Seesaws Avenue Road

See-Saws Day Nursery 1 Avenue Road, Erdington, BIRMINGHAM, West Midlands, B23 6UY

p.1

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 01/10/2013 18/04/2013

p.1

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

p.1

This provision is good

 Staff are supportive of all children and respond appropriately to their individual needs. They interact very positively with the children and forge caring relationships that help children to feel secure.  Children are happy and settled and have good relationships with staff and each other. Staff work closely with parents to make sure they are familiar with children's backgrounds and needs. This ensures children's individual needs are met well.  The nursery establishes good relationships with parents, which promotes consistency and continuity in children's care and learning. Staff regularly share information about children's progress, and parents share children's experiences from home. As a result, a combined approach to helping children in the next steps of their learning is guaranteed.  The manager leads the nursery staff team well. Effective self-evaluation systems are in place to drive continual improvement on children's outcomes.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 Pre-school children are not given as much opportunity as possible to move freely between indoors and outdoors. This means that opportunities to promote their physical development and energetic play when they want to are not fully enhanced.  At times, staff's questioning techniques are not consistent across the nursery, resulting in some children not always having time to consider their answers or use their language skills fully.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities throughout the nursery in both indoor and outdoor spaces.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the nursery manager and staff at appropriate times throughout the day.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation including children's records, learning and development information, staff records and a selection of policies and procedures.  The inspector took into account the views of parents through discussion.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the manager.

p.2

Information about the setting

Seesaws Day Nursery was registered in 1994. It is one of five nurseries run by See-Saws Day Nursery Limited and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It is situated in converted house in Erdington, Birmingham. The nursery serves the local area and is accessible to all children. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play.

p.3

Information about the setting

The nursery employs 18 members of childcare staff. Of these, 10 hold appropriate early years qualifications at levels 2 and 3, and there are three unqualified trainees. The owner holds Qualified Teacher Status. The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 7am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 77 children on roll who are in the early years age group.

p.3

Information about the setting

The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. It supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.3

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

 enhance children's physical development by providing more opportunities for children in the pre-school room to move freely between the indoor and outdoor environments

p.3

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

 extend further use of questioning techniques, to consistently encourage and give children time to consider and think before they speak.

p.3

who attend

Children are very enthusiastic learners who enjoy their time at this welcoming nursery. Their enthusiasm for learning and the levels to which they succeed are enhanced by staff who have a good understanding of how to capture children's interests and recognise that children learn through play. Staff have a secure understanding of the learning and development requirements, and this means that children take part in a broad range of activities which cover all aspects of learning. Planning is secure and monitored well across the seven areas of learning to ensure all aspects are sufficiently covered. Staff assess children's starting points on entry using the 'All about me' profiles. These are implemented in a variety of ways, including working closely with parents at the start of the placement to find out about children's individual interests, needs, skills and abilities. Through observations staff recognised that children enjoyed dressing-up and so they introduced

p.3

who attend

'princess and superheroes day' where all children are dressed-up in their favourite characters. When children move across the nursery information is shared with their new key persons. Staff use their observations well to plan the next steps in children's learning based on their interests. Children's progress and achievements are recorded in individual 'Learning Journals' which give a clear overview of their progress over time. This information is shared with parents, who are encouraged to share their views and enhance children's development at home. Each group of children regularly take home a travelling teddy and parents are encouraged to share its adventures with staff. In addition, they use 'story bags' and parents take photographs of children and observations to share with their key persons.

p.4

who attend

Overall, staff support children well in their understanding, communication and language by joining in with play, initiating conversations and asking open-ended questions, which encourage children to think for themselves. However, this is not always consistently applied across the setting, resulting at times in some children not having the time to think before answering. Children take part in activities that engage them in developing language skills, happily talking to their friends while they eat lunch and to staff at circle time. Staff working with babies and toddlers routinely mirror, repeat and extend children's language skills. They sing a range of nursery rhymes and songs, such as 'Twinkle, twinkle little star' to support children to make good progress in their communication and language. In addition, staff use a range of tongue exercises to support children with language delay. They obtain words and phrases in children's home languages and learn simple greetings in

p.4

who attend

Mandarin and Polish to ensure children who speak English as an additional language are well-supported. Children also learn to speak French when the French teacher visits and look forward to the music man visits. Children enjoy looking at books and listening to popular stories, about a bear hunt and staff introduce a toy bear to help bring the story alive and keep children interested.

p.4

who attend

Babies are cared for by staff who provide activities and resources that stimulate and encourage their learning and development. Staff support and comfort children when they are upset. Babies are very well-supported at mealtimes. They have comfortable and appropriate seating, which allows them to enjoy their food. The environment is busy, with photographs of the children at play and samples of their creative work displayed around them. The outdoor area is well-designed to offer children a wide range of enjoyable activities. These include climbing on equipment, such as the large climbing frame with slide, the pirate ship or bouncing on the trampoline. Children enjoy riding bikes and tricycles, as well as running up and down steep slopes and crawling through tunnels. They enjoy exploring how things grow in the gardening areas where they grow beans, potatoes and flowers. This contributes to the children's good

p.4

who attend

physical development. All base rooms have timetabled outdoor sessions, so that children enjoy daily exercise. However, children in the pre-school room, which opens into the outdoor area, are not always able to make free choices about when they will play outside. As a result, they are not always able to be physically active when they most need to burn off energy.

