Meadow Hill Education and Arts Nursery

Meadow Hill Education and Arts Nursery 707 Chorley New Road, Lostock, Bolton, BL6 4AQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 29/08/2013 10/11/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 The nursery places a very high priority on the safety of children through its practical measures, and staff demonstrate highly comprehensive knowledge of how to manage any concerns about children's welfare.  Dynamic and inspirational use is made of the performing and creative arts in order to develop all areas of children's learning. Planning, observation and assessment of children's progress is meticulous to support their further learning.  The nursery provides excellent opportunities to develop children's communication, social and physical skills through stage performances, team sports and the opportunity to lead others when making music.  The owner has exceptional leadership and vision, resulting in a vibrant, innovative and unique learning environment, which supports the children and staff to give their very best at all times.  The nursery has a highly inclusive approach to obtaining the views of those who are

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This provision is outstanding

connected with it, in order to drive improvement, including staff, who regularly reflect on their practice in order to enhance this.  Parents receive highly comprehensive information about their children's progress and care, along with information about the nursery's upcoming events. Some parents are confident to contribute information to enrich the planning for their child's learning so that staff can further personalise their child's educational programme.

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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 reviewed a range of information available about the nursery, to prepare for the inspection and examined a selection of documentation.  The inspector toured the premises.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out observations of childcare staff and their interactions with children throughout the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the owner and manager and spoke with staff, children and parents at appropriate times during the inspection.  A joint observation was completed by the inspector and the manager.

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Information about the setting

Meadow Hill Education and Arts Nursery registered in 1990 and is privately owned. It operates from a large detached house situated in the Lostock area of Bolton. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Children are cared for in five playrooms situated on the ground and first floors, with associated bathroom and kitchen facilities. Outdoor play is provided in an enclosed garden at the rear of the premises. Access to the property is gained at the side of the premises on the ground floor level. The owner lives on site and has two dogs as pets, which have no contact with the children who attend the setting. The nursery also has a pet chinchilla.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 7.45am until 6pm for 50 weeks of the year, closing for Christmas and Bank Holidays only. There are currently 70 children on roll, attending for a variety of sessions. Funded early education is provided for children aged two-, three- and four-years-old. The nursery employs 17 staff in total and 12 of the childcare staff are qualified to at least level 3 in childcare. The owner is a lifetime member of the Royal Academy of Dance. One member of staff holds Qualified Teacher Status and another has a honours degree in Early Years Studies. A chef and a cleaner are also employed.

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Information about the setting

The nursery receives support from the local authority early years team.

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

 enhance the ways in which parents are supported to recognise the importance of contributing information about their children's time away from nursery, in order for staff to further personalise and enrich the planning for children's learning.

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who attend

Children make excellent progress in their learning as staff have an exceptional knowledge of how individual children learn. Staff make plans for inclusive activities based on their observations of what children can do. They use children's interests to help motivate them in their learning, with some use of information from parents if this is offered. Educational programmes have depth and breadth and are precisely matched to children's ages, stages and resulting needs. Observations are made frequently on children's learning and these are compared to expected developmental norms for children's ages. Highly comprehensive assessments are made of children's learning, through tracking their progress in detail. This includes when children join the nursery and when they change rooms, so their progress can be clearly followed over defined periods of time. This enables staff to see if progress is as expected, above, or below for their age and stage. Consequently, staff can address any

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who attend

gaps in learning that may emerge, so that early intervention can prevent greater future difficulties. The nursery teacher provides robust support for staff when planning and offers guidance after the weekly planning checks to enhance the plans prepared. This means that children are provided with an excellent weekly programme to promote their learning. All children are exceptionally well-prepared for their next steps in learning, including full- time school, with a large number gaining places at local selective independent schools.

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who attend

The nursery provides outstanding opportunities for children to extend their learning in all areas, through the medium of creative arts. They produce large scale-three dimensional displays based on themes, such as 'The Magical Garden', using a wide variety of textures, colours and materials. This also includes recyclable ones, helping children to learn to care for the environment and develop an early understanding of sustainability. Staff support children to build models then decorate them with paper mache and paint. Through this, children develop spatial awareness, and reinforce their manipulative skills. They also learn how working together can produce a much greater result than can be made alone, again supporting their experience of teamwork. During dance sessions, the owner brings in opportunities for children to learn numbers and for the younger children, parts of the body. They answer questions readily about the numbers of musical notes in a bar,

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who attend

demonstrating the inspirational approach of the owner to using the performing arts in order to underpin learning. Children have weekly music lessons where they have opportunities to play instruments, sing and lead others in making music. This contributes to the outstanding ways in which the nursery develops children's communication skills through the use of performance. They also learn about orchestras, which widens their vocabulary, as part of their development in communication and language.

