Gaskells Private Day Nursery

Gaskell's Private Day nursery Limited 7 Gaskell Street, BOLTON, BL1 2QU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/08/2013 19/08/2009

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early years provision

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

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This provision is outstanding

 Staff have high expectations for children and teaching is superb, securely based on a thorough understanding of how children learn, which ensures each child makes exceptional progress. The records of assessment are expertly detailed and are used effectively in the planning of activities to move children on in their learning.  All staff consistently give the highest priority to the safety of children and effectively support children's growing understanding of how to keep themselves safe and healthy in the vibrant environment.  The setting's expert practice enables all children to make excellent progress relative to their starting points and prepares them well for school or the next steps of their learning.  Partnerships with parents, external agencies and other providers are robust and well established and make an excellent contribution to meeting children's needs.

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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 the designated age-appropriate rooms and the various outside areas.  The inspector held discussions with the manager, staff and spoke with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's observation, assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and the staff qualifications, the setting's self-evaluation documents and the safeguarding policy and procedure.

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Information about the setting

Gaskells Private Day Nursery Limited was registered in 2009 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a purpose built premises in the Halliwell area of Bolton, and is managed by an employed manager. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from five main playrooms and there are enclosed areas available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 17 members of childcare staff. Of these, 14 hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 and higher, including the manager and one other member of staff with Early Years Professional Status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 44 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 continue with plans to develop the pre-school outdoor area providing even more stimulating resources and opportunities for children to enhance their excellent learning.

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who attend

Staff provide rich varied and imaginative experiences for the children. Through the exceptionally high qualifications of the staff, they demonstrate that they have an excellent knowledge and understanding of how children learn. Practice is inspirational with vibrant educational programmes for children of all ages. They have high expectations of themselves and the children. Children have high expectations of themselves and all know their next steps in learning and strive to achieve these. Staff complete precise assessments for all children. These are monitored by senior management to ensure they are used to support children's learning, based on a comprehensive knowledge of the child and their family.

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who attend

Babies are well motivated, very eager to join in, such as sharing the experience and excitement of experimenting with sand and water. This develops their understanding of changes in texture and stimulates their senses. Babies are encouraged to do things for themselves and gain independence as they access their own water cups, identified by a photo tag. Children's personal, social and emotional development is enhanced as older babies pass cups to younger ones and are praised for their kindness. Staff help all children make rapid improvement in their learning from their starting points. They involve children in decision making allowing them to freely choose from the extensive choice of resources easily accessible, building confidence in their own abilities to make decisions. Staff eagerly encourage children's communication and language skills. They use language well and this is further developed through skilful questions and challenges set by the staff.

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who attend

Children take turns dressing as 'Metal Mike' during the daily letters and sounds sessions where they hone their developing language and listening skills making very rapid progress.

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who attend

Children take active interests in the fragility of the environment. They have learned the importance of bees to the continuation of all species. High quality teaching motivates them to take action and be proactive about current community concerns. They have built a bee hotel and survey the bees that visit. They make posters and banners and march to inform others to 'save the bees'. As they create their posters, they freely access a rich, varied and imaginative selection of art and craft supplies and discuss how they need to draw circles and lines to make bees. This means children have excellent opportunities to practice the building blocks of early writing.

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who attend

The learning environment both indoors and outdoors is vibrant, stimulating and superbly resourced which helps children across all seven areas of learning. Staff go to any lengths to provide superb activities for children, including setting up a whole room to complement a book, allowing children to 'step into the story'. This approach inspires an enthusiasm for reading to support them through the next stage in their learning and develops skills for life.

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who attend

The planned programme of daily physical activities and exercise, such as dance and sports sessions, supports children's healthy lifestyle. Indoors children access a large and challenging soft play area. They have the choice of free-flow from inside to outside where they can access the superb equipment and resources to further support their physical development and learning. The newly completed outdoor play area for toddlers is actively contributing to children's excellent understanding of the world and physical progress. They practice their coordination skills on the climbing wall and balance beam. They mix and measure in the mud kitchen and enjoy quiet resting areas where they can relax with a book. Communication tubes are very popular with the children giving them excellent opportunities to converse with their friends and they make music and sounds on metal tubes. Early writing is fun when done with a mop and bucket of water on the ground

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who attend

outside. Although one outdoor play area is still under development, it still provides learning opportunities across all areas.

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who attend

Children are confident as they move around the playrooms, selecting activities and resources of their choice. They carefully put resources away at tidy up time. They use their small physical skills with accuracy as they pour from one measuring container to another while baking. This promotes their science and physical development. Staff plan activities and themes to support children's understanding of other cultures and the walls both indoors and outside display pictures about people of the world, welcome posters and resources labelled in different languages help children to value differences and similarities.

