Wolstanton Kindergarten

Wolstanton Kindergarten The Old Schoolhouse, 9 Ellison Street, NEWCASTLE, Staffordshire, ST5 0BL

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/09/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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 a superb understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They precisely observe and assess children, identifying their preferred style of learning and their current interests and use this skilfully to provide a fantastic range of activities that fully engage and stimulate them.  A rich and varied learning environment ensures that children are always engaged in fruitful activity that challenges and stretches them. The newly designed outside area provides fantastic opportunities for exploration and play, while activities both indoors and out, are superbly thought out and carefully resourced to ensure that children can fully exploit every learning experience.  Partnerships with parents are exemplary. The setting fully values the role of parents in their children's learning and development and ensures that they are regularly consulted and kept informed about their children's activities and ongoing progress.

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This provision is outstanding

 Children's safety and well-being are of paramount importance. Staff are highly attentive to children's needs and are constantly vigilant to ensure that any hazards are successfully minimised. Safeguarding procedures are fully understood and all staff are trained in this crucial area of practice.

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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 spoke to children, staff and parents and held discussions with the management team.  The inspector observed free play, focused activities, outside play and mealtimes

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined children's learning journey records and the planning and assessment procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff working with children, the provider's written policies and procedures and self-evaluation documents.

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Information about the setting

Wolstanton Kindergarten was re-registered under new ownership in 2013 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from a detached two-storey property in Wolstanton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. The nursery is privately owned and managed by a limited company. The nursery serves the local and surrounding area and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play at the front of the premises.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs seven members of childcare staff, including the provider. Of these, five hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. One member of staff holds Early Years Professional Status. The provider is a qualified teacher and is also a headteacher at a local primary school. The nursery opens Monday to Friday 51 weeks of the year, from 7.30am until 5.30pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 43 children on roll, all of whom are within the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children and supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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

 revise the form used for recording medication, so that the date of administration is more easily identified.

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who attend

The energy and enthusiasm shown by children in this setting is second to none. This is a result of the outstanding practice of ensuring that children are recognised as partners in their own learning and development. They are fully a part of every routine and event, with their thoughts and actions being valued and respected. A children's ideas forum is held regularly to ensure that their points of view are fully incorporated into planned activities and as a result, they are always fruitfully engaged in play and learning. All the topics reflect their interests and staff are extremely skilled at making every event relevant and engaging. For example, as children become fascinated with a project about growing fruit and vegetables, staff provide them with fresh fruits and honey to explore how these occur, what they feel like and taste like. Toddlers are completely fascinated by the feel of the warm, sticky honey and the soft flesh of a cut orange. Their vocabulary expands as they

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who attend

learn words, such as 'squeeze' and 'pips' while their creative skills are encouraged as they make pictures of bees, with glue and glitter to hang from the ceiling. Their wonder in the natural world flourishes as they learn how bees make the honey and how plants can grow from tiny seeds. They wait with anticipation as they plant carrot seeds and there is great excitement as the green tops start to shoot up from the soil. Older children also enjoy being active participants in their own learning, often leading and directing their play. They design their own map to go on 'a bear hunt' and work together to decide how the outside area will represent the different terrains they cross to find the bear's cave. Staff encourage them to problem solve and as a result, they show excellent interpersonal skills as they discuss where the bear might be and what they need to do first to start their adventure. Children show that they feel extremely safe and secure as they freely move around the

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who attend

fantastic indoor and outdoor spaces, which are carefully resourced to enhance their play. For example, during a topic on mini-beasts, staff provide pieces of wood and twine so that children can build their own mini-beast hotel. With support from staff they decide how to make separate habitats for different insects and collect the foods and materials they think are needed for them to survive. This fantastic activity fully develops a wide range of skills as children's manual dexterity is improved as they work out how to tie the pieces of wood together, their understanding of the world flourishes as they make suitable habitats and their creativity flows as they consider how the animals will enjoy their stay at the hotel.

