Cherubs Nursery & After Care

Cherubs Nursery & After Care Cherubs Nursery, Unit 1, Milton Road, Shipton-under-Wychwood, CHIPPING NORTON, Oxfordshire, OX7 6XU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 02/09/2013 26/04/2013

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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

 The nursery has made good progress since the last inspection through restructuring of staffing and introducing new initiatives and resources.  Children make good progress and enjoy their learning in this stimulating environment.  Staff are confident in using the new observation, assessment and planning system to promote children's learning effectively.  Children play well together and are developing effective personal, social and emotional skills.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The staff team has made improvements to the quality of interactions with children to enhance learning experiences. However, they are not making the best use of open questions to challenge children's thinking fully.  Each age group has time to play outdoors on a daily basis. However, the garden is not always in use throughout the day and this limits valuable opportunities for outdoor play.

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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 in all playrooms and in the garden.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector talked to staff in each playroom and held discussions with the provider and managers.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector completed a joint observation of an activity in the pre-school with the deputy manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of staff suitability and qualifications and took account of the nursery's self-evaluation document.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and from information from the nursery's parent questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

Cherubs Nursery and After Care is privately owned and registered in 1999. It operates from a converted two-storey building in a business park set in the rural town of Shipton- under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire. The provider also runs the breakfast and after school care in the school next door. The premises includes three base rooms, a sleep room and toilet facilities. The older nursery children and school age children use rooms on the first floor, which include a sensory room. There is an enclosed outside area with patio and artificial turf surfaces for children's play. The nursery is open each weekday from 8am to 6pm, all year round. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and is caring for 56 children in the early years age range. It is registered on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register and has 60 older children on roll. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children learning

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Information about the setting

English as an additional language. It is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education for children ages three and four years. The nursery employs 14 staff of whom 10 hold relevant qualifications. In addition, three staff are working towards further qualifications.

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

 enhance the quality of staff interactions to challenge children's thinking further by making more use of open questions

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

 review the timetabling of the outdoor play space so that children can use it for as much of the day as possible.

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who attend

Babies enjoy exploring a welcoming and interesting environment. They have easy access to a good range of resources, such as mirrors, bead toys, books or dinosaurs in a sand tray. Staff support them well to access the toys they show interest in or to help them move around the room. Babies are able to develop their physical skills effectively as a result, such as bouncing up and down to strengthen their leg muscles. Staff talk to babies routinely with a kind and warm approach. They tell babies what they are doing and value their attempts to communicate. This approach supports children's early communication skills successfully. Toddlers benefit from the attention of staff who are enthusiastic and energetic. They become very excited singing a song in the garden while bouncing toys in a blanket to illustrate the words. They use a variety of equipment to move in different ways. Staff join in enthusiastically with their play, encouraging them to 'jump like a frog' or to do 'roly-

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who attend

polys'. This approach successfully supports children's communication and physical skills. Indoors, children become engrossed in exploring blocks of ice in the water tray. Staff introduce a good range of vocabulary as part of their play, such as 'cold, smooth, wet and sandy'. As a result, children effectively develop language skills while learning about the world around them.

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who attend

Pre-school children learn to recognise and make patterns on a pegboard with good support from staff. They can help themselves to mathematical resources, such as tape measures. Staff encourage them to measure the things around them. Such activities promote good progress in mathematical development. Children enjoy imaginative activities, such as washing baby dolls in the water tray. Staff support them well, asking questions and providing additional resources to extend their learning. Since the last inspection, staff have improved access to resources for writing and they are more successful in promoting writing for a purpose. They now provide writing resources within different activity areas, such as the construction area and garden, which encourages children to experiment. Children enjoy a 'show and tell' group activity, which encourages them to speak in front of an audience to promote their confidence. The staff team has

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who attend

improved the quality of interactions since the last inspection, including attending relevant training. As a result, interactions are now mostly of a good quality although staff do not make the best use of open questions to fully challenge children's thinking.

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who attend

Staff show that they are confident in using the new observation, assessment and planning system. They work closely with parents when children first start their placement to find out about their interests and routines. Staff continue this process throughout children's time at the nursery, clearly recording their changing interests. Staff use this information, together with their observations of children's progress, to plan relevant and interesting activities. They provide good support to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff take good account of advice from outside agencies to help children make further progress. Staff support children with English as an additional language by working closely with parents to agree strategies. As a result, such children make good progress in their acquisition of English. Staff work well with parents and welcome them warmly into the nursery. Since the last inspection, they have introduced an 'activities at home' sheet,

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who attend

which provides helpful information to parents to encourage them to support children's learning. The nursery actively encourages parents to contribute their observations of children's progress at home, which promotes good continuity between the home and the nursery. The nursery is preparing children well for their next stages of learning.