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who attend

The key person supports engagement with all parents who contribute to initial assessments of children's starting points on entry and at their progress check at age two. They are kept well informed about their children's achievements and progress. These complement the child's learning journey. Parents are involved in their children's nursery life through daily sharing of information and their written comments on their child's three month assessment progress sheet and monthly discussions about children's next steps. Parent feedback comments on the excellent staff and their superb support to their child and the family, the excellent environment and the exceptional progress their children have achieved. The key person uses effective, targeted strategies and interventions to support learning that match children's individual needs. Parents also comment on the excellent transitional procedures as children are exceptionally well prepared for school or their next

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

Children are extremely settled in the provision, supported by the calm and consistent interaction with their key person. Staff are highly motivated, skilled and sensitive in helping children form secure emotional attachments, and provide a strong base for their developing independence and exploration. Children increasingly show high levels of self- control during activities and confidence in social situations, and are developing an excellent understanding of how to manage risks and challenges relative to their age. For example, children playing in the challenging indoor soft play area stand on the clear 'glass ceiling' looking through to the floor below.

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

Staff are expertly deployed, they use consistently applied strategies and provide clear guidance for children about what is acceptable behaviour. Relationships are superb at all levels and children are learning to respect each other through high quality interactions and calm clear guidance. Staff are excellent role models and children's behaviour shows that they feel safe and secure in their care. All staff consistently give the highest priority to the safety of children and effectively support children's growing understanding of how to keep themselves safe. For example, they demonstrate an excellent knowledge about how and when to contact emergency services and regular practice of evacuation of the premises gives children an understanding of how to leave the premises in an emergency. They are also introduced to visitors in the building and made aware that this is a safe stranger.

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

Staff give clear messages to children to ensure they are developing a good understanding of why it is important to have a healthy diet and staff work closely with parents to alter children's diet at home as a possible means of modifying children's behaviour. Children enjoy an excellent range of healthy snacks and lunches, which are nutritious and balanced. Food is freshly prepared on the premises and the menu is always under review, with new tastes and textures introduced gradually. The older and more able children help themselves from the serving dish; this supports their independence and small physical skills. Older children are competent at managing their personal needs relative to their ages. They access the toilet and wash their hands independently. Staff display excellent hygiene procedures as they use appropriate disposable clothing and gloves when nappy changing and at snack and mealtimes. This further develops children's understanding of

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

how to prevent the spread of infections.

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

Children display high levels of self-esteem and confidence. They make choices about where they will play and the setting provides a highly stimulating environment with child- accessible resources that promote learning and challenge children both indoors and outdoors. The excellent skills of all key persons ensure all children are well prepared for the next stages in their learning.

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provision

Staff ensure the planning and assessment procedure for children's learning is exceptional. The high-quality monitoring by senior management to make sure they are consistent, precise, and display an accurate understanding of all children's skills, abilities and progress, supports children's progress very well. The leadership shown by senior management is inspirational. The excellent documented drive to strongly improve achievement for all children, over a sustained period of time is clearly linked to their learning. The extremely confident and self-assured staff undertake an overview of the curriculum. They monitor the educational programmes to ensure a first class range of experiences to help children make very rapid progress to the early learning goals. This is based on an excellent, secure understanding of the seven areas of learning and how children learn.

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provision

Staff have a superb understanding of their responsibilities to ensure that the provision meets the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They have robust strategies to monitor their implementation. Clear policies and procedures are known and understood by all staff who have accessed appropriate safeguarding training. Children's needs are quickly identified and exceptionally well met through the consistently highly effective partnerships between the setting, parents, carers and external agencies. Appropriate interventions are secured and all children receive the support they need.

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provision

Induction procedures are robust and ensure that staff are suitable to be working with the children. The effective systems for performance management and accountability arrangements are understood and consistently applied. An effective and well-established programme of professional development ensures staff are constantly improving their already superior understanding and practice. High-quality professional supervision is provided with meticulous planned annual appraisals; these are based on consistent focused evaluations of the impact of staff practice. Managers through robust self- evaluation procedures take into account the views of staff, children and their parents. They carefully analyse, monitor and self-challenge to drive for improvement that supports children's achievements overtime. Strengths and weaknesses are effectively identified. Planned actions to overcome weaknesses have been concerted and effective. There are

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provision

strong links between identified priorities and plans for improvement. The management share information exceptionally well with parents, carers and other settings the children attend. This supports the continuity and consistency in children's experiences and learning exceedingly well.

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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 EY390813 Local authority Bolton Inspection number 915227

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 89 Number of children on roll 44 Name of provider Gaskell's Private Day Nursery Date of previous inspection 19/08/2009 Telephone number 01204399818

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

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

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