The Willows Pre-School Nursery

The Poplars Nursery Ltd Portland Court, Sherwood, NOTTINGHAM, Nottinghamshire, NG5 6EX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/06/2013 23/04/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Staff fully understand how children learn and develop, and provide a challenging educational programme, with accurate assessment and planning for children's individual needs. Consequently, children make excellent progress in their learning and development.  Children are cared for in a nurturing and supportive environment. They are happy and form close bonds with all staff at the nursery. Staff praise children's achievements, which effectively promotes their confidence and self-esteem.  Leadership and management are strong and there is a clear motivation to continually develop the nursery in order to improve opportunities for children's learning.  Relationships with parents are strong; they receive good information about their children's progress. Parent's views are valued and taken into account when evaluating practice. This contributes to accurately identifying the nursery's strengths and areas for

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It is not yet outstanding because

 On occasions, less mature children are not always fully supported to recognise the rules for being together and working harmoniously. This potentially prevents all children from sharing what they know and can do.

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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 indoors and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the Registered Person, manager and trainee manager at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and children spoken to on the day.  The inspector conducted a joint observation with the trainee manager.

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Information about the setting

The Poplars Nursery Ltd was registered in 1993. It is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a converted detached house in the Sherwood area of Nottingham, and is privately owned. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from five rooms on the ground floor of the property and there are two enclosed play areas available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 12 members of childcare staff. Of these, six hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. The Registered Person has Early Years Professional Status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday for 49 weeks of the year from 7.30am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 58 children attending. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-old children. It supports 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:

 help less mature children to further recognise and understand the rules for being together with others, such as waiting for their turn.

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who attend

The staff team is strongly led and supported by the Registered Person and established staff. Together they provide children with a wide range of interesting and challenging experiences across all seven areas of learning. Most staff fully understand how young children learn. They regularly observe children in their play and in adult guided experiences which enables them to plan activities which are clearly linked to the children's next steps in their learning. Assessments include a progress check at age two. Established staff motivate and interest children in their learning, acting as good role-models for their peers. Babies 'personality profiles' record their developmental progress and show that they are making good progress in the prime areas of learning. Pre-school children's 'target books' record their learning and development progress and show they are making excellent progress towards the early learning goals and developing the necessary skills in

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who attend

While engaged in activities they have chosen themselves, children become deeply absorbed. For example, they enjoy being imaginative with pasta in the role-play kitchen, they create meals to take on their pretend holiday. Children enjoy all the activities provided and participate with enthusiasm. However, during group activities less mature, children struggle to wait their turn and sometimes interrupt other children who are sharing their views or taking their turn. This potentially prevents all children in sharing what they know and can do. Staff constantly apply open questioning techniques to explore children's understanding with 'why' and 'how' to develop their early critical thinking. During role-play children are asked to think about how they know 'what they need to take on holiday'. The staff extend this thinking by inviting children to write a list of their items, this promotes early reading and writing skills as children recognise and name initial letters.

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who attend

Staff promote children's mathematical skills. Toddlers have opportunities to count while they play and use mathematical language, such as, 'bigger' when they build towers. Older children solve problems as they set the table for lunch, staff ask how many forks they have, how many children there are and whether they have enough forks or how many more they need. Children enjoy outdoor play; their physical development is encouraged as they run around chasing hoops, and balance on the balancing bricks. Staff organise outdoor group games and children recognise their colours as they play with the parachute. Stories and music are a regular feature of the day and enhance children's enjoyment and learning through expressive arts and design. Toddlers move rhythmically to popular music, staff develop their delight by adding instruments and ribbons. Knowledge of the local community is encouraged through visits to the local library and woods. Children become

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who attend

aware of similarities and differences through celebration of cultural events of families in the setting, such as, Christmas, Jewish festivals and Chinese New Year. This helps children develop a secure knowledge of the wider world and the people in it. Children explain to the inspector they use the computer to play letter games, this supports an understanding of technology.

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who attend

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make consistent progress from their starting points because they are supported well while enjoying good opportunities to play and learn independently and with other children. Staff further support these children by learning and applying appropriate care contributed by support workers. Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents complete 'About your child' documents, which help staff to identify children's starting points on entry. Parents regularly contribute to their child's learning records, showing there is a consistent approach to children's learning at the nursery and at home.

