Tops Day Nurseries - Corfe Mullen

Tops Day Nurseries 49 Blandford Road, Corfe Mullen, WIMBORNE, Dorset, BH21 3HD

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/10/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children are happy and settled. Staff have a good understanding of children's individual needs and support children's emotional development well.  Staff make good use of observational assessment to monitor children's progress and help them plan activities and experiences tailored to children's individual learning.  Children's independence is fostered well. They make choices in their play encouraging them to become active learners.  Parents are well informed about their child's achievements through informal daily discussions and viewing children's development folders.  The manager has a clear drive for improvement and supporting the staff's ongoing development, which benefits the children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Staff are not always used effectively in the outdoor area so that they can support children's learning fully.  Group activities do not always fully engage the younger children to help develop their listening skills.

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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's play and staff interaction, both indoors and outside.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation including a sample of children's records, planning and records of staff suitability.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector spoke to staff, the manager and the area manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection and of the provider's self-evaluation systems.

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Information about the setting

Tops Day Nursery registered in 2013 and is one of a chain of privately owned day nurseries. It is situated within the village of Corfe Mullen, in Dorset. The nursery is set over two floors. The ground floor has a main playroom for children aged from two to four years and a separate baby room. There is a separate sleep room and associated facilities. The upstairs accommodation is for the after school provision, where children have their own hall, kitchenette and quiet room. All children have access to the large enclosed garden. The nursery is open Monday to Friday from 6am to 8pm, all year. It provides full time care for children from birth to under 8 years, and also caters for children up to the age of 11 years. The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and compulsory part of the Childcare Register. There are currently 91 children on roll, of these, 51 children are in the early years age group. The nursery receives funding for the provision of free early

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Information about the setting

education for children aged two, three and four years. The nursery employs 12 members of staff including the manager. Nine of the staff have early years qualifications including the manager who has a Foundation degree.

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

 review staff deployment during outdoor play activities to make sure that all children's learning and development is effectively supported

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

 review the organisation of group activities to fully engage the younger children and enrich their learning experiences.

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who attend

Children happily come into the nursery and quickly engage in their chosen play activity. Staff have a good understanding of the children's individual needs, routines and interests and, as a result, children feel settled and secure. Staff complete an initial assessment of the children's starting points, taking into account parents' contributions from the 'My world' forms. Effective key person systems mean key staff take responsibility for a group of children and observe their individual interests and achievements. This enables staff to respond to children's interests and tailor play activities to support children's individual learning. As a result, children are making good progress in their learning in relation to their starting points. Planning covers all seven areas of learning and takes account of children's individual stages of development. There is a good balance of both adult-led and child-initiated play activities. Children benefit from the wide range of interesting and

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who attend

stimulating play and learning experiences that promote their active learning. For example, children go on a visit to the local shop to buy vegetables and help chop them up to make soup, which they eat for their snack. This provides children with first hand experiences and raises their awareness about eating healthily.

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who attend

Staff interact with children positively, supporting them in learning skills that will help them in the future. Younger children are confident to explore their surroundings, reassured as they know familiar staff are close-by. Older children enjoy using the moveable resources and they spend time finding ways to, for example, create their own boat. Staff get involved to extend the children's learning but allow children to lead the play and work things out for themselves. This helps develop children's problem-solving skills. Staff join in playful games with the babies, such as peeping over the low slide encouraging the babies to crawl up the slope. The babies begin to move slowly to look for the adults face, giggling and vocalising in response. This promotes their physical development and encourages early communication skills. Children take part in various group activities, such as songs and rhymes or a group storytime. However, on occasions, activities do not take account of

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who attend

the differing ages and abilities of children involved and, as a result, some of the younger children lose interest.

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who attend

There is good labelling around the room and children have their own name above their pegs, which helps to raise children's awareness that print carries meaning. Children develop an understanding of mathematics from a young age as staff use number and counting throughout the routines and activities. Children learn about shape and size. Staff introduce words, such as 'bigger' and 'smaller' to extend children's learning as children compare the shapes. Children of all ages enjoy using their senses to investigate the wide range of media and materials available. Babies show a strong sense of exploration as they feel the different textures of cold spaghetti and the damp sand on their hands. They are fascinated as they place items in a container and hear the noise as they move it around.

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who attend

Effective partnership established between staff, parents and carers means that children's needs are well supported. Parents receive regular updates about their children's care, learning and development at the daily handover period. This includes detailed information about the younger children's sleep times and food eaten, which are recorded on daily sheets. Parent evenings are organised to discuss children's achievements in more detail and this allows parents to be involved in their child's learning.