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who attend

Babies are highly settled and explore their toys and the room fully. Staff engage their interest using toys with different textures and colours. Babies explore these and staff talk to them to point out the characteristics, such as colours or that the toy feels 'soft' or 'bumpy'. This helps to stimulate babies' early communication skills. Staff play simple turn- taking games with them, using small toys on wheels, to teach the basis of early conversation. They also helps babies to push, pull and turn using 'cause and effect' toys to develop their manipulative skills. Staff play games, such as 'peekaboo' with small toys to help babies learn to look for objects out of sight as part of encouraging early critical thinking. When they enter the toddler room, staff provide activities such as 'Kim's game' where they give children a tray of objects to examine, then take one away and ask them to guess which one it is. This helps to further extend their thinking, social skills and

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who attend

Staff in the pre-school make excellent use of times between activities and everyday routines in order to build in learning. For example, in the time while some children are still changing from dance and others are gathering on the carpet before getting ready for lunch, they fit in number activities. Some children successfully pick out the correct two digit numbers and nearly all children select the correct single digit ones, from a selection of numbers up to 30. Children in pre-school demonstrate excellent readiness for school in terms of early numeracy and literacy. For example, some children can perform simple addition or subtraction sums, and can write some words correctly when staff 'sound' them out. The teacher plans daily letters and sounds activities to give children a strong foundation in early literacy, and pre-school children all use either pre-reading books or reading schemes in order to build on this. This shows expert practice in matching the

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who attend

correct activity to each child. The use of home reading books also enables parents to become directly involved in their children's learning. Parents receive daily written or verbal information about their child's activities, and are aware that they can view children's learning records at any time. They can attend parents' evenings to meet staff and discuss the care and education of their children. This includes when the progress check at age two has been carried out for children, so that they have an opportunity to contribute to this. Overall, parents receive highly comprehensive information about their child's progress and activities. The nursery prepares detailed reports for children's next settings, including full- time school, in order to support continuity of learning. The teacher provides support and advice for parents of pre-school children regarding simple activities that they can use at home to develop all areas of their children's learning. For example, teaching children their

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who attend

address or pointing out local landmarks and buildings as part of the early preparation for learning about geography.

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

Staff demonstrate a detailed knowledge of children, their routines and their preferences. As a result, they provide excellent support for children's emotional well-being and physical needs, which facilitates learning. A key strength of the nursery is how well all of the staff working in each room know the children they care for, and also the ones in other rooms, in the event of re-deployment. This is due to excellent information sharing. Children and babies demonstrate superb confidence and explore the space and resources thoroughly. They develop responsibility and independence through times, such as when they tidy up their own clothes after getting changed from dance sessions. The older pre-school children demonstrate excellent independence and manipulative skills at this time, by needing virtually no help to get changed. Children have opportunities to help others, such as helping to set the tables at lunchtime. They also participate regularly in events to raise

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

money for local causes, learning about diversity and the differing needs of others due to illness or disability.

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

Behaviour is excellent and children use resources safely, showing a high regard for their own safety and that of others. Resources and toys are highly accessible indoors and out, covering the breadth of the areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Consequently, children develop independence because they can make decisions about what to play with. Children's welfare is exceptionally well-protected by a highly comprehensive range of policies and parental permissions, which are effectively implemented by staff. The nursery provides outdoor play experiences which give children opportunities to take reasonable risk in their play, with careful supervision. A specialist coach teaches children cricket, and the pre-school children make weekly visits to a local cricket ground for this. Children also learn football skills and have the opportunity to take swimming lessons. This enables children to enjoy exercise and learn about the benefits of

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

this in a healthy lifestyle. Children aged from two years upwards participate in dance sessions led by the owner three times a week. These are outstanding in supporting children to develop co-ordination, concentration and co-operation, as they prepare for the regular productions organised by the owner. The opportunity to perform in front of parents in a small local theatre contributes superbly to children developing strong self- confidence and self-esteem.

