Harlequins Private Day Nursery

Harlequins Private Day Nursery 1a George Street, Enderby, LEICESTER, Leicestershire, LE19 4NQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/09/2013 03/11/2011

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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 provide a broad range of experiences to promote the children's learning and development to help them make good progress from their starting points and to be ready for their next stage of learning.  Children are settled and show a strong sense of belonging in the nursery. This is because they have formed trusting relationships with staff. They confidently and enthusiastically explore their environment and participate in activities with enjoyment.  Partnership with parents is highly valued by all staff. Positive relationships between adults help children to feel safe and secure.  The staff team are enthusiastic about the children's care and learning and are supported well by a strong management team who place a clear emphasis on securing the children's safety, welfare and well-being.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to develop opportunities for children to further their independence skills, and for older, more able children to take the lead in some aspects of their learning, to further enhance their already very good learning.  There is scope to develop older early years children's understanding of how and why they need to stay safe in the sun, to encourage them to take more responsibility in warmer weather.

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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 playrooms and the outdoor play area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held a meeting with the manager and the registered individual and conducted a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working within the setting, the provider's action plan and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the feedback from parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector undertook an inspection of the areas of the premises used for childcare.

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Information about the setting

The Harlequins Private Day Nursery was registered in 1999 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a two-storey listed building in the Enderby area of Leicestershire, and is privately managed. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from two floors and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play. The nursery employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, seven hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 5, 4, 3 and 2.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round, from 7.15am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 28 children attending who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four- year-old children.

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

 enhance opportunities for children to further develop growing independence and self-help skills, for example, by encouraging younger children to wash their own hands and older children to take an active role in leading activities

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

 enhance older children's understanding of the importance of staying safe in the sun, for example, through everyday discussion and gentle reminders of the need to wear sunhats.

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who attend

Staff have a thorough knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and understand how children learn. As a result, children make good progress. Staff plan well for children's individual needs, taking account of their starting points and individual interests. The planning systems ensure that, overall, there is a balance of adult-led and child-initiated experiences across the seven areas of learning to support children's play and ideas. Observations are clearly linked to relevant areas of learning and development bands. These are assessed and used to effectively plan children's next steps in their learning to ensure that every child has a fun learning experience as they develop. Systems to track children's progress are in place and these clearly show how children are making good progress towards the early learning goals. Staff have developed strong links with parents. They gather a wide range of information from them at the point of entry to establish

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who attend

children's starting points and care routines, helping to support children's transitions into the nursery. This helps the child's key person to build an accurate picture of children's development. Parents are offered regular opportunities to see their child's progress in their learning journal records and to speak with their child's key person. Parent meetings are offered at regular intervals during the year to enable formal feedback to be shared about their child's learning and development. Parents are kept very well informed about the life of the nursery via the noticeboards, parent meetings and through daily chats to staff. In addition, staff in the toddler room effectively complete the progress check for children aged two, which provides parents and other professionals if required, information about children's areas of strength and where progress is less than expected.

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who attend

Children are engaged in their play. They show good levels of independence as they self- select toys and activities of their choice. They play in a range of ways according to their age and stage of development. For example, younger children play alone or alongside their peers when playing in the water in the 'tuff' spot; they splash and pat the surface and staff introduce new language to extend their communication skills. Older children enhance their imaginative skills. They relish dressing up and using their imagination. For example, they 'bury' the treasure and take it in turns to hide, using a 'map' to find their way. Further to this, they put on various costumes and jointly make decisions about who will be the 'Prince' and who will be the 'Princess', informing each other what they need to wear in order for this to happen. However, there are times during such activities that staff can take over and begin to lead such play. As a consequence, there are times that

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who attend

children's ideas are not heard. Staff effectively support children's language and communication as they play. They talk to children about what they do and offer appropriate questions to challenge or to enable them to think their thoughts and ideas through effectively. For example, when playing in the sand, children are asked if their mould is 'empty' or 'full' and 'how much more' they think they will need until they can tip it out. This also supports their skills in mathematics. Children's literacy skills are promoted through the use of labelling on toy boxes and through the good range of resources and activities on offer which support their early writing. All children enjoy looking at books; babies and toddlers take these to staff and begin to use simple words and sounds to describe what they see, such as 'quack, quack' when they see a duck and 'dog, woof, woof'. Older children look through books, chatting to staff about what they see and

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who attend

recognising the repeated refrains in some. This means they are beginning to understand that text carries meaning and appreciate reading as a pleasurable pastime.

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who attend

Children have many opportunities to explore a varied range of media and materials to support their creativity, such as, paints, play dough, paper, and glue. They build with a variety of construction and persevere with chosen activities. For example, a younger child spends considerable time playing with the train set, turning and fitting the pieces together, requiring little adult support during this. They are highly praised in their success, supporting their confidence and self-esteem. Staff provide activities for children to learn early mathematical skills using everyday opportunities. For example, during meals, older children help to set the tables, counting the number of chairs, and therefore, the corresponding cutlery required. Babies and toddlers sing lots of songs and rhymes which incorporate number, allowing them to hear and recognise simple number patterns. These skills will help children in their preparation for their next stage in education, which is

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who attend

Children thoroughly enjoy the outdoors and have many opportunities to access this small, but well-resourced area. They run and climb using a good range of equipment. Bats and balls are used to help develop their coordination and water and sand play are continually accessible in this area, supporting their small muscle skills as well as their understanding of mathematical concepts, such as quantity and space. Children love to play in the water and many use this to help water the home grown tomatoes and flowers. In addition, during warmer weather children put on their bathing costumes to enable them to play in the nursery paddling pools. This contributes to children's opportunities to have fun and be playful. Younger children confidently use push along toys and the small slide to enhance their large muscle skills, while older, more able children climb the large frame with ease and agility.

