Little Owls Nursery Quarry Mount

Quarry Mount Children's Centre Daycare Pennington Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS6 2JP

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/10/2013 26/01/2011

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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

 The educational programme is effectively used to support children's learning and development. As a result, children are motivated to learn and constantly engage in activities that are challenging and interesting.  Children have formed strong bonds with their key person and are confident and act independently in their surroundings because of the robust settling-in routine.  Links made with professionals and the local community are implemented very well to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There are some inexperienced practitioners and staff that have more knowledge are not always utilised well enough. This means that, on occasions, children's learning is not as well extended as possible to move them towards excellence.  The 'meet and greet' parent consultation does not always work as well as possible to strengthen new parents' rapidly developing understanding of their role in their children's learning.

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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 the quality of teaching and activities in the play area and garden.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and information from the assessments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the nursery manager and teacher and conducted a joint observation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessments records and planning documentation and checked evidence of appropriate training and the nursery's systems used to inform the evaluation of the setting.

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Information about the setting

Quarry Mount Children's Centre Daycare was registered in 2002. They are registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated on a split site at Quarry Mount Primary School in the Woodhouse area of Leeds. One part of the nursery is integral to the school building and the other is a purpose built premises on the grounds. The children's centre is managed by Leeds City Council local authority. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There are two fully enclosed areas available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 20 members of childcare staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 2 and 3, including one with Early Years Professional Status and Qualified Teacher Status.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday, all year round. Sessions are from 8am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 67 children attending, who are in the early years age group. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It also supports a number of children, who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 review the methods in place to further develop the high quality of teaching, by utilising staff with more experience, to strengthen the teaching of those with less experience

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

 refine the 'meet and greet' parent consultation to further strengthen parents understanding of their role in supporting their children's learning at home.

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who attend

Staff have a good understanding of the learning and development requirements and make sure that all areas of the educational programme are positively reflected in the provision. Children constantly learn about the world around them from a wide range of activities and resources. For example, they learn about the different animals that come into the garden, such as birds and squirrels and make various feeding tubes for them. Children plant and learn about growing and participate in cooking the foods they have grown. Practitioners recognise that children have their own ideas and ask questions to challenge their thinking. For example, children exploring the conkers and leafs on the twigs are asked probing questions to stimulate their interest in why the conker has teeth marks and surmise that the squirrels must have taken a bite. Children develop their mathematical skills by exploring what happens if they fill the bucket with water and what they can use to fill the

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who attend

tubes. Children in the under two's area have constant opportunities to explore and investigate their surroundings. They readily engage in activities and are willing to participate in them. For example, the children explore what will happen if they throw the powder paint onto the wet floor and repeat their action when they realise it makes patterns. Those who are new to the setting explore their surroundings and investigate the different resources and activities available. However, their attempt to engage in the splashing activity is unsuccessful, in this instance, because they have no wellingtons on. This means that on occasion, some practitioners do not successfully extend young children's interests as well as possible.

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who attend

Indoors, children in the under two's area, develop their coordination and control by connecting building bricks to make a structure. Practitioners have a deep understanding of the way that children learn and allow them to find out through exploring. Consequently, when they have finished, they show their structure to the practitioner with pride. Children in the over two's area know how to use simple programmes and expertly use the interactive white board to navigate the story they are interested in. Others decide to choose their favourite book for practitioners to read and interact by discussing the illustrations. This means that children's communication and language skills are promoted well. Children access a wide range of resources and activities to support their learning. For example, during the bun making activity, they are taught to recognise the number four, so that they know how much ingredients are used. As a result, children are making good

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who attend

progress in the prime and specific areas of learning and are effectively developing the skills they need for future learning, especially for school.

