Little Spring Wonders Daycare Nursery

Little Spring Wonders Daycare Nursery 18 High Street, Great Baddow, CHELMSFORD, CM2 7HQ

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 29/10/2013 11/03/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 4 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 and babies are happy and settled as they develop very warm and trusting relationships with their key person and other nursery staff.  Teaching is good as staff are skilled at following children's interests and facilitating their ideas. As a result, children and babies are continually absorbed in purposeful play and make good progress.  Children and babies are protected from harm as the management and staff understand and effectively meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements.  Management have good systems in place for monitoring staff and secure frequent opportunities for them to develop their skills and knowledge.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is room to develop the opportunities for parents to play an even more active role in their children's learning, so that children's knowledge and skills are further consolidated and extended.  There is scope for staff to monitor and identify more precisely the progress of particular groups, such as boys or girls.

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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 activities in the indoor and outdoor learning environments, this included a joint observation with the manager.  The inspector held discussions with the management, staff and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed a sample of the children's 'learning journey' development records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector saw evidence of suitability and qualifications of the staff, risk assessments, some policies and procedures and other documentation in relation to health and safety checks.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and from their responses in questionnaires supplied by the nursery.

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Information about the setting

Little Spring Wonder Daycare Nursery was registered in 2011 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. It operates from four play areas in converted premises in Great Baddow, Essex. There is an enclosed garden and two courtyards available for outdoor play. The nursery is privately run and managed. It serves the local area and is accessible to all children.

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Information about the setting

The nursery employs 18 members of childcare staff. Of these, 16 staff hold appropriate early years qualifications at level 3 or above. The manager holds Early Years Professional Status, the deputy holds a degree and one member of staff holds Qualified Teacher Status. The nursery also employs cooks, lunchtime assistants, cleaners and a caretaker.

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Information about the setting

The nursery opens Monday to Friday all year round. Opening times are between 7am until 7pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions or out of school care. There are currently 64 children attending who are within the early years age group. There are 16 children aged between 5 and 8 years attending out of school care. The nursery provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. It supports a number of 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:

 enhance the partnership with parents further to consolidate and extend children's learning and development, for example, by encouraging more parents to share their observations or by extending, across all the age groups, the opportunities for sharing resources for children to use at home

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

 strengthen the monitoring of assessment to ensure staff gather more precise information about the progress of groups of children as well as individuals.

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who attend

The staff have a good understanding of child development and are committed to providing meaningful experiences for all children and babies. Activities are carefully planned to help children do their best, taking account of their differing interests and capabilities. The quality of teaching is good and this successfully promotes the children's very positive attitudes towards learning. As a result, children develop confidence, independence and an interest in the world around them. This means that they are well-prepared for later life and future learning.

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who attend

There is an effective blend of adult-led activities and those chosen by the children. Resources are easily accessible in all the rooms and children relish the opportunity to choose between indoor and outdoor play. Children are encouraged to be active participants in the decision making and staff use their spontaneous ideas and enthralments to extend learning. For example, children and staff have great fun as they work together to create miniature imaginary worlds on a tray, for either a princess or a dinosaur. Babies have a wide range of high quality resources enabling them to play and explore at their own pace. The opportunity to explore natural materials and safe household objects means that babies investigate a full variety of sensory experiences in touch, sound and sight. As a result, they are confident explorers, happy to take on challenges, such as pulling themselves to standing positions, in order to carry on

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who attend

Children are becoming confident communicators as staff take every opportunity to promote speaking and listening skills and to extend the range of words used. Interaction is weighted towards listening and open-ended questioning that extends children's thinking. The staff use and model language well. They develop vocabulary during conversations or planned activities and correct children, when necessary, so they learn new words and use the appropriate pronunciation. Older children learn the basic sounds in words to help them develop early reading skills and they can easily recognise their name at self-registration. They can also point out familiar words on the many captions and labels in the play environment. Children sit attentively during group activities and they really enjoy stories and singing popular action rhymes.

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who attend

Children handle resources confidently and use paintbrushes and pencils well in their artwork and as they practise early writing skills in their role play. Themed areas are imaginatively provided so that children can investigate and talk about Halloween or act out scenarios in a builder's workshop. Children develop their understanding of the world through a variety of outings into the local area. They observe the changing seasons and develop a love of books as they visit the library, park or church. An innovative range of games and the daily routines are used well to promote recognition of numbers and shapes. Easy access is provided to the computer so that children confidently develop their understanding of technology.

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who attend

Staff carry out regular observations to assess and track individual children's progress. These observations are recorded in individual 'learning journey' folders and enable staff to positively extend children's achievements and interests and provide for their identified learning priorities. The staff effectively track children's progress to ensure that there are no gaps in their learning. In addition, the required progress reports for children when they reach the age of two, are successfully completed and used to secure early intervention when progress is identified as less than expected. There are good arrangements to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The special educational needs coordinator meets with parents and other professionals to ensure that the individual education plans are effectively targeted to help children reach their full potential. Overall, children are well-placed to continue their learning at home because parents learn

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who attend

about any achievements through daily conversations, formal consultations with key persons and regular opportunities to look at children's 'learning journey' folders. Parents are also invited into the nursery to share their skills with the children and join events, such as the special day the animals from the mobile farm visited. The nursery has started to encourage parents to become more involved in their children's learning by sharing observations on 'wow moment' forms, or by taking home and photographing the adventures of a nursery bear that travels with them on outings. There is now scope to extend this to include all parents and children so children's learning can be further consolidated.

