Derwent Stepping Stones at Brackensdale

Derwent Stepping Stones at Brackensdale Brackensdale Junior & Infant School, Walthamstow Drive, DERBY, DE22 4BS

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/10/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Staff are positive in their interactions with children and effectively reassure and support them when they are settling in, so that they are comfortable within the environment.  A suitable range of activities are provided and the space is well used, both indoors and outdoors. This promotes children's enjoyment and achievement.  Support for children with special educational need and/or disabilities is well coordinated, to ensure an early and effective intervention.  The information included within the 'progress check at age two', is useful, to provide consistency in children's learning and development.

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It is not yet good because

 On occasion, adult planned activities do not provide sufficient challenge or fully establish what children can learn from the activity, to fully support children's progress towards the early learning goals.  Observations of children's achievements do not consistently identify specifically what they can do, to be fully useful in supporting their future learning.  The identified areas for improvement are not sufficiently specific, and therefore, measurable to rapidly drive forward children's progress.

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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 compulsory part 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 playroom and outdoor area and completed a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the staff about the daily routines, the policies and procedures and children's individual learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of documentation that included suitability checks, children's learning records, the setting's self-evaluation and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

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

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Information about the setting

Derwent Stepping Stones at Brackensdale was registered in 2013 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a purpose built premises on the site of Brackensdale Infant School, Mackworth in Derby and is managed by Derwent Stepping Stones Nursery and Community Training Centre. The setting serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The setting employs four members of childcare staff. Of these, two hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3, and one holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 2. There are currently 17 children attending who are in the early years age group. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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Information about the setting

The setting opens Monday to Friday during term time. Sessions are from 8.45am until 11.45am and 12.30pm until 3.30pm. The setting provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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must:

 ensure that observations of children consistently identify the child's level of achievement, to support staff in fully recognising children's progress and shaping learning experiences, to rigorously drive children's progress towards the early learning goals

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must:

 ensure that adult-led activities are fully effective in establishing the range of things that children can learn from the activity and that they consistently take into account children's next stage of learning to drive their progress.

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

 develop further the information used to plan the areas for improvement, so that it is specific and measurable, in order to clearly identify what action needs to be taken to drive progress for children.

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who attend

Staff demonstrate a suitable understanding of how children learn, and as a result, children make satisfactory progress in their learning and development. The planning of activities during the session ensures that there is plenty of time for children to engage in child- initiated play. This promotes their enjoyment as well as supporting them in developing independence and making decisions. It also helps to prepare children for their future learning and development. A useful colour-coded plan of toys and resources is effective in ensuring that there is a variety, to provide a balance across the seven areas of learning. Staff also ensure that children's interests and favourite toys are available. Staff regularly observe what children are doing to identify any achievements. The well-organised and clear records are easy to follow. However, on occasion the information recorded is descriptive rather than specific, and focuses on some areas of learning more than others

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who attend

and is, therefore, not fully effective in establishing the child's level of achievement. As a result, the system is not yet fully effective in helping to drive children's progress towards the early learning goals. The information provided to inform the 'progress check at age two' is prepared by the key person and then checked by the manager before they give it to the parent or carer. As a result, this information is useful and relevant in determining where a child is at and what support is needed.

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who attend

Staff provide suitable interaction during play. For example, they praise children's involvement and show an interest in what they are doing. They are effective in promoting children's independence, for example, encouraging them to try to put on their own apron. They offer support when appropriate. Children will remind others of the need to wear an apron during messy play, demonstrating they understand the expectations. This also helps children to develop skills for their future learning. Children engage in activities, including those planned or led by adults, for a reasonable period of time. However, children's full engagement in adult planned or led activities is not always thoroughly supported. Staff do not always consider the range of things that children can learn from the activity or how they can fully support each child's next stage of learning.

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who attend

Some children enjoy creative activities and revisit the painting table, during the session, to complete additional artwork. They spend time brushing or rolling the paint on the paper with wheeled toys. They show pride in their work and are able to recognise different colours, such as orange. Children are interested in what others are doing. They make positive comments and are friendly in their interactions with others. For example, a child says 'Wow' when looking at a leaf another child has found. Children enjoy looking at books and regularly choose a book to look at. They spend time looking at the pictures or a listen to the story read by member of staff, recognising when to turn the page. Staff use simple explanations so that children understand instructions. For children who speak English as an additional language, or who are at an early stage of communication, they use picture prompts and gestures to ensure they understand. As a result, children are effectively

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who attend

Children develop their physical skills as they run around outside or ride around on the trikes. They have great fun as they jump and reach for bubbles as they try to catch them. Staff effectively introduce mathematical terms during play, for example, they talk about the size of the bubbles and compare big and small. Staff demonstrate how to connect construction pieces together to support children's learning. Children develop their understanding of the world as they learn about insects and go on a walk to look for spiders. Children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receive effective support. Staff effectively plan specific activities to support them in making progress.

