Steps Ahead Day Nursery and Nursery School

Steps Ahead Day Nursery and Nursery School Steps Ahead Nursery, Wiltshire Drive, Bradley Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 0RR

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Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/10/2013 17/10/2011

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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

 Children take part in a good range of activities and experiences, both inside and outdoors, which they enjoy. They use their imaginations well as they engage in role play.  Partnerships with parents are positive due to regular communication and sharing of information.  Staff are kind and have formed positive relationships with the children.

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It is not yet good because

 Staff deployment is not always effective to fully support children with their personal care needs.  Staff do not manage children's behaviour consistently.  Staff do not make the most of opportunities to encourage children's self-care and independence at mealtimes.

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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 all playrooms and the outside area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had discussions with the manager, the owner, staff, children and parents.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including children's records, safeguarding procedures, staff records and risk assessments.

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Information about the setting

Steps Ahead Day Nursery and Nursery School is privately owned and opened in 2000. It operates from a single story building in Trowbridge, Wiltshire. There are six rooms available for different age groups, with access to a garden. The nursery also has a sensory room, a sensory courtyard, as well as an indoor play area suitable for physical play. The nursery is open each weekday from 8 am to 6 pm throughout the year, except for one week at Christmas and bank holidays.

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Information about the setting

The nursery is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 140 children on roll. The nursery supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are learning English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

There are 32 members of staff, of whom three hold a level 4 early years qualification and the owner has achieved Early Years Professional Status. There are 18 members of staff at hold a level 3 qualification, and nine at hold a level 2 qualification. The nursery provides free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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must:

 improve the key person system to ensure that the child's special person attends to their key children's personal care needs, particularly with regard to the babies.

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must:

 ensure that all staff manage children's behaviour consistently, so that children learn how to behave and manage their behaviour for themselves.

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

 increase opportunities for children to develop self-care and independence skills at mealtimes.

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who attend

Staff show a good understanding of how to support children's learning. Children are happy, settled and enjoy a varied range of activities and experiences, which helps them to make good progress in relation to their starting points and capabilities. Staff gather detailed information about each child's background and find out about their routines and needs. Through good communication and sharing of information, staff get to know the children well which effectively helps children settle quickly.

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who attend

Staff interact well with the children and support their language development by talking to them as they play asking them questions to develop their thinking and problem solving skills. For example, children fit small blocks together to make a tower. They count the blocks, compare the 'lengths' and use words such as 'biggest' and 'tallest', to describe their comparisons. Staff support children well as they introduce mathematical language such as 'measure' and talk to the children about adding 'one more'. This helps to develop children's understanding of calculating.

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who attend

Staff promote children's interest in books effectively when they share stories with them, either in groups or individually. Young babies enjoy a close time as they cuddle in to a member of staff and share a story, patting the pages and feeling the different textures of the book. Slightly older children enjoy a group story; staff effectively engage the children through looking and talking about the pictures in the book. Children enjoy singing songs, as they join in with the actions and use their hands to show the time on the clock that they are singing about. This helps to build children's confidence to join in with group activities.

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who attend

Babies use their senses to explore the paint and other messy materials to make pictures. Staff provide opportunities for children to find out about the natural world when they plant and care for vegetables and flowers in the garden. They plant and grow pumpkins for Halloween, and make pumpkin soup. Children thoroughly enjoy role play; they pretend to fill jugs with water from the play sink, and make cups of tea. They cuddle the dolls and take them for a walk in the buggy. Children also pretend to sweep the floor and put on the police officers' hat and imagine they are driving the car. Children sit in cardboard boxes and sing songs as they pretend they are going on a bus or train ride. This means they use their imaginations well.

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who attend

Children learn useful skills and develop positive attitudes that help prepare them for the next stage of learning. Staff encourage the children to do things for themselves, such as dressing themselves for outside play or putting on an apron when they want to play in the water. However, staff do not make the most of opportunities to encourage children's self- care and independence skills at meal times; for example, by allowing them to serve their food or pour their own drinks.

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

Children are happy, settled and enjoy the bright vibrant environment of the nursery. They happily separate from their parents when they arrive; this demonstrates children feel safe and secure. Staff have a warm and caring approach towards the children. This effectively supports children's emotional and physical well-being. Overall, the key person system is well implemented to support children's care and learning needs. However, the organisation and deployment of staff, particularly in the baby room, means that it is not always the key person, or the second key person that attends to children's personal care needs, such as nappy changing and toileting. This system does not fully assist with the settling of the baby at the nursery.