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

The nursery is welcoming. A good range of children's own free expression in artwork, writing, photographs, posters and pictures are attractively displayed creating an environment where children's own work is highly valued. Children are happy and secure and have established strong relationships with not only their key person, but all staff who work in the setting. This is because routines are organised to ensure that younger children have time to play with older children, particularly in the outdoor area, allowing older children to show care and concern for others but also to enable younger children to become familiar with all adults in the setting. Good settling-in procedures mean that children and their families are given many opportunities to visit the setting, until they and their parents, feel assured their child is happy. As a result, children soon feel confident and self-assured which enables them to engage in play and enjoy their time at nursery. In

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

addition, transitions from the baby and toddler room to the upstairs room as well as on to school are well supported. For example, the key person accompanies children to the upstairs room to ensure they have a familiar adult to come to should they feel unsure. Parents are consulted before this occurs to ensure that appropriate plans are in place to support children's needs in full. For example, any changes in children's diet or sleeping routines are noted and staff are fully informed.

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

Children behave well because staff are suitable role models and provide them with clear and consistent messages of the settings expectations. Older children are reminded of what is expected of them during group time, for example, to walk down the stairs when they go to play outdoors and to be kind to others. Babies' emotional needs are well met, this is apparent as staff hold them close while feeding them and offer a soothing and comforting voice to settle them when they become anxious. Children feel safe at the setting which is reflected in all that they do. For example, older children use the stairs well, all children move confidently in the outdoor areas, stepping over or around objects they may come across. Older, more able children are careful to not run or ride into the babies when in the outdoors and staff thank them for being 'careful and safe'. Older children's safety is further promoted as staff allow them to take calculated risks, for example, climbing on

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

large play equipment and using small step ladders to display their own work. Furthermore, all children take part in practise evacuations of the nursery, to ensure that should a real emergency occur, they know how to leave the setting quickly but safely.

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

Overall, staff help children understand the importance of keeping healthy. For example, they talk to children about the importance of washing their hands before all meals and snacks as well as when they have used the toilet. Older children's independence is well promoted as they do this unsupported. However, there are less regular opportunities for younger children to do so as staff are quick to use flannels and do this for them. This does not allow younger children to gain skills in independent hand washing. Staff talk to children about the foods they eat, where they come from and how they grow. This enables children to begin to understand what it means to have a healthy and balanced diet. However, although staff put sun cream on children and hats when using the outdoors, not all staff talk to children about why it is important to do such things when out in the sun. This limits children's awareness of being safe in the sun, particularly the older

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

Arrangements for children who move onto school are good. Staff take time to talk to teachers from local schools as well as visit them before children leave the provision, to allow their new teachers to have an understanding of children's development. Dressing-up clothes in the role play incorporates uniforms from schools which children will attend to help them become familiar with how to put on the clothing from their new school.

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provision

Children are fully safeguarded at the setting. All staff have completed training in this area, which ensures all those working with children have a secure knowledge of what to do should they have concerns regarding a child's welfare. In addition, those persons designated to take responsibility for any concerns regarding a child's welfare have completed external training, which is in line with the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Robust recruitment, vetting and induction procedures ensures that all those working or having contact with children are suitable and safe. As a consequence, children are safe. Robust risk assessments and daily checklists of all areas children have access to, ensure that any potential hazards are managed appropriately to protect children from harm. Secure entry and exit procedures ensures that unknown persons are not able to gain access to the setting. In addition, CCTV along with an

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provision

intercom allows staff to monitor the entrance to the building. This ensures that all visitors and parents to the setting are identified before being allowed access to the children. As a result, children play in a safe and secure environment.

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provision

The manager and her staff team have a secure understanding of children's learning and development. There are good systems in place for monitoring the progress children make and the planning, observations and assessments made by staff. For example, the manager takes time to observe the staff and their interactions with children as well as reviewing the learning journals staff keep for all children. As a result, any gaps within these are discussed with staff to ensure appropriate action can be taken to amend this. Regular staff meetings are held, allowing the manager and registered person to discuss any key issues and for staff to air any concerns they may have. Annual appraisals ensure that any training needs are identified and staff's professional development is given a high priority. As a result, staff are well supported and feel valued. Self-evaluation is used to enable the setting to focus on areas for improvement. All parents and staff contribute to this process

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provision

to ensure that everyone that has a role within the setting is able to contribute to change. Since the last inspection, the nursery has taken steps to address the action and recommendations raised. For example, risk assessments are monitored and regularly reviewed to ensure children remain safe. In addition, children's opportunities to problem solve in their play has developed through the organisation of resources and planning, and children of all ages explore a good range of resources to enable them to explore, investigate and to be creative.

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provision

Partnerships with parents and carers are strong. Parents spoken with comment on how happy and settled their children are at the nursery. They speak highly of the qualified and caring staff who regularly inform them of their child's learning as well as sharing ideas on how to extend their play at home. Parents are seen as the first educators of children at the setting and an integral part of the day-to-day practice within the setting. Their views are regularly sought, through questionnaires, suggestion boxes, parents comment sheets, parent's evenings as well as daily verbal discussion. In addition, parents are encouraged to share observations of children's learning from home, enabling them to contribute useful information about their child's learning and development. Furthermore, a good range of information is displayed around the nursery, such as, play plans, daily routines, staff's photographs, newsletters and a good range of well-written policies and procedures. This

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provision

helps parents understand how the nursery operates and what current events are occurring so they have the opportunity to be involved, for example, Grandparents Day.

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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 223216 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 930618

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 28 Name of provider Amanda Jane Loomes Date of previous inspection 03/11/2011 Telephone number 0116 2750156

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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Type of provision

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

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