enjoy a good selection of books and stories, and staff often use these to build on themes in their play. For instance, babies and toddlers enjoy easy to handle books featuring

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who attend

different textures and animals sounds. The clear focus on personal, social and emotional development ensures that children quickly become confident enough to explore and ask for help when needed. This helps children to make good progress in this area and prepares them well for the next stages in their learning, such as school.

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who attend

Children have regular opportunities to express themselves creatively. They enjoy feeling the consistency of paint between their fingers when hand painting or exploring the texture of play dough when cutting and rolling it into shapes. Children participate in a range of activities which involve numbers, shapes, patterns and problem solving. They learn about volume through filling containers when playing with sand and water and enjoy singing songs which incorporate the use of numbers. Through the daily routine their counting skills are promoted, such as when they count the children at meal times. Colourful number displays around the room help children to understand numbers in familiar contexts. As a result, children begin to see connections and relationships in numbers, shapes and measures. Pre-school children and older toddlers demonstrate good mouse skills as they complete simple computer programs. It is quite evident from the number of children

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who attend

waiting to use the computer that this is a popular activity. However, staff have not yet considered how to help children self-regulate their time to ensure that all children who show an interest are able to participate.

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who attend

Children become engrossed in games that develop their imaginations as they dress up or imitate everyday experiences using dolls, cars and the role play area. Outside the pre- school children pretend to build a bonfire using crates and tyres. Staff fully support children to become aware of the community they live in and to take part in this wider community, for example, visiting the local post office to post letters and maintaining effective links with local schools. They also take part in the annual village event creating models and drawing to compete in the art competition. Staff ably plan for and promote children's physical development. Babies and toddlers have their own safe and stimulating outdoor areas. Babies are effectively supported in developing control, stamina and balance as they move to crawling, standing and then walking. Older children have a good selection of wheeled toys to choose from and are helped to develop control in balancing and

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who attend

climbing. Parents are encouraged to actively contribute to their children's learning at nursery. When children start, their parents' comments about their backgrounds, characteristics and abilities help the staff to accurately assess and plan for their starting points. Parents are asked to tell staff about their children's achievements at home so these can be followed up at nursery. They appreciate having consistent feedback about their child's activities and progress, including the opportunity to look at their child's learning journal at any time.

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

An effective settling-in policy is successfully implemented and as a result children settle well and are happy and confident in their play. They develop a strong sense of belonging as they feel included and welcomed into the nursery. A key person system is used effectively to gain information about children's personal routines, needs and preferences and provides a continuity of care that ensures children feel secure and nurtured. The staff place high priority on encouraging children's independence and individual responsibility. They make resources accessible to children so they are able to make decisions about appropriate equipment to use, or what area of the nursery indoors or outdoors that they want to experience.

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

The staff team are familiar to all the children and this creates a friendly, family atmosphere. Staff working with the younger children visit the older children as part of getting them ready for the move into the pre-school room. Each child's key person accompanies them on their visits until they are sufficiently confident to move to the next stage in their learning. Older children are prepared for the move on to school as the staff take them to see their new school. Teachers return the visit and see the children in the familiar nursery setting and lots of discussions ensue. In addition, staff carry out termly stay and play visits at the school, and this helps children to become totally familiar with the new setting and school life.

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

Staff are very vigilant and this means children are kept safe. However, in their pursuit to keep children safe they do not always help them to develop their own awareness of how to stay safe. For example, when they ask children not to climb on the furniture they do not always provide them with a simple explanation as to what could happen, and how this could lead to them hurting themselves. Children behave well with behaviour managed in a positive manner with clear boundaries set by staff. Praise and encouragement ensure children develop high levels of self-esteem. Staff encourage sharing and taking turns and discuss how children's behaviour can have an impact on others. Children are valued as individuals and in turn are learning to respect each other's differences and feelings and to manage their own behaviour.

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

Children enjoy a healthy lifestyle at the nursery. Nutritious and enjoyable meals and snacks are freshly prepared each day. They develop good hygiene routines because these are promoted daily. Daily access to indoor and outdoor physical play activities provides children with good opportunities to exercise their bodies and enjoy invigorating fresh air.

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provision

The manager has a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements which helps to make sure that children's welfare is protected. Staff regularly update their child protection knowledge through training to help ensure that they have a secure knowledge and understanding of how to safeguard children. Recruitment and vetting procedures are robust and help ensure that staff are suitable to work with children, and therefore, children's welfare is appropriately promoted. Risk assessments, including daily checks and assessments for outings, help to make sure the environment remains safe at all times with any potential hazards identified and minimised immediately. Children's safety is paramount and staff closely supervise children. The security of the premises means that no unauthorised person can gain access and that children cannot leave unsupervised. Continuous professional development is encouraged and staff regularly

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provision

attend appropriate early years courses and workshops so that they are well-informed and their childcare knowledge is kept up-to-date.

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provision

The manager and staff have a secure knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use observation and assessments to analyse children's progress and plan their next steps. Ongoing staff appraisal, senior team meeting and monitoring means that staff are given good support, direction and coaching to build on their already good practice. Children's individual needs are met because staff work hard to develop positive relationships with parents which ensure information is then effectively exchanged. Each key person ensures that feedback is provided to parents on a daily basis. This is achieved through their discussions at drop off and pick up time and through the daily written information sheets. This means that parents are very well informed and continuity in their child's care and learning is assured. Newsletters and parent noticeboards are also used well to keep parents up-to-date with

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provision

latest events and how they can support their child's development. Parents are encouraged to become involved in children's learning. A good example of this can been seen through the established lending library scheme. Parents are invited to help children select a library book that they can take home and enjoy reading together. This also positively promotes children's literacy skills and enjoyment in books. Parents spoken to during the inspection express their total satisfaction with the service that is provided. They especially value how friendly and the supportive the staff are. The staff have established effective links with schools to help children to make good progress in developing skills for the future and that the move from nursery to school is well supported when the time comes.

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provision

There is a positive attitude towards continuous improvement. Evaluations of the nursery's strengths are realistic, while areas identified for future development have been purposefully targeted. For example, the nursery garden has been improved and offers a wider range of outside learning opportunities, particularly for boys. The manager seeks the views of parents through a variety of means, such as a questionnaire and discussion. Staff views are gained during team meetings when they are encouraged to contribute ideas on continuing to improve the setting. The manager and staff work closely with the local authority advisers to drive the nursery forward. As a result, the action and recommendations set at the previous inspection have been addressed successfully.

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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 400087 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 909128

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 82 Number of children on roll 121 Name of provider Little Learners Nursery Centre Ltd. Date of previous inspection 12/05/2010 Telephone number 01748 812559

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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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