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

Babies enjoy warm relationships with their key persons. Babies who are attending on initial visits before starting their placements settle quickly. Staff are attentive and quickly recognise babies' individual needs. The youngest babies enjoy snuggling up to staff to enjoy bottles of milk, which helps them to feel safe and secure. Older babies settle well in their high chairs to enjoy rice cakes and a drink at snack time. Staff are familiar with babies' signs of tiredness and settle them to sleep in accordance with their individual routines.

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

Toddlers and pre-school children show confidence and good levels of self-motivation in their play. Pre-school children particularly show that they can play cooperatively with minimal intervention from staff. They show that they understand the need to share, to take turns and to be kind to each other. Where disagreements occur, staff are quick to help children resolve issues in a positive way. As a result, children are making good progress in their personal, social and emotional development.

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

All children enjoy playing outdoors in the nursery garden on a daily basis. However, this valuable outdoor space is not always in use, which limits the time available for children to play outside. The nursery has recently improved resources for outdoor play and these now include a large sandpit, raised flowerbeds, a log pile, an inviting den and a wooden playhouse. Children develop good physical skills and exercise their muscles as they play. They climb on the logs, crawl through tunnels and negotiate space well on wheeled toys. The nursery makes good use of the local environment, regularly taking children to the local park or visiting the duck pond or library.

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

The nursery requires parents to provide children's meals and requests that these are healthy and nutritious. The nursery provides snacks, such as rice cakes, breadsticks and fruit. Staff make sure that drinks of water are easily accessible at all times. On outings, staff ensure that children have their own drinking bottles and also take a large bottle of water and cups to provide extra drinks as needed. Children learn about the importance of having regular drinks as staff encourage them to drink on a regular basis.

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

Children learn effectively about staying safe. Staff issue gentle reminders throughout the day about safe play and explain why this is important. As a result, children play well with regard for others.

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provision

The provider demonstrates a clear understanding of her responsibilities to meet the legal requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. A restructure of staffing since the last inspection has helped the nursery to make good progress. There is now a greater focus on monitoring the quality of teaching through ongoing observations of staff interactions with children. The deputy manager, soon to take over as manager, oversees the observation, assessment and planning system across the nursery. She carries out spot checks on children's development profiles and regularly checks the quality of planning and assessments to promote consistency. Where senior staff identify any gaps or concerns, they provide additional support and guidance to staff to improve practice and support for individual children. Regular appraisals and access to training further promote the professional development of the staff team.

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provision

The staff team demonstrates a clear understanding of safeguarding children procedures. They are aware of possible symptoms of children at risk and how to respond to these. They show that they fully understand the nursery's policy about the use of mobile phones, both within the nursery and on outings, in order to help protect children. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of safety procedures during outings and follow the nursery's outings policy. Daily safety checks and ongoing risk assessments help staff to maintain a safe and secure environment effectively. Staff work well together to supervise children and help to keep them safe. The nursery demonstrates that all persons working with children hold appropriate background checks. Recruitment and induction procedures are successful in assessing staff suitability and preparing new staff for their roles and responsibilities.

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provision

Since the last inspection, the nursery has compiled a comprehensive self-evaluation document taking account of the views of staff and parents. In addition, there are a number of ongoing action plans to improve practice in different areas. The senior team shows that it is capable of making effective improvements in order to improve outcomes for children. The nursery welcomes feedback from parents through questionnaires and ongoing discussion. Parents demonstrate that they are happy with the care and education provided by the nursery. There are several plans in place for further improvements, such as developing Forest School activities, introducing a cooking club and developing more focused activities for pre-school children.

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provision

The nursery has good partnerships in place with other settings and outside agencies. Staff are proactive in sharing information about children's individual progress with other settings that they attend to promote continuity. Staff support children well in preparing for their move into reception classes, such as by having a photograph board in the pre-school room about forthcoming school life to generate discussion.

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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 134702 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 931233 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 45 Number of children on roll 116 Name of provider Linda Jayne Triggs Date of previous inspection 26/04/2013 Telephone number 01993 832773

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Setting details

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

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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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