Pipsqueaks

Pipsqueaks Harris House, North Road, Queenborough, Kent, ME11 5HA

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/09/2013 28/01/2013

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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

 The staff use good procedures to help children settle easily into the setting.  The staff provide a wide range of interesting activities which promote children's learning.  Children are able to select their own toys and activities from the range available.  Staff are good role models for children because they are enthusiastic and motivate children to learn.  The staff are able to protect children well by using the provider's good range of safeguarding procedures.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff do not consistently evaluate the effectiveness of their recording systems, which means some records are not organised or used as effectively as they could be.

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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 children playing.  The inspector talked to staff, parents and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including the setting's safeguarding procedures, accident and attendance records.

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Information about the setting

Pipsqueaks is a privately run full day nursery. It opened in 2003 and operates from four rooms in a two storey building in Queenborough, Isle of Sheppey, Kent. There are separate kitchen and toilet facilities. Children have access to a small enclosed outdoor play area. There are two steps to access the front of the premises. The setting has internal stairs up to the baby and toddler room. The nursery serves families from the local community and surrounding area. It is open each weekday from 7am to 7pm for approximately 50 weeks of the year. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 53 children aged from birth to under five years on roll who attend for a variety of sessions. There are five members of staff, including the provider, who work with the children. Of these, three members of staff who hold appropriate qualifications at National

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Information about the setting

Vocation Qualification level 2 or above. In addition, the provider holds a BA (hons) degree in early education with Qualified Teacher Status. The nursery provides funded early education for three- and four-year-olds and Free-for-two funding for two year olds who meet the funding criteria.

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

 strengthen the effectiveness of self-evaluation, with particular regard to improving the use and organisation of children's records, with particular regard to accident recording.

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who attend

Children attend for a variety of sessions and different days. The staff demonstrate a good understanding of the different areas of learning. They provide a good educational programme designed to cater for all ages of children, taking into account their starting points and capabilities. Staff complete precise and accurate observation records of children playing which informs the activity planning. This means that the educational programme is able to target individual children's learning needs too.

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who attend

Children use a good range of activities to help them make good progress. They use microscopes and magnifying glasses in order to observe slides of spiders and other mini beasts. They can explain how to use the equipment and find pictures of the mini beasts in books. They are able to identify different shapes such as triangles and squares, they can count the number of sides each shape has and can draw shapes on chalkboards and paper. Children choose to use the large construction bricks to make tall towers. They work together to see how high the towers can be.

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who attend

Children love to help staff prepare snacks and use their real experiences in their role play. For example, they prepare pretend snacks for staff members demonstrating how to butter bread and pour drinks. Children use medical equipment in the role play area to examine their babies and are able to decide what 'medicine' they need to make them better. Staff are on hand to help when needed and offer suggestions about how to use and handle equipment. All the children learn about each other's differences through the provision of a good range of positive images of diversity in their toys and posters displayed around the room. Children talk about their home lives with staff, which enables children to understand that they do things differently at home too.

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who attend

Children visit a number of different venues in the local area. They go on walks along the seashore and visit local parks. The setting's own outdoor space is very small but the staff are increasing its use by providing more activities outside. Children use chalks to create pictures and designs on the chalk boards mounted on the fence. They participate in water and sand play and are involved in planting and growing activities to help them learn about growth and decay. The younger children use treasure baskets to explore. They stare intently at different items, smile at their reflections in mirrors and listen to the noises made by crinkly paper. They particularly enjoy the musical push button toys, as they move their bodies to the music. Children are happily engaged in play activities at the setting.

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who attend

The provider has good procedures to ensure parents are involved in their children's learning. Parents regularly meet with their child's key person to discuss progress and any emerging needs. Staff recommend activities that parents can use with their children at home and offer guidance and support for any home behaviour issues. This means that children's needs are met in a consistent manner. The provider also has good procedures to support children in their move to school but also to make the move from the younger group to the older group. Children visit their proposed schools with their key person, engage in lots of role play about school life and talk to staff about what school is like. The younger children moving to the older room make regular short visits until they show they are ready to make the move full time. Therefore, children receive good support in times of transition.