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

Children and babies are confident and happy as their personal, social and emotional development is fostered well. The staff in the baby room provide the youngest children with physical interaction and cuddles. This helps them to form emotional bonds and attachments. Babies show their feeling of security as they readily approach the staff if they need support or reassurance. Babies and young children experience effective and supportive procedures to settle them in successfully and the information collected from parents contributes to personalised individual learning plans. Every child is allocated a key person right from the start. This helps promote children's sense of security and their emotional well-being as they make the transition between their home and the nursery. Every key person knows their children well and can clearly demonstrate how they are helping them to move forward and make good progress.

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

Children are prepared for the transition between rooms and parents are fully involved. The staff make sure that children are familiar with the room they are moving into by taking them on visits, and by sharing progress reports and key information with the new key person. This helps children adapt gently to new surroundings, new friends and adults, and feel comfortable with them. Prior to children starting school, the nursery invites the teachers in to meet the children. This helps to reassure the children about the next stage in learning as they transfer to full-time education.

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

The staff maintain high standards of cleanliness in the nursery. Effective cleaning routines ensure that all toys are suitable for children's use. Outdoor shoes are removed before entry to the baby room to ensure that babies can crawl on safe and clean flooring. The staff complete training so they can prepare food safely and the kitchen has been inspected by an environmental health officer and awarded five stars for food safety. Children have a good understanding of a healthy lifestyle. They have healthy appetites as they eat wholesome freshly cooked meals and snacks. They learn about the food that is good for them when they use pumpkin to make cakes. Children develop independence skills as they pour their own drinks and at lunchtime, the older children learn to serve food for themselves. Staff are well aware of any allergies or special dietary requirements to meet individual children's needs. Babies and children sleep peacefully and undisturbed in a cool

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

and comfortable environment. Nappy changing and toilet training is sensitively undertaken to preserve children's dignity. Effective personal hygiene routines are adopted and children are full of energy; they know exercise is good for them and relish the opportunity to play outdoors. They exhibit dexterity and agility as they use the swing or wheeled toys in the garden. Space is also cleared inside for circle games, when children take part in warm up exercises, stretch, jump and use a variety of movements.

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

Behaviour in the nursery is very good. Children learn the important social skills, such as sharing and taking turns with toys. This means they remain engaged with friends in play, listening to each other's ideas and making joint decisions. Children effectively gain an understanding of the importance of behaving responsibly and use tools and equipment carefully and safely. They listen carefully when staff explain that they need to wait before using the garden, while a member of staff checks that it is safe. Fire drills are regularly practised so that children know how to swiftly evacuate the premises in an emergency.

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provision

The nursery management has a strong understanding of how to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Documentation is efficiently organised. Detailed policies and procedures are regularly reviewed and shared with staff and parents to ensure the safe and efficient management of the nursery. All staff undergo suitability checks prior to starting work and attend specific training in safeguarding. Staff fully understand the child protection policies and know how to report any concerns about the welfare of a child. A high priority is given to the security of the children. Entrance doors remain locked, closed- circuit television systems operate and any visitors to the premises are closely monitored. Risk assessments are rigorously carried out to ensure that children are safe inside the nursery and when on outings. Reliable and safe arrangements are also in place to take and collect children, attending the out of school club, to and from their primary schools.

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provision

There is a good team spirit amongst the staff and they are all fully aware of their roles and responsibilities. The deployment of staff is effective, which means that children are closely supervised as they play. The required adult-to-child ratios and qualification levels are met or exceeded every day. The management maintains a high presence in the rooms, and when supporting staff they are good mentors. Regular supervision ensures that the management know the training needs of all staff. Carefully targeted professional development enhances staff knowledge and the good practice in the setting. Any new information about childcare initiatives or the learning and development requirements is cascaded at meetings between management and staff.

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provision

All children are included and supported well and the nursery promotes equality and diversity successfully. Frequent monitoring of assessment and planning, means children's individual needs and interests are met and the next steps in their learning accurately pinpointed to ensure good progress. The staff know the steps to take if they feel a child is falling behind. However, while staff confidently assess and analyse the progress of individual children, there is less precision when monitoring or comparing the development of groups of children. This means that there is scope to identify additional ways to accelerate children's progress. The management and staff constantly reflect on their practice to appraise their work and the environment. They include children's and parents' views and ideas taken from discussions, observations and written feedback. This means that self-evaluation is thorough, ongoing and accurately identifies the strengths of the nursery and priorities for

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provision

future improvement. There is a clear and well-targeted action plan in place and as a result, continuous and significant improvements have been made since the last inspection. All the actions and recommendations set at the last inspection have been addressed effectively which has enabled the nursery to make good progress.

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provision

The management and staff make sure that the effective partnerships with parents and other early years professionals enable children to receive the support they need. Overall, the two-way flow of information with parents supports children's learning well. A wealth of information is shared through newsletters and displays and parents are invited to join social events, where they find out about the Early Years Foundation Stage. Parents are very appreciative of all that the nursery does for them and their children. They particularly like the friendliness and commitment of the staff and say that the nursery is like a 'home from home' environment for their children. Partnerships with other professionals are established and effective. The manager has established strong links with other pre-schools or schools in the area and meets up with them periodically to discuss matters of common interest and to share ideas. When there is shared care, observations are exchanged

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provision

between key persons from each setting, to ensure that there is continuity in children's care and learning.

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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 EY426303 Local authority Essex Inspection number 913358

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Type of provision

Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 61 Number of children on roll 80 Name of provider Little Spring Wonders Daycare Nursery Limited Date of previous inspection 11/03/2013 Telephone number 01245 477773

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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

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’.

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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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