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

Children's emotional well-being is promoted well. Babies benefit from the calm and nurturing environment and familiar staff are attentive to children's individual needs. Babies receive regular cuddles and this helps them build trusting relationships and secure attachments. Staff recognise when babies are getting tired and are ready to sleep, gently settling them and offering their special 'comforters' to help them feel secure. Monitors are used so that staff can hear the babies at all times. Staff encourage children to become increasingly independent from a young age. For example, babies experiment with using a spoon to feed themselves and older children serve their own food at mealtimes. Children develop a strong sense of belonging as they see their photographs and creative work displayed around the nursery. This helps children to feel valued.

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

Effective security systems are in place. Staff carry out risk assessments of the areas used by children and for any outings. This includes a daily checklist to help staff identify and minimise any hazards to children. The provision of separate indoor and outdoor play spaces for babies enables all children to move around freely and safely in their play. Staff follow clear procedures when taking children on outings and when collecting the older children from school. For example, they do regular head counts and make sure that children wear high visibility jackets. This contributes towards keeping children safe. Staff help children learn the importance of walking, rather than running, when playing inside and maintain close supervision as the children jump and balance on the trampoline. This helps the children learn how to keep themselves and others safe in their play. Staff use effective strategies to get children's attention. For example, they play a piece of music to

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

indicate that it is tidy up time. Children know this routine and cooperate well. Children are helped to learn to share and take turns, for example, during the fishing game staff explain to the children to share and let others have a turn at catching a fish. The children listen and respond and staff praise them, which helps to boost children's self-esteem.

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

Children enjoy a well-resourced and stimulating environment. Good quality, age appropriate resources and equipment, positioned at child-height, are easily accessible enabling children to make independent choices about their play. Daily use of the outdoor play areas provides children with different learning experiences and access to regular fresh air and exercise. However, the outdoor play spaces available to children are extensive and staff are not always positioned so they can support all children's learning and development effectively. For example, when staff follow some children to one particular area of the garden they cannot support other children involved elsewhere in play activities. Children's health is well supported. They benefit from being provided with healthy snacks and hot meals. Staff liaise closely with parents to make sure that they follow babies and younger children's feeding routines. Detailed information is obtained from parents about any

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

allergies and staff accommodate these so children remain healthy.

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provision

Staff have a good understanding of all requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Staff maintain comprehensive policies, procedures and records to help support children's safety and welfare. These include the nursery's robust recruitment and vetting procedures, coordinated at the head office, to establish the suitability of adults to work with children. Clear induction procedures, in-house training and staff supervision mean that staff are clear on their roles and responsibilities. Staff have a secure knowledge of safeguarding issues and of their responsibilities if they have any concerns about a child in their care. The manager talks with staff about different aspects of safeguarding during staff meetings to refresh staff's understanding of the company's policies and procedures. All required records are in place and stored securely to maintain confidentiality.

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provision

The nursery has only been open for a short time. However, the manager and staff have a positive attitude to the ongoing development of the provision and work together well as a team. The manager shows strong leadership, regularly working in the rooms to monitor staff performance and to role model good practice. This helps support the staff's continual professional development. Assessment arrangements are in place to monitor children's progress effectively. The manager reviews children's development records to check that they are up-to-date so that staff can identify any gaps in children's learning.

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provision

Staff have not yet implemented the progress check for two-year-old children as children have only recently started, but through discussion staff demonstrate a clear understanding of their responsibility. Staff are encouraged to update their knowledge and skills through training, for example all staff recently attended the annual company conference. This enables the staff to meet other colleagues and reflect on ways to develop their practice. The senior management team works closely with the manager who is continually reflecting on and evaluating the provision to identify areas for improvement that will be of benefit to the children.

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provision

Parents receive good quality information about the nursery provision through the parent welcome pack, nursery website and regular newsletters. Staff provide parents with updates about the nursery through a secure social networking site. Staff liaise with other early years settings that children attend to help provide continuity for children's care and learning. Children are encouraged to become increasingly independent to help them get ready to move onto school. Staff adapt the home corner, adding uniforms and school materials to promote discussion about starting school, and organise teachers from local schools to visit the children at nursery. This all contributes to helping make the children's move to school an easier one.

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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 EY459134 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 913322 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 86 Number of children on roll 91 Name of provider Tops Day Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection not applicable Telephone number 01202 614141

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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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