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

Children arrive at the setting ready to play. Staff welcome children and parents onto the premises and talk with children about their home lives and families. Some parents report that their children treat the setting as a home from home. The staff use the provider's settling in procedures and the well established key person systems to good effect. This shows in children's demeanours and body language as they move freely around choosing their own toys and activities. Many of the children love to talk to visitors and are inquisitive about what they are doing. This also shows they feel emotionally secure. The staff arrange the play rooms to make welcoming, well resourced environments in which children can explore. Children demonstrate growing independence and co-operation as they happily play together and share equipment. This is a result of the staff promoting good behaviour with children and helping them learn how to manage their own behaviour

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

well. For example, children know they should tell staff if they do not want to share a book or a doll and not lose their temper or hit out at another child. This demonstrates that children understand how to limit their own behaviours. The older children show care and concern for younger ones. For example, they comfort others if they fall over. They smile and talk to the toddlers and find appropriate toys for them to use. This shows that children learn to adapt their behaviour around younger children.

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

Children play in a safe environment because the provider carries out regular risk assessments of the premises, toys and equipment in order to limit hazards. Staff help children learn about safety and taking risks by providing games and discuss to help children think about what might be safe and what might not. For example, children have learnt they must take care when using the two steps down to the outdoor area. They understand why they need to ask staff to carry equipment outside for them. Overall, children's safety is a priority to the provider and her staff.

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

Children learn about healthy eating because staff provide opportunities for them to talk about good food and bad food, particularly during snack and meal times. Children help prepare snack food by cutting up fruit and other soft vegetables. They gain good measures of independence in buttering their own toast, adding jam, and pouring their own drinks. Staff also provide opportunities for children to learn about the effects of physical activity on their bodies. For example, children feel their own hearts pumping and decide if they need to sit and rest and have a drink or carry on playing. Children also learn about the effects of the sun on their skin and are used to wearing sun hats and applying sun cream provided by their parents. Children have a healthy lifestyle at the setting.

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provision

The provider uses a good range of policies and procedures with which to organise her setting. The competent staff team ably use the safeguarding procedures to protect children. They competently maintain staff ratios at all times, and protect children from visitors who are not vetted. Staff are deployed effectively so help ensure children are well supervised. All staff either have, or are in the process of obtaining, an enhanced disclosure issued either by the Criminal Records Bureau or the Disclosure and Barring Service. The provider provides a good induction programme for new staff. She provides on-going training opportunities for all staff. She monitors staff training and practice through annual appraisals. All staff have attended child protection training and understand the provider's reporting systems. The staff ably maintain children's records such as their accident, medication and attendance records and share these with parents. These are readily

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provision

available for inspection. This means that children are safe and secure in the setting. Risk assessments help to ensure children play in a safe environment. The provider promotes good partnerships with parents. Parents report that staff are friendly and approachable and always make parents and children feel welcome. Parents express their views about the setting in regular annual questionnaires that the provider uses to inform her improvement plans. The provider also has good links with a number of other childcare professionals and organisations. She regularly attends area meetings to discuss practice issues for children with special educational needs and disabilities, although there are currently no children in this category attending the setting. The provider also has good links with the local Children's Centre where she can obtain information to support children and their parents if the need arises. This shows that

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provision

children receive appropriate support for their development and learning.

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provision

The provider and staff meet regularly to set the activity planning and educational programme based on children's individual needs. The staff, who are key persons, talk about their key children's next steps and select particular activities to help their key children make progress. Each activity is set to cover individual children or groups of children within the all of the areas of learning. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of how young children learn which can be seen in the children's learning journey records. The provider monitors children's progress by tracking their progress on a computer spreadsheet. In this way, she can also see the progress of groups of children and adapt planning activities to help those children who are not quite meeting expectations. In this way, she is able to help children close any gaps in their learning. Therefore, children have their learning needs met.

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provision

The provider is able to identify the settings strengths and weaknesses through self- evaluation. However, not all of the reporting systems, such as accident records, are well- organised. As a result, they are not used consistently to link with the comprehensive risk assessments. The provider has good procedures to gain the views of others. Their comments and suggestions are included in her setting improvement plan, which is an ongoing working document. The provider also has regard to previous recommendations made at inspection. This shows she is able to maintain the good continuous improvement of the setting in order to benefit 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 EY257399 Local authority Kent Inspection number 936251 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 44 Number of children on roll 53 Name of provider Lindsay Susannah Harris Date of previous inspection 28/01/2013 Telephone number 01795 666420

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Setting details

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

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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

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Type of provision

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Type of provision

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

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