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who attend

Observations are used to assess children's learning and development. These are linked to the areas of learning and plans are in place for the next steps in their learning. Planning is organic to ensure that children's interests are planned for and to ensure that any gaps in children's development are planned. Parents are regularly involved in their children's learning, for example, the 'wow' board is used for parents to share information about their children's interests. Further to this, parents are guided in their children's learning at home, by sharing recipes of how to make play dough and story sacks for them to read stories to their children. However, there is room to improve new parents understanding of their role, in their children's learning, in order to support this even further. Practitioners also share the outcome of children's two year progress report with parents to discuss their children's

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

The settling-in process is good; children are visited in their homes, so they get to know their key person. Therefore, they become familiar with her before they start to attend the nursery. As a result, children quickly form strong bonds with their key person. Information shared by the children's parents includes their routine and comfort items. Children in the under two's area access age-appropriate resources, such as heuristic play areas and quiet areas with soft materials flowing to provide a relaxing ambience. This helps children to feel relaxed and welcome. Consequently, children confidently and independently explore their surroundings.

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

Children are familiar with the routine, for example, they know that before they play in the water they must put an apron on. This means that children in the under two's area are learning how to behave appropriately in the setting and their self-awareness is developing. Children in the over two's area confidently make friends with their peers. They seek them out to play games, such as tennis and run around the garden with them. Children learn how to keep safe when they take risks, for example, they are taught how to weave the branches safely, supported by a member of staff. When children in the over two's area enter the nursery, they sign in using the 'emotions' pictures. This means that they are learning about feelings and that they are allowed to have different feelings. As a result, children are well behaved and play well with each other. Transitions to the over two's area includes visits with their key person and their parents. Children, who will attend school are

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

already familiar with the grounds, they are integral to the school and visits are arranged for them. Children attending schools in the local area are visited by their teacher.

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

Children's health is consistently promoted with lots of fresh air and exercise. This is provided throughout the day. Children develop their coordination by riding bikes and their spatial awareness as they run in the garden. They learn hygiene from an early age, for example, they learn that after blowing their nose they need to dispose of the tissue in the bin and wash the germs off their hands. Mealtimes are a social occasion where children sit together to eat and discuss their day. Meals are provided by a qualified cook, who prepares fresh, well-balanced and nutritious food on a daily basis. Key persons caring for children, who need specialised help with feeding are trained to do so by professionals. This means that children's welfare is well supported.

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provision

The management team is proactive and leadership is strong. The management team have a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Therefore, all staff are appropriately vetted using Disclosure and Barring Service checks. Staff recruitment is rigorous to ensure that all staff recruited are suitable to care for children. This includes training for those on the interview panel in 'safer recruitment'. Staff inducted to the nursery are appropriately trained to keep children safe on the premises, for example, health and safety training includes how to keep children safe in an emergency. The staff rota is effectively managed to ensure that the correct ratio is met at all times and contingency arrangements are in place with the local authority's agency for when they are short staffed. The manager also monitors the staff rota to ensure that a paediatric first aider is on the premises at all times. This means that children's welfare is consistently

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provision

supported. Staff are vigilant in keeping children safe, they risk assess indoors and outdoors to check for any dangers. All staff are aware of the security procedures, have accurate knowledge of the signs and symptoms of abuse and know how to protect children. As a result, children are protected while at the nursery.

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provision

Supervision and appraisals are conducted with the staff to support them with any emerging concerns they may have regarding their key children. Specialists, such as the educational psychologist, speech and language therapist and special educational needs coordinator all work closely with the nursery to help the staff to support children and their parents. The quality of teaching is monitored, generally, well through the appraisal systems. However, knowledgeable and experienced staff are not always used as effectively as they can be to support less experienced staff in raising the quality of their teaching, to help children make even better progress. Staff's professional development is supported through training courses, such as behaviour management training. Staff have also attended the 'Every Child a Talker' training and mentors are used to support new staff and those who are underperforming.

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provision

Partnership with parents is well developed. Meetings are held with parents to ensure that they are included in their children's learning, although, this can be enhanced, by the 'meet and greet' sessions Partnerships are very well developed and include a variety of professionals in the local environment, such as health visitors, occupational therapists and the social care team. The management team have good methods in place to include staff and parents in the evaluation of the nursery. For example, staff are included in team meetings and parents through the compliment box. All actions and recommendations from the last inspection have been implemented. This means that the nursery's capacity to sustain improvement is good.

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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 EY103260 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 911221

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 67 Number of children on roll 97 Name of provider Leeds City Council Date of previous inspection 26/01/2011 Telephone number 01132141541 01132428616

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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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