St Lawrence's Day Nursery

St Lawrence's Day Nursery Off High Street, Gnosall, STAFFORD, ST20 0EX

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/10/2013 01/07/2011

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early years provision

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

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This provision is satisfactory

 The staff provide a range of activities, resources and equipment in both the indoor and outdoor areas that supports the children's interests. Children make sound progress in relation to their starting points.  There are positive relationships between key persons and all parents and carers to ensure consistency and continuity for children.  Partnerships with parents and other providers ensure smooth transitions within the nursery and between the nursery, other settings and school.  Children settle well within the nursery because their key person supports them with warm loving care, thereby, promoting their emotional well-being.

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It is not yet good because

 The 'progress check at age two' has not been completed to ensure parents are provided with a written summary in time for the health visitor review to ensure children's progress is appropriate.  Children's physical development is not as well promoted as possible because the provision of resources for mark making during outdoor play times are not always in place.

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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 scrutinised a range of documents; attendance registers for children, staff and management, risk assessment, self-evaluation records, staff suitability, the complaints log and a range of policies and procedures which supports the service provided.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in all indoor play areas and all outdoor play areas used by the children at various times throughout the day.  The inspector held meetings with the manager and various staff caring for children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of children and parents spoken to on the day and acknowledged a range of recorded statements.

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Information about the setting

St Lawrence's Day Nursery was registered in 1982 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in a Victorian building in the village of Gnosall in Staffordshire and is managed by a private provider. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. It operates from four main rooms and there is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 10 members of child care staff. Of these, all hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3. One member of staff holds an early years degree. 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 69 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 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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must:

 ensure the 'progress check at age two' is implemented and provide parents with a written summary, liaising with parents so they can share this with the health visitor at the health and development review at age two. This is in order to identify the child's strengths and to target areas for development in the prime areas to enable early intervention if needed.

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

 extend resources to build on children's fine motor skills, such as chalks and crayons, during their outdoor play times to progress their learning towards good.

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who attend

The manager and all staff provide developmentally appropriate activities, which supports children's interests across all areas of their learning. They have a suitable awareness of the seven areas of learning, particularly the prime areas, which enables them to observe, assess and monitor children's progress. However, the provider does not ensure that the 'progress check at age two' is completed for all children between the ages of two and three years old. As a result, parents have not been provided with a summary of their child's health and development review in time for their child's health visitor appointment at age two. This means any gaps in children's learning and any need for intervention have not been appropriately assessed to ensure children's needs are met.

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who attend

Through sharing of verbal and written information, parents inform staff about what their child can already do and their current interests, which helps to keep everyone informed about the child's care and learning. Staff that work with the older children talk to them about what they like to do then provide resources and equipment to meet their needs and interests. They also discuss with parents how best to support their child's learning at home.

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who attend

Children's communication skills are supported because staff talk to them all the time, ask open questions and provide a strong role model for children to see. This helps children move towards achieving expected levels of development. Children of all ages help themselves to the various resources and equipment around them, thereby, making informed choices. However, during outdoor play time, older children do not access tools to support their skills in mark making. For example, they do not access different implements, such as chalks, crayons and brushes with paint or water. As a result, children's physical development with regard to fine motor skills is not well supported during these times.

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who attend

Children are beginning to show they feel safe and have positive self-esteem as they confidently laugh and giggle with one another and with the staff caring for them. They run around after one another in the outdoor play areas, use their imagination as they crawl like cats and dogs and pretend to walk like ducks. The staff join in with such activities to further encourage children's imaginary play. Children's physical development is extended as they climb, ride their trikes and scooters and move the blocks from one area to another. Children explore mathematical concepts in the indoor areas as they build with construction resources and as they count the girls and boys during routines. The staff talk to the children about mathematical concepts so they learn about the language for mathematical play, such as bigger and smaller.

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who attend

Children like to paint pictures and cut and glue to create their own art work, which is displayed in various areas alongside their photographs. This helps children feel a sense of belonging to the setting. The staff ensure a balance of child-initiated and adult-guided opportunities to extend children's learning in all areas of their development, which helps prepare them for the next phase of their learning, including school.

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who attend

Babies and toddlers enjoy splashing in the water and hiding toys in the sand. The babies are supported by the staff to stand and begin to cruise about the areas, seeking out various toys to play with. Children enjoy visits to places of interest, such as the park, to use fixed equipment to build on their physical skills and the local farm where they see and talk about the animals and farm life.

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

Children approach the staff and other children with confidence, thereby, showing that they feel cared for and safe. Attachments are suitably fostered through the key person systems. For instance, children attending with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well because their key person will follow them throughout their time at the setting and they move up to the child's next room with them. In such cases, this shows commitment from the management to meet children's individual needs and requirements and an appropriate partnerships with parents, thereby, supporting children's well-being.

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

All children behave well, as they take turns and share and show respect for others around them. Children enjoy feeling special as they take turns at being helpers. For example, they take turns at pouring out the milk for their peers during snack times and manage this competently, receiving praise from the staff. This supports their independence and feelings of self-worth.

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

Children demonstrate that they have a good awareness of the importance of hygiene as they independently wash their hands after visiting the toilet and before they eat. Children learn about the importance of a healthy lifestyle because they have regular access each day and extended time provided for them to be out of doors.

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

Children's moves between the setting and school are supported through an effective liaison between all concerned. This ensures that children's needs are identified and met. The staffing arrangements are efficient and ensure close supervision of children, so that they are kept safe while they learn about taking risks. Children learn about personal safety as they practice the evacuation procedures with the staff. Parents are encouraged to share information about their child's needs from the time of entry and this supports children's well-being and fosters good relationships with their key persons.

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provision

On the whole, the manager and staff work well together to monitor the educational programme. However, the provider has not identified that a 'progress check at age two' must be completed for all children between the ages of two and three years old and provided to parents. This is a breach of requirements on the early years register.

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provision

The risk assessments in place ensure that all areas and equipment used by the children are checked each day. This includes good standards of hygiene throughout the nursery, which helps ensure children's safety and well-being. Staff ratios are also maintained, which further supports children's well-being. The staff are fully informed about the child protection procedures to be followed in line with current policies and they know who to contact about concerns. Rigorous recruitment and induction procedures ensure that adults working with the children are medically fit and suitable to do so. The manager ensures there are suitable supervision monitoring sessions in place. This helps to identify where support is needed to improve staff performance and, thereby, promote acceptable outcomes for children. The parents contribute to the identification of their child's learning and developmental starting points and they have access to all information about their child's learning. This

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provision

ensures that they have been adequately informed about their child's achievements. The staff provide parents with information about their child's activities and enjoyment each day through verbal exchange at pick up times. Parents also have access to the policies and procedures of the setting at all times. Parents comment on the caring relationships the staff have with their children. Partnership working with other agencies ensures that children with identified needs are supported.

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provision

The self-evaluation systems are sound and outline various areas for continuous improvement to benefit the children attending. The systems also include input from the management team, staff, parents and 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 218492 Local authority Staffordshire Inspection number 938402

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 62 Number of children on roll 69 Name of provider Claire Oldroyd Date of previous inspection 01/07/2011 Telephone number 01785 824828

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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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