p.4

who attend

Children have access to a range of creative media, such as dough, glue and paint. Pre- school children share their knowledge of mixing paints and the colours they create, as they use sticks collected from the garden to paint autumn pictures. Staff build on children's understanding of numbers and mathematical terms as they routinely and confidently use them throughout activities. They count how many children are present and staff introduce counting in two's. Children competently use computer programmes as they drag and click the mouse. Younger children enjoy playing with the real mobile phones, as they pretend they are talking to their parents. Partnerships with parents are good, and staff have friendly and positive working relationships with them. Parents are encouraged to contribute to their children's learning stories, and most do this, adding pictures and comments. Staff carry out the progress check at age two which provides parents with a

p.5

who attend

picture of the child's development and needs. These checks also provide opportunities for staff to offer support and professional development where any child's progress is less than expected. Staff spend time with parents and carers as they collect their children each day, discussing what went well and any issues that have arisen. Parents appreciate this, and say that they are very satisfied with the quality of care that their children receive. Children make good progress as a result of this shared approach to learning.

p.5

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

The key person system is well-established to ensures that all children form firm and very secure attachments with friendly and very caring staff. Matching children to key persons is handled with care so that children feel settled and at ease when they first start. This also reassures parents as children's needs are discussed in great detail with the key person, so that staff get to know children's individual characters and interests. Children are able to see their families and special people through the photographs displayed in their rooms, this helps them settle as the see familiar faces. The nursery is a secure environment where children feel safe and are becoming confident. Children are well-cared for and procedures are in place to ensure their welfare needs are met through good hygiene procedures. Children understand when to wash their hands and they meet their own personal needs, such as taking themselves to the toilet and wiping their noses. Children

p.5

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

develop strong bonds with their key person and their behaviour is good. As they are encouraged to resolve any disputes with others in a sensible manner, such as waiting to take turns on the trampoline or the swing. Consequently there is good order throughout the session and children play together harmoniously.

p.5

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

All children are encouraged to develop independence and to make decisions for themselves as they move around their playroom choosing what they play with. Even young children serve and feed themselves with little help and children learn to make healthy food choices as staff discuss foods that are good for them. Children enjoy their weekly 'pudding and pie' cooking sessions. Outside visitor engage children in weekly cooking activities, where children learn about healthy food. They bring their own ingredients and equipment and children look forward to cooking new foods and learning about food technology. All children's dietary requirements are adhered to and there are good standards of hygiene in the nursery, with staff wearing protective clothes when handling food and when nappy changing children. Children learn to make healthy life choices as they play outdoors at the nursery regularly. Fresh air and exercise help to keep

p.5

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

them healthy and are supporting the development of their physical skills. Children learn to keep themselves safe, taking calculated risks as they run, jump and climb and ride supported by timely reminders from staff to be careful.

p.6

provision

There are good arrangements in place to implement the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework welfare and learning and development requirements. Staff are attentive to children's care needs, ensuring their noses are regularly cleaned. They offer children water throughout the day and children access their water bottles or beakers independently. Staff take steps to help provide a safe and secure environment where children develop and learn happily. Children are well-supervised as the required ratios of staff to children are met. All staff receive regular training in safeguarding and child protection and this is updated at regular intervals. Safeguarding arrangements are clearly known and understood by all staff and parents are made fully aware of the nursery's duty of care to act in the child's best interests at all times. Staff recruitment and selection procedures are sound and follow 'safer recruitment' guidelines. Children's safety is given high priority with

p.6

provision

staff who closely supervise children and are vigilant and responsive at all times. The premises are safe and secure and the maintenance of the facilities and the management of safety systems are good. Risk assessments, including daily checks, ensures the environment remains safe at all times with any potential hazards identified and minimised immediately. Staff check the outdoor play area before the children use it and the nurseries maintenance team attend to any identified hazards.

p.6

provision

The manager supports staff well, providing excellent opportunities for them to undertake training and develop themselves professionally, with a training team located on site offering good opportunities for training. As a result, all staff demonstrate a strong knowledge and understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The manager encourages staff to monitor the educational programmes and supports them fully when they make suggestions to improve the provision for children. For example, the assessment arrangements have recently become more detailed due to the introduction of a new format for recording observations of children. Annual appraisals and regular supervisions are used as ways to closely monitor ongoing staff performance. Also, peer to peer observations are in the process of being introduced so staff can take an active role in closely examining and developing their own and each other's practice.

p.6

provision

Secure partnership working with parents positively contributes to children's well-being and ensures their care and learning needs are supported well. Parents receive information about the service the nursery offers with staff who are forthcoming in exchanging information with parents. Many ways are used to share and exchange information with parents, such as, regular newsletters, informative wall displays including a welcoming entrance hall with a comprehensive range of parent information and daily handover communication sheets. Parents attend a parents evening where they spend time looking at their child's record's as well as discussing their child's progress with their child's key person. Parents receive regular written progress reports and are encouraged to contribute to these by informing the staff of their child's interests and achievements at home. This is also reflected in the observations parents share about what their child do at home.

p.6

provision

Parents spoken to on the day of inspection speak highly of the service provided. They say an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere is provided by staff who know their children and families well.

p.7

provision

Good partnership working with a broad range of professionals help to target, support and review the arrangements for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They follow their advice, attend meetings and follow individual plans for the children. This ensures their needs are met appropriately, which enhances and supports their learning. Staff value children's backgrounds and their home languages with effective systems to help children and families with English as an additional language. Good links have been forged with many local schools to help support children, with teachers visiting prior to children moving on to school. The nursery is fully aware of the importance of good communication and partnership working and has a good working relationship with the local children's centre as well as the local authority early years advisor.

p.7

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

p.7

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

Setting details

Unique reference number 228984 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 934409

p.9

Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 48 Number of children on roll 77 Name of provider Seesaws Day Nurseries Ltd Date of previous inspection 18/04/2013 Telephone number 0121 350 6521

p.9

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.

p.9

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.9

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.

p.9

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.

p.9

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.

p.10

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,

p.10

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’.

p.11

Type of provision

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

p.11