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who attend

Staff are excellent teachers and carers. They are superb at delivering activities in such a way that children cannot fail to be stimulated and engaged. Even routine events, such as learning the days of the week and recognising the initial sounds in letters are fun and interactive. Children listen attentively at circle time as all staff have an infectious enthusiasm, which encourages children to join in and take part. They sing the days of the week loudly, showing what they know and confidently count up to 16 as they work out the day in the month. Their early literacy skills are impressive. They write their own names on their art work and recognise the letters in frequently used words, such as 'day'. This is because of the excellent use of phonics, which is introduced at a young age. Children confidently identify that Monday begins with 'M' and know most of the sounds in the alphabet as they learn this through listening and action. They make the shape and sound

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who attend

of a snake to represent an 's' and as their confidence grows, they fill up a phonics box with other items they find, which also have the same initial letter. Children also demonstrate fantastic mathematical skills. They get really excited when the 'shape bag' comes out and listen carefully as the member of staff describes the shape she is holding. They accurately guess the shape based on how many sides or points it has and understand that a semi-circle is a circle chopped in half and a rectangle differs from a square because it has two longer sides.

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who attend

Staff are also skilled at providing one on one attention to enable children to rapidly learn new skills. They help those with English as an additional language to develop their communication skills by using key words and pictures to aid the development of English and take extra time to ensure that they understand and feel included in all activities. They also come alongside individual children as they try out new resources to help them develop their confidence. For example, during a creative activity, the member of staff helps a child to hold and use scissors effectively and to use his hands to stick ribbon and tissue paper down firmly. She provides clear and easy to understand instruction, helping him to open and close the scissors and to push down on the sticking tape. Children beam with pride as they quickly master the process and show great pride in their finished product.

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who attend

Babies also enjoy outstanding care. They have warm and affectionate relationships with staff and often seek them out for cuddles. Their room is beautifully designed to provide cosy corners and plenty of room to crawl and explore. A sensory room with soft materials and gentle lighting provides further opportunities for them to investigate their environment and relax. Staff provide focussed activities to help babies develop their key skills. Low-level mirrors fascinate them as they begin to recognise their own reflections and are able to point to their eyes and noses. Walkers and push-a-long toys are provided to help them develop their mobility and constant interaction ensures that speech and language skills are swiftly built. Staff repeat familiar words and respond to babies gurgles and coos. Parents report that they are impressed with their children's rapid progress and are often surprised at how much they achieve at such a young age.

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who attend

The setting also uses the local community as a rich learning resource. Children regularly go on outings, taking their own shopping lists to the supermarket or going to visit the hairdressers or dentists to see what happens in these environments. Members of the community also come to visit children at the setting. A local vet brings a dog and rabbit for children to pet and provides an excellent activity with the well behaved dog, getting children to label parts of the dog's body. Young children label the nose and tail, while older ones are given more challenge as they are asked to consider where the dogs ribs and heart would be. Children love this opportunity to interact with a pet and their learning is of a considerably impressive level as a result of this well thought out activity. Fantastic resources, such as the 'x-ray' machine enable staff to expand children's learning even further. During a topic on dinosaurs, staff show them a dinosaur 'x-ray' and they compare

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who attend

this to a human one. They then have a go at making their own x-ray pictures, using chalks and black paper.

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who attend

All children's achievements are recorded in progress files and the key person for each child regularly monitors their development to ensure that they are continually making excellent progress. Staff successfully identify ways to help children move forward and use this to inform the planning of future activities. Parents are fully consulted at regular intervals and provide 'I can' notes to share children's achievements from home. They also complete forms for staff to inform them about how their children prefer to learn. The 'schema in action' forms are clearly explained and parents fill them in accurately, providing a wealth of information to staff about how to tailor activities to meet the way their child individually processes and understands new concepts. This fabulous approach ensures that parents are fully included in their children's learning and that staff are able to provide the best possible approach to helping their children develop. Consequently, all children are making

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who attend

fantastic progress towards the early learning goals. This helps to ensure they are extremely well prepared for their future learning in school. Children also learn to share, listen to others and wait their turn with popular equipment as they play together. They learn to work together as they take part in running a shop to raise money for a nationally recognised good cause and to interact with their peers and with adults in a mature manner as they take payment for the goods they are selling. This helps them develop key skills for future learning, such as concentration and turn-taking, as well as helping them to be confident in other group settings, such as the classroom. Undoubtedly, the superb range of activities coupled with the outstanding teaching from staff enables all children to become highly confident and competent learners.