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who attend

Parents and carers speak very positively about the information they receive about their child's learning and development. They comment on the progress their child has made since starting at the setting. Staff provide friendly and informative verbal feedback, as children are collected. Some useful information is gathered from parents and carers about children's stage of development as they start at the setting. The setting provides parents and carers with suitable opportunities to engage with their child's learning and development. This includes a termly written summary and parents and carers meeting, and twice termly 'activity at home' sheets. These provide reasonably useful details of one of the current activities, and how parents and carers can extend this at home.

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

The indoor learning environment is well laid out and effective use is made of the space so that the room is comfortable to move around and is well resourced. As well as a suitable selection of toys and resources laid out in different areas, there are labelled accessible boxes to encourage children to select additional ones. The outdoor learning environment is suitably resourced with suitable consideration given to all of the areas of learning. For example, children can play with dolls and pushchairs as well as construction blocks. Effective use is made of the nature trail within the school grounds to provide variety for the children and to link to activities to reinforce learning. Staff communicate effectively with each other so that they are deployed, to provide supervision and support, as children move between the indoors and the outdoors.

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

The calm and friendly atmosphere ensures that children feel safe and secure. Children who are new to the setting receive appropriate support to help them settle in. Staff effectively suggest toys to keep them engaged, as well as providing flexibility and calmness around the routines so that children do not feel uncomfortable or rushed. For example, they support children in playing with a particular toy until they feel ready to have their snack. The information that staff gather from parents and carers about children's needs at the time of placement, is thorough and useful. Staff give suitable consideration to continuity of care, as a co-key person system means that support is consistent when a member of staff is on leave. Parents and carers are pleased with how their child settles. They comment on how much they enjoy themselves at the setting.

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

Staff make effective links with the school nursery, where the setting is based, to support children as they move on. As well as a look around the nursery, the setting joins in with group activities so they become familiar with the staff and the environment.

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

Children behave well and their behaviour is usually effectively managed, with explanations about the impact of any disagreements. Effective distraction as well as a reminder of sharing, quickly resolves a minor disagreement between two children. Children show respect and consideration for the toys and resources, for the environment and for others within the setting.

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

Children's understanding of safety is suitably promoted. A member of staff explains that children need to sit at the table until they have finished eating. Children listen to staff and follow any instructions given. Children learn about a healthy lifestyle as staff talk to them about the effects of exercise on the body as they play outside. They also discourage parents and carers from sending any unhealthy snacks or drinks into the setting, to support children's understanding of healthy foods.

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provision

The safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage are suitably implemented. Staff are secure in their knowledge of safeguarding procedures and what to do if they have any concerns. Checks to establish the suitability of staff working with the children are thorough and consistently maintained. There are appropriate systems in place to manage the ongoing suitability of staff. This includes regular supervision and identification of training needs. The manager has a suitable understanding of things that need to be notified to Ofsted. Children's safety is effectively promoted in the setting, for example, toys and resources are in good condition and staff supervise children at all times. Accident records contain a good amount of detail, so that it is clear what injury the child sustains and how staff deal with this.

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provision

Parents and carers confirm that they feel well informed about the setting. They receive appropriate information including details of activities. They comment on the effectiveness of the daily outdoor play in providing a range of experiences for children. The setting updates parents on things, such as forthcoming activities with a reasonably informative newsletter. They feel comfortable to approach staff if they have any queries.

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provision

A strength of the setting is the proactive and coordinated approach to supporting children with a special educational need and/or disabilities. The experienced special educational needs coordinator and setting staff, undertake an early observation. This identifies any support needed and relevant information is shared with parents and carers. The setting is committed to working with any external agencies to ensure that children get all of the support they need and that any gaps in learning are reduced. Although they do not have any children currently that attend other settings, staff give suitable consideration to this partnership. This includes regularly sharing information about the child's progress and their next steps of learning to ensure that the support given is consistent. Staff prepare and use picture aids and familiar words, as well as gestures to support children who speak English as an additional language. They gather information about any festivals or

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provision

celebrations that all of the children celebrate at home, so that this can be added to the activities to ensure that all children feel included.

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provision

The management team demonstrate a positive attitude to evaluating practice and identifying and making changes to benefit the children who attend. The views of parents and carers are welcomed and encouraged at all times. They are formally gathered through a questionnaire when the child first starts and when they leave. The setting has acted upon suggestions made by the local authority in relation to aspects of the routine, such as providing free flow to the outdoor area. This has a positive impact on children's enjoyment. Relevant areas of improvement are identified within the recently devised action plan. However, this information has not been fully developed so that it is specific, identifying exactly how it will be achieved, and therefore, measured as to the success. This is to ensure that any changes made thoroughly impact on the care provided to children.

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provision

The monitoring of children's progress is in the early stages of development and implementation, which reflects that the setting has only been operating for a reasonably short time. The manager checks the planning on a regular basis to ensure that the activities are broad and balanced, across the seven areas of learning. Individual tracking sheets are in place to identify any gaps in learning. The manager monitors the progress of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The setting is just in the progress of implementing a system to monitor and compare groups of children to identify quickly any gaps in learning.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY460372 Local authority Derby, City of Inspection number 913332 Type of provision Sessional provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 17 Name of provider Derwent Stepping Stones Nursery and Community Training Centre Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01332 348314

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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

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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