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

Overall, children behave well. Staff act as appropriate role models so that children learn good manners. However, behaviour is managed inconsistently throughout the nursery. All staff do not consistently implement effective behaviour management strategies. This means that children do not always know what is expected of them and some staff do not talk to the children about managing their own behaviour or reinforce the rules in readiness for school.

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

Children's physical development is promoted well. They take part in a variety of exciting activities outside which effectively engage their interest. For example, children learn to cooperate with one another to move the parachute up and down. They squeal with delight as they make the balls move around, following instructions well and waiting nicely for their turn. Children are learning about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. They understand the importance of good personal hygiene routines and are learning to manage these independently. Children benefit from freshly prepared nutritious meals provided by the nursery. They learn about the foods which are good for them through discussions with the staff.

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

Children are supported to develop a sound understanding of risks, as they are reminded they must not go outside until an adult is able to go with them. Children take part in regular fire drills, so that they know how to evacuate the premises quickly and safely in an emergency. This supports their understanding of how to keep themselves safe.

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provision

Staff understand their responsibility to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This inspection was brought forward following concerns raised with Ofsted about the provider not following safeguarding procedures, or sharing information appropriately. Ofsted carried out an investigation and found that the safeguarding policy did not reflect recent changes in policy and insufficient regard was given to escalating safeguarding concerns about children. Staff were not recording pre- existing injuries. Ofsted issued the nursery with a welfare requirements notice to train all staff to understand their safeguarding policy and procedures, and to ensure that all staff have up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues. They were also asked to ensure that staff are able to identify signs of possible abuse and neglect at the earliest opportunity, and to respond in a timely and appropriate way. Additionally they had to implement a

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provision

policy, and procedures, to safeguard children, to be in line with the guidance and procedures of the relevant Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB). Evidence gathered at the inspection found that the provider has revised the safeguarding policy to be in line with LSCB guidelines and discussed it with all staff. There are relevant forms in place for staff to record concerns and pre-existing injuries, and staff have received training on how to complete these. Staff have completed safeguarding training and as a result they are able to correctly identify the signs and symptoms that would cause concern in a timely manner. They have a secure understanding of the safeguarding policy and are clear of the procedures they would follow if they had a concern about a child.

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provision

During the investigation by Ofsted, other breaches of requirements were found. These were regarding the appraisal and performance management system, the keeping of records and gathering of information from parents. The inspection has found that the nursery has taken appropriate action and is now compliant with these aspects. The owner and the manager monitor staff performance through regular supervision sessions and annual appraisals. These are documented and any action taken is recorded and followed up appropriately. Registration forms have been updated so that all relevant information can be gathered from parents at the start.

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provision

Risk assessments are carried out regularly and any necessary action is taken promptly to address issues. This includes daily checks on the premises and the outside area. Staff have a clear understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements. Staff use information from parents and carry out their own observations of children engaged in activities to help them plan for children's next steps in their development. The educational programme is appropriately monitored to ensure it adequately covers all areas of learning and offers a variety and challenge for all children.

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provision

Staff work closely with parents to establish positive partnerships. Parents are very happy with the service the nursery provides and the progress their children are making. Parents like the flexibility of the nursery and the friendly approach of staff. Parents feel that the communication is good and they are kept well informed about their child's progress. One parent said they would not take their child anywhere else. The nursery also works appropriately in partnership with other professionals and agencies where necessary. This ensures children experience a consistent approach to their learning and care and children that have additional needs are supported appropriately. Staff share information with other early years providers when children also attend other settings. Self-evaluation takes account of the views of staff, parents and children. The newly appointed manager, senior staff and the owner are motivated to improve practice and make changes when necessary.

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provision

They have begun to identify the nursery's strengths and some areas for development. This includes the continued development of the outdoor equipment and space. This demonstrates a clear commitment to driving improvements and outcomes for 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 145881 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 931508 Type of provision Full-time provision Registration category Childcare - Non-Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 104 Number of children on roll 140 Name of provider Janine Elizabeth Collishaw Date of previous inspection 17/10/2011 Telephone number 01225 719110

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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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