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

Children are extremely relaxed and content in the setting. Parents report that they 'settle in straight away' as staff are exceptionally warm and sensitive, providing extra support and cuddles to help children feel safe and secure. Parents are invited for 'stay and play' sessions to help their children feel at home and time is taken to build up the time children spend at the setting without their parents. This is individual for each child, ensuring that by the time they are left with staff they are confident and capable of coping. Children display comfortable relationships with their key person, seeking them out for reassurance or to play alongside them. They snuggle up for stories or engage them in their make- believe play, making them food in the toy kitchen. Time is also taken to help children settle into new rooms as they progress through the setting. They are able to visit their new room for a short period of time and staff encourage them to explore and find

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

resources during these visits. When the time comes for children to move on to formal education, excellent partnerships with the local schools ensure that this is also a smooth transition. Reception teachers visit children in the setting and get to know them before they start. Staff also take the time to do activities based around their new school, such as reading stories about school and discussing their new uniforms. This excellent practice helps children to view their move as an exciting adventure.

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

Information for all children is collated on the registration forms to ensure that staff are aware of children's likes and dislikes, any special requirements and key information prior to them starting. Dietary or medical needs are fully discussed to ensure that all activities are safe and suitable for each child. Where special requirements are identified, staff work in partnership with other professionals and parents to ensure that a consistent approach is taken. For instance, staff translate documents for families who do not speak English as a first language and find out key words in the child's home language to enable them to settle effectively. As a result, all children, including those with English as an additional language make extremely rapid progress.

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

Children are kept safe. All exterior doors are kept secure to prevent unwanted visitors from entering the premises and staff are exceptionally vigilant, ensuring that they recognise callers before opening the door. Children have a very mature understanding of how to contribute to their own safety. They know that they must use the bannisters when walking up and down the stairs and that they must not run indoors or they may slip. Topics, such as 'danger' further enhance their understanding as they learn about fire and road safety. A visit from a lollipop lady further develops their understanding as they learn how to cross the road correctly. This is built on as children regularly go out into the community and use their skills with staff supervision. They know to stop and look before crossing the road and practise this often as they go to various shops and businesses in the area as part of their learning.

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

Staff give children the freedom to work things out for themselves and have high expectations about how they can manage their own behaviour. They provide constant praise and encouragement and consequently, children have high levels of self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities. Children behave particularly well, showing care and concern for each other and taking an active role in the smooth running of the setting. There is a harmonious atmosphere as they work well together, completing tasks or playing together happily. They enjoy setting the table for meals and start tidying up at the end of a free play session without prompting. Older children work cooperatively on group activities, such as planning a 'bear hunt'. They assign their own roles, such as map reader and work out how to find the bear, listening to each other respectfully. This excellent approach means that children truly feel a great sense of ownership for the setting as a

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

result of the freedom they are afforded to express themselves and to show that they are capable of taking on responsibility for small tasks.

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

Children's good health is also superbly promoted. Active play is effectively encouraged both indoors and out, with prolonged access to the outside area and active indoor play opportunities, such as dancing to music and pretending to move like dinosaurs. Children learn about keeping themselves healthy through interactive experiences, such as receiving a visit from the dentist, who shows them how he checks their teeth to keep them healthy. Children are able to experience a mini check-up in familiar surroundings, which encourages them to be confident when they have to attend for dental appointments in the future. Children are also provided with a wide range of home cooked meals. All food is freshly prepared on the premises and the rolling menu provides children with a wide variety of nutritional dishes. Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables are incorporated into the menu, with produce grown by children also being enjoyed. Children also discuss the foods

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

as they eat, talking about how carrots help you see as they are full of vitamins and that milk helps you grow because it contains calcium. Consequently, children have an excellent understanding of healthy options and where food comes from. This is further developed through enjoyable activities, such as visiting the local supermarket to buy food for snack time and using whole fruits to make freshly squeezed orange juice.

