The Old Station Nursery –Northfield

Catherine House Day Nursery 19 Woodland Road, Northfield, Birmingham, WEST MIDLANDS, B31 2HU

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/09/2013 09/07/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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

 The nursery provides rich and varied learning experiences for children in very exciting, enabling environments in which they make very good progress.  Children are extremely happy and settled, as staff are kind and caring and give the utmost priority to children's health and well-being. Staff involve parents in helping children to learn about healthy food choices.  Meticulous record keeping and the implementation of highly effective policies and procedures mean that children are extremely safe at all times.  Exceptionally well organised supervision and monitoring of staff performance and the highly successful self-evaluation processes mean that there is continuous improvement in the high quality provision.

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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 three playrooms and the outdoor play area, including a joint observation with the manager of the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held meetings with the manager and one of the area managers of the nursery.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at and discussed children's assessment records, the self- evaluation process, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of staff working in the nursery and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

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

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Information about the setting

Catherine House Day Nursery registered in 1993. It is one of a group of six private nurseries located around the country. The nursery operates from a large house in a residential area of Northfield, Birmingham, which is close to shops, schools, children's centres and public transport links. The main house accommodates children aged under three years and a separate building, the Coach House, is used by pre-school children. It is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It opens on Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, all year round, with the exception of bank holidays. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs eight members of childcare staff. Of these, all but one hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least level 3. Two members of staff hold Early Years Professional Status. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 56 children attending, who are within 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 with special educational needs and/or disabilities and receives support from the local authority.

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

 consider enhancing older children's excellent awareness of caring for the environment through extending their learning about recycling and how they practise this at nursery and at home.

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who attend

The nursery environment is extremely exciting for children and is exceptionally well planned and resourced. Staff work very well together as a team and in each room to plan around children's needs and interests. They record detailed observations of children, which they use to inform sharply focused next steps for each child, so that they build on their learning each day. The manager and staff review children's progress regularly, so that they identify any gaps in learning and address these rapidly. This means all children make very good progress. Staff involve parents extremely well in building a complete picture of children's progress, as they encourage them to share information about their achievements at home. This gives staff a clear starting point on which to build children's learning.

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who attend

Staff encourage parents to support children's learning at home. Pre-school children take turns to write about the cuddly toys they take home at the weekend. Parents help them to record their adventures and photographs in a book, which is shared with other children. This helps to develop children's language and communication skills very well and involves parents in children's learning. Parents are extremely well informed about children's activities and routines through very clear, informative displays throughout the nursery. They receive regular newsletters and speak to their child's key person each day. They bring in items to support learning, such as natural materials to build the 'bug hotel' in the garden. This was built by a parent and parents and children worked on it together and continue to supply materials for it. This highly innovative approach helps parents understand what children are learning.

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who attend

Staff provide highly enabling environments for all children in which they thrive and develop their individual learning styles. They choose from the wealth of high quality resources, which are easily accessible to them both indoors and outside. Toddlers enjoy joining in with action songs and they all laugh as the pace quickens and they have to think and move quickly to keep up. Older babies develop their physical skills very well as they climb on a low wooden structure in their room and slide down the other side. They roll balls down the slide and chase after them as staff help them to practise their control of the ball and to watch where it goes. Younger toddlers explore a wide range of textures through exploring exciting objects in treasure baskets. A child feels the smoothness of a wooden egg and is asked by their key person if they know what it is called. The child says 'eggy', for which they are praised and then the member of staff develops this language

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who attend

further by repeating the correct word and extending the sentence. The quality of teaching is consistently high throughout the nursery, so that children maximise their learning opportunities and make excellent progress as they prepare for school.

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who attend

Pre-school children are very imaginative in their use of wooden planks and plastic crates outdoors. They pretend a member of staff is a pirate and capture her with hoops and take her to prison. Staff allow children to lead their play and guide their learning expertly, through challenging their thinking and encouraging them to find different ways to achieve their goals. Pre-school children set the tables for lunch and are asked how many plates they need. They count children and are asked how many more plates are needed, so they all have one each. Their mathematical skills are developed extremely well through these daily routines and focused activities, so that they are exceptionally well prepared for school. They learn early reading and writing skills through a very wide range of activities for making marks and using computer programs and matching games. Children develop their physical skills extremely well through their use of the exciting climbing and balancing

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who attend

equipment in the garden. They have first-hand experience of caring for living things and finding out about the natural world, as they handle African snails at nursery and hunt for mini-beasts and many natural objects in the wild garden area. All children are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage in their development and for school and are very enthusiastic and engaged in their learning. Children learn about how to care for the environment through the excellent opportunities for recycling and composting of materials. Consideration can be given to developing this even further, so that children become used to recycling materials in their own rooms at nursery and at home.