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

A good emphasis is given to establishing strong relationships throughout the nursery based on mutual care and respect between staff, children and parents. The nursery adopts a unique staff rotation arrangement between the rooms. This ensures children are cared for in a homely environment by staff who know them all very well. Parents share information regarding their children's abilities, routines and needs as they settle into nursery. All staff caring for children are sensitive and ensure that the nursery routines are flexible in meeting the children's individual needs. Individual staff know their key children well and quickly pick up on signs that they are tired or not well. Children's behaviour is generally good and staff consistently offer words of praise for their efforts and achievements, which helps to build their self-confidence. They mainly understand rules of expected behaviour, such as, tidying toys away at the end of the play

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

time. Staff are proactive in promoting children's awareness of maintaining their own safety and that of others. For example, they engage children in on-going discussion about being safe in the nursery and why they need to evacuate when they hear the fire bell. Children talk about road safety and consider potential hazards, which they may encounter on outings. Children show that they feel safe as they move purposefully and confidently around the nursery. They enjoy visits from the fire service and doctors, which helps them to further understand about their health and safety.

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

The nursery playrooms are well organised and provide a range of toys and resources. Due to the small rooms the staff change the opportunities daily. Emphasis is on providing children with experiences that cover all areas of learning. Staff are continuing to develop some areas to further extend children's learning, with particular regard to the provision of books. All rooms provide visual stimulation from displays of children's work, which provide a good sense of belonging. Children develop a good understanding of the importance of healthy lifestyles and independence in their personal hygiene. Children are provided with healthy choices for food and drink at snack and mealtimes. Parents are asked to provide details about any allergies or health needs and these are managed effectively by the staff. Children get very excited and animated when it is time to play outside, where they effectively negotiate small slides and run in and out of the "willow-weave" hideout. As a

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

result, children's physical skills are developing well.

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

Children are supported well by all staff as they move to other rooms in the nursery. The key person prepares a transition document to ease the handover. Moves are smooth and easy, due to the interconnecting rooms and the rotation of staff.Teachers from the feeder schools are invited to visit the children at the nursery. Staff provide the school with a thorough summary sheet of the children's achievements. This enables children to receive a consistent approach to enhance their development and provide continuity of care and learning over time.

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provision

The management has developed a unique and effective teaching and learning approach that is tailored for individual age groups. The tracking and monitoring of individual children is effective and is being developed to link closely to the Development matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage document. The educational curriculum is monitored effectively by the manager and trainee manager, and includes regular observation of practice to ensure appropriate intervention and monitoring of children. Staff's knowledge of safeguarding procedures is strong and they have a clear understanding of how to recognise and report any child protection concern. Robust vetting and induction systems are in place to ensure all staff who work with children are suitable to do so. These measures help to protect children from harm and neglect. Regular supervisions and yearly appraisals enables the management team to identify learning and training needs for each individual staff

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provision

member. As a result, there is a skilled staff team in place to support children's wide ranging needs. There is a good range of policies, procedures and records, including effective accident and medication records, which support the safety of the children and the management of the setting.

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provision

The nursery has a very good capacity to develop and maintain improvement because the manager and staff are proactive to change and are reflective in their practice. Staff use self-evaluation to identify the settings strengths and areas for development and set targets for improvement that will have a positive impact on children. For instance, the manager has identified a need for a more uninterrupted play session for children to become highly engaged in their play and learning. Staff are motivated and committed to their professional development, attending regular training and some are currently undertaking a higher qualification. As a result, the quality of the provision was observed to be consistently good across all areas, with some outstanding aspects of practice in respect of children's learning and development. Staff have formed a very good working relationship with parents and engage them effectively. Through questionnaire feedback,

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provision

parents were highly complimentary about the setting and the quality of care and education their children receive. Staff work well alongside external agencies to support children who require additional help and support. They strive to develop links with feeder primary schools and invite reception staff along to the setting to meet with children and their key person. This supports information sharing and continuity of care and education for all children.

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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 EY257438 Local authority Nottingham City Inspection number 919662

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 37 Number of children on roll 58 Name of provider The Poplars Nursery Ltd Date of previous inspection 23/04/2010 Telephone number 0115 9676051

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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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