Little Legs Nursery

Little Legs 43 High Street, SITTINGBOURNE, Kent, ME10 4AW

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/10/2013 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

 The committed management team have a secure understanding of their roles and responsibilities, reflecting their understanding of the strengths and areas to develop within the setting.  Children play in bright, welcoming rooms with space to move around freely and make choices from the available resources.  Staff support children's understanding of being healthy through the provision of healthy snacks and meals.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff do not always identify learning that has taken place through their observations, resulting in next steps that do not provide sufficient challenge or fully extend children's learning.  Staff talk to the children as they are playing, but use many closed questions restricting children's vocabulary and communication skills.  A key person system is in place but is not yet securely embedded into practice to build upon the satisfactory relationship with the parents.

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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 spent the majority of the inspection observing the interaction between the staff and the children.  Parents views were obtained on the day through discussion.  The inspector discussed leadership issues with the manager and the owners.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled records and documentation relating to children's progress and development and policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

Little Legs Day Nursery is owned by Little Legs Limited. It opened in 2013. It operates from four rooms plus two kitchen areas, in a terraced town building in Sittingbourne, Kent. Children have access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The nursery is open each weekday from 7.30am to 6.00pm all year round and a Saturday from 9am to 5pm.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 23 children attending in the early years age range. The nursery currently supports a number of children with English as an additional language. The nursery provides funded early education for two, three and four- year-olds. There are seven members of staff, of whom six hold appropriate early years qualifications to at least National Vocational Level 2. One of the owners holds her foundation degree in early years and the manager is undertaking his level 5 qualification. One member of staff is training towards a level 2 qualification.

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must:

 improve the system of observation, assessment and planning to fully identify children's stage of development and plan next steps to extend their learning through challenging opportunities.

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

 further develop the key person system to support the partnership with parents

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

 improve the interaction between staff and children to promote their communication and language skills.

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who attend

The majority of children arrive confidently at the nursery and happily make choices from the satisfactory range of resources around the room. Activities are set out into the seven areas of learning, enabling children to make informed choices about where to find the different toys. Staff enable children to lead their play, and sit with children when appropriate to support their play or provide additional resources on request. Staff record observations of children's learning and use these to identify children's next steps. However, staff do not always identify the learning that has taken place and as a result, the next steps do not fully extend children's learning. Consequently, planning results in some activities that do not provide sufficient challenge or extension for some children.

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who attend

Staff are sensitive to children's needs and demonstrate a caring approach as they provide cuddles and reassurance to the least confident children. The majority of children are confident individuals who show enthusiasm for learning. They happily talk to the staff about their games or to share their achievements, wanting to involve the staff. Staff respond to children's chatter using gestures or signing to provide additional support for children's understanding of speech. However, staff often use closed questions which does not encourage children to offer more than one word answers. Consequently children's language and communication skills are not always fully extended. Story times and music sessions are used well to promote children's listening skills in addition to learning about turn taking. Children demonstrate a developing understanding of the routines within the nursery and beginning to follow simple instructions.

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who attend

Children are motivated to learn and eagerly try new activities they are offered. For example, play with the glue and collage materials for the youngest children to the shredded paper and toy animals for the older children. Staff encourage children to develop their physical skills, moving around the room freely accessing resources to promote hand and eye coordination. Children demonstrate increasing control using the mouse on the computer and when holding mark-making materials to draw with.

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who attend

The role play area is very popular with the children and staff provide resources so that children can act out experiences they see from home, such as cooking or caring for the baby dolls. Staff encourage children to develop their imagination further through the use of small world toys such as the train track and farm animals. Parents spoken to felt happy with the care their children were receiving and felt well informed about their child's day. This is successfully delivered through daily discussion, and through the use of the daily contact sheet which gives parents personal information about care routines and activities. Written consent is obtained for all aspects of care to promote children's well-being.

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

There is a key person system in place to allocate children to a member of staff. This process is not fully developed due to the nursery being fairly new and some of the staff being recently employed. Several parents were unable to name their child's key person and were not familiar with the role of the key person. Systems to improve this are being developed, but are not yet embedded in practice. Children demonstrate familiarity with the staff, however, with some children developing secure attachments. This enables children to build their self-esteem and confidence, supporting their personal, social and emotional development.

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

Children are provided with praise and encouragement, supporting their understanding about the rules of the setting. They are encouraged to be independent, making choices of activities from around the room. The youngest children are encouraged to begin to use spoons to eat their lunch, whilst the older children help to dish up their own; making choices about what they want to eat and how much. Children are given a good balanced diet for snack and mealtimes, supporting their understanding about healthy eating. Drinks are always available in children's own drink containers, enabling them to have a drink when they choose to. Thorough hygiene routines for nappy changing further promote children's good health and prevents the risk of cross infection.

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

Children are encouraged to keep themselves safe through gentle reminders from the staff, for example, to watch out for the step and play safely in the garden. They dig in the mud kitchen and learn to wash hands when coming indoors to promote their understanding of safety and the importance of effective hygiene routines. Children are reminded why they must sit on their chair properly in case it tips and not to use certain areas outside until they have been made safe. They are encouraged to help identify dangers or hazards within the outdoor environment to enable them to learn how to keep themselves safe.

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

Children play with an appropriate range of resources based on their age and abilities. For example, children in the toddler room have access to resources to cover the seven areas of learning, whereas younger children have activities to promote their physical skills and communication and language. Staff provide additional resources or rotate toys throughout the day and week to provide children with additional options. Consequently, children can make choices from those that interest them.

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

The nursery staff are beginning to implement systems and processes to help children move from the room upstairs to the room downstairs through the key person system. Staff show an understanding of the importance of supporting children's emotional attachments during periods of change. Children demonstrate developing skills ready for the move to school, gaining independence, making choices and turn taking, for example. They are beginning to learn simple letter sounds in their name and are becoming more familiar with numerals and shapes to provide skills necessary for the start of school.

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provision

The nursery is run by the manager alongside the two owners who at present are overseeing the new setting. The manager is committed to meeting the welfare and learning and development requirements. The setting provides a stimulating, caring environment and managers are in the process of implementing many monitoring systems to secure improvement. This includes implementing sound procedures for the recruitment of new staff. Systems to ensure staff's suitability are in place including the necessity for carrying out suitability checks. Annual appraisals and regular supervision, alongside an annual disclaimer means that the suitability of staff is consistently monitored.

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provision

All staff have induction training which includes safeguarding and receive training on the procedures and policies. Staff are able to clearly explain the process to follow should they have any concerns and where to find the relevant information. Consequently, children's safety is given priority in the setting. Safe arrival and departure systems are in place, with the inclusion of the visitor's book to keep children safe from unvetted individuals. Staff implement suitable risk assessments to keep the environment safe and to identify any hazards both indoors and outdoors.

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provision

The manager is beginning to introduce a system of self-evaluation using feedback from the staff. In addition, he intends on using children's views and information from parental questionnaires to inform the self-evaluation to drive improvement throughout the nursery. Several forms have been devised to support monitoring systems, including ensuring all children are making progress in their development. Consequently, any concerns can be quickly identified and addressed.

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provision

The manager is keen to build partnerships with outside providers including the local schools and children's centre to build support and produce a framework of professionals to provide care for the children to meet their individual needs. In addition parent's views are invited and encouraged to offer parents a voice in the care the setting provides.

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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 EY460281 Local authority Kent Inspection number 910096 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 40 Number of children on roll 23 Name of provider Little Legs (Colchester) Limited Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 07956 546127

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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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