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who attend

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported very well, as staff work closely with parents and other professionals, such as, a speech therapist, health visitors or staff at local children's centres. Staff use visual timetables, signing and individual play plans, in order to meet children's needs and include them in the life of the nursery. Children are extremely settled as a result and make very good progress.

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

Children are extremely happy and settled at the nursery, as staff and parents share information about children's routines and well-being, so that all their needs are met on a daily basis. Staff are kind and caring and comfort children with favourite items they bring from home if they need them. Very young children sleep easily, closely supervised by staff and sit on their laps to play or have their bottles. Children are settled in gradually, as their parents stay with them until they become familiar with their new surroundings and staff. Children form close bonds with their key person, who gets to know children and their families extremely well, which provides links with home. There are excellent relationships between staff and children in the welcoming, family environment of the nursery.

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

Children are provided with healthy meals and snacks, prepared and cooked on the premises. They really enjoy their food and ask staff what is for lunch. They are encouraged to serve themselves at their tables and manage their cutlery very well. Staff ensure they check the food temperatures and remind children to blow on it if it is hot. Staff involve parents very effectively in promoting healthy eating, as they share the nursery recipes and advise parents on encouraging children to eat fruit and vegetables at home. Children have excellent opportunities to grow beans, tomatoes and other fruit and vegetables, so they find out where their food comes from.

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

Staff encourage children very effectively to be independent in their personal care routines, to put their own coats on and to make choices in their activities and resources. They have good manners, as they sing a please and thank you song before lunch and are frequently praised for their exemplary behaviour or for their achievements. This gives them a highly developed sense of self-esteem and helps them to gain confidence. Behaviour is excellent and staff remind children how to keep themselves and others safe, as young children are shown how to roll the balls rather than throw them indoors and they hold the rail when using the stairs. Children manage risks safely on the wide range of climbing and balancing equipment at the nursery, which promotes their sense of their own safety extremely well.

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

Children's moves to new rooms in the nursery and to schools are managed very sensitively. Parents are consulted and involved in the process and children only move rooms when parents and staff feel they are ready. They spend increasing periods of time in their new rooms, accompanied by their key person until they are settled, so that children are secure. Staff share children's progress records and information about their needs so that these continue to be met. Teachers are invited to nursery to visit children and staff prepare them extremely well through stories, role play and discussions about their new school.

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provision

The management team monitors planning and staff performance highly effectively. Regular appraisals and supervisions mean that the manager and staff evaluate their performance and agree targets and training to be set as a result. This is extremely well documented and means that staff continue to shape their professional development according to their own needs and those of the nursery. Staff reflect on and evaluate their teaching and children's progress each week, so that children make very good progress and planning is adapted according to each child's needs. All staff work very effectively as a team to identify and address areas for improvement. The views of parents and children are included in the process, as they fill in questionnaires and discuss ways they would like to improve the provision. Children do this with the help of staff and take photographs of things they like or dislike. Older children make sound recordings of their views to add to

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provision

this. This means that the provision is continually improving and all staff are highly motivated and strive to maximise children's excellent learning opportunities.

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provision

Children's safety is managed extremely well at the nursery, as the manager ensures that staff understand and implement the highly effective policies and procedures on a daily basis. Staff are highly aware of how to safeguard children and who to report any concerns to, so children's safety is maximised. They carry out daily risk assessments for the premises and separate ones for outings, so that children are safe at all times. The premises are very secure. Staff open the door to parents and visitors and check their identity very carefully. There are robust procedures for the collection of children and the recruitment of staff and security cameras cover all areas of the nursery so that children are safe.

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provision

There are very strong links with other professionals and local early years providers. Staff work very closely with a wide range of outside agencies, in order to meet the needs of all children very well. They have close links with staff of several local children's centres and sometimes use their facilities to provide children with wider experiences, such as the use of a sensory garden. Staff refer parents to the extra support services available at the centres if they need them, so that staff and parents receive further advice about how to meet children's needs. The nursery staff share ideas, best practice and training with other settings on a regular basis and receives advice from the local authority, which provides mutual support and further improvement. This helps the staff to provide an excellent service to 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 227230 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 910896

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 56 Name of provider Buds Limited Date of previous inspection 09/07/2012 Telephone number 0121 4758416

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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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