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

Food is prepared on the premises and children can make choices from a healthy range of options, supporting their enjoyment of a balanced diet. This helps them to learn about the basis of a nutritious diet, through discussion with staff. Staff are skilled at building children's language skills, such as, repeating their words or phrases with extra single words. This helps children to learn gradually to speak in short sentences. Staff take care to inform children and babies gently about care routines that are required, such as nappy changes, in order to maintain their emotional well-being and dignity. Overall, the use of everyday routines by staff across the nursery make an excellent contribution to helping children in their social, communicative and physical development. Children show a very good level of self-care and are able to manage a variety of aspects of personal hygiene appropriate to their age and stage. For example, staff talk to children about the

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

importance of washing their hands thoroughly after handling the nursery's pet chinchilla or playing outside. As a result, children have opportunities to learn effective hygiene routines. All areas of the nursery are exceptionally clean and well-maintained to help prevent accidents or the spread of any germs. Robust measures are in place to help prevent accidents such as the use of radiator covers and the strategic positioning of safety gates within rooms. There is a rigorous procedure for answering the main door to protect children from unauthorised access to the building.

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

Staff deployment is observed to be highly effective in supporting children's welfare and learning. This is because the owner ensures that the adult to child ratios in all rooms are lower than required by the welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. For example, the ratio in the room for babies under one year is one member of staff to two babies, rather than one to three. Consequently, children receive a very high level of adult interaction, which supports all aspects of their development. The times when children change room within the nursery are exceptionally well-managed, with plenty of discussion with parents to support children during this. A highly flexible approach, which is based on the needs of the individual child, is taken at all times, to maintain children's emotional well-being. The nursery requests information from any previous settings attended by children in order to inform their initial planning, and

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

also seeks detailed information from parents to supplement this. Highly comprehensive information to support children's good health and well-being is kept from when children join the nursery, in order to meet their needs, such as dietary requirements. This is regularly updated in order to continue to meet children's needs effectively and safely.

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provision

Risk assessments and safety checks are meticulous and reviewed whenever required so children can safely access a wealth of learning experiences on and off the premises. Staff have a robust understanding of how to manage any concerns they may have about a child's welfare due to excellent knowledge of safeguarding procedures. Staff have their knowledge of safeguarding checked regularly in order to ensure that they maintain this. All adults who live or work on the premises are checked and vetted for working with children, and staff make regular declarations regarding their ongoing suitability to work with children. All documentation related to statutory requirements is completed to a very high standard to support the safe and effective running of the setting. This includes a policy for the use of devices with cameras on the premises, such as mobile phones. The nursery's highly comprehensive policies and procedures underpin an outstanding level of care and

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provision

learning for all children in the nursery. Staff demonstrate an exemplary understanding of how to carry out their roles and responsibilities. This is because these are clearly defined and frequently reviewed with them.

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provision

Procedures for recruitment, induction and staff performance management are excellent. As a result, the nursery has a vibrant and motivated staff team to maintain outstanding care and learning for children. A key strength of the nursery is the long-standing management team, which provides a strong core of stability and experience. The appraisal and supervision process is exceptionally rigorous, so that staff receive highly frequent feedback in order to enhance their practice. Staff plan educational programmes based on the needs and experiences of individual children, which provide precise and purposeful challenge for their ages and stages of development. A key strength of the nursery is the use of the arts and sport to underpin a broad and challenging experience for all children. There are multi-layered systems in place to monitor the quality and consistency of observations, planning and assessment of children's learning. The qualified teacher, the

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provision

manager and the owner monitor the weekly planning to ensure that it meets their high expectations for delivering a dynamic educational programme for all children. The quality of staff teaching is monitored through continual informal observation by room managers and the nursery manager on a daily basis. Daily records of this are kept to track staff progress. As a result, practice to support children's learning is outstanding throughout the nursery.

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provision

The nursery works in partnership with other agencies and professionals in order to support any additional needs that children may have. Parents' and children's views are constantly sought in order to ensure that the nursery's provision continues to meet the needs of children and families. This is through providing routes for parents to offer written feedback, but also through regular social events for families, where there are opportunities for discussion. This helps to maintain the strong sense of community and partnership between the nursery, parents and children. Self-evaluation is continual and the owner and the management team work relentlessly to ensure that all aspects of the nursery's practice are exemplary. Staff are required to write accounts after meetings to reflect on how the discussions and information received will enhance their practice. Consequently, all children make outstanding progress in their learning and development, due to inspirational

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provision

leadership and management of an excellent staff team.

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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 316022 Local authority Bolton Inspection number 915348

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 53 Number of children on roll 70 Name of provider Meadow Hill Education and Arts Nursery Date of previous inspection 10/11/2009 Telephone number 01204 492 497

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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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