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provision

The setting is led by a focussed and driven owner, who is fully committed to providing the best possible standards for children. She is successfully supported by all staff, who from the most senior to the most junior, display genuine enthusiasm and dedication to their roles. As a result, the setting has a fantastic energy, which permeates both staff and children alike. There is a positive atmosphere and a 'can do' attitude as staff have high expectations of both themselves and children they care for. All staff are enthusiastic about driving the setting forward and are keen to try out new ideas and techniques. They visit other settings to discuss and build on best practice and regularly attend training, building on their already exceptional skills and knowledge. Daily team meetings provide staff with time to reflect on any training they have undertaken and to share new information with each other. They also reflect on any other issues at the setting. Staff are professional and

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provision

supportive, helping each other to consider ways to work more effectively. They undertake observations of each other and provide constructive feedback to enhance their already excellent teaching skills. This excellent practice ensures that all staff feel able to discuss any concerns or suggest new ways of working for the benefit of all children who attend. Regular supervision sessions and appraisals by the management also take place to formally monitor their performance and provide a way for staff to identify future goals to continually develop their skills.

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provision

All required policies and procedures are in place. These are written to a very high standard and successfully underpin excellent practice as all staff are clear about the standards to which they must work. Safeguarding procedures in particular are fully understood and the setting has comprehensive written policies in place to underpin exemplary practice. The safeguarding co-ordinator for the setting has undertaken level two training and is confident about her role, representing the setting in case conferences as required. All other staff have completed basic training and are clear about the signs and symptoms that may indicate abuse. Staff ensure that all required paperwork is completed to ensure children's well-being. For example, all accident forms are promptly shared with parents and include precise details of what happened and the treatment received. Similarly, in line with the medication policy, consent is always obtained before any medication is

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provision

administered and parents sign this record at the end of the day to show that they are fully aware of the care their child has received. Revision of the medication form is being undertaken to further improve the already good recording and make the dates of administration more easily identifiable as these are sometimes obscured by signatures.

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provision

Children know what resources are available and confidently move around to access the toys and resources they want. This encourages their independence and gives them a good sense of freedom as they move from their base rooms to the creative room or to use the toilets. Staff are always extremely vigilant, knowing exactly where children are, while allowing them to develop their independence by accessing these areas as they choose. The resources take account of the needs of children who attend and promote an understanding of diversity, with toys and stories displaying a wide range of different backgrounds and abilities. Home languages for children for whom English is an additional language are displayed around the setting, ensuring that everyone feels valued and included. Consequently, all children feel fully part of the setting. The setting welcomes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and effectively works in

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provision

partnership with parents and other professionals to ensure that any specific needs are promptly identified and addressed. This helps all children to reach their full potential.

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provision

Self-evaluation is used extremely effectively to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the setting and to set future goals to promote continuous development. All staff contribute to this process, regularly evaluating their own practice and providing ideas about how to develop the setting further. All changes are considered in relation to the benefit that they will bring to children. For example, the outside area was re-designed as a priority as staff recognised that this would bring the most improvement to children's experiences. The new design has greatly improved children's outside play and they now have a fantastically resourced area that fully encourages exploration. The educational programme is also very well monitored. Managers use effective tracking documents to ensure that children are covering all the areas of learning and to see whether children are meeting or exceeding the expected levels of development. Where gaps are identified, staff are quick to respond

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provision

by providing focussed activities to help children develop their skills. All staff know their key children exceptionally well and as a result, the tracking documents confirm that all children are making rapid progress as a result of the precise and timely intervention, which effectively builds on their existing skills.

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provision

The setting has a fantastic approach to working in partnership with parents. There is a recognition of the key role parents play in the education and development of their children and the setting ensures their views and opinions are fully incorporated into planned activities. Parents are asked for any suggestions on how to develop topics and their ideas are added into activities to enrich children's learning. Parent information sheets are displayed throughout the setting to keep parents informed about children's activities and provide suggestions for ways to extend the learning at home. Daily diaries are used for the youngest children, providing parents with a record of how they have been throughout the day. Parents comment that these are 'fantastic' and 'show how well each child is cared for individually'. Noticeboards in the hallway provide parents with additional information about childcare issues and include details of the setting's key policies and procedures.

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provision

Parents report that their children are extremely content at the setting and that staff are 'absolutely brilliant' They state they 'cannot praise them enough' and that they are so impressed with how their children have developed.

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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 EY458594 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 902654 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 16 Number of children on roll 43 Name of provider Wolstanton Kindergarten Limited